By Chris Morris for DieHardDevil.com

Sun Devil fans might feel nostalgic for the success of the 1996 season. Perhaps they should feel a touch of déjà vu as well.

The ‘96 Devils were a veteran squad, coming off a strong finish to a six-win season.  They entered the year generating buzz and hoping to snap a bowl drought.

If fifth-year head coach Bruce Snyder’s team wanted to prove itself against college football’s best, the opportunity came on September 21, 1996, when the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers came to Tempe.

Nebraska wasn’t just any No. 1 team– they had won 26 straight games and 37 straight in the regular season.  Earlier that year, right there in Sun Devil Stadium, the Cornhuskers destroyed the second-ranked Florida Gators 62-24 to win their second consecutive National Championship.

The Huskers were coming off a 1995 season so dominant that only one team finished within three touchdowns.  ASU got a first-hand look at the Nebraska steamroller, when they were blown out 77-28 in Lincoln.

The Sun Devil faithful, however, were not intimidated.  A capacity crowd came out Saturday, September 26, for what was sure to be a special night at Sun Devil Stadium.  It was, after all, Frank Kush night and at halftime the field would be re-named after the Arizona State coaching legend.

The team itself was also bringing some electricity to the evening.  After edging Washington and blowing out North Texas, ASU found itself ranked No. 17 in the nation.  They had earned the right to look up into the stands and see a sea of maroon and gold washing out the spattering of Nebraska red.

The Sun Devils elected to receive, and they promptly rewarded their raucous supporters for their faith.  Senior quarterback Jake Plummer led the Devils down field and connected with Keith Poole for a 25-yard touchdown pass, the only touchdown in a classic game.  The Devils jumped ahead 7-0.

The crowd at Sun Devil stadium stood proud but cautious.  Their team had taken the fight to Nebraska and delivered the first blow.  But what did it actually mean?  Florida had scored on the game’s opening possession against the Cornhuskers earlier that year in the Fiesta Bowl and still lost by 38.

The offense had set the tone, now it was up to the Sun Devil defense to keep things rolling.  After surrendering the most points in the Pac-10 conference in 1995, including 77 to the Cornhuskers, the Sun Devil D had a chip on its shoulder. And they played like it.

After penalties backed Nebraska up to their own 5, the Sun Devil defensive line broke through Nebraska’s heavies, forcing a bad option pitch from quarterback Scott Frost to tailback Ahman Green. The Defense fought for the ball through the sideline of the end zone causing a safety, upping the Devils advantage to 9-0.

The energy flowing through the 73,000-plus in the stadium was electric, but even the most optimistic die-hard had to admit that a 9-point lead, less than five minutes in, was far from safe.  Nebraska averaged 52 points a game a year ago and topped that number in its first game of ’96.

The Huskers responded.  Mike Minter intercepted Plummer to end ASU’s ensuing drive.  Frost drove Nebraska 74 yards downfield to the Sun Devils’ 5-yard line. Still it seamed Nebraska was caught off guard by the pressure & force of the Sun Devil Defense. Another errant pitch attempt was recovered by ASU linebacker Scott Von der Ahe, and the Devils finished the first quarter with their 9-0 advantage intact.

In their previous matchup with Nebraska, the Sun Devils trailed by 28 after one.  Now the boisterous crowd was riding the high of a 37-point swing.  Gold pom-poms blotted out the pockets of red in the stands, and the team continued to feed on the enthusiasm of their 12th Man.

After a kicker, Robert NYC, connected on a 27-yard field goal, which made the game 12-0, ASU notched its second safety when linebacker #42, Pat Tillman tripped up Frost in the end zone. Nycz added another field goal, giving ASU a 17-0 lead at the half.

17 points was far from insurmountable for a team that dropped 63 points in a half on ASU last year, but the Sun Devils weren’t just leading Nebraska, they were dominating them.  Arizona State had out-gained the best team in the country by 217 yards in the first half and forced them into three punts, two safeties and a fumble.

Sun Devil Nation could officially begin to dream.

Given a 17-point lead, the Sun Devil defense continued to dig in and prove itself.  Nebraska got the ball to start the half, and they were quickly sent three and out.  The defense continue to set the tone in the Stadium after a halftime of Nebraska Coach Osborne’s strategy adjustments.

Jake Plummer made history in the third quarter when he claimed the school record for career passing yardage, but the second half would belong to the Sun Devil D.  They scored another 2 when Derrick Rodgers sacked Frost in the end zone for the Sun Devils’ third safety of the night.

The final blow came when the Devils forced another Nebraska fumble and Tillman jumped on the ball at the ASU 4 in the final minutes.  One year after surrendering 77 points to the Cornhuskers, the Sun Devil defense was able to deliver a shut out to a team that scored in all but one of its last 283 games.

As the final seconds ticked away, the pandemonium that had been building since before kickoff finally burst.  Fans stormed the newly-christened Frank Kush Field.  They tore down the goal posts and took them with them when they left.

Just as the team had made a statement that night, justifying the devotion of diehard fans, Sun Devil Nation itself made a statement.   Pride flowed through the streets that night throughout the area around Sun Devil Stadium and on Mill Avenue.  Tempe was officially Sun Devil Territory.

The Devils were 3-0 for the first time since 1982. That streak would continued through 9 more games all the way to the Rose Bowl where ASU missed out on its own National Championship when Ohio State scored in the final seconds in Pasadena.

The effects of the turnaround that began with Nebraska were felt far beyond the 1996 season.  The 1997 Rose Bowl berth not only snapped a string of nine-straight seasons without a bowl game, it began a string of nine bowls in the next 12 years.

In fact, hope from that stunning night still resonates with Devils everywhere in 2011.  ASU again finds itself an experienced team, coming off a six-win season and generating a  buzz.  Coach Dennis Erickson enters his fifth season looking to snap a three-year bowl drought.

On September 24th, 15-years after the Nebraska victory, ASU hosts USC. Although the Trojans may still be reeling from their scandal and sanctions, they have beaten the Sun Devils in the last 11 match-ups. An ASU victory that night means a lot of things, but most importantly, it would continue to prove to the fans that Arizona State’s football program is in fact, different than years past. It would again secure it’s reputation as an elite team in the new PAC12 and earn it’s national attention.

15 years ago, Sun Devil Stadium was at capacity. The players felt it and gave the fans their absolute best. Where will you be Saturday night?