This week’s Pregame Perspective is a bit of a reality check. We’ll soon be a quarter of the way through the 21st century. So in recognition of that fact, I decided to take a look at the last 25 years of Cornhusker football.

On a warm, sultry afternoon before the Nebraska-Northern Iowa football game, I asked 100 Husker fans in the Haymarket the following question: “Who is the best Husker football player of the past 25 years?”

I gave them these six picks: Ameer Abdullah, Rex Burkhead, Eric Crouch, Toniu Fonoti, Dominic Raiola and Ndamukong Suh.

Not surprisingly, it was an overwhelming vote for Suh. The Lombardi/Nagurski/Bednarik Award winner and Heisman finalist received 80 percent of the vote. Nearly everyone who picked Suh did so immediately when I asked my question. There was little hesitation. Suh became a household name after scoring two touchdowns on defense in 2008, then returned for his senior year and demolished every offense he faced in 2009. He had 85 tackles, including 12 sacks, and 20.5 tackles for loss despite routinely being double-teamed. The majority of Husker Nation would still tell you he was stripped of the 2009 Heisman Trophy.

Coming in second in the voting was Burkhead, the only player on the list never to be named All-America. Burkhead, an all-around talent as a running back, received 16 votes, at least a dozen of them from women, most of whom called him “Sexy Rexy.”

Crouch, the speedy quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy in 2001, received two votes, as did Abdullah, who led the Husker defense at the end of the Bo Pelini era.

Neither Dominic Raiola, who won the Rimington Trophy in 2000 as college football’s best center, nor Fonoti, who was an All-America first-team offensive guard in 2001, received a vote.

MORE: ‘A Gift’ for Nebraska Volleyball: Merritt Beason Leads Huskers to Win Over Arizona State

MORE: McMasters Keys to the Game: Nebraska Football vs. Northern Iowa

MORE: I-80 Club’s Saturday Morning Coffee: Nebraska Football Ends Non-Con

MORE: Nebraska Volleyball Burns Top 25 Opponent, Blows Away Arizona State

MORE: Gallery: Nebraska Volleyball Sweeps Arizona State

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers on SInext HuskerMax on Xand visiting HuskerMax.com daily.