Nebraska Cornhuskers football

Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Current season
First season	1890
Athletic director	Tom Osborne
Head coach	Bo Pelini
	4th year, 38–14  (.731)
Other staff	Tim Beck Ron Brown Barney Cotton Ross Els Rich Fisher John Garrison John Papuchis Carl Pelini Corey Raymond
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
Stadium capacity	81,067 Record: 86,304[1]
Stadium surface	FieldTurf
Location	Lincoln, Nebraska
Conference	Big Ten
Division	Legends
Past conferences	Big 12 Big 6/7/8 MVIAA WIUFA
All-time record	844–348–40 (.701)
Postseason bowl record	24–23
Claimed national titles	5
Conference titles	43
Heisman winners	3
Consensus All-Americans	53[2]
Current uniform
Colors	Scarlet and cream
Fight song	There is No Place Like Nebraska, Hail Varsity
Mascot	Herbie Husker, Lil' Red
Marching band	Cornhusker Marching Band (The Pride of All Nebraska)
Rivals	Oklahoma Sooners(former)
Website	huskers.com

The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A history to win 800 or more games.^[3] The Cornhuskers are the winning-est college football program over the last 50 years, both by winning percentage and number of wins.^[4] In 2011 Nebraska switched conference membership from the Big 12 to the Big Ten Conference.

History

Husker football began play in 1890, with a 10–0 victory over the Omaha YMCA on Thanksgiving Day, November 27.^[5] During the early years of the program, the team had a number of nicknames: "Bugeaters", "Tree Planters", "Nebraskans", "The Rattlesnake Boys", "Antelopes", "Old Gold Knights" and "Cornhuskers". The name Cornhuskers first appeared in the school newspaper as "We Have Met The Cornhuskers And They Are Ours" referring to a 20–18 upset victory over Iowa in 1893. The name would be used again, this time to refer to Nebraska by Charles "Cy" Sherman in The Nebraska State Journal during the 1899 season and would replace all other names by 1900.^[6]

Nebraska has claimed 43 conference championships and part or all of five national championships: 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997. The titles in the 1990s marked the first time since Notre Dame in 1946–49 when a team won three national championships in four seasons. The 1994 and 1995 seasons still stand as the only consensus back-to-back national titles by any Division 1-A school since Oklahoma in 1956-57. Nebraska posted a 60–3–0 record between the 1993-97 seasons. ESPN.com has named the 1995 Nebraska Cornhusker team the greatest team of all time.^[7] Fan voting has consistently pegged the 1995 Cornhuskers as the greatest college football team in history.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers also have five undefeated seasons when they were not the national champions; 1902, 1903, 1913, 1914, and 1915. Between 1912 and 1916, a 34-game unbeaten streak was recorded by then head coach Ewald O. Stiehm.^[8]

Famous former Huskers include Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, and Eric Crouch. Rodgers was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and for the new millennium he was voted the team's "Player of the Century"; his Cornhusker jersey (No. 20) was retired. Rozier was likewise inducted into the hall in 2006. Other Husker players and coaches who are members of the College Football Hall of Fame include: Forrest Behm, Bob Brown, Guy Chamberlin, Sam Francis, Rich Glover, Wayne Meylan, Bobby Reynolds, Dave Rimington, George Sauer, Clarence Swanson, Ed Weir, Grant Wistrom, and coaches Gomer Jones, Pete Elliott, Francis Schmidt, Dana X. Bible, Bob Devaney, Biff Jones, Tom Osborne, Eddie "Robbie" Robinson, and Fielding H. Yost.^[9]

Historically, the rivalry between Nebraska and Oklahoma often carried league championship and occasional national championship implications. The teams regularly battled for the Big Eight Conference title until 1996, when the conference was absorbed by the new Big 12 Conference. Out of the Big Eight's 89 year history, Nebraska or Oklahoma won or shared the conference championship 71 times.^[10] The Cornhuskers and Sooners also played several games during the 1970s and 1980s that decided the national championship.^[11]

Nebraska before a game versus Southern California prior to stadium renovation in 2009

The Husker defense is known by the nickname of the "Blackshirts." Depictions of the Blackshirts often include a skull and crossbones. This nickname originated in the early 1960s and continued as a reference to the black practice jerseys worn by first-string defensive players during practice. This tradition developed when Bob Devaney had Mike Corgan, one of his assistant coaches, find contrastive jerseys to offset the red jerseys worn by the offense in practice.^[12] Further credit is given to George Kelly, Devaney's defensive line coach until 1968, who frequently referred to the top defensive unit by the name; eventually the rest of the coaching staff caught on, while the first mention of the Blackshirts in print was not until 1969.

Since the 1994 season, Nebraska's home games have opened with the Tunnel Walk. Before the team enters, the HuskerVision screens light up with a burst of computer animation, and "Sirius" (an instrumental by The Alan Parsons Project) blares from the speakers. Accompanied by cheers from the crowd, the Huskers take the field. When the Cornhuskers play at home in Memorial Stadium, the stadium holds more people than the third-largest city in Nebraska. They currently hold the record for the most consecutive sold out home games, which celebrated its 318th sellout on November 25, 2011 when the Huskers will play host to the University of Iowa. The sellout streak dates back to November 3, 1962 during Bob Devaney's first season at Nebraska. The Huskers lost the first game in the current streak, a Homecoming game, to Missouri 16–7; 36,501 fans were in attendance.^[13][14]

On June 11, 2010, Nebraska announced that its regents unanimously voted to end the university's affiliation with the Big 12 Conference to join the Big Ten Conference beginning with the 2011 season.^[15][16][17]

Logos and uniforms

Nebraska has worn traditional uniforms throughout its history. The first helmet was red, with a white stripe. This was later changed to a plain white helmet with a black number on the side. During 1967–1969, a red, offset "NU" was placed on each side of the helmet. From 1970, the "NU" was changed to the simple, familiar "N" that remains today, although it is thought a few "NU" helmets remained in use as late as 1972.

The helmet design has remained essentially unchanged since 1970, with the exception of the face mask, as it was changed from grey to red prior to the 1982 Orange Bowl game against Clemson.

The jerseys have only been altered a few times, with the addition of shoulder stripes and numbers. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Huskers wore full shoulder stripes reminiscent of those worn by the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. These were gradually phased out when mesh and tearaway jerseys became popular. For the 1974 Cotton Bowl Classic, the jersey has the script "Nebraska" embroidered onto the front. From 1980–1983, Nebraska's jerseys featured just a simple block "N" on the sleeves. In 1984, two sleeve stripes and sleeve numbers were added back to the uniform, where they essentially remain today, although the stripes and numbers have decreased in size as jersey sleeves have shortened over the years.

Shoulder patches were added to the jerseys beginning in 1989, with a patch that commemorated the 100th season of Nebraska football. The following season, a patch with "Nebraska Football: A Winning Tradition" embroidered on it was added above the left breast of the jersey. In 1999 a new version of this patch debuted and it has remained there to date.

Names began appearing on the backs of the jerseys for bowl games beginning in the 1970s. Around 1980, the players' names began appearing on the road jerseys. The home jerseys remained nameless except for when worn during bowl games, with one exception. A brief tradition was established for the last home game of each season, where seniors (playing their final game in Memorial Stadium) were allowed to wear names on their jerseys; underclassmen, however, did not. This explains why footage of many Oklahoma-Nebraska games played in Lincoln during this era feature some Nebraska players with names on their jerseys and some without. From approximately 1988 onwards, names were permanently affixed to the home jersey, where they remain.

The team traditionally wears white pants at home and red on the road, although there have been exceptions. Nebraska donned red pants with red jerseys for the first (and to date, only) time in school history for its 1986 contest against Oklahoma. Nebraska led this game for 58½ minutes before losing a 20-17 heartbreaker due to some late OU heroics, and the combination was deemed to be unlucky.

Nebraska began periodically donning all-white, beginning with the 1991 Citrus Bowl game against Georgia Tech (a game in which they were blown out, 45-21). They next tried the combo during the 1992 season, wearing all-white for the first three road games of that year. They lost two of the three, including an embarrassing 19-10 decision to an unranked Iowa State squad. The combination was not tried again until the ill-fated 2002 uniform (see next paragraph) and was also worn during Bill Callahan's last game as head coach (another embarrassing loss, this time 65-51 to Colorado). As a result, Husker fans typically associate the all-white look with losing and tend to prefer the red road pants.

From 1968 to 1994, the pants had two stripes down each side. Originally they were thin stripes, but became thicker sometime in the mid-1970s.These were removed prior to the 1995 season, and the pants remained stripe-less until 2001. For the 2002 season, Nebraska experimented with side panels on the jersey and pants, and went to all white permanently on the road. The look was overwhelmingly disliked by most fans, presumably because the Huskers went 7-7, which was at the time their worst season in 40 years. In 2003, Nebraska returned to a look similar to the one they wore from 1995–2001. In 2004, the two pant stripes returned to the uniform, where they have remained since.

On September 26, 2009, for the first time in school history, the Cornhuskers wore "throwback" uniforms from 1962 in honor of Nebraska's 300th consecutive sell out. Adidas is the official shoe and uniform sponsor of Nebraska athletics.

For the 2010 season, the numbers on the outside of the shoulder were placed on the top of the shoulder pads, similar to the style of the late 1970s.

Coaching

The early years (1890-1917)

The Nebraska football program started strong and experienced success from the very beginning, going twenty-eight years straight with only a single losing season. Until the 1-7-1 losing season in 1899 in coach A. Edwin Branch's only year at the helm, Nebraska had compiled a 40-18-3 (0.680) record.

Nebraska's 4th coach, Frank Crawford (1893–1894, 9-4-1, 0.679) was the first paid head football coach at Nebraska. Eddie "Robbie" Robinson (1896–1897, 11-4-1, 0.719) and Fielding H. Yost (1898, 8-3-0, 0.727), the sixth and seventh head coaches, were the earliest Nebraska coaches to eventually be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Walter C. Booth (1900–1905, 46-8-1, 0.845) was the program's 9th leader, and had the second-best career record spanning more than a year during this era, bested only by Ewald O. Stiehm (1911–1915, 35-2-3, 0.913), who won the conference title in all five of his seasons and whose winning percentage as Nebraska's 12th head coach remains an all-time program best.

A brief slump (1918-1920)

When the United States became involved in World War I, many young men went off to war, depleting the ranks of football teams nationwide. In addition, travel was severely restricted, causing the cancellation of numerous scheduled football games. Further complicated by the effects of the 1918 flu pandemic, the 1918 college football season was severely impacted.

William G. Kline led Nebraska through the stunted 1918 season, managing a 2-3-1 (0.417) record. Henry Schulte (1919–1920, 8-6-3, 0.559), with thirteen years as a coach at other schools before arriving at Nebraska, managed over the next two years to barely attain a winning record as the program recovered from the war and aftermath. Although Schulte stepped down as head football coach after 1920, he remained at Nebraska to coach other sports and as an assistant football coach through 1938.

Climb back to dominance (1921-1941)

By the end of the post-war slump, Nebraska had been led by fifteen head coaches over thirty-one years, but a new period of relative stability followed as Nebraska once again experienced success in college football.

Fred Dawson (1921–1924, 23-7-2, 0.750) arrived at Nebraska after stints at Columbia, Denver, and Virginia. In his four years he won three conference titles and compiled the best record from this era, though it was nearly matched by the two coaches to follow him.

First-time head coach Ernest E. Bearg (1925–1928, 23-7-3, 0.742) pulled in a title in his final season before handing over the team to Dana X. Bible (1929–1936, 50-15-7, 0.743). Bible had an established reputation after fifteen years of experience as head coach, bringing in five Southwest Conference titles for Texas A&M, and his success continued as he led Nebraska to six more conference titles in his eight seasons.

Biff Jones (1937–1941, 28-14-4, 0.652) was not as successful as his predecessors, yet still was a winning coach who claimed two titles in his tenure and brought Nebraska to their first ever bowl game, a loss to Stanford in the 1941 Rose Bowl. The following year, as the nation began to more fully be drawn closer to involvement in World War II, the program set a new record low with five straight midseason losses. One week after the final game of the season, Japan carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor. The country was again at war. Many thousands of young men joined the armed forces and were soon shipped abroad, as Nebraska's fortunes once again headed into a downturn.

Slide into obscurity (1942-1961)

Nebraska was led by three head coaches during the war years, with a scarcity of players available as so many of the country's young men were abroad and at war. By 1945, the year the war ended, the Cornhuskers recorded a losing 11-24-0 (0.314) record.

The situation did not improve after the war, as Bernie Masterson (1946–1947, 5-13-0, 0.250) recorded the worst head coach career winning percentage ever compiled at Nebraska in his first and only head football coaching appointment. Previous head coach George Clark (1945 & 1948, 6-13-0, 0.316), a veteran of both world wars with an extensive coaching pedigree and who led Nebraska in the final war season of 1945, returned as Nebraska's coach for 1948 temporarily as a search was made for his successor, prior to his ascension to Athletic Director at Nebraska.

Clark hired Bill Glassford (1949–1955, 50-40-4, 0.471), and Nebraska's performance improved somewhat over previous years, especially after the 6-2-1 1950 season, and Nebraska's second-ever bowl appearance, a 7-34 loss to Duke in the 1955 Orange Bowl.

Following Glassford, Pete Elliott, a star quarterback who led Michigan to the 1948 national championship, arrived at Nebraska for his first ever head coaching appointment. Although he would go on to achieve successes later in his career, he recorded a 4-6-0 (0.400) record in his one year at Nebraska. His replacement, Bill Jennings (1957–1961, 15-34-1, 0.310) fared even worse at the helm, his final career record with the Cornhuskers being the lowest of all but three of Nebraska's coaches.

The Devaney and Osborne dynasties (1962-1997)

Bob Devaney (1962–1972, 101-20-2, 0.829) brought about an immediate turnaround in the fortunes of Nebraska football. He led Nebraska to a 9-2 record in his first season, including Nebraska's first ever bowl win against Miami in the 1962 Gotham Bowl. This was the first of what would eventually be 40 consecutive winning seasons, and Nebraska's NCAA-record ongoing sellout streak began in the seventh game of this season. After five straight bowl game seasons, Devaney's squad suffered two 6–4 years in a row in 1967 and 1968, prompting a change in philosophy suggested by offensive assistant Tom Osborne, who would also advance to Offensive Coordinator the following season. Over the next four seasons, Nebraska suffered just four losses, amassed an overall 42-4-2 (0.896) record, won the conference title in each year, and secured Nebraska's first and second national championships.

Devaney stepped down after the 1972 season and took over the duties of Nebraska's Athletic Director. Osborne (1973–1997, 255-49-3, 0.836) subsequently became Nebraska's longest-tenured and all-time winningest coach, who also became the NCAA's fifth most winning Division 1-A coach in history over the course of his 25 years at the helm. Osborne never won fewer than nine games in any of his seasons, secured thirteen conference titles, and brought Nebraska three more national championships while going 60-3 over his final five seasons.

The Post Osborne era (1998-present)

Upon Osborne's retirement, the program was handed over to coaching assistant Frank Solich (1998–2003, 58-19, 0.753), who also had played for Nebraska 1963-1965. In his six seasons, Solich won one Big 12 North Division title, an outright conference championship, and took the Cornhuskers to the 2001 National Championship game. After Solich's only non-winning season at Nebraska, a 7-7 campaign in 2002, Solich changed his approach much as Devaney had done after 1968, and made changes to his assistant coaching staff. The turnaround appeared successful, as Solich's 2003 team went 9-3 in the regular season. However, second-year Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson fired Solich before the bowl game, justifying the move by stating he would not "let Nebraska gravitate into mediocrity" and would not "surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma and Texas".^[18] Solich's defensive coordinator, Bo Pelini, hired in the 2002 staffing shakeup, was appointed interim coach and led the Cornhuskers to a 17-3 Alamo Bowl win over Michigan State to close out the 2003 Nebraska season with a 10-3 record.

Although Pelini interviewed for the position as permanent replacement, ultimately former Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan (2004–2007, 27-22, 0.551) was named as Solich's successor. Callahan's mandate to prevent Nebraska's decline was not immediately successful, as he installed the West Coast offense made popular in the NFL. His 2004 first-year record of 5-6 was Nebraska's first losing season since 1961. The 8-4 2005 season showed improvement, and Nebraska's 9-5 record in 2006 accompanied a conference division title. However, in 2007, Nebraska dropped five games in a row for the first time since 1958, including a record-setting 76-39 loss to Kansas. Pederson was fired as athletic director in the middle of the five-game slide, and Tom Osborne returned from his political career to fill in as interim athletic director. Callahan subsequently put up just one more win, against Kansas State, before closing the season with a 51-65 loss to Colorado. In four years, Callahan had achieved the lowest winning percentage by a Nebraska head coach in 46 years, and Osborne fired him the following day.

Cornhusker fans during a 2009 season home game hosting Kansas State

Osborne selected Bo Pelini (2008–present, 30-12, 0.715 as of the end of the 2010 season) to return to Nebraska as the 32nd head coach of the Cornhuskers. Pelini's first team tied for the division title and went 9-4 on the season, which was the best season record among all twenty-eight first-season coaches in college football's FBS division. In 2009, Nebraska led the nation in scoring defense, finishing 10-4 with another division championship and a #14 overall ranking. Following the 2009 season, Pelini was given his second raise and contract extension. In 2010, Nebraska again finished 10-4 with another division championship and a #20 overall ranking.

Current coaching staff

Name	Title	First year in this position	Years at Nebraska	Alma Mater
Bo Pelini	Head Coach	2008	2003, 2008-	Ohio State
Carl Pelini	Defensive Coordinator Defensive Line	2008	2003, 2008-	Youngstown State
Tim Beck	Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks	2011	2008-	Central Florida
Ron Brown	Running Backs	2011	1987–2003, 2008-	Brown
Barney Cotton	Associate Head Coach Offensive Line	2008	2003, 2008-	Nebraska
Ross Els	Linebackers	2011	2011-	Nebraska-Omaha
Rich Fisher	Wide Receivers	2011	2011	Colorado
John Garrison	Offensive Line Tight Ends	2011	2011	Nebraska
John Papuchis	Defensive Ends Special Teams Recruiting Coordinator	2008	2008-	Virginia Tech
Corey Raymond	Secondary	2011	2011-	LSU
Jeff Jamrog	Assistant AD for Football	2008	1988–1989, 2000–2003, 2008-	Nebraska
James Dobson	Strength and Conditioning	2008	2008-	Wisconsin
Vince Marrow	Graduate Assistant	2011	2011-	Youngstown State
T. J. Hollowell	Graduate Assistant	2011	2011-	Nebraska

^{[19][20][21][22][23][24]}

Bowl results * - Denotes National title Date played Winning team Losing team notes January 1, 1941 Stanford 21 Nebraska 13 1941 Rose Bowl January 1, 1955 Duke 34 Nebraska 7 1955 Orange Bowl December 15, 1962 Nebraska 36 Miami 34 1962 Gotham Bowl January 1, 1964 Nebraska 13 Auburn 7 1964 Orange Bowl January 1, 1965 Arkansas 10 Nebraska 7 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic January 1, 1966 Alabama 39 Nebraska 28 1966 Orange Bowl January 2, 1967 Alabama 34 Nebraska 7 1967 Sugar Bowl December 20, 1969 Nebraska 45 Georgia 6 1969 Sun Bowl January 1, 1971 Nebraska 17 LSU 12 1971 Orange Bowl* January 1, 1972 Nebraska 38 Alabama 6 1972 Orange Bowl* January 1, 1973 Nebraska 40 Notre Dame 6 1973 Orange Bowl January 1, 1974 Nebraska 19 Texas 3 1974 Cotton Bowl Classic December 31, 1974 Nebraska 13 Florida 10 1974 Sugar Bowl December 26, 1975 Arizona State 17 Nebraska 14 1975 Fiesta Bowl December 31, 1976 Nebraska 27 Texas Tech 24 1976 Bluebonnet Bowl December 19, 1977 Nebraska 21 North Carolina 17 1977 Liberty Bowl January 1, 1979 Oklahoma 31 Nebraska 24 1979 Orange Bowl January 1, 1980 Houston 17 Nebraska 14 1980 Cotton Bowl Classic December 27, 1980 Nebraska 31 Mississippi State 17 1980 Sun Bowl January 1, 1982 Clemson 22 Nebraska 15 1982 Orange Bowl January 1, 1983 Nebraska 21 LSU 20 1983 Orange Bowl January 2, 1984 Miami 31 Nebraska 30 1984 Orange Bowl January 1, 1985 Nebraska 28 LSU 10 1985 Sugar Bowl January 1, 1986 Michigan 27 Nebraska 23 1986 Fiesta Bowl January 1, 1987 Nebraska 30 LSU 15 1987 Sugar Bowl January 1, 1988 Florida State 31 Nebraska 28 1988 Fiesta Bowl January 2, 1989 Miami 23 Nebraska 3 1989 Orange Bowl January 1, 1990 Florida State 41 Nebraska 17 1990 Fiesta Bowl January 1, 1991 Georgia Tech 45 Nebraska 21 1991 Citrus Bowl January 1, 1992 Miami 22 Nebraska 0 1992 Orange Bowl January 1, 1993 Florida State 27 Nebraska 14 1993 Orange Bowl January 1, 1994 Florida State 18 Nebraska 16 1994 Orange Bowl January 1, 1995 Nebraska 24 Miami 17 1995 Orange Bowl* January 2, 1996 Nebraska 62 Florida 24 1996 Fiesta Bowl* December 31, 1996 Nebraska 41 Virginia Tech 21 1996 Orange Bowl January 2, 1998 Nebraska 42 Tennessee 17 1998 Orange Bowl* December 30, 1998 Arizona 23 Nebraska 20 1998 Holiday Bowl January 2, 2000 Nebraska 31 Tennessee 21 2000 Fiesta Bowl December 30, 2000 Nebraska 66 Northwestern 17 2000 Alamo Bowl January 3, 2002 Miami 37 Nebraska 14 2002 Rose Bowl December 27, 2002 Mississippi 27 Nebraska 23 2002 Independence Bowl December 29, 2003 Nebraska 17 Michigan State 3 2003 Alamo Bowl December 28, 2005 Nebraska 32 Michigan 28 2005 Alamo Bowl January 1, 2007 Auburn 17 Nebraska 14 2007 Cotton Bowl Classic January 1, 2009 Nebraska 26 Clemson 21 2009 Gator Bowl December 30, 2009 Nebraska 33 Arizona 0 2009 Holiday Bowl December 30, 2010 Washington 19 Nebraska 7 2010 Holiday Bowl

Season results Year Record Final AP Poll Ranking 2010 10-4 #20 2009 10-4 #14 2008 9-4 NR 2007 5-7 NR 2006 9-5 NR 2005 8-4 #24 2004 5-6 NR 2003 10-3 #18 2002 7-7 NR 2001 11-2 #7 2000 10-2 #7 1999 12-1 #3 1998 9-4 #19 1997 13-0 #2 1996 11-2 #6 1995 12-0 #1 1994 13-0 #1 1993 11-1 #3 1992 9-3 #14 1991 9-2-1 #15 1990 9-3 #17 1989 10-2 #11 1988 11-2 #10 1987 10-2 #6 1986 10-2 #4 1985 9-3 #10 1984 10-2 #3 1983 12-1 #2 1982 12-1 #3 1981 9-3 #9 1980 10-2 #7 1979 10-2 #7 1978 9-3 #8 1977 9-3 #10 1976 9-3-1 #7 1975 10-2 #9 1974 9-3 #7 1973 9-2-1 #7 1972 9-2-1 #4 1971 13-0 #1 1970 11-0-1 #1 1969 9-2 #11 1968 6-4 NR 1967 6-4 NR 1966 9-2 #6 1965 10-1 #3 1964 9-2 #6 1963 10-1 #5 1962 9-2 NR 1961 3-6-1 NR 1960 4-6 NR

National championship seasons

Nebraska huddling before a game versus Texas

Year	Coach	Selector	Record	Bowl
1970¹	Bob Devaney	AP	11-0-1	Won Orange
1971	Bob Devaney	AP, Coaches	13-0	Won Orange
1994	Tom Osborne	AP, Coaches	13-0	Won Orange
1995	Tom Osborne	AP, Coaches	12-0	Won Fiesta
1997²	Tom Osborne	Coaches	13-0	Won Orange
Total national championships – 5

1. Shared with Texas*
2. Shared with Michigan

* Texas retained a #1 ranking in the UPI Poll despite a 24-11 loss to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Classic, since the UPI at that time released its final rankings prior to bowl games. Nebraska was #1 in the final AP Poll, conducted after the bowl games.

Series records

All-Time Record: 844–348–40 (.701)
Updated November 19, 2011

Division I opponents

Opponent	Record	Last Year Played
Air Force	1-1	1965
Akron	1-0	1997
Alabama	2-3	1978
Alabama-Birmingham	1-0	1998
Arizona	1-1-1	2009
Arizona State	6-2	2002
Arkansas	0-1	1964
Arkansas State	1-0	2009
Army	3-2	1972
Auburn	3-1	2006
Ball State	1-0	2007
Baylor	11-1	2009
California	3-0	1999
Central Florida	1-0	1997
Cincinnati	1-0	1906
Clemson	1-1	2008
Colgate	1-0	1924
Colorado	49-18-2	2010
Colorado State	6-0	1996
Duke	0-1	1954
Florida	2-0	1995
Florida Atlantic	1-0	2009
Florida State	2-6	1993
Fresno State	1-0	2011
Georgia	1-0	1969
Georgia Tech	0-1	1990
Hawaii	5-1	1982
Houston	0-1	1980
Idaho	1-0	2010
Illinois	7-2-1	1986
Indiana	7-9-3	1978
Iowa	26-12-3	2000
Iowa State	86-17-2	2010
Kansas	91-23-3	2010
Kansas State	78-15-2	2010
Louisiana-Lafayette	1-0	2009
Louisiana State	5-0-1	1986
Louisiana Tech	2-0	2006
Maine	1-0	2005
McNeese State	1-0	2002
Miami (FL)	5-5	2002
Michigan	2-4-1	2011
Michigan State	6-0	2011
Middle Tennessee State	1-0	1992
Minnesota	21-29-2	2011
Mississippi	0-1	2002
Mississippi State	1-0	1980
Missouri	65-36-3	2010
Nevada	1-0	2007
New Mexico	1-0	1985
New Mexico State	3-0	2008
Nicholls State	1-0	2006
North Carolina	1-0	1977
North Carolina State	2-0	1973
North Texas	1-0	1993
Northern Illinois	2-0	1990
Northwestern	3-2	2011
Notre Dame	8-7-1	2001
Ohio State	1-2	2011
Oklahoma	38-45-3	2010
Oklahoma State	37-5-1	2010
Oregon	5-1	1986
Oregon State	9-2	1990
Pacific	2-0	1995
Penn State	7-7	2011
Pittsburgh	6-15-3	2005
Purdue	0-1	1958
Rice	1-0	2001
Rutgers	1-0	1920
San Jose State	2-0	2008
South Carolina	3-0	1987
South Dakota State	2-0	2010
Southern California	0-3-1	2007
Southern Methodist	1-0-1	1932
Southern Mississippi	2-1	2004
Stanford	0-1	1941
Syracuse	5-7	1984
Tennessee	2-0	1999
Tennessee-Chattanooga	1-0	2011
Texas	4-10	2010
Texas A&M	10-4	2010
Texas Christian	6-1	2001
Texas Tech	7-4	2009
Troy	4-0	2006
UCLA	6-4	1994
UNLV	1-0	1988
Utah	4-0	1992
Utah State	8-0	2003
Virginia Tech	1-2	2009
Wake Forest	3-0	2007
Washington	5-4-1	2011
Washington State	1-3	1995
Western Illinois	1-0	2004
Western Kentucky	1-0	2010
Western Michigan	1-0	2008
West Virginia	1-0	1994
Wisconsin	3-3	2011
Wyoming	6-0	2011

Individual award winners

Players

Heisman Trophy Johnny Rodgers - 1972 Mike Rozier - 1983 Eric Crouch- 2001 Walter Camp Award Johnny Rodgers - 1972 Mike Rozier - 1983 Eric Crouch - 2001 Maxwell Award Mike Rozier - 1983 AP Player of the Year Ndamukong Suh - 2009

Davey O'Brien Award Eric Crouch - 2001 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Tommie Frazier - 1995 Dave Rimington Trophy Dominic Raiola - 2000 Dick Butkus Award Trev Alberts - 1993 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Ndamukong Suh - 2009 Chuck Bednarik Award Ndamukong Suh - 2009

Lombardi Award Rich Glover - 1972 Dave Rimington - 1982 Dean Steinkuhler - 1983 Grant Wistrom - 1997 Ndamukong Suh - 2009 Outland Trophy Larry Jacobson - 1971 Rich Glover - 1972 Dave Rimington - 1981, 1982 Dean Steinkuhler - 1983 Will Shields - 1992 Zach Wiegert - 1994 Aaron Taylor - 1997 Ndamukong Suh - 2009

Coaches

• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award

Bob Devaney - 1971

• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award

Tom Osborne - 1999 (Recognized as coach of the decade)

• Paul "Bear" Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award

Tom Osborne - 2008

Nebraska All-Century Football Team

All-century team members were selected via an online poll hosted at huskerwebcast.com during the 1999 football season.

Offense QB - Tommie Frazier (1992–1995) IB - Mike Rozier (1981–83) IB - Roger Craig (1979–82) FB - Tom Rathman (1983–85) FB - Joel Makovicka (1995–98) WR - Irving Fryar (1981–83) WR - Johnny Rodgers (1970–72) TE - Junior Miller (1977–79) OT - Bob Newton (1969–70) OG - Will Shields (1989–92) OC - Dave Rimington (1979–82) OG/C - Aaron Taylor (1994–97) OG - Dean Steinkuhler (1981–83) OT- Zach Wiegert (1991–94)

Defense DE - Grant Wistrom (1994–97) NT - Rich Glover (1970–72) DE/OLB - Trev Alberts (1990–93) DE/OLB - Broderick Thomas (1985–88) LB - Marc Munford (1984–86) LB - Ed Stewart (1991–94) LB - Tom Novak (1946–49) CB - Michael Booker (1994–96) CB - Ralph Brown (1996–99) ROV - Mike Brown (1996–99) ROV - Mike Minter (1993–96)

Special Teams PK - Kris Brown (1995–98) P - Jesse Kosch (1994–97) KR - Tyrone Hughes (1989–92) PR - Johnny Rodgers (1970–72)

Nebraska's All-Time Team

As selected by Athlon Sports in 2002.^[25]

Offense WR Johnny Rodgers 1970-72 E Guy Chamberlin 1914-15 TE Tracey Wistrom 1998–2001 OL Bob Brown 1961-63 OL Zach Wiegert 1991-94 OL Dave Rimington 1979-82 OL Dean Steinkuhler 1981-83 OL Will Shields 1989-91 OL Aaron Taylor 1994-97 QB Tommie Frazier 1992-95 RB Mike Rozier 1981-83 RB Bobby Reynolds 1950-52 FB George Sauer 1931-33 K Alex Henery 2007-10

Defense DL Willie Harper 1970-72 DL Ed Weir 1923-25 DL Larry Jacobson 1969-71 DL Rich Glover 1970-72 DL Wayne Meylan 1965-67 DL Grant Wistrom 1994-97 LB Tom Novak 1946-49 LB Jerry Murtaugh 1968-70 LB Trev Alberts 1990-93 DB Dana Stephenson 1967-69 DB Larry Wachholtz 1964-66 DB Pat Fischer 1958-60 DB Dave Butterfield 1974-76 DB Ralph Brown 1996-99 P Alex Henery 2007–2010

Retired Jerseys/Numbers

Nebraska has only retired three jersey numbers, generally retiring the player's jersey itself rather than the jersey number.

Retired jersey numbers

• #20 Johnny Rodgers (1970–1972)†
• #60 Tom Novak (1946–1949)
• #64 Bob Brown (1961–1963)

† Rodgers permitted his #20 jersey number to be worn by his son Terry, who played for Nebraska from 1986–1990. Marlon Lucky also wore this number before changing his number to 5. Michael Booker wore 20 for his entire career

Retired player jerseys

Outside of Memorial Stadium on the University of Nebraska Campus in Lincoln, Nebraska

• #7 Eric Crouch (1998–2001)
• #15 Tommie Frazier (1992–1995)
• #30 Mike Rozier (1981–1983)
• #34 Trev Alberts (1990–1993)
• #50 Dave Rimington (1979–1982)
• #54 Dominic Raiola (1998–2000)
• #67 Aaron Taylor (1994–1997)
• #71 Dean Steinkuhler (1980–1983)
• #72 Zach Wiegert (1991–1993)
• #75 Larry Jacobson (1969–1971)
• #75 Will Shields (1989–1992)
• #79 Rich Glover (1970–1972)
• #93 Ndamukong Suh (2005–2009)
• #98 Grant Wistrom (1994–1997)

^{[26][27][28][29][30]}

Current NFL Players

^[31][32]

• Prince Amukamara - Cornerback, New York Giants
• Larry Asante - Safety, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Zackary Bowman - Cornerback, Chicago Bears
• Stewart Bradley - Linebacker, Arizona Cardinals
• Josh Brown - Placekicker, St. Louis Rams
• Adam Carriker - Defensive Tackle, Washington Redskins
• DeJon Gomes - Safety, Washington Redskins
• Eric Hagg - Safety, Cleveland Browns
• Roy Helu - Running Back, Washington Redskins
• Alex Henery - Placekicker, Philadelphia Eagles
• Ricky Henry - Offensive Guard, Chicago Bears
• Russ Hochstein - Offensive Guard, Denver Broncos
• Gene Huey - Running backs coach, Indianapolis Colts
• Richie Incognito - Offensive Guard, Miami Dolphins
• Brandon Jackson - Running Back, Cleveland Browns
• DJ Jones - Offensive Guard, Miami Dolphins
• Chris Kelsay - Defensive End, Buffalo Bills
• Sam Koch - Punter, Baltimore Ravens
• Mike McNeill - Tight End, Indianapolis Colts
• Lydon Murtha - Offensive Tackle, Miami Dolphins
• Carl Nicks - Offensive Guard, New Orleans Saints
• Niles Paul - Wide Receiver, Washington Redskins
• Zach Potter - Tight End, Jacksonville Jaguars
• Dominic Raiola - Center, Detroit Lions
• Tom Rathman - Running backs coach, San Francisco 49ers
• Barrett Ruud - Linebacker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Scott Shanle - Linebacker, New Orleans Saints
• Matt Slauson - Guard, New York Jets
• Ndamukong Suh - Defensive Tackle, Detroit Lions
• Barry Turner - Defensive End, Detroit Lions
• Kyle Vanden Bosch - Defensive End, Detroit Lions
• Fabian Washington - Cornerback, Baltimore Ravens
• Demorrio Williams - Linebacker, Kansas City Chiefs

2020-2021 proposed Oklahoma series

Oklahoma has offered to schedule Nebraska for a 2 season series for 2020 and 2021, but Nebraska has not been able to commit to the games. Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne cited the unknown status of future Big Ten Conference future schedules as the cause, explaining that Nebraska could not commit to an away game in a year where there may not be enough conference home games. Although a two-game Nebraska-Oklahoma series in 2020-2021 cannot yet be confirmed, both schools have indicated that it remains a possibility.^[33]

See also

• NCAA Division I-A national football champions
• List of Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches

References

1. ^ "Huskers Pepper Ragin' Cajuns". University of Nebraska. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=1&SPID=22&ATCLID=204797984&DB_OEM_ID=100. Retrieved 2010-10-12. 
2. ^ "Nebraska Football All-Americans". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB%20OEM%20ID=100&ATCLID=4554. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
3. ^ "NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records". NCAA. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/DI/2010/2010FBS.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
4. ^ "I-A Winning Percentage 1961-2010 (50 years)". Stassen.com College Football Information Database. http://football.stassen.com/cgi-bin/records/calc-wp.pl?start=1961&end=2010&rpct=30&min=5&se=on&by=Win+Pct. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
5. ^ "Husker Football History". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com//pdf5/40179.pdf?ATCLID=2722&SPSID=8&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
6. ^ "Origin of the Cornhusker Nickname". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=2802. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
7. ^ "Best college football teams of all time". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/colfootball/teams/best.html. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
8. ^ "Nebraska Football Schedules 1910-1919". HuskerMax. http://www.huskermax.com/allgames/1910s.html. Retrieved 2010-09-02. 
9. ^ "Major Football Award Winners". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=188&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=2803. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
10. ^ "Big Eight Conference Championships 1907–1995". Academic dictionaries and encyclopedias. http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/234934. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
11. ^ "Nebraska Football Series Records against 2006 Opponents". Huskers.com. http://www.huskersnside.com//pdf4/41191.pdf?SPSID=7&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=10. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
12. ^ "History of the Blackshirts". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=440&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=4435. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
13. ^ "Huskers to Celebrate 300th Consecutive Sellout with 1962 Throwback Uniforms". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=3757545. Retrieved 2010-09-26. 
14. ^ "Nebraska vs. Missouri 1962". HuskerMax. http://huskermax.com/games/1962/07missouri.html. Retrieved 2010-09-26. 
15. ^ "Perlman hopes to begin Big Ten athletics by 2011". Lincoln Journal Star. http://my.journalstar.com/post/Husker_Extra_Group/Husker_Extra/blog/perlman_hopes_to_begin_big_athletics_by_2011.html. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
16. ^ "Nebraska to the Big Ten". Omaha World-Herald. http://www.omaha.com/article/20100611/SPORTS/306119924/1141#nebraska-to-the-big-ten. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
17. ^ "It's unanimous: Nebraska to the Big Ten". Lincoln Journal Star. http://huskerextra.com/articles/2010/06/11/football/doc4c127efa8ecb6120679491.txt. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
18. ^ "Pederson fired; Nebraska chancellor cites lack of football progress". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3064861. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
19. ^ "Nebraska head coaches". HuskerMax. http://www.huskermax.com/coaches.html. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
20. ^ "Assistant coaches". HuskerMax. http://www.huskermax.com/coaches/assistants.html. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
21. ^ "Football Coaches". Huskers.com - University of Nebraska. http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?spid=22&spsid=2&db_oem_id=100. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
22. ^ "Pelini names 8 of 9 full-time assistants". Lincoln Journal-Star. http://journalstar.com/sports/football/college/article_c58f7401-016a-5443-96a8-4663fca187e2.html. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
23. ^ "Pelini Announces Husker Coaching Staff". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=1353332. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
24. ^ "Pelini confirms to AP reorganization of his staff". Associated Press. http://sports.ap.org/college-football/story?id=p65e3659641eb478c956b4923ba1cb901. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
25. ^ "Nebraska's All-Time Team". Athlon Sports. http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/8013/nebraskas-all-time-team. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
26. ^ "Nebraska's Retired jerseys". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=123. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
27. ^ "Bob Brown - Retired Jersey #64". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=186513&SPID=22&SPSID=1. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 
28. ^ "Retired Jersey: #20 - Johnny Rodgers". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=111&SPID=22&SPSID=4. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 
29. ^ "Retired Jersey: #60 - Tom Novak". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=112&SPID=22&SPSID=4. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 
30. ^ "Suh to Have Jersey Retired at Colorado Game". Huskers.com. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=205033274. Retrieved 2010-11-18. 
31. ^ "Nebraska Players in the NFL". NFLHuskers.com. http://nflhuskers.com/currentnflhuskers.html. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
32. ^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&KEY=&ATCLID=186555&SPID=22&SPSID=9. 
33. ^ "Osborne: Nebraska has offer to play OU in 2020-21". The Macon Telegraph. http://www.macon.com/2010/12/01/1361344/osborne-nebraska-has-offer-to.html. Retrieved 2010-12-07. 

External links

• Official website