Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Nebraska Cornhuskers football

The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, where it has sold out every game since 1960.[1] The team is coached by Matt Rhule.

Nebraska is among the most storied programs in college football history. Through 2019, the Cornhuskers rank seventh in all-time victories among FBS teams.[2] Nebraska claims 46 conference championships and five national championships (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997), and has won nine other national championships that the school does not claim.[3][4] NU's 1971 and 1995 title-winning teams are considered to be among the best in college football history.[5] Famous Cornhuskers include Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, and Eric Crouch, who join 22 other Cornhuskers in the College Football Hall of Fame. Notable among these are players Bob Brown, Guy Chamberlin, Tommie Frazier, Rich Glover, Dave Rimington, and Will Shields, and coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne.[6]

The program's first extended period of success came just after the turn of the century. Between 1900 and 1916, Nebraska had five undefeated seasons and completed a stretch of 34 consecutive games without a loss, still a program record.[7] Despite a span of 21 conference championships in 33 seasons, the Cornhuskers didn't experience major national success until Bob Devaney was hired in 1962. In eleven seasons as head coach, Devaney won two national championships, eight conference titles, and coached 22 All-Americans, but perhaps his most lasting achievement was the hiring of Tom Osborne as offensive coordinator in 1969.[8] Osborne was named Devaney's successor in 1973, and over the next 25 years established himself as one of the best coaches in college football history with his trademark I-form offense and revolutionary strength, conditioning, and nutrition programs.[9][10][11] Following Osborne's retirement in 1997, Nebraska cycled through four head coaches before hiring state native and 1997 National Championship quarterback Scott Frost in 2017.[12]

Nebraska has played in 53 bowl games, including an NCAA-record 35 straight from 1969 to 2003, with a record of 26–27.[13][14]

List of bowl games

National championship game Nebraska win Nebraska loss
No. Date Bowl Winning team Losing team
1 Jan. 1, 1941 Rose No. 2 Stanford 21 No. 7 Nebraska 13
2 Jan. 1, 1955 Orange No. 14 Duke 34 Nebraska 7
3 Dec. 15, 1962 Gotham Nebraska 36 Miami 34
4 Jan. 1, 1964 Orange No. 6 Nebraska 13 No. 5 Auburn 7
5 Jan. 1, 1965 Cotton No. 2 Arkansas 10 No. 6 Nebraska 7
6 Jan. 1, 1966 Orange No. 4 Alabama 39 No. 3 Nebraska 28
7 Jan. 2, 1967 Sugar No. 3 Alabama 34 No. 6 Nebraska 7
8 Dec. 20, 1969 Sun No. 14 Nebraska 45 Georgia 6
9 Jan. 1, 1971 Orange No. 3 Nebraska 17 No. 5 LSU 12
10 Jan. 1, 1972 Orange No. 1 Nebraska 38 No. 2 Alabama 6
11 Jan. 1, 1973 Orange No. 9 Nebraska 40 No. 12 Notre Dame 6
12 Jan. 1, 1974 Cotton No. 12 Nebraska 19 No. 8 Texas 3
13 Dec. 31, 1974 Sugar No. 8 Nebraska 13 No. 18 Florida 10
14 Dec. 26, 1975 Fiesta No. 7 Arizona State 17 No. 6 Nebraska 14
15 Dec. 31, 1976 Astro-Bluebonnet No. 13 Nebraska 27 No. 9 Texas Tech 24
16 Dec. 19, 1977 Liberty No. 12 Nebraska 21 No. 14 North Carolina 17
17 Jan. 1, 1979 Orange No. 4 Oklahoma 31 No. 6 Nebraska 24
18 Jan. 1, 1980 Cotton No. 8 Houston 17 No. 7 Nebraska 14
19 Dec. 27, 1980 Sun No. 8 Nebraska 31 No. 17 Mississippi State 17
20 Jan. 1, 1982 Orange No. 1 Clemson 22 No. 4 Nebraska 15
21 Jan. 1, 1983 Orange No. 3 Nebraska 21 No. 13 LSU 20
22 Jan. 2, 1984 Orange No. 5 Miami (FL) 31 No. 1 Nebraska 30
23 Jan. 1, 1985 Sugar No. 5 Nebraska 28 No. 11 LSU 10
24 Jan. 1, 1986 Fiesta No. 5 Michigan 27 No. 7 Nebraska 23
25 Jan. 1, 1987 Sugar No. 6 Nebraska 30 No. 5 LSU 15
26 Jan. 1, 1988 Fiesta No. 3 Florida State 31 No. 5 Nebraska 28
27 Jan. 2, 1989 Orange No. 2 Miami (FL) 23 No. 6 Nebraska 3
28 Jan. 1, 1990 Fiesta No. 5 Florida State 41 No. 6 Nebraska 17
29 Jan. 1, 1991 Florida Citrus No. 2 Georgia Tech 45 No. 19 Nebraska 21
30 Jan. 1, 1992 Orange No. 1 Miami (FL) 22 No. 11 Nebraska 0
31 Jan. 1, 1993 Orange No. 3 Florida State 27 No. 11 Nebraska 14
32 Jan. 1, 1994 Orange No. 1 Florida State 18 No. 2 Nebraska 16
33 Jan. 1, 1995 Orange No. 1 Nebraska 24 No. 3 Miami 17
34 Jan. 2, 1996 Fiesta No. 1 Nebraska 62 No. 2 Florida 24
35 Dec. 31, 1996 Orange No. 6 Nebraska 41 No. 10 Virginia Tech 21
36 Jan. 2, 1998 Orange No. 2 Nebraska 42 No. 3 Tennessee 17
37 Dec. 30, 1998 Holiday No. 5 Arizona 23 No. 14 Nebraska 20
38 Jan. 2, 2000 Fiesta No. 3 Nebraska 31 No. 6 Tennessee 21
39 Dec. 30, 2000 Alamo No. 9 Nebraska 66 No. 18 Northwestern 17
40 Jan. 3, 2002 Rose No. 1 Miami (FL) 37 No. 4 Nebraska 14
41 Dec. 27, 2002 Independence Mississippi 27 Nebraska 23
42 Dec. 29, 2003 Alamo No. 22 Nebraska 17 Michigan State 3
43 Dec. 28, 2005 Alamo Nebraska 32 No. 20 Michigan 28
44 Jan. 1, 2007 Cotton No. 10 Auburn 17 No. 22 Nebraska 14
45 Jan. 1, 2009 Gator Nebraska 26 Clemson 21
46 Dec. 30, 2009 Holiday No. 20 Nebraska 33 No. 22 Arizona 0
47 Dec. 30, 2010 Holiday Washington 19 No. 17 Nebraska 7
48 Jan. 2, 2012 Capital One No. 10 South Carolina 30 No. 21 Nebraska 13
49 Jan. 1, 2013 Capital One No. 6 Georgia 45 No. 23 Nebraska 31
50 Jan. 1, 2014 Gator Nebraska 24 No. 23 Georgia 19
51 Dec. 27, 2014 Holiday No. 24 USC 45 No. 25 Nebraska 42
52 Dec. 26, 2015 Foster Farms Nebraska 37 UCLA 29
53 Dec. 30, 2016 Music City Tennessee 38 No. 24 Nebraska 24

Record breakdown

Record by opponent[edit]

No. Opponent Record
6 Miami (FL) 2–4
4 LSU 4–0
Florida State 0–4
3 Georgia 2–1
Tennessee
Alabama 1–2
2 Florida 2–0
Arizona 1–1
Auburn
Clemson
Michigan
1 Michigan State 1–0
Mississippi State
North Carolina
Northwestern
Texas
Texas Tech
UCLA
Virginia Tech
Arizona State 0–1
Arkansas
Georgia Tech
Houston
Oklahoma
Ole Miss
South Carolina
USC
Washington

Record by bowl[edit]

App. Bowl Record
17 Orange 8–9
6 Fiesta 2–4
4 Cotton 1-3
Holiday
Sugar 3-1
3 Alamo 3–0
Citrus 0–3
2 Gator 2–0
Sun
Rose 0–2
1 Bluebonnet 1–0
Emerald
Gotham
Liberty
Independence 0–1
Music City

Record by coach[edit]

No. Coach Tenure Record
25 Tom Osborne 1973–97 12–13 (.480)
9 Bob Devaney 1962–72 6–3 (.667)
7 Bo Pelini[A 1] 2008–14 4–3 (.571)
5 Frank Solich 1998–2003 2–3 (.400)
2 Bill Callahan 2004–07 1–1 (.500)
Mike Riley 2015–17
1 Biff Jones 1937–41 0–1 (.000)
Bill Glassford 1949–55
Barney Cotton[A 2] 2014

Notes

  1. ^ Bo Pelini served as interim head coach for the 2003 Alamo Bowl
  2. ^ Barney Cotton served as interim coach for the 2014 Holiday Bowl

References

  1. ^ "Nebraska vs. Missouri 1962". HuskerMax.
  2. ^ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2019/FBS.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ "Nebraska Conference Championships". Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  4. ^ "Title teams – HuskerMax™". Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  5. ^ "Best college football teams of all-time". Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Major Football Award Winners". Huskers.com. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  7. ^ "Nebraska Football Schedules 1910–1919". HuskerMax. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  8. ^ "Tom's Time: Devaney Selects His Successor". HuskerMax. October 3, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  9. ^ "The 150 greatest coaches in college football's 150-year history". 10 December 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  10. ^ "The Greatest Coaches in College Football History". 12 August 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  11. ^ "Epley leaving Huskers". 19 June 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  12. ^ "Nebraska officially announces hiring of Scott Frost, introductory press conference scheduled for Sunday". 2 December 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  13. ^ "Bowl Tradition" (PDF). Husker Athletics. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "Nebraska's Bowl History". Retrieved August 9, 2018.
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