Nebraska Cornhuskers football

The early years (1890–1917)

Nebraska football began its history as the "Old Gold Knights," which was quickly changed to "Bugeaters" in 1892. "Cornhuskers" first appeared in an 1893 school newspaper headline stating "We Have Met The Cornhuskers And They Are Ours," after a 20–18 upset victory over Iowa. "Cornhuskers," in this instance, was used to derogatorily refer to Iowa.^[10][11][12] In 1899, Nebraska State Journal writer Cy Sherman, who would later help create college football's AP Poll, became the first person to refer to Nebraska as the Cornhuskers; the name caught on quickly and was officially adopted the following year.^[13][14]

The 1891 Nebraska team

Nebraska's first game was a 10–0 victory over the Omaha YMCA on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1890.^[15]

The program got off to a strong start, suffering only one sub-.500 season in its first 28 years of competition. Prior to a one-win season in 1899 in A Edwin Branch's only year as head coach, Nebraska compiled a 40–18–3 (0.680) record.

George Flippin was the first African-American athlete at Nebraska and only the fifth black athlete at any predominantly white university. Because of Flippin's presence on the roster, Missouri refused to play a scheduled game with Nebraska in 1892. The result was a 1–0 forfeit, and, technically, the first-ever conference win for Nebraska.

Nebraska's fourth coach, Frank Crawford (1893–94, 9–4–1, 0.679) was the school's first paid football coach. Eddie N. Robinson (1896–1897, 11–4–1, 0.719) and Fielding H. Yost (1898, 8–3, 0.727), the program's sixth and seventh head coaches, were the earliest Nebraska coaches to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Walter C. Booth (1900–05, 46–8–1, 0.845) was Nebraska's ninth head coach, and had the second-best record during this era among multi-year coaches. His 1902 team went undefeated, untied, and unscored upon. Despite at one point leading his team on a 24-game winning streak, Booth was bested by Ewald O. Stiehm (1911–15, 35–2–3, 0.913), who won the MVIAA conference title in all five of his seasons and posted a school-record 34-game unbeaten streak. His .913 winning percentage remains the highest in school history. The Cornhuskers were a strong candidate play in the first-ever Rose Bowl Game after the 1915 season, but the university's athletic board voted to turn down any such invitation. Stiehm left NU after the 1915 season when the university turned down his demand that he be paid an annual salary of $4,250 to serve as football coach, basketball coach, and athletic director.

A brief slump (1918–20)

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 games. The Spanish flu pandemic further complicated the 1918 college football season.

William G. Kline led Nebraska through the stunted 1918 season, managing a 2–3–1 (0.417) record. Veteran head coach Henry Schulte (1919–20, 8–6–3, 0.559) took over for the next two seasons, but barely managed to maintain a winning record as the program recovered from the war and its aftermath. Although Schulte stepped down as head football coach after 1920, he remained at Nebraska in a variety of coaching roles through 1938.

Climb back to dominance (1921–41)

By the end of the post-war slump, Nebraska had been led by 15 head coaches over 31 years. However, a period of relative stability followed as Nebraska was able to once again be successful, this time with considerably less turnover.

Fred Dawson (1921–24, 23–7–2, 0.750) arrived at Nebraska after stints at Columbia, Denver, and Virginia. During the entire three-year tenure of Knute Rockne's famed Four Horsemen, Notre Dame lost only two games; one each in 1922 and 1923, both to Nebraska in Lincoln. In Dawson's four years he won three conference titles and compiled the best record of any coach from this era, though several who followed him were also successful.

First-time head coach Ernest E. Bearg (1925–28, 23–7–3, 0.742) won the conference title in his final season before handing over the team to Dana X. Bible (1929–36, 50–15–7, 0.743). Bible had an established reputation after fifteen years as a 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 eight seasons.

While Biff Jones (1937–41, 28–14–4, 0.652) was not as successful as his predecessors, he still managed to win two conference titles in his tenure and brought Nebraska to their first bowl game, a 21–13 loss to Stanford in the 1941 Rose Bowl. The following year, as the United States was drawn closer to involvement in World War II, the program set an unfortunate record by losing five straight games for the first time. One week after the final game of the season, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and, much like 20 years prior, Nebraska's fortunes headed downward as the country headed into war.

Slide into obscurity (1942–61)

Nebraska was led by three head coaches during the war years, which saw a scarcity of players available since most of the country's college-aged men were fighting abroad. By the time the war ended in 1945, the Cornhuskers had gone 11–24–0 (0.314) over the previous four seasons.

Unlike the first time, Nebraska's situation did not improve after the war. Bernie Masterson (1946–47, 5–13, 0.278) recorded the school's worst-ever winning percentage 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 wars with an extensive coaching pedigree, returned for the 1948 season while a search was conducted for his successor. After the season, Clark became NU's athletic director, a position he held until 1953.

Clark hired Bill Glassford (1949–55, 50–40–4, 0.553), whose up-and-down tenure included a 6–2–1 1950 season, and Nebraska's second-ever bowl appearance, a 34–7 loss to Duke in the 1955 Orange Bowl.

Following Glassford was rookie head coach Pete Elliott, a former quarterback who led Michigan to the 1948 national championship. Elliott would later lead the Illinois Fighting Illini to a Rose Bowl win, but he went only 4–6 (0.400) in his one year at Nebraska. His replacement, Bill Jennings (1957–61, 15–34–1, 0.310), fared even worse in Lincoln, coaching the team for five seasons and not reaching .500 in any of them.

Prior to 1941, Nebraska had an all-time .732 winning percentage, seventh-best in college football, behind only Yale, Princeton, Notre Dame, Harvard, Michigan and Minnesota. From 1941 to 1961, however, Nebraska had a winning percentage of .368, which ranked 126th out of 133 Division I teams, and was higher than only fellow Big Eight member Kansas State among major conference teams.

The Devaney and Osborne dynasties (1962–97)

Bob Devaney, head coach from 1962 to 1972

Bob Devaney (1962–72, 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, which was capped by the school's first bowl win, against Miami in the 1962 Gotham Bowl. This was the first of 40 consecutive winning seasons for the Cornhuskers, and Nebraska's NCAA-record sellout streak began in the seventh game of 1962. After five straight seasons with a bowl appearance, Devaney's teams went 6–4 in both 1967 and 1968, prompting a major shift in the team's offensive philosophy. This shift mainly involved offensive assistant Tom Osborne and his now-famed I formation, an offense Nebraska would run for the next 35 years. Over the following four seasons, with Osborne installed as offensive coordinator, Nebraska suffered just four losses (42–4–2, 0.896), winning the conference title in each year and securing the program's first two claimed national championships.

The Cornhuskers' 1970 team needed a bit of good fortune to claim the school's first national title. Nebraska entered the day of the Orange Bowl ranked third, but losses by no. 1 Texas and no. 2 Ohio State gave NU the championship after a 17–12 victory over LSU. There would be no such suspense in 1971, as Nebraska began the season ranked second, and quickly moved up to no. 1 after a 34–7 victory against Oregon in week one. The Cornhuskers remained atop the AP Poll for the rest of the season, which included a 35–31 Thanksgiving Day defeat of no. 2 Oklahoma, a game still referred to as the "Game of the Century". Nebraska wrapped up the title by beating Bear Bryant and Alabama 38–6 in the 1972 Orange Bowl on New Year’s night. Nebraska's 1971 team remains the only champion ever to defeat the teams that finished second, third, and fourth (Oklahoma, Colorado, Alabama) in the final rankings.

The program began producing All-Americans with regularity during Devaney's tenure. Among the 18 who received such recognition were Johnny Rodgers, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1972, and Rich Glover, who won the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award that same season.

Tom Osborne in 1965

Devaney stepped down after the 1972 season to become Nebraska's athletic director. Tom Osborne (1973–97, 255–49–3, 0.836) subsequently became Nebraska's longest-tenured coach, ending with the fourth-highest winning percentage in major college football history. Osborne never won fewer than nine games and secured 13 conference titles in his 25 seasons.

An undefeated regular season earned the 1983 team— nicknamed "The Scoring Explosion"— a no. 1 ranking and a trip to the 1984 Orange Bowl. The heavily favored Cornhuskers immediately fell behind Miami, trailing 17–0 at the end of the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, Osborne called for the "fumblerooski," a trick play which had quarterback Turner Gill "fumble" the snap by intentionally setting the ball on the turf, where it was picked up by All-American guard Dean Steinkuhler, who ran 19 yards for a touchdown. Nebraska mounted a furious comeback, scoring a touchdown to get within one point with just seconds remaining. Overtime had not yet been brought to college football, so kicking the extra point meant the game would likely end in a tie and give the Cornhuskers the national title. However, Osborne elected to go for two and the win outright, and the conversion pass fell incomplete. Although this game is widely regarded as the earliest occurrence of the fumblerooski, Nebraska had actually tried the play twice before, both in a 17–14 loss to Oklahoma in 1979.

After a controversial loss in the 1993 national championship game, Osborne finally won his first claimed national title in 1994, when no. 1 Nebraska beat no. 3 Miami 24–17 in the Orange Bowl. The Cornhuskers' 1995 team was even better, beating four teams that finished in the top ten and winning every game by at least 14 points. NU's 62–24 Fiest Bowl demolition of Florida and future Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel was the biggest national championship blowout in college football history. Nebraska scored 53 points per game and allowed only 14. The 1994 and 1995 teams, which went a combined 25–0, along with Alabama (2011, 2012) are the only back-to-back national champions since Oklahoma in 1955 and 1956. In the decades since, the 1995 team has consistently been has named the greatest college football team of all time.^[16]

In 1996, the Big Eight, which Nebraska had won five years in a row, merged with the Southwest to create the Big 12. Despite its similarity in name, the Big 12 was an entirely new conference and did not retain any of the Big Eight's history or records. After being shutout in week two by Arizona State, NU won ten straight games to make the first Big 12 Championship Game. However, the Cornhuskers missed out on a fourth straight national championship appearance when they were upset by Texas.

In 1997, Nebraska quickly regained its status as a national contender with a 27–14 victory at no. 2 Washington in week three. A 45–38 overtime victory at Missouri kept the Huskers' title hopes alive. The comeback win was highlighted by the "Flea Kicker," a last-second, game-tying touchdown that bounced off the foot of intended receiver Shevin Wiggins and directly into the hands of Matt Davison. Nebraska returned to the conference championship game and beat Texas A&M for its first Big 12 title. A 42–17 victory over no. 3 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl boosted NU to the top of the Coaches Poll, making Osborne the only coach to retire following a national champion.

Nebraska posted a 60–3 record in the final four years of Osborne's tenure.

The post-Osborne era (1998–2010)

Upon Osborne's retirement, the program was handed over to coaching assistant Frank Solich (1998–2003, 58–18, 0.766), who had played at Nebraska under Bob Devaney from 1963–1965. In his six seasons, Solich won the 1999 Big 12 title and took the Cornhuskers to the 2001 national championship game. After going 7–7 season in 2002, the first non-winning season for Nebraska in 40 years, Solich made aggressive changes to his assistant coaching staff. The approach appeared fairly successful, as Solich's 2003 team went 9–3 in the regular season. However, second-year NU athletic director Steve Pederson fired Solich before the bowl game, justifying the move with the now-infamous claim that he would not "let Nebraska gravitate into mediocrity" or "surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma and Texas".^[17] Solich's first-year defensive coordinator Bo Pelini was appointed interim head coach and led the Cornhuskers to a 17–3 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl.

Although Pelini interviewed for the position as permanent replacement, former Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan (2004–07, 27–22, 0.551) was named Solich's successor following a 40-day, one-man coaching search conducted by Pederson. Callahan's mandate to prevent Nebraska's decline was not immediately successful, as his NFL-style West Coast offense led to varying levels of success, including a 5–6 2004 season that was Nebraska's first losing season since 1961. Callahan's teams showed improvement in the following two years, at 8–4 in 2005 and 9–5 in 2006. However, in 2007, Nebraska dropped five straight games 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's fate proved to be the same as Perderson's, as he was fired by Osborne immediately after a season-ending 65–51 loss to Colorado. In four seasons, Callahan had accumulated the lowest winning percentage by a Nebraska head coach in 46 years.

Osborne, now full-time athletic director, selected Bo Pelini (2008–14, 67–27, 0.713) to return to Nebraska as the program's 32nd head coach. Pelini's first team tied for the Big 12 North division title with a 9–4 record, the best record among all twenty-eight first-season coaches in the FBS. In 2009, Nebraska led the nation in scoring defense at 10.4 points per game, a remarkable turnaround for a unit that had been among the nation's worst just two years prior. NU finished 10–4 and ranked 14th. Following the 2009 season, Pelini was given his second raise and contract extension. In 2010, Nebraska again finished 10–4, with a third straight division championship and a #20 overall ranking.

Move to the Big Ten (2011–present)

Nebraska's first season in the Big Ten Conference was moderately successful, finishing third in the Legends Division and 9–4 overall. In 2012 the Cornhuskers went undefeated at home for the first time since 2001 and won the Legends Division. However, they lost the Big Ten Championship game to unranked Wisconsin and the Capital One Bowl to no. 6 Georgia, ending the season with four losses yet again. 2013 saw Nebraska tie for second place in the Legends Division and wrap up a 9–4 season with a rematch win over no. 23 Georgia in the Gator Bowl. In 2014, the Cornhuskers went 9–3 in the regular season, but a continued pattern of bad losses led to Pelini being fired by athletic director Shawn Eichorst.^[18] At the time of the firing, the university reportedly still owed Pelini $7.65 million.^[19] Pelini left the program with a 67–27 record (.713), winning either nine of ten games each season; ironically, NU lost three games under Pelini in his final season, the only time he did not lose exactly four games.^[19] Shortly after, Nebraska hired Oregon State's Mike Riley as its new head coach.^[20] The Cornhuskers ended 2014 under interim coach Barney Cotton, losing to no. 24 USC in the Holiday Bowl and finishing at 9–4, marking Nebraska's seventh consecutive four-loss season.

Mike Riley (2015–17, 19–19, 0.500) finished his first season at Nebraska 6–7 with a victory over UCLA in the Foster Farms Bowl. Riley's second season proved to be more successful, as the Cornhuskers started 7-0 and worked their way into the national top five for the first time since 2010. However, subsequent losses to Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa, and Tennessee, meant NU finished with a 9–4 record and outside of the top 25. In Riley's third year, Nebraska suffered its worst season in 56 years with a record of 4–8. University chancellor Ronnie Green fired athletic director Shawn Eichorst in September after a home loss to Northern Illinois and subsequently appointed former Husker player Dave Rimington as interim AD. Bill Moos was hired as athletic director in October and then terminated Riley the day after the season ended. Riley finished his three-year career at Nebraska with a 19-19 record and was 12-14 in conference play.^[21]

On December 2, 2017, Nebraska hired alumnus Scott Frost from UCF as its 33rd head football coach.^[22]

National championships

Nebraska has won five consensus national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors.^{[26][27][28]:113–114}

Nebraska has been awarded nine other national championships by various polling organizations that the school does not claim.^[29]

• 1915, 1921, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1993, 1999

Conference championships

Nebraska has won 46 conference championships through the 2017 season.^[30][23]:2

† Co-champions

Division championships

Nebraska claims 10 division championships in two conferences through the 2017 season.

† Co-champions

Trophy games

Iowa

Main article: Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry

Nebraska vs. Iowa at Memorial Stadium on November 25, 2011

The Heroes Trophy has been awarded to the winner of the Iowa–Nebraska game since the 2011 season. "The Heroes Game," as it is known, takes place on Black Friday and is last game of the regular season. The teams have met 48 times, with the series dating back to 1891, a 22–0 Iowa win. The Cornhuskers lead the series 29–16-3. Iowa currently holds the Heroes Trophy, having defeated the Cornhuskers in 2017. The teams play annually and will meet next on November 23, 2018, at Kinnick Stadium.

Other rivalries

Individual award winners

College Football Hall of Fame

Guy Chamberlin

Nebraska boasts 24 inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame.^[51]

Retired player jerseys

Tommie Frazier

Nebraska has retired the jerseys of 17 players.

No.	Player	Position	Career
7	Eric Crouch	QB	1998–2001
15	Tommie Frazier	QB	1992–95
30	Mike Rozier	IB	1981–83
34	Trev Alberts	OLB	1990–93
50	Dave Rimington	C	1979–82
54	Dominic Raiola	C	1998–2000
67	Aaron Taylor	G	1994–97
71	Dean Steinkuhler	G	1980–83
72	Zach Wiegert	OT	1991–93
75	Larry Jacobson	DT	1969–71
75	Will Shields	G	1989–92
79	Rich Glover	MG	1970–72
93	Ndamukong Suh	DT	2005–09
98	Grant Wistrom	RE	1994–97

All-Americans

Since 1914, Nebraska has produced 96 players who have collected a total of 110 First-Team All-American awards. Nebraska claims 47 consensus All-Americans who have won a total of 56 consensus All-American honors and 20 unanimous All-Americans who have won 21 unanimous awards.

Academic All-Americans

Nebraska leads the nation in Academic All-America selections, both in football and across all sports. Nebraska boasts 70 CoSIDA First Team and 108 overall Academic All-America selections, both tops in the nation. The list includes 15 Huskers that have been named first team Academic All-American twice in their careers. The Huskers also lead the nation with a total of 330 Academic All-Americans across all sports.^[57]

Nebraska has four players that have been selected as a First Team Academic All-American by entities other than CoSIDA: Don Fricke (1960), Pat Clare (1960), Jim Osberg (1965), and Tony Jeter (1965).

Nebraska's all-time team

As selected by Athlon Sports in 2010.^[58]

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Five Nebraska players have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame:^[59]

• Willis Roy (Link) Lyman,^[60] Tackle (1964)
• Guy Chamberlin,^[61] End (1965)
• Bob Brown,^[62] Tackle (2004)
• Will Shields,^[63] Guard (2015)
• Mick Tingelhoff,^[64] Center (2015)

Currently in the NFL

Roy Helu

Ndamukong Suh

Prince Amukamara

There are 27 Huskers currently on NFL rosters as of September 25th, 2018.^[65]

• Ameer Abdullah – Running Back, Detroit Lions
• Prince Amukamara – Defensive Back, Chicago Bears
• Rex Burkhead – Running Back, New England Patriots
• Cethan Carter – Tight end, Cincinnati Bengals (IR)
• Maliek Collins – Defensive Tackle, Dallas Cowboys
• Will Compton – Inside linebacker, Tennessee Titans
• Lavonte David – Linebacker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Quincy Enunwa – Wide Receiver, New York Jets
• Nick Gates – Offensive Guard, New York Giants (IR)
• Nathan Gerry – Linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles
• Randy Gregory – Defensive End, Dallas Cowboys
• Andy Janovich – Fullback, Denver Broncos (TC)
• Stanley Jean-Baptiste – Cornerback, Baltimore Ravens (IR)
• Chris Jones – Defensive Back, Arizona Cardinals (PS)
• Joshua Kalu – Cornerback, Tennessee Titans (PS)
• Sam Koch – Punter, Baltimore Ravens
• Tanner Lee – Quarterback, Jacksonville Jaguars (PS)
• Alex Lewis – Offensive Tackle, Baltimore Ravens
• Spencer Long – Offensive Guard, New York Jets
• Brett Maher – Kicker, Dallas Cowboys
• Niles Paul – Tight End, Jacksonville Jaguars
• Brent Qvale – Offensive Guard, New York Jets
• Jeremiah Sirles – Offensive Guard – Buffalo Bills
• Matt Slauson – Offensive Guard, Indianapolis Colts
• Zach Sterup – Offensive Tackle, Miami Dolphins
• Ndamukong Suh – Defensive Tackle, Los Angeles Rams
• Vincent Valentine – Defensive Tackle, New England Patriots (PS)

(PS) – Practice Squad

(IR) – Injury Reserve

(RES/SUS) – Reserve/Suspended

(TC) – Team Captain