44 Fun Facts About Nebraska Cornhuskers Football

How many national championships does Nebraska football claim?

Five is the count Nebraska claims: 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995 and 1997. The first fell its way when the top two teams both lost their bowls hours before Nebraska beat LSU.

Nebraska's Memorial Stadium has an NCAA-record streak, running since 1962, of what?

Sellouts: the run began in Bob Devaney's first season and reached 400 games in 2024, though in recent lean years donors bought up unsold tickets to keep it alive.

What is Memorial Stadium's nickname on game day?

The Sea of Red is the game-day nickname of Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1923 and was named for Nebraskans who served in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World War I.

In 25 seasons, Tom Osborne's Nebraska never failed to do what?

Win nine games: Osborne's teams never won fewer in any season from 1973 through 1997, yet he waited until his 22nd season for a first national title.

Which trick play produced a touchdown run by a Nebraska guard in the 1984 Orange Bowl?

The fumblerooski: quarterback Turner Gill set the snap on the turf and guard Dean Steinkuhler scooped it up and ran 19 yards for a touchdown; the NCAA banned the play after 1992.

After coaching, Tom Osborne served three terms in what role?

Tom Osborne was a US Congressman from Nebraska's third district from 2001 to 2007; he lost a 2006 primary for governor and then returned to the school as athletic director.

Tom Osborne played college football at which small Nebraska school?

Osborne starred at Hastings College in his hometown before a brief NFL stint and a job on Devaney's staff.

Nebraska's 1971 "Game of the Century" was a 35-31 Thanksgiving Day win over which rival?

Oklahoma, ranked No. 2, led 31-28 late before Jeff Kinney's fourth touchdown capped a long Nebraska drive; some 55 million watched, then the largest audience for a college game.

Which quarterback started for Nebraska's 1971 national champions after sharing the job in 1970?

Jerry Tagge took the job from Van Brownson midway through 1970, scored the winning touchdown on a sneak to beat LSU for that season's title, then led the 13-0 team of 1971.

Which three Cornhuskers have won the Heisman Trophy?

Rodgers, Rozier and Crouch: Johnny Rodgers won in 1972, a year after his 72-yard punt return lit up the Game of the Century, then Mike Rozier in 1983 and quarterback Eric Crouch in 2001.

Nebraska's defense is nicknamed the Blackshirts because of what?

Black jerseys worn by defensive starters in practice date to 1964, when free substitution returned and an assistant sent to buy contrasting pullovers was offered a discount on black.

Which piece of music accompanies Nebraska's Tunnel Walk?

"Sirius" by the Alan Parsons Project, the Chicago Bulls' intro music, has backed the Tunnel Walk since 1994, when new stadium video boards let fans watch the team leave the locker room.

What did Memorial Stadium fans traditionally release after Nebraska's first score?

Red helium balloons went up after Nebraska's first points for decades until the school dropped the release in 2022, citing a helium shortage; they flew again for one game in 2024.

What are Nebraska fans known for doing to visiting teams after every game?

Applauding them as they leave the field is a long-standing Memorial Stadium custom, win or lose, and before kickoff the band even plays the visiting team's fight song.

Before "Cornhuskers" caught on, what was Nebraska's best-known early nickname?

Bugeaters, usually traced to the insect-eating bull bats of the plains, lasted until Lincoln sportswriter Cy Sherman tired of it and began calling the team the Cornhuskers around 1900.

What are the names of Nebraska's two official mascots?

Herbie Husker and Lil' Red: Herbie began as a cartoon a Lubbock artist drew for the 1974 Cotton Bowl, and the inflatable Lil' Red was added in 1993 to win over younger fans.

Which team beat Nebraska 31-30 in the 1984 Orange Bowl when Tom Osborne went for two rather than a tie?

Miami won 31-30 when Nebraska's two-point pass fell incomplete in the final minute, giving the Hurricanes their first national title; a kick would have tied the game.

Which quarterback led Nebraska to back-to-back national titles in 1994 and 1995?

Tommie Frazier broke seven tackles on a 75-yard touchdown run in the 62-24 Fiesta Bowl rout and was named most valuable player of a third straight national title game.

Which backup quarterback led most of the undefeated 1994 regular season while the starter was sidelined?

Brook Berringer started seven games in 1994 while the starter recovered from blood clots, and Nebraska went on to win the Orange Bowl 24-17 for the national title.

What is the nickname of Nebraska's game-tying 1997 touchdown at Missouri, caught by a diving Matt Davison as time expired?

The Flea Kicker: with no time left, a deflected pass was booted into the air by Shevin Wiggins and caught by diving freshman Matt Davison, and top-ranked Nebraska won 45-38 in overtime.

Which quarterback led Nebraska to the 1997 national title and later returned as head coach?

Scott Frost quarterbacked the 42-17 Orange Bowl win over Tennessee that earned the coaches' poll title, then coached Nebraska from 2018 to 2022.

Which team did Nebraska crush 62-24 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl to repeat as champions?

Florida fell 62-24 after Nebraska scored a bowl-record 29 points in the second quarter to lead 35-10 at halftime, its blitzing defense harrying quarterback Danny Wuerffel all night.

Who took over from Tom Osborne in 1998 and reached the 2002 BCS title game before being fired in 2003?

Frank Solich went 58-19 in six seasons and was fired after a 9-3 regular season in 2003; he went on to win more than 110 games as head coach at Ohio.

Nebraska joined which conference in 2011?

Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011 after 15 seasons as a Big 12 charter member, and reached its new league's championship game in only its second season.

Nebraska and Iowa play annually for which prize?

The Heroes Trophy dates to 2011, when Nebraska joined Iowa's conference; each year the game honors people from both states for acts of heroism in their communities.

Which team took over as Nebraska's Thanksgiving-weekend opponent when the Big 12 formed in 1996?

Colorado inherited the day-after-Thanksgiving date when the new league put Nebraska's old holiday opponent in the other division; the Buffaloes called Nebraska their biggest rival, a feeling rarely returned.

Which defensive tackle won the Outland, Lombardi, Nagurski and Bednarik awards for Nebraska in 2009?

Ndamukong Suh swept the four awards in 2009 after a 4½-sack night in the Big 12 title game, a 13-12 loss sealed only when officials put one second back on the clock.

Which Nebraska center won two Outland Trophies and has the top-center award named for him?

Dave Rimington won the Outland in 1981 and 1982; the award for the nation's best center carries his name and is presented by the cystic fibrosis foundation he has worked for since 1993.

What are Nebraska's official school colors?

Scarlet and cream were adopted in 1892; the first two teams, remembered as the Old Gold Knights, had played in gold.

Which Cornhusker was the first overall pick of the 1984 NFL draft?

Irving Fryar went first overall to New England and guard Dean Steinkuhler second to Houston, putting two Huskers from the same 1983 team at the top of one draft.

Nebraska's run of 35 straight bowl seasons ended in 2004 under which first-year head coach?

Bill Callahan, hired from the NFL's Oakland Raiders, swapped Nebraska's run-first attack for a West Coast passing offense and went 5-6, the school's first losing season since 1961.

Nebraska's official walk-on program began in 1973 in response to what?

NCAA scholarship reductions in 1973 led Nebraska to formalize its walk-on program; players from across the region paid their own way, and six of them went on to be All-Americans.

Which coach did Nebraska hire after the 2022 season to revive the program?

Matt Rhule, who had rebuilt Temple and Baylor, was hired in November 2022 after six straight losing seasons, only weeks after the NFL's Carolina Panthers had fired him.

Bob Devaney's first season ended with the program's first bowl win, in which now-defunct game?

Gotham Bowl: Nebraska won 36-34 at Yankee Stadium before barely 6,000 fans, after its team plane sat in Lincoln until the struggling bowl's expense check had cleared.

Bob Devaney was head coach at which university before Nebraska hired him?

Wyoming was Devaney's first college head-coaching job; Michigan State's Duffy Daugherty, his old boss, turned Nebraska down, recommended him instead and talked him into leaving.

Nebraska won the 1999 Big 12 title game 22-6 over which team?

Texas had beaten Nebraska 24-20 in October, the Huskers' only loss that season, but they won the December rematch 22-6 for the conference crown.

Which team routed Nebraska 70-31 in the 2012 conference championship game?

Wisconsin won 70-31 in Indianapolis despite entering at 7-5, and the two have played for the Freedom Trophy since becoming division rivals in 2014.

The Cornhusker Marching Band goes by what nickname?

The Pride of All Nebraska began in 1879 as a cadet band of twelve volunteers, many with no musical training, who signed up for the offer of free military uniforms.

Which Nebraska I-back rushed for 1,877 yards during the 1997 title season?

Ahman Green ran for 1,877 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1997, left a year early for the NFL and went on to set the Green Bay Packers' career rushing record.

Which former Nebraska quarterback coached the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl LVI?

Zac Taylor quarterbacked Nebraska in 2005 and 2006 after transferring from a junior college, then took the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI in only his third season as their head coach.

In 1969 Bob Devaney hired pole vaulter Boyd Epley for which job, widely credited as a first in college sports?

Strength coach: Epley, a Nebraska pole vaulter who began helping players in the weight room while injured, founded the Husker Power program that became a national model.

Which team did Nebraska rout 45-6 in the 1969 Sun Bowl?

Georgia fell 45-6 in El Paso, where Paul Rogers, Nebraska's field-goal specialist, was named the game's most valuable player; the win began a run of 35 straight bowl seasons.

Which fullback's two late touchdowns won the January 1995 Orange Bowl for Nebraska?

Cory Schlesinger scored on fourth-quarter runs of 15 and 14 yards as Nebraska came from 17-9 down to win 24-17, giving Tom Osborne his first national title.

Nebraska ended a seven-season bowl drought in 2024 by beating Boston College in which bowl?

Pinstripe Bowl: Nebraska led 20-2 after three quarters, then held off a late Boston College rally to win 20-15, its first bowl trip since the 2016 season.