Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Trivia
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7correct to beat the crowd
44 free Nebraska Cornhuskers Football trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
41 free Nebraska Cornhuskers Football trivia questions with answers. Nebraska football is five national championships, a sellout streak that started in 1962, and a way of life across the state. This quiz covers the Cornhuskers from the Bugeaters days through Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne, the 1971 Game of the Century, the 1984 Orange Bowl gamble, Tommie Frazier's mid-90s dynasty, and the Big Ten era under Matt Rhule. Expect questions on the Blackshirts, the Tunnel Walk, red balloons, Herbie Husker and Lil' Red, the three Heisman winners, retired numbers, rivalries with Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa and Wisconsin, and the record-setting 1995 team. About a third are easy for any Husker fan, a third are medium, and the rest will test people who remember Jerry Tagge. Every answer is checked against the program's reference pages, so it is safe for a tailgate quiz or a family argument.
30 of 44 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many national championships does Nebraska football claim?
Five
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.
Q 02Nebraska's Memorial Stadium has an NCAA-record streak, running since 1962, of what?
Sellouts
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.
Q 03What is Memorial Stadium's nickname on game day?
The Sea of Red
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.
Q 04In 25 seasons, Tom Osborne's Nebraska never failed to do what?
Win nine games
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.
Q 05Which trick play produced a touchdown run by a Nebraska guard in the 1984 Orange Bowl?
The fumblerooski
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.
Q 06After coaching, Tom Osborne served three terms in what role?
US Congressman from Nebraska
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.
Q 07Tom Osborne played college football at which small Nebraska school?
Hastings
Osborne starred at Hastings College in his hometown before a brief NFL stint and a job on Devaney's staff.
Q 08Nebraska's 1971 "Game of the Century" was a 35-31 Thanksgiving Day win over which rival?
Oklahoma
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.
Q 09Which quarterback started for Nebraska's 1971 national champions after sharing the job in 1970?
Jerry Tagge
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.
Q 10Which three Cornhuskers have won the Heisman Trophy?
Rodgers, Rozier and Crouch
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.
Q 11Nebraska's defense is nicknamed the Blackshirts because of what?
Black jerseys worn by defensive starters in practice
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.
Q 12Which piece of music accompanies Nebraska's Tunnel Walk?
"Sirius" by the Alan Parsons Project
"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.
Q 13What did Memorial Stadium fans traditionally release after Nebraska's first score?
Q 21Which quarterback led Nebraska to the 1997 national title and later returned as head coach?
Scott Frost
Scott Frost quarterbacked the 42-17 Orange Bowl win over Tennessee that earned the coaches' poll title, then coached Nebraska from 2018 to 2022.
Q 22Which team did Nebraska crush 62-24 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl to repeat as champions?
Florida
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.
Q 23Who took over from Tom Osborne in 1998 and reached the 2002 BCS title game before being fired in 2003?
Frank Solich
Red helium balloons
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.
Q 14What are Nebraska fans known for doing to visiting teams after every game?
Applauding them as they leave the field
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.
Q 15Before "Cornhuskers" caught on, what was Nebraska's best-known early nickname?
Bugeaters
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.
Q 16What are the names of Nebraska's two official mascots?
Herbie Husker and Lil' Red
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.
Q 17Which team beat Nebraska 31-30 in the 1984 Orange Bowl when Tom Osborne went for two rather than a tie?
Miami
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.
Q 18Which quarterback led Nebraska to back-to-back national titles in 1994 and 1995?
Tommie Frazier
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.
Q 19Which backup quarterback led most of the undefeated 1994 regular season while the starter was sidelined?
Brook Berringer
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.
Q 20What is the nickname of Nebraska's game-tying 1997 touchdown at Missouri, caught by a diving Matt Davison as time expired?
The Flea Kicker
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.
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.
Q 24Nebraska joined which conference in 2011?
Big Ten
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.
Q 25Nebraska and Iowa play annually for which prize?
Heroes Trophy
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.
Q 26Which team took over as Nebraska's Thanksgiving-weekend opponent when the Big 12 formed in 1996?
Colorado
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.
Q 27Which defensive tackle won the Outland, Lombardi, Nagurski and Bednarik awards for Nebraska in 2009?
Ndamukong Suh
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.
Q 28Which Nebraska center won two Outland Trophies and has the top-center award named for him?
Dave Rimington
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.
Q 29What are Nebraska's official school colors?
Scarlet and cream
Scarlet and cream were adopted in 1892; the first two teams, remembered as the Old Gold Knights, had played in gold.
Q 30Which Cornhusker was the first overall pick of the 1984 NFL draft?
Irving Fryar
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.