Nebraska Cornhuskers football
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Program Information | |
| Nickname: | Cornhuskers |
| Conference Affiliation: | Big 12 |
| Current Head Coach: | Bill Callahan (3rd year, 22-13) |
| Awards | |
| National Titles: | 5 |
| Conference Titles: | 46 |
| Heisman Winners: | 3 |
| Consensus All-American Selections: | |
| College Football Hall of Famers (players and coaches): | 18 |
| Records | |
| All-time Record: | 803-324-40 |
| Bowl Record: | 22-21 |
| BCS Record: | 1-2 |
| Pageantry | |
| Colors: | Scarlet and Cream |
| Outfitter: | Adidas |
| Fight Song: | There Is No Place Like Nebraska |
| Mascot: | Herbie Husker |
| Marching Band: | The Marching Red |
| Stadium: | Memorial Stadium (c. 81,067, Field Turf) |
| Rivals: | Oklahoma, Colorado |
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and have the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. The Cornhuskers are currently in their 117th season and hold an all-time record of 803-324-40. On October 14, 2006, with a 21-3 win over the Kansas State Wildcats, Nebraska became only the 4th program in NCAA Division I-A history to win 800 games.
The Cornhuskers' three national championships in Division I collegiate football over the past 25 years are the second most of any university, behind only the University of Miami, which has won five.
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[edit] History
Husker football began play in 1890, with a 10-0 victory over the Omaha YMCA on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. During the early years of the program, the team had a number of nicknames: "Bugeaters", "Tree Planters", "The Rattlesnake Boys", "Antelopes" and "Old Gold Knights"; "Cornhuskers" became the sole nickname used around 1900.
Nebraska has claimed 46 conference championships and part or all of five national championships: 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997. The latter three marking the only time that a team has won three NCAA Division I-A national football championships in four seasons. 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. 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, Dave Noble, and coaches Dana X. Bible, Bob Devaney, "Biff" Jones, Tom Osborne, Eddie "Robbie" Robinson, and Fielding Yost.
Notable rivals of the Cornhuskers are the Oklahoma Sooners, the Colorado Buffaloes, and the Kansas State Wildcats.
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. 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.
The coach who brought about the most wins in Cornhusker history is Tom Osborne, who led the team for 25 seasons, from 1973 to 1997; his final record at Nebraska was 255 wins, 49 losses and 3 ties. During his tenure, the team won three national titles, including one in his final season. Osborne was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's Third Congressional District in 2000.
Since the 1994 season, Nebraska's home games have always opened with the Tunnel Walk. Before the team enters, the HuskerVision screens light up with a burst of computer animation, and "Sirius" (a song 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 282nd occasion when they competed against Colorado Buffaloes on November 24, 2006. 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.
The current Husker coach is Bill Callahan; the previous three coaches were Frank Solich, Tom Osborne, and Bob Devaney. Callahan represents a break from tradition in many ways. First, Callahan is the first head coach in recent history not to be hand-picked by his predecessor. In a controversial move, Frank Solich was fired by Athletic Director Steve Pederson and replaced with Callahan. Second, Callahan has implemented the West Coast Offense at Nebraska. The Huskers had previously been known for the tough running game; specifically, running the option with a strong backfield, while their new style relies heavily on a balance between the run and the pass. In Callahan's first season as head coach in 2004, the team recorded 5 wins and 6 losses. Excitement over Callahan's new system was bubbling amongst Husker nation when Nebraska cruised to 56-17 win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks, a team they were heavily favored to beat. However, the excitement quickly faded when Nebraska lost a home game to Southern Mississippi. Things were dismal for Callahan when he returned to Lincoln from Lubbock, Texas, losing by the largest margin in school history: a 70-10 loss to Texas Tech, the first time Nebraska had ever lost to them. This did not go over well with many Husker fans who were used to Nebraska's winning ways. Speculation that the West Coast Offense could not work at Nebraska began to rise. Cahallan's first season brought something that was foreign to the vast majority of Husker fans, a losing season, and one without a bowl game bid. The team has improved, however and the Huskers once again finished the 2005 season ranked among the nations top 25 teams.
In October of 2006 Nebraska became one of only four Division 1 football teams to have 800 lifetime wins, with a win over Kansas State. Michigan, Notre Dame and Texas also have 800 wins.
[edit] Season Results
| Year | Record | AP Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | current | current |
| 2005 | 8-4 | #24 |
| 2004 | 5-6 | NR |
| 2003 | 10-3 | #19 |
| 2002 | 7-7 | NR |
| 2001 | 11-2 | #8 |
| 2000 | 10-2 | #8 |
| 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 | #24 |
| 1989 | 10-2 | #11 |
| 1988 | 11-2 | #10 |
| 1987 | 10-2 | #6 |
| 1986 | 10-2 | #5 |
| 1985 | 9-3 | #11 |
| 1984 | 10-2 | #4 |
| 1983 | 12-1 | #2 |
| 1982 | 12-1 | #2 |
| 1981 | 9-3 | #11 |
| 1980 | 10-2 | #7 |
| 1979 | 10-2 | #9 |
| 1978 | 9-3 | #8 |
| 1977 | 9-3 | #13 |
| 1976 | 9-3-1 | #9 |
| 1975 | 10-2 | #9 |
| 1974 | 9-3 | #9 |
| 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 |
[edit] National championship seasons
| Season | Record | Bowl game | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970¹ | 11-0-1 | Orange Bowl | Bob Devaney |
| 1971 | 13-0 | Orange Bowl | Bob Devaney |
| 1994 | 13-0 | Orange Bowl | Tom Osborne |
| 1995 | 12-0 | Fiesta Bowl | Tom Osborne |
| 1997² | 13-0 | Orange Bowl | Tom Osborne |
[edit] Individual award winners
[edit] Players
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[edit] Coaches
- Tom Osborne - 1999 (Recognized as coach of the decade)
[edit] Permanently retired jerseys
- Tom Novak, #60
- Bob Brown, #64
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Nebraska Cornhuskers Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Frothingham • Lyman • Williams • Crawford • Thomas • Robinson • Yost • Branch • Booth • Foster • Cole • Stiehm • Stewart • Kline • Schulte • Dawson • Bearg • Bible • Jones • Presnell • Lewandowski • Clark • Masterson • Glassford • Elliott • Jennings • Devaney • Osborne • Solich • Pelini (interim) • Callahan |
