2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Logo of the Nebraska athletic teams 2004-
Alamo Bowl Champions
Alamo Bowl, W 32–28 vs. Michigan
Conference Big 12 Conference
North Division
Ranking
Coaches #24
AP #24
2005 record 8–4 (4–4 Big 12)
Head coach Bill Callahan (2nd year)
Offensive coordinator Jay Norvell (2nd year)
Offensive scheme West Coast offense
Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove (2nd year)
Home stadium Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 73,918)
2005 Big 12 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Northern Division
Colorado x   5 – 3         7 – 6  
#24 Nebraska   4 – 4         8 – 4  
Iowa State   4 – 4         7 – 5  
Missouri   4 – 4         7 – 5  
Kansas   3 – 5         7 – 5  
Kansas State   2 – 6         5 – 6  
Southern Division
#1 Texas x†#   8 – 0         13 – 0  
#20 Texas Tech   6 – 2         9 – 3  
#22 Oklahoma   6 – 2         8 – 4  
Texas A&M   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Baylor   2 – 6         5 – 6  
Oklahoma State   1 – 7         4 – 7  
Championship: Texas 70, Colorado 3
# – BCS National Champion
† – BCS representative as conference champion
x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bill Callahan and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Before the season

Nebraska experienced many changes to their team's roster; not only did key wide receiver Ross Pilkington leave the team after he gave up football, but after the spring game, new junior college transfer Zac Taylor replaced the 2004 starter Joe Dailey at the key position of quarterback. Shortly thereafter Joe Dailey transferred to North Carolina.

Schedule

[1]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 3 6:10 PM Maine* Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE FSN PPV W 25–7   77,469
September 10 6:10 PM Wake Forest* Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE TBS W 31–3   77,380
September 17 2:30 PM Pittsburgh* Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE ABC W 7–6   77,336
October 1 2:30 PM #23 Iowa State Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE ABC W 27–20 OT  77,433
October 8 3:00 PM #15 Texas Techdagger Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE TBS L 31–34   77,580
October 15 6:05 PM at Baylor Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX FSN PPV W 23–14   40,857
October 22 11:30 AM at Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, MO (Rivalry) FSN L 24–41   60,641
October 29 11:00 AM Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Rivalry) ABC L 24–31   77,438
November 5 12:00 PM at Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS L 15–40   51,750
November 12 1:05 PM Kansas State Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE W 27–25   77,761
November 25 2:30 PM at Colorado Folsom Field • Boulder, CO (Rivalry) ABC W 30–3   54,831
December 28 7:00 PM vs. #20 Michigan* Alamodome • San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl) ESPN W 32–28   62,016
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Roster and coaching staff

2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 7 Adams, JordanJordan Adams So
OL 65 Austin, GregGreg Austin Jr
WR 23 Brooks, ChrisChris Brooks Fr
OL 59 Byford, BrettBrett Byford So
WR 82 Cammack, WesWes Cammack Fr
OL 62 Christensen, AndyAndy Christensen RFr
QB 15 Davis, BeauBeau Davis So
WR 26 Erickson, DanDan Erickson So
OL 77 Evwaraye, SeppoSeppo Evwaraye Sr
FB 47 Farino, PaulPaul Farino Fr
WR 28 Fluellen, IsaiahIsaiah Fluellen Jr
OL 57 Fredinburg, ConanConan Fredinburg Fr
OL 79 Fuamatu-Thomas, CornealiusCornealius Fuamatu-Thomas Sr
QB 8 Ganz, JoeJoe Ganz RFr
OL 69 Gibson, AdamAdam Gibson Jr
IB 34 Glenn, CodyCody Glenn Fr
WR 7 Hardy, FrantzFrantz Hardy So
TE 35 Harvey, DavidDavid Harvey Fr
OL 73 Helming, JaredJared Helming Sr
TE 11 Herian, MattMatt Herian Sr
TE 86 Hill, SeanSean Hill So
OL 61 Huff, MikeMike Huff RFr
IB 32 Jackson, BrandonBrandon Jackson So
OL 75 Koch, BrandonBrandon Koch Sr
FB 36 Lawson, ThomasThomas Lawson RFr
WR 9 LeFlore, MarkMark LeFlore Sr
OL 74 Lingenfelter, NewtonNewton Lingenfelter Jr
IB 20 Lucky, MarlonMarlon Lucky Fr
OL 50 Mann, KurtKurt Mann Jr
WR 5 McKoy, ShamusShamus McKoy Sr
FB 33 Miller, GrantGrant Miller Jr
TE 81 Mueller, JoshJosh Mueller So
WR 84 Mulkey, GrantGrant Mulkey Jr
OL 76 Murtha, LydonLydon Murtha RFr
WR 83 Nunn, TerrenceTerrence Nunn So
FB 45 Otto, WillWill Otto Jr
OL 78 Pasteur, BrockBrock Pasteur Jr
OL 54 Patrick, ChrisChris Patrick So
WR 17 Peterson, ToddTodd Peterson RFr
TE 85 Phillips, J.B.J.B. Phillips So
OL 68 Picou, JordanJordan Picou Jr
OL 72 Picou, RodneyRodney Picou Fr
OL 56 Pike, GaryGary Pike Sr
OL 63 Roark, CraigCraig Roark Fr
IB 4 Ross, CoryCory Ross Sr
TE 48 Sand, AndyAndy Sand So
WR 14 Schroeder, MattMatt Schroeder Sr
TE 88 Sievers, ClaytonClayton Sievers RFr
OL 70 Slauson, MattMatt Slauson Fr
WR 87 Swift, NateNate Swift RFr
QB 13 Taylor, ZacZac Taylor Jr
TE 89 Teafatiller, HunterHunter Teafatiller Fr
FB 41 Todd, DaneDane Todd Jr
 Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL 96 Adams, TitusTitus Adams Sr
DE 48 Blankenship, AdamAdam Blankenship RFr
CB 1 Bowman, ZackaryZackary Bowman Jr
LB 34 Bradley, StewartStewart Bradley Jr
LB 40 Brandenburgh, LanceLance Brandenburgh So
SS 21 Brothers, TitusTitus Brothers So
SS 26 Brown, MychealMycheal Brown Jr
DL 65 Bryant, ChrisChris Bryant Jr
SS 14 Bullocks, DanielDaniel Bullocks Sr
DE 90 Carriker, AdamAdam Carriker Jr
LB 45 Covey, NickNick Covey Fr
DL 94 Cryer, BarryBarry Cryer Jr
DL 54 Dagunduro, OlaOla Dagunduro Jr
CB 6 DeFrand, DonaldDonald DeFrand Sr
LB 38 Dillard, PhillipPhillip Dillard Fr
SS 46 Eisenhart, BenBen Eisenhart So
FS 4 Fisher, TylerTyler Fisher Sr
CB 18 Gingery, TravisTravis Gingery So
CB 30 Green, TierreTierre Green So
CB 2 Grixby, CortneyCortney Grixby So
LB 49 Ickes, AdamAdam Ickes Sr
CB 35 LeFlore, ChrisChris LeFlore So
DE 89 Luhrs, KevinKevin Luhrs So
LB 13 McKeon, CoreyCorey McKeon So
LB 58 Moore, DontrellDontrell Moore Jr
DE 44 Moore, JayJay Moore Jr
DE 55 Muhammad, WaliWali Muhammad Sr
SS 33 O'Hanlon, MattMatt O'Hanlon Fr
LB 52 O'Shea, MarkMark O'Shea Fr
DL 95 O'Shea, MattMatt O'Shea Sr
LB 15 Octavien, SteveSteve Octavien Jr
DE 98 Potter, ZachZach Potter Fr
DE 86 Poulosky, AndyAndy Poulosky So
DE 85 Rice, ThomasThomas Rice So
SS 24 Rigoni, BrandonBrandon Rigoni Jr
CB 19 Robison, JoeyJoey Robison Sr
LB 51 Ruud, BoBo Ruud So
FS 8 Shanle, AndrewAndrew Shanle Jr
DL 66 Smith, Le KevinLe Kevin Smith Sr
SS 39 Souder, JeffJeff Souder Fr
DE 43 Steinkuhler, TyTy Steinkuhler RFr
FS 16 Stuntz, MikeMike Stuntz Sr
DL 77 Suh, NdamukongNdamukong Suh Fr
FS 25 Tiedtke, BlakeBlake Tiedtke Sr
DL 99 Turner, BarryBarry Turner Fr
LB 59 Voges, BrianBrian Voges Jr
CB 28 Wilson, BryanBryan Wilson So
LB 53 Wortman, TylerTyler Wortman RFr
 Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK 93 Alegria, JordanJordan Alegria Fr
LS 52 Benzel, BryanBryan Benzel Fr
PK 29 Congdon, JordanJordan Congdon Fr
PK 27 Dyches, DavidDavid Dyches Jr
P 19 Kester, TylerTyler Kester So
P 37 Koch, SamSam Koch Sr
PK 91 Lueshen, EricEric Lueshen So
LS 55 McBride, NathanNathan McBride Fr
LS 82 O'Leary, T.J.T.J. O'Leary Fr
LS 9 Peetz, JakeJake Peetz Sr
P 97 Titchener, DanDan Titchener RFr
PK 98 Wesch, JakeJake Wesch RFr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Jay Norvell
       2nd season as OC/QB coach
       2nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Iowa
  • Kevin Cosgrove
       2nd season as DC/LB coach
       2nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: UW-Oshkosh
  • John Blake
       2nd season as DL coach
       2nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Oklahoma
  • Bill Busch
       2nd season as ST/S coach
       6th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska Wesleyan
  • Scott Downing
       3rd season as TE/ST coach
       6th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Sterling
  • Phil Elmassian
       1st season as CB coach
       2nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: William & Mary
  • Ted Gilmore
       1st season as WR coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Wyoming
  • Randy Jordan
       2nd season as RB coach
       2nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: North Carolina
  • Dennis Wagner
       2nd season as OL coach
       2nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Utah
  • Dave Kennedy
       2nd season as S&C coach
       9th year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
  • Aaron Stamn
       2nd season as GA coach
       2nd year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Minnesota Mankato
  • Angus McClure
       1st season as GA coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Sacramento State
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 16, 2011

Game notes

Maine

Maine at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Maine 0 007 7
• Nebraska 0 9610 25

Speculation that the 2005 season could perhaps be worse than the 2004 season began when Nebraska struggled to defeat the severe underdog Maine team 25–7.

Wake Forest

Wake Forest at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Wake Forest 0 300 3
• Nebraska 14 0107 31

The team went on to crush the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Zac Taylor's former four year college) 31–3. The win was unusual in that Nebraska's defense scored more points than either team's offense (Nebraska's defense scored 18 points, their offense 6, their special teams 7).

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Pittsburgh 0 060 6
• Nebraska 0 700 7

Their next game is arguably one of the most climactic in the history of all of football. The score was Nebraska 7 and the Pittsburgh Panthers 6. With 7 seconds remaining, the Panthers were going to attempt a game winning field goal from 36 yards. The ball was snapped with the holder unprepared for the play. The ball rebounded off the holder's helmet. Pittsburgh's kicker recovered the ball and threw it incomplete to preserve time. One second remained on the clock as Pittsburgh prepared for the final play. Pittsburgh attempted the kick again, the holder prepared this time. Pittsburgh's kicker looked as though he would have made the field goal had it not been blocked by Nebraska's Adam Ickes.

Iowa State

Iowa State at Nebraska [box score]
1 234OTTotal
Iowa State 0 31007 20
• Nebraska 3 07314 27

Nebraska's next game was equally exciting as unranked and undefeated Nebraska took on the #23 Iowa State Cyclones. They won in a hard fought match that went into 2 overtimes by a score of 27–20. The game marked the first time that overtime had occurred in Memorial Stadium. Regardless of the quality win, Nebraska remained unranked.

Texas Tech

Texas Tech at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
• Texas Tech 7 1467 34
Nebraska 0 14710 31

Nebraska was the only team that was unranked and had no losses going into their next game against the 15th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. After trailing 21–0 in the first half, Nebraska fought back and eventually gained a 31–27 foothold over Texas Tech. In the final minutes of the game, Nebraska seemingly sealed their victory and a top 25 ranking when lineman LeKevin Smith intercepted a Texas Tech pass only to fumble it seconds later to return possession to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were given a second-chance and with time winding down threw the game winning touchdown pass to defeat Nebraska.

Baylor

Nebraska at Baylor [box score]
1 234Total
• Nebraska 3 1073 23
Baylor 7 070 14


Missouri

Nebraska at Missouri [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 10 1400 24
• Missouri 21 3710 41


Oklahoma

Oklahoma at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
• Oklahoma 7 1437 31
Nebraska 0 3714 24


Kansas

Nebraska at Kansas [box score]
1 234Total
Nebraska 2 760 15
• Kansas 14 3716 40

The Huskers lost 3 of their next 4 games, including losses to their rival Missouri Tigers, who defeated them 41–24, a crushing 40-15 defeat to the Kansas Jayhawks (which snapped a 36 year winning streak over Kansas), and rival Oklahoma Sooners, the latter being lost in the final minutes of the game. (This victory was vacated by an NCAA disciplinary panel in July 2007 and then conversely overruled in February 2008.) The only win in this slump was a victory over a sub-par Baylor team.

Kansas State

Kansas State at Nebraska [box score]
1 234Total
Kansas State 6 6103 25
• Nebraska 7 1073 27

In a particularly windy game against Kansas State, Nebraska trailed 25–24 with 4:18 remaining in the game. Zac Taylor was on the receiving end of a hard hit that landed him with a mild concussion, removing him from the game. Zac remained on the ground for a couple of minutes with Callahan and KSU's Bill Snyder towering over him. The sold out crowd began to chant his name, as Taylor tried to recompose himself. Backup quarterback, freshman Harrison Beck, recorded his first action in a college football game. After throwing an interception in his first drive, he threw a key reception in Nebraska's final drive. Freshman kicker Jordan Congdon came in to make the go-ahead field goal. This was a risky move as the wind was swirling and was so strong that it ripped the stadium's mammoth U.S. flag off a crane that was suspending it, seemingly as a testament to its power. Regardless Congdon made the 40-yard field goal to give Nebraska the win.

Colorado

Nebraska at Colorado [box score]
1 234Total
• Nebraska 3 1773 30
Colorado 3 000 3

Nebraska's final regular season game of 2005 was at Colorado. Colorado, who was leading the Big 12 North division in the race to the Big 12 championship game, was the heavy favorite, as Nebraska was cold after 3 straight losses followed by a near miss against a struggling Kansas State team. Tension built up between the rivals as a verbal skirmish involving every player erupted in the center of the field between the two teams when Nebraska mistook Colorado players walking toward their half of the field as an insult. Colorado was stunned, however, when Nebraska dominated Colorado in every aspect of the game. Wearing motivational T-Shirts reading "RESTORE THE ORDER" underneath their jerseys, Nebraska beat Colorado 30–3 with breakout performances from nearly every player, particularly Zac Taylor and Colorado native Cory Ross.

Michigan

Nebraska vs Michigan [box score]
1 234Total
Michigan 7 777 28
• Nebraska 7 7315 32

The team finished with 7 wins and 4 losses in the regular season. Nebraska would play their bowl game against the Michigan Wolverines in the 2005 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. With 2 seconds left in the game the Wolverines trailed the Cornhuskers 32-28 and set up the hook & lateral play for a miracle touchdown. In one of the wildest finishes ever, Michigan lateraled the football 9 times, fumbling once on their way to a 59 yard gain. In the midst of all this the entire Nebraska sideline stormed the field in celebration thinking the game was over when Michigan fumbled the ball (from their point of view they could not see that the ball was loose and assumed the Michigan player to be down). Many players thinking the play was over stopped playing entirely. This allowed the Michigan ball carrier to run by them, In all the confusion some Michigan players did not block for their carrier. Before the play was over the Cornhuskers, several Michigan players and coaches, and several other individuals along with the awards podium were on the field, and the game officials had left to submit their votes for the award winners. The Michigan ball carrier had been pushed out of bounds inside of the red zone. No penalties were awarded to either team because the officials had already left. When all was said and done, Nebraska came off with a victory and ended their season with an 8–4 record.

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Final
AP NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 24
Coaches NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 24
Harris Not released NR NR 25 NR 24 NR NR NR NR NR NR N/A
BCS Not released 23 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR N/A

After the season

Bill Callahan's second season as coach concluded with his Huskers finishing the season with an 8–4 record, an improvement over the 5–6 record of 2004.

Awards

[2]

Award Name(s)
Freshman All American 1st team Jordan Congdon, Barry Turner
All-Big 12 1st team Adam Carriker, Sam Koch, Terrence Nunn
All-Big 12 2nd team Daniel Bullocks, Jordan Congdon, Kurt Mann, Corey McKeon, Cory Ross
All-Big 12 honorable mention Titus Adams, Seppo Evwaraye, Cortney Grixby, Brandon Koch, Jay Moore, Bo Ruud, Nate Swift
Freshman All-Big 12 1st team Jordan Congdon, Nate Swift, Barry Turner

NFL and Pro Players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 2005 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.[3]

Name Team
Titus Adams New York Jets
Stewart Bradley Philadelphia Eagles
Daniel Bullocks Detroit Lions
Adam Carriker St. Louis Rams
Seppo Evwaraye Carolina Panthers
Joe Ganz Washington Redskins
Cortney Grixby Carolina Panthers
Brandon Jackson Green Bay Packers
Sam Koch Baltimore Ravens
Jay Moore San Francisco 49ers
Lydon Murtha Detroit Lions
Terrence Nunn New England Patriots
Chris Patrick New York Giants
Todd Peterson Jacksonville Jaguars
Andy Poulosky Sioux City Bandits
Cory Ross Baltimore Ravens
Bo Ruud New England Patriots
Andrew Shanle Chicago Bears
Le Kevin Smith New England Patriots
Ty Steinkuhler New York Jets
Nate Swift Denver Broncos
Zac Taylor Tampa Bay Buccaneers

References

  1. ↑ "Football - 2005 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2005 Husker Honors
  3. ↑ "All Time NFL Huskers". nflhuskers.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.