CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1970 Nebraska

11–⁠0–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Big Eight), coached by Bob Devaney, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1970, game by game: won vs. Wake Forest 36–12; tied at No. 3 USC 21–21; won vs. Army 28–0; won at Minnesota 35–10; won vs. No. 16 Missouri 21–7; won at Kansas 41–20; won vs. Oklahoma State 65–31; won at Colorado 29–13; won at Iowa State 54–29; won vs. No. 20 Kansas State 51–13; won vs. Oklahoma 28–21; won vs. No. 5 LSU 17–12+38Won 36–12 vs. Wake Forest+24Wake ForestTied 21–21 at No. 3 USC0No. 3 USCWon 28–0 vs. Army+28ArmyWon 35–10 at Minnesota+25MinnesotaWon 21–7 vs. No. 16 Missouri+14No. 16 MissouriWon 41–20 at Kansas+21KansasWon 65–31 vs. Oklahoma State+34Oklahoma StateWon 29–13 at Colorado+16ColoradoWon 54–29 at Iowa State+25Iowa StateWon 51–13 vs. No. 20 Kansas State+38No. 20 Kansas StateWon 28–21 vs. Oklahoma+7OklahomaWon 17–12 vs. No. 5 LSU+5No. 5 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsWake ForestW 36–⁠1284%
Sep 19at3USCT 21–⁠2134%
Sep 26vsArmyW 28–⁠077%
Oct 3atMinnesotaW 35–⁠1060%
Oct 10vs16MissouriW 21–⁠764%
Oct 17atKansasW 41–⁠2068%
Oct 24vsOklahoma StateW 65–⁠3182%
Oct 31atColoradoW 29–⁠1363%
Nov 7atIowa StateW 54–⁠2982%
Nov 14vs20Kansas StateW 51–⁠1380%
Nov 21vsOklahomaW 28–⁠2180%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5LSUOrange BowlW 17–⁠1257%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat LSU 17–⁠12 in the Orange Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 4
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 3
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Final: 1

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1970.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Big Eight champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationJerry Tagge: passer rating (149.0)

Consensus All-AmericanBob Newton, OT

Record
11–⁠0–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
426–⁠189
Coach
Bob Devaney
Elo
1800 +168 this season
SP+ rating
30.0 No. 4 of 117; offense No. 2, defense No. 16
SRS
31.7 No. 3 of 123 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Tom Osborne
Defensive coordinator
Monte Kiffin
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1971

The 1971 draft
Rd 2Joe Orduna RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Bob Newton OTChicago Bears

All-Big Eight

7 first team, 6 second team

First team

  • Bob NewtonOTAP-1; UPI-1
  • Donnie McGheeOGUPI-1
  • Joe OrdunaRBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Dave WallineDTAP-1; UPI-1
  • Ed PeriardMGAP-1; UPI-1
  • Jerry MurtaughLBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Bill KoschDBUPI-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1970 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1970 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska7–⁠011–⁠0–⁠11
Oklahoma5–⁠27–⁠4–⁠120
Kansas State5–⁠26–⁠5
Colorado3–⁠46–⁠5
Missouri3–⁠45–⁠6
Kansas2–⁠55–⁠6
Oklahoma State2–⁠54–⁠7
Iowa State1–⁠65–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.