CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 Nebraska

9–⁠3 (6–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1978, game by game: lost at Alabama 3–20; won vs. California 36–26; won vs. Hawai’i 56–10; won at Indiana 69–17; won at No. 15 Iowa State 23–0; won vs. Kansas State 48–14; won at Colorado 52–14; won vs. Oklahoma State 22–14; won at Kansas 63–21; won vs. No. 1 Oklahoma 17–14; lost vs. Missouri 31–35; lost vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 24–31+52−17Lost 3–20 at Alabama-17AlabamaWon 36–26 vs. California+10CaliforniaWon 56–10 vs. Hawai’i+46Hawai’iWon 69–17 at Indiana+52IndianaWon 23–0 at No. 15 Iowa State+23No. 15 Iowa StateWon 48–14 vs. Kansas State+34Kansas StateWon 52–14 at Colorado+38ColoradoWon 22–14 vs. Oklahoma State+8Oklahoma StateWon 63–21 at Kansas+42KansasWon 17–14 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma+3No. 1 OklahomaLost 31–35 vs. Missouri-4MissouriLost 24–31 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma-7No. 4 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atAlabamaL 3–⁠2033%
Sep 9vsCaliforniaW 36–⁠2668%
Sep 16vsHawai’iW 56–⁠1081%
Sep 30atIndianaW 69–⁠1763%
Oct 7at15Iowa StateW 23–⁠051%
Oct 14vsKansas StateW 48–⁠1490%
Oct 21atColoradoW 52–⁠1458%
Oct 28vsOklahoma StateW 22–⁠1488%
Nov 4atKansasW 63–⁠2186%
Nov 11vs1OklahomaW 17–⁠1454%
Nov 18vsMissouriL 31–⁠3580%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4OklahomaOrange BowlL 24–⁠3144%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 31–⁠24 in the Orange Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1978.

Big Eight champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Oklahoma

Consensus All-AmericanKelvin Clark, OT

Bobby Dodd Coach of the YearTom Osborne, coach

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 2
Points
444–⁠216
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1721 +84 this season
SP+ rating
26.0 No. 7 of 133; offense No. 2, defense No. 51
SRS
25.0 No. 4 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jerry Moore
Defensive coordinator
Lance Van Zandt
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 1George Andrews LBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 1Kelvin Clark OTDenver Broncos
Rd 3Barney Cotton OGCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Rick Berns RBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 6Steve Lindquist OGMiami Dolphins
Rd 7Lee Kunz LBChicago Bears

All-Big Eight

7 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1978 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1978 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma6–⁠111–⁠13
Nebraska6–⁠19–⁠38
Iowa State4–⁠38–⁠4
Missouri4–⁠38–⁠415
Kansas State3–⁠44–⁠7
Oklahoma State3–⁠43–⁠8
Colorado2–⁠56–⁠5
Kansas0–⁠71–⁠10

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