CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1979 Nebraska

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1979, game by game: won vs. Utah State 35–14; won at Iowa 24–21; won vs. No. 18 Penn State 42–17; won vs. New Mexico State 57–0; won vs. Kansas 42–0; won at Oklahoma State 36–0; won vs. Colorado 38–10; won at Missouri 23–20; won at Kansas State 21–12; won vs. Iowa State 34–3; lost at No. 8 Oklahoma 14–17; lost vs. No. 8 Houston 14–17+57−3Won 35–14 vs. Utah State+21Utah StateWon 24–21 at Iowa+3IowaWon 42–17 vs. No. 18 Penn State+25No. 18 Penn StateWon 57–0 vs. New Mexico State+57New Mexico StateWon 42–0 vs. Kansas+42KansasWon 36–0 at Oklahoma State+36Oklahoma StateWon 38–10 vs. Colorado+28ColoradoWon 23–20 at Missouri+3MissouriWon 21–12 at Kansas State+9Kansas StateWon 34–3 vs. Iowa State+31Iowa StateLost 14–17 at No. 8 Oklahoma-3No. 8 OklahomaLost 14–17 vs. No. 8 Houston-3No. 8 Houston
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15vsUtah StateW 35–⁠1480%
Sep 22atIowaW 24–⁠2178%
Sep 29vs18Penn StateW 42–⁠1758%
Oct 6vsNew Mexico StateW 57–⁠089%
Oct 13vsKansasW 42–⁠089%
Oct 20atOklahoma StateW 36–⁠070%
Oct 27vsColoradoW 38–⁠1090%
Nov 3atMissouriW 23–⁠2067%
Nov 10atKansas StateW 21–⁠1281%
Nov 17vsIowa StateW 34–⁠390%
Nov 24at8OklahomaL 14–⁠1741%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs8HoustonCotton BowlL 14–⁠1755%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Houston 17–⁠14 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1979.

Consensus All-AmericanJunior Miller, TE

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 2nd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 2
Points
380–⁠131
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1728 +81 this season
SP+ rating
25.5 No. 4 of 135; offense No. 6, defense No. 11
SRS
23.6 No. 5 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Lance Van Zandt
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 1Junior Miller TEAtlanta Falcons
Rd 3Rod Horn DTCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Bill Barnett DEMiami Dolphins
Rd 3Tim Smith WRHouston Oilers
Rd 4I.M. Hipp RBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 5Dan Pensick DTKansas City Chiefs
Rd 7John Havekost OGDenver Broncos

All-Big Eight

8 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1979 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1979 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠011–⁠13
Nebraska6–⁠110–⁠29
Oklahoma State5–⁠27–⁠4
Missouri3–⁠47–⁠5
Colorado2–⁠53–⁠8
Iowa State2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas State1–⁠63–⁠8

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