CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1980 Nebraska

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1980, game by game: won vs. Utah 55–9; won vs. Iowa 57–0; won at No. 11 Penn State 21–7; lost vs. No. 16 Florida State 14–18; won at Kansas 54–0; won vs. Oklahoma State 48–7; won at Colorado 45–7; won vs. No. 15 Missouri 38–16; won vs. Kansas State 55–8; won at Iowa State 35–0; lost vs. No. 9 Oklahoma 17–21; won vs. No. 17 Mississippi State 31–17+57−4Won 55–9 vs. Utah+46UtahWon 57–0 vs. Iowa+57IowaWon 21–7 at No. 11 Penn State+14No. 11 Penn StateLost 14–18 vs. No. 16 Florida State-4No. 16 Florida StateWon 54–0 at Kansas+54KansasWon 48–7 vs. Oklahoma State+41Oklahoma StateWon 45–7 at Colorado+38ColoradoWon 38–16 vs. No. 15 Missouri+22No. 15 MissouriWon 55–8 vs. Kansas State+47Kansas StateWon 35–0 at Iowa State+35Iowa StateLost 17–21 vs. No. 9 Oklahoma-4No. 9 OklahomaWon 31–17 vs. No. 17 Mississippi State+14No. 17 Mississippi Sta…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 13vsUtahW 55–⁠982%
Sep 20vsIowaW 57–⁠077%
Sep 27at11Penn StateW 21–⁠746%
Oct 4vs16Florida StateL 14–⁠1859%
Oct 11atKansasW 54–⁠078%
Oct 18vsOklahoma StateW 48–⁠785%
Oct 25atColoradoW 45–⁠786%
Nov 1vs15MissouriW 38–⁠1667%
Nov 8vsKansas StateW 55–⁠892%
Nov 15atIowa StateW 35–⁠080%
Nov 22vs9OklahomaL 17–⁠2161%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs17Mississippi StateSun BowlW 31–⁠1769%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Mississippi State 31–⁠17 in the Sun Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1980.

2 consensus All-AmericansRandy Schleusener, OG; Jarvis Redwine, RB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 2nd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 3
Points
470–⁠110
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1759 +107 this season
SP+ rating
35.0 No. 2 of 133; offense No. 2, defense No. 9
SRS
32.8 No. 1 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Lance Van Zandt
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1981

The 1981 draft
Rd 2Russell Gary DBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 2Jarvis Redwine RBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 2Andra Franklin RBMiami Dolphins
Rd 4Derrie Nelson LBDallas Cowboys

All-Big Eight

5 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1980 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1980 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠010–⁠23
Nebraska6–⁠110–⁠27
Missouri5–⁠28–⁠4
Kansas3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠5–⁠2
Oklahoma State2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Iowa State2–⁠56–⁠5
Kansas State1–⁠63–⁠8
Colorado1–⁠61–⁠10

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