CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1982 Nebraska

12–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Big Eight), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1982, game by game: won vs. Iowa 42–7; won vs. New Mexico State 68–0; lost at No. 8 Penn State 24–27; won at No. 20 Auburn 41–7; won at Colorado 40–14; won vs. Kansas State 42–13; won vs. Missouri 23–19; won at Kansas 52–0; won vs. Oklahoma State 48–10; won at Iowa State 48–10; won vs. No. 11 Oklahoma 28–24; won at Hawai’i 37–16; won vs. No. 13 LSU 21–20+68−3Won 42–7 vs. Iowa+35IowaWon 68–0 vs. New Mexico State+68New Mexico StateLost 24–27 at No. 8 Penn State-3No. 8 Penn StateWon 41–7 at No. 20 Auburn+34No. 20 AuburnWon 40–14 at Colorado+26ColoradoWon 42–13 vs. Kansas State+29Kansas StateWon 23–19 vs. Missouri+4MissouriWon 52–0 at Kansas+52KansasWon 48–10 vs. Oklahoma State+38Oklahoma StateWon 48–10 at Iowa State+38Iowa StateWon 28–24 vs. No. 11 Oklahoma+4No. 11 OklahomaWon 37–16 at Hawai’i+21Hawai’iWon 21–20 vs. No. 13 LSU+1No. 13 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11vsIowaW 42–⁠773%
Sep 18vsNew Mexico StateW 68–⁠091%
Sep 25at8Penn StateL 24–⁠2738%
Oct 2at20AuburnW 41–⁠758%
Oct 9atColoradoW 40–⁠1484%
Oct 16vsKansas StateW 42–⁠1386%
Oct 23vsMissouriW 23–⁠1976%
Oct 30atKansasW 52–⁠080%
Nov 6vsOklahoma StateW 48–⁠1086%
Nov 13atIowa StateW 48–⁠1078%
Nov 26vs11OklahomaW 28–⁠2468%
Dec 4atHawai’iW 37–⁠1675%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs13LSUOrange BowlW 21–⁠2073%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat LSU 21–⁠20 in the Orange Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1982.

Big Eight champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteDave Rimington, fifth

Outland TrophyDave Rimington, C; also the Lombardi

2 consensus All-AmericansDave Rimington, C; Mike Rozier, RB

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 2
Points
514–⁠167
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1803 +133 this season
SP+ rating
28.6 No. 2 of 109; offense No. 2, defense No. 20
SRS
26.0 No. 1 of 113 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Charlie McBride
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1983

The 1983 draft
Rd 1Dave Rimington CCincinnati Bengals
Rd 2Roger Craig RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Jamie Williams TENew York Giants
Rd 6Todd Brown WRDetroit Lions

All-Big Eight

8 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1982 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1982 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska7–⁠012–⁠13
Oklahoma6–⁠18–⁠416
Oklahoma State3–⁠2–⁠24–⁠5–⁠2
Kansas State3–⁠3–⁠16–⁠5–⁠1
Missouri2–⁠3–⁠25–⁠4–⁠2
Iowa State1–⁠5–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Kansas1–⁠5–⁠12–⁠7–⁠2
Colorado1–⁠5–⁠12–⁠8–⁠1

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