CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 Nebraska

9–⁠3 (6–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1985, game by game: lost vs. No. 17 Florida State 13–17; won vs. No. 20 Illinois 52–25; won vs. Oregon 63–0; won vs. New Mexico 38–7; won at No. 5 Oklahoma State 34–24; won at Missouri 28–20; won vs. Colorado 17–7; won at Kansas State 41–3; won vs. Iowa State 49–0; won vs. Kansas 56–6; lost at No. 5 Oklahoma 7–27; lost vs. No. 5 Michigan 23–27+63−20Lost 13–17 vs. No. 17 Florida State-4No. 17 Florida StateWon 52–25 vs. No. 20 Illinois+27No. 20 IllinoisWon 63–0 vs. Oregon+63OregonWon 38–7 vs. New Mexico+31New MexicoWon 34–24 at No. 5 Oklahoma State+10No. 5 Oklahoma StateWon 28–20 at Missouri+8MissouriWon 17–7 vs. Colorado+10ColoradoWon 41–3 at Kansas State+38Kansas StateWon 49–0 vs. Iowa State+49Iowa StateWon 56–6 vs. Kansas+50KansasLost 7–27 at No. 5 Oklahoma-20No. 5 OklahomaLost 23–27 vs. No. 5 Michigan-4No. 5 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vs17Florida StateL 13–⁠1763%
Sep 21vs20IllinoisW 52–⁠2573%
Sep 28vsOregonW 63–⁠079%
Oct 5vsNew MexicoW 38–⁠787%
Oct 12at5Oklahoma StateW 34–⁠2443%
Oct 19atMissouriW 28–⁠2085%
Oct 26vsColoradoW 17–⁠786%
Nov 2atKansas StateW 41–⁠389%
Nov 9vsIowa StateW 49–⁠093%
Nov 16vsKansasW 56–⁠686%
Nov 23at5OklahomaL 7–⁠2752%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5MichiganFiesta BowlL 23–⁠2749%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan 27–⁠23 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 31st-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: 10
  3. Wk 3: 18
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 13
  7. Wk 7: 9
  8. Wk 8: 7
  9. Wk 9: 5
  10. Wk 10: 5
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 8
  15. Wk 15: 7
  16. Wk 16: 7
  17. Final: 11

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 1985.

Led the nationTom Rathman: yards per carry (7.5)

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠1 2nd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 2
Points
421–⁠163
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1711 +32 this season
SP+ rating
22.7 No. 8 of 106; offense No. 7, defense No. 25
SRS
19.3 No. 6 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Charlie McBride
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 3Tom Rathman RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Jim Skow DECincinnati Bengals
Rd 7Paul Miles RBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Bill Lewis CLos Angeles Raiders

All-Big Eight

7 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Tim RothOTAP-2
  • Danny NoonanDTAP-2; UPI-2
  • Chris SpachmanDTUPI-2
  • Brian WashingtonDBAP-2; UPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1985 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1985 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠011–⁠11
Nebraska6–⁠19–⁠311
Oklahoma State4–⁠38–⁠4
Colorado4–⁠37–⁠5
Iowa State3–⁠45–⁠6
Kansas2–⁠56–⁠6
Kansas State1–⁠61–⁠10
Missouri1–⁠61–⁠10

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