CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Nebraska

10–⁠2 (5–⁠2 Big Eight), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1986, game by game: won vs. No. 11 Florida State 34–17; won at Illinois 59–14; won vs. Oregon 48–14; won at South Carolina 27–24; won vs. Oklahoma State 30–10; won vs. Missouri 48–17; lost at Colorado 10–20; won vs. Kansas State 38–0; won at Iowa State 35–14; won at Kansas 70–0; lost vs. No. 3 Oklahoma 17–20; won vs. No. 5 LSU 30–15+70−10Won 34–17 vs. No. 11 Florida State+17No. 11 Florida StateWon 59–14 at Illinois+45IllinoisWon 48–14 vs. Oregon+34OregonWon 27–24 at South Carolina+3South CarolinaWon 30–10 vs. Oklahoma State+20Oklahoma StateWon 48–17 vs. Missouri+31MissouriLost 10–20 at Colorado-10ColoradoWon 38–0 vs. Kansas State+38Kansas StateWon 35–14 at Iowa State+21Iowa StateWon 70–0 at Kansas+70KansasLost 17–20 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma-3No. 3 OklahomaWon 30–15 vs. No. 5 LSU+15No. 5 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vs11Florida StateW 34–⁠1759%
Sep 20atIllinoisW 59–⁠1461%
Sep 27vsOregonW 48–⁠1482%
Oct 4atSouth CarolinaW 27–⁠2475%
Oct 11vsOklahoma StateW 30–⁠1080%
Oct 18vsMissouriW 48–⁠1793%
Oct 25atColoradoL 10–⁠2075%
Nov 1vsKansas StateW 38–⁠092%
Nov 8atIowa StateW 35–⁠1471%
Nov 15atKansasW 70–⁠082%
Nov 22vs3OklahomaL 17–⁠2048%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5LSUSugar BowlW 30–⁠1549%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat LSU 30–⁠15 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 21st-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: 6
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 3
  9. Wk 9: 9
  10. Wk 10: 7
  11. Wk 11: 6
  12. Wk 12: 5
  13. Wk 13: 6
  14. Wk 14: 6
  15. Final: 5

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 1986.

Led the nationRod Smith: punt return average (18.9)

Consensus All-AmericanDanny Noonan, DT

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠2 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 3
Points
446–⁠165
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1737 +96 this season
SP+ rating
23.5 No. 7 of 101; offense No. 4, defense No. 21
SRS
20.6 No. 9 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Charlie McBride
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 1Danny Noonan DTDallas Cowboys
Rd 2Brian Davis DBWashington Redskins
Rd 4Marc Munford LBDenver Broncos

All-Big Eight

6 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

  • Todd MillikanTEUPI-2
  • Rod SmithWRUPI-2
  • John McCormickOTAP-2; UPI-2
  • Stan ParkerOGAP-2
  • Rob MaggardOGAP-2
  • Brian DavisDBUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1986 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1986 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠011–⁠13
Colorado6–⁠16–⁠6
Nebraska5–⁠210–⁠25
Oklahoma State4–⁠36–⁠5
Iowa State3–⁠46–⁠5
Missouri2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas State1–⁠62–⁠9
Kansas0–⁠73–⁠8

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