CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1987 Nebraska

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

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1987, game by game: won vs. Utah State 56–12; won vs. No. 3 UCLA 42–33; won at No. 12 Arizona State 35–28; won vs. South Carolina 30–21; won vs. Kansas 54–2; won at No. 12 Oklahoma State 35–0; won vs. Kansas State 56–3; won at Missouri 42–7; won vs. Iowa State 42–3; lost vs. No. 2 Oklahoma 7–17; won at Colorado 24–7; lost vs. No. 3 Florida State 28–31+53−10Won 56–12 vs. Utah State+44Utah StateWon 42–33 vs. No. 3 UCLA+9No. 3 UCLAWon 35–28 at No. 12 Arizona State+7No. 12 Arizona StateWon 30–21 vs. South Carolina+9South CarolinaWon 54–2 vs. Kansas+52KansasWon 35–0 at No. 12 Oklahoma State+35No. 12 Oklahoma StateWon 56–3 vs. Kansas State+53Kansas StateWon 42–7 at Missouri+35MissouriWon 42–3 vs. Iowa State+39Iowa StateLost 7–17 vs. No. 2 Oklahoma-10No. 2 OklahomaWon 24–7 at Colorado+17ColoradoLost 28–31 vs. No. 3 Florida State-3No. 3 Florida State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsUtah StateW 56–⁠1288%
Sep 12vs3UCLAW 42–⁠3359%
Sep 26at12Arizona StateW 35–⁠2845%
Oct 3vsSouth CarolinaW 30–⁠2182%
Oct 10vsKansasW 54–⁠292%
Oct 17at12Oklahoma StateW 35–⁠056%
Oct 24vsKansas StateW 56–⁠396%
Oct 31atMissouriW 42–⁠780%
Nov 7vsIowa StateW 42–⁠393%
Nov 21vs2OklahomaL 7–⁠1753%
Nov 28atColoradoW 24–⁠763%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3Florida StateFiesta BowlL 28–⁠3148%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida State 31–⁠28 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1987.

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 2nd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 1
Points
451–⁠164
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1753 +95 this season
SP+ rating
29.4 No. 3 of 101; offense No. 2, defense No. 15
SRS
25.4 No. 3 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Charlie McBride
Offense
I formation
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1988

The 1988 draft
Rd 1Neil Smith DEKansas City Chiefs
Rd 4Tim Rother OTLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 6Keith Jones RBLos Angeles Rams

All-Big Eight

8 first team, 6 second team

First team

  • Steve TaylorQBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Keith JonesRBAP-1; UPI-1
  • John McCormickDown linemenAP-1; UPI-2
  • Keven LightnerDown linemenAP-2; UPI-1
  • Broderick ThomasDEAP-1; UPI-1
  • Neil SmithDown linemanAP-1; UPI-1
  • Tim RotherDown linemanAP-1; UPI-2
  • Steve ForchLBUPI-1

Second team

  • Tom BanderasTEAP-2; UPI-2
  • Rod SmithWRUPI-2
  • Jake YoungCAP-2; UPI-2
  • Bob SledgeDown linemenUPI-2
  • LeRoy EtienneLBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Charles FrayerDBAP-2; UPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1987 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1987 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠011–⁠13
Nebraska6–⁠110–⁠26
Oklahoma State5–⁠210–⁠211
Colorado4–⁠37–⁠4
Missouri3–⁠45–⁠6
Iowa State2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas0–⁠6–⁠11–⁠9–⁠1
Kansas State0–⁠6–⁠10–⁠10–⁠1

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