CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Nebraska

13–⁠0 (8–⁠0 Big 12), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1997, game by game: won vs. Akron 59–14; won vs. UCF 38–24; won at No. 2 Washington 27–14; won vs. No. 17 Kansas State 56–26; won at Baylor 49–21; won vs. Texas Tech 29–0; won at Kansas 35–0; won vs. Oklahoma 69–7; won at Missouri 45–38; won vs. Iowa State 77–14; won at Colorado 27–24; won vs. No. 20 Texas A&M 54–15; won vs. No. 3 Tennessee 42–17+63Won 59–14 vs. Akron+45AkronWon 38–24 vs. UCF+14UCFWon 27–14 at No. 2 Washington+13No. 2 WashingtonWon 56–26 vs. No. 17 Kansas State+30No. 17 Kansas StateWon 49–21 at Baylor+28BaylorWon 29–0 vs. Texas Tech+29Texas TechWon 35–0 at Kansas+35KansasWon 69–7 vs. Oklahoma+62OklahomaWon 45–38 at Missouri+7MissouriWon 77–14 vs. Iowa State+63Iowa StateWon 27–24 at Colorado+3ColoradoWon 54–15 vs. No. 20 Texas A&M+39No. 20 Texas A&MWon 42–17 vs. No. 3 Tennessee+25No. 3 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsAkronW 59–⁠1490%
Sep 13vsUCFW 38–⁠2490%
Sep 20at2WashingtonW 27–⁠1450%
Oct 4vs17Kansas StateW 56–⁠2672%
Oct 11atBaylorW 49–⁠2186%
Oct 18vsTexas TechW 29–⁠081%
Oct 25atKansasW 35–⁠082%
Nov 1vsOklahomaW 69–⁠792%
Nov 8atMissouriW 45–⁠3876%
Nov 15vsIowa StateW 77–⁠1496%
Nov 28atColoradoW 27–⁠2471%
Dec 6Bowls & playoffvs20Texas A&MBig 12 Championship GameW 54–⁠1574%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs3TennesseeOrange BowlW 42–⁠1758%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tennessee 42–⁠17 in the Orange Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big 12 champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 3
  9. Wk 9: 2
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Wk 15: 2
  16. Wk 16: 2
  17. Wk 17: 2
  18. Final: 2

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 1997.

National championsa title the school claims

Big 12 champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the Big 12 Championship Game

Outland TrophyAaron Taylor, OG

Lombardi AwardGrant Wistrom, DE

3 consensus All-AmericansAaron Taylor, OG; Grant Wistrom, DE; Jason Peter, DL

Record
13–⁠0
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Big 12
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
607–⁠214
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1880 +155 this season
SP+ rating
31.4 No. 3 of 112; offense No. 1, defense No. 26
SRS
27.5 No. 2 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Charlie McBride
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Grant Wistrom DESt. Louis Rams
Rd 1Jason Peter DECarolina Panthers
Rd 3Scott Frost DBNew York Jets
Rd 3Ahman Green RBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Aaron Taylor OGIndianapolis Colts
Rd 7Eric Warfield DBKansas City Chiefs

All-Big 12

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska8–⁠013–⁠02
Kansas State7–⁠111–⁠18
Texas A&M6–⁠29–⁠420
Oklahoma State5–⁠38–⁠424
Missouri5–⁠37–⁠523
Texas Tech5–⁠36–⁠5
Colorado3–⁠55–⁠6
Kansas3–⁠55–⁠6
Texas2–⁠64–⁠7
Oklahoma2–⁠64–⁠8
Baylor1–⁠72–⁠9
Iowa State1–⁠71–⁠10

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