CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2005 Nebraska

8–⁠4 (4–⁠4 Big 12), coached by Bill Callahan, finished No. 24 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2005, game by game: won vs. Maine 25–7; won vs. Wake Forest 31–3; won vs. Pittsburgh 7–6; won vs. No. 23 Iowa State 27–20; lost vs. No. 15 Texas Tech 31–34; won at Baylor 23–14; lost at Missouri 24–41; lost vs. Oklahoma 24–31; lost at Kansas 15–40; won vs. Kansas State 27–25; won at Colorado 30–3; won vs. No. 20 Michigan 32–28+28−25Won 25–7 vs. Maine+18MaineWon 31–3 vs. Wake Forest+28Wake ForestWon 7–6 vs. Pittsburgh+1PittsburghWon 27–20 vs. No. 23 Iowa State+7No. 23 Iowa StateLost 31–34 vs. No. 15 Texas Tech-3No. 15 Texas TechWon 23–14 at Baylor+9BaylorLost 24–41 at Missouri-17MissouriLost 24–31 vs. Oklahoma-7OklahomaLost 15–40 at Kansas-25KansasWon 27–25 vs. Kansas State+2Kansas StateWon 30–3 at Colorado+27ColoradoWon 32–28 vs. No. 20 Michigan+4No. 20 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsMaineW 25–⁠781%
Sep 10vsWake ForestW 31–⁠370%
Sep 17vsPittsburghW 7–⁠664%
Oct 1vs23Iowa StateW 27–⁠2057%
Oct 8vs15Texas TechL 31–⁠3446%
Oct 15atBaylorW 23–⁠1453%
Oct 22atMissouriL 24–⁠4149%
Oct 29vsOklahomaL 24–⁠3143%
Nov 5atKansasL 15–⁠4047%
Nov 12vsKansas StateW 27–⁠2559%
Nov 25atColoradoW 30–⁠327%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs20MichiganAlamo BowlW 32–⁠2836%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 32–⁠28 in the Alamo Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 81st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Final: 24
Record
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Big 12
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 24
Points
296–⁠252
Coach
Bill Callahan
Elo
1586 +67 this season
SP+ rating
10.3 No. 34 of 118; offense No. 73, defense No. 12
SRS
6.3 No. 34 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 8
Offensive coordinator
Jay Norvell
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Cosgrove
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense99th of 119
  • Defense45th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0036%0.9599th of 119
Defense0.0535%1.1945th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 322% allowed
Defense-0.1own 292% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2005 class

Marlon Lucky RB★★★★★No. 14
Ndamukong Suh DT★★★★No. 47
Phillip Dillard ILB★★★★No. 77
Harrison Beck PRO★★★★No. 123
Zach Potter SDE★★★★No. 123

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2005 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.922
Running backs15.00.995
Receivers12.00.767
Defensive line24.00.951
Linebackers14.00.970
Defensive backs13.00.811
Whole class73.70.910

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2006

The 2006 draft
Rd 2Daniel Bullocks DBDetroit Lions
Rd 6Sam Koch PBaltimore Ravens
Rd 6Le Kevin Smith DTNew England Patriots
Rd 7Titus Adams DENew York Jets

All-Big 12

1 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2005 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2005 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas8–⁠013–⁠01
Texas Tech6–⁠29–⁠320
Oklahoma6–⁠28–⁠422
Colorado5–⁠37–⁠6
Nebraska4–⁠48–⁠424
Missouri4–⁠47–⁠5
Iowa State4–⁠47–⁠5
Kansas3–⁠57–⁠5
Texas A&M3–⁠55–⁠6
Kansas State2–⁠65–⁠6
Baylor2–⁠65–⁠6
Oklahoma State1–⁠74–⁠7

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