CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2006 Nebraska

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Big 12), coached by Bill Callahan.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2006, game by game: won vs. Louisiana Tech 49–10; won vs. Nicholls 56–7; lost at No. 4 USC 10–28; won vs. Troy 56–0; won vs. Kansas 39–32; won at Iowa State 28–14; won at Kansas State 21–3; lost vs. No. 5 Texas 20–22; lost at Oklahoma State 29–41; won vs. Missouri 34–20; won at No. 24 Texas A&M 28–27; won vs. Colorado 37–14; lost vs. No. 8 Oklahoma 7–21; lost vs. No. 11 Auburn 14–17+56−18Won 49–10 vs. Louisiana Tech+39Louisiana TechWon 56–7 vs. Nicholls+49NichollsLost 10–28 at No. 4 USC-18No. 4 USCWon 56–0 vs. Troy+56TroyWon 39–32 vs. Kansas+7KansasWon 28–14 at Iowa State+14Iowa StateWon 21–3 at Kansas State+18Kansas StateLost 20–22 vs. No. 5 Texas-2No. 5 TexasLost 29–41 at Oklahoma State-12Oklahoma StateWon 34–20 vs. Missouri+14MissouriWon 28–27 at No. 24 Texas A&M+1No. 24 Texas A&MWon 37–14 vs. Colorado+23ColoradoLost 7–21 vs. No. 8 Oklahoma-14No. 8 OklahomaLost 14–17 vs. No. 11 Auburn-3No. 11 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsLouisiana TechW 49–⁠1061%
Sep 9vsNichollsW 56–⁠783%
Sep 16at4USCL 10–⁠2822%
Sep 23vsTroyW 56–⁠079%
Sep 30vsKansasW 39–⁠3264%
Oct 7atIowa StateW 28–⁠1451%
Oct 14atKansas StateW 21–⁠362%
Oct 21vs5TexasL 20–⁠2243%
Oct 28atOklahoma StateL 29–⁠4162%
Nov 4vsMissouriW 34–⁠2061%
Nov 11at24Texas A&MW 28–⁠2746%
Nov 24vsColoradoW 37–⁠1482%
Dec 2vs8OklahomaBig 12 Championship GameL 7–⁠2139%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11AuburnCotton BowlL 14–⁠1746%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 17–⁠14 in the Cotton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big 12.

In program history: The 68th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 2: 21
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 4: 23
  5. Wk 5: 21
  6. Wk 6: 22
  7. Wk 7: 21
  8. Wk 8: 17
  9. Wk 9: 20
  10. Wk 12: 24
  11. Wk 13: 23
  12. Wk 14: 19

Big 12 North champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big 12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
428–⁠256
Coach
Bill Callahan
Elo
1626 +68 this season
SP+ rating
14.7 No. 25 of 119; offense No. 31, defense No. 29, special teams No. 35
SRS
9.6 No. 24 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 21
Offensive coordinator
Jay Norvell
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Cosgrove
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense23rd of 119
  • Defense55th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0939%1.1423rd of 119
Defense0.0437%1.1555th 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
Offense0.0own 312% allowed
Defense-0.1own 282% 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 2006 class

Rickey Thenarse ATH★★★★No. 138
D.J. Jones OT★★★No. 283
Menelik Holt WR★★★No. 319
Will Henry WR★★★No. 782
Anthony West ATH★★★No. 782

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

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers23.00.858
Offensive line13.00.890
Defensive line23.00.817
Defensive backs13.00.833
Athletes and specialists23.50.885
Whole class83.10.855

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 2007

The 2007 draft
Rd 1Adam Carriker DESt. Louis Rams
Rd 2Brandon Jackson RBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Stewart Bradley LBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 4Jay Moore LBSan Francisco 49ers

All-Big 12

3 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2006 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2006 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠111–⁠311
Texas6–⁠210–⁠313
Nebraska6–⁠29–⁠5
Texas A&M5–⁠39–⁠4
Texas Tech4–⁠48–⁠5
Missouri4–⁠48–⁠5
Kansas State4–⁠47–⁠6
Oklahoma State3–⁠57–⁠6
Kansas3–⁠56–⁠6
Baylor3–⁠54–⁠8
Colorado2–⁠62–⁠10
Iowa State1–⁠74–⁠8

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