CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Nebraska

10–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big 12), coached by Bo Pelini, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2009, game by game: won vs. Florida Atlantic 49–3; won vs. Arkansas State 38–9; lost at No. 13 Virginia Tech 15–16; won vs. Louisiana 55–0; won at No. 24 Missouri 27–12; lost vs. Texas Tech 10–31; lost vs. Iowa State 7–9; won at Baylor 20–10; won vs. No. 20 Oklahoma 10–3; won at Kansas 31–17; won vs. Kansas State 17–3; won at Colorado 28–20; lost vs. No. 3 Texas 12–13; won vs. No. 22 Arizona 33–0+55−21Won 49–3 vs. Florida Atlantic+46Florida AtlanticWon 38–9 vs. Arkansas State+29Arkansas StateLost 15–16 at No. 13 Virginia Tech-1No. 13 Virginia TechWon 55–0 vs. Louisiana+55LouisianaWon 27–12 at No. 24 Missouri+15No. 24 MissouriLost 10–31 vs. Texas Tech-21Texas TechLost 7–9 vs. Iowa State-2Iowa StateWon 20–10 at Baylor+10BaylorWon 10–3 vs. No. 20 Oklahoma+7No. 20 OklahomaWon 31–17 at Kansas+14KansasWon 17–3 vs. Kansas State+14Kansas StateWon 28–20 at Colorado+8ColoradoLost 12–13 vs. No. 3 Texas-1No. 3 TexasWon 33–0 vs. No. 22 Arizona+33No. 22 Arizona
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsFlorida AtlanticW 49–⁠371%
Sep 12vsArkansas StateW 38–⁠975%
Sep 19at13Virginia TechL 15–⁠1640%
Sep 26vsLouisianaW 55–⁠077%
Oct 8at24MissouriW 27–⁠1236%
Oct 17vsTexas TechL 10–⁠3159%
Oct 24vsIowa StateL 7–⁠979%
Oct 31atBaylorW 20–⁠1067%
Nov 7vs20OklahomaW 10–⁠340%
Nov 14atKansasW 31–⁠1758%
Nov 21vsKansas StateW 17–⁠380%
Nov 27atColoradoW 28–⁠2079%
Dec 5vs3TexasBig 12 Championship GameL 12–⁠1329%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs22ArizonaHoliday BowlW 33–⁠059%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona 33–⁠0 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big 12.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 24
  2. Wk 2: 22
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 4: 25
  5. Wk 5: 23
  6. Wk 6: 21
  7. Wk 7: 15
  8. Wk 14: 21
  9. Wk 15: 20
  10. Final: 14

Big 12 North champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Heisman voteNdamukong Suh, fourth

Outland TrophyNdamukong Suh, DT; also the Lombardi, Nagurski and Bednarik

Consensus All-AmericanNdamukong Suh, DT

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big 12
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 14
Points
352–⁠146
Coach
Bo Pelini
Elo
1716 +134 this season
SP+ rating
19.9 No. 13 of 120; offense No. 66, defense No. 2, special teams No. 7
SRS
13.9 No. 10 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 40
Offensive coordinator
Shawn Watson
Defensive coordinator
Carl Pelini
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2

How good, play by play

  • Offense78th of 120
  • Defense7th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted84th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted7th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0238%0.9178th of 120
Defense-0.0434%0.977th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
-0.02 def		39% off
35% def		—84th off
7th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.4own 343% allowed
Defense-0.3own 273% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsZac Lee QB2,143 yds
Passing touchdownsZac Lee QB14 TD
Rushing yardsRoy Helu Jr. RB1,147 yds
Rushing touchdownsRoy Helu Jr. RB10 TD
Receiving yardsNiles Paul WR796 yds
Receiving touchdownsMike McNeill TE4 TD
InterceptionsMatt O’Hanlon S6 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Cody Green DUAL★★★★No. 140
Chris Williams ILB★★★★No. 305
Dijon Washington S★★★★No. 305
Rex Burkhead APB★★★★No. 324
Nick Ash OG★★★No. 919

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.934
Running backs23.50.874
Offensive line33.00.852
Defensive line13.00.843
Linebackers14.00.897
Defensive backs14.00.897
Whole class93.40.875

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 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 1Ndamukong Suh DTDetroit Lions
Rd 4Phillip Dillard ILBNew York Giants
Rd 5Larry Asante SCleveland Browns

Roster 138

The 2009 roster

138 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 41 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

4 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2009 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2009 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas8–⁠013–⁠12
Nebraska6–⁠210–⁠414
Oklahoma State6–⁠29–⁠4
Texas Tech5–⁠39–⁠421
Oklahoma5–⁠38–⁠5
Missouri4–⁠48–⁠5
Kansas State4–⁠46–⁠6
Iowa State3–⁠57–⁠6
Texas A&M3–⁠56–⁠7
Colorado2–⁠63–⁠9
Kansas1–⁠75–⁠7
Baylor1–⁠74–⁠8

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