CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2010 Nebraska

10–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big 12), coached by Bo Pelini, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2010, game by game: won vs. Western Kentucky 49–10; won vs. Idaho 38–17; won at Washington 56–21; won vs. South Dakota State 17–3; won at Kansas State 48–13; lost vs. Texas 13–20; won at No. 17 Oklahoma State 51–41; won vs. No. 7 Missouri 31–17; won at Iowa State 31–30; won vs. Kansas 20–3; lost at No. 18 Texas A&M 6–9; won vs. Colorado 45–17; lost vs. No. 10 Oklahoma 20–23; lost vs. Washington 7–19+39−12Won 49–10 vs. Western Kentucky+39Western KentuckyWon 38–17 vs. Idaho+21IdahoWon 56–21 at Washington+35WashingtonWon 17–3 vs. South Dakota State+14South Dakota St…Won 48–13 at Kansas State+35Kansas StateLost 13–20 vs. Texas-7TexasWon 51–41 at No. 17 Oklahoma State+10No. 17 Oklahoma StateWon 31–17 vs. No. 7 Missouri+14No. 7 MissouriWon 31–30 at Iowa State+1Iowa StateWon 20–3 vs. Kansas+17KansasLost 6–9 at No. 18 Texas A&M-3No. 18 Texas A&MWon 45–17 vs. Colorado+28ColoradoLost 20–23 vs. No. 10 Oklahoma-3No. 10 OklahomaLost 7–19 vs. Washington-12Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsWestern KentuckyW 49–⁠1092%
Sep 11vsIdahoW 38–⁠1782%
Sep 18atWashingtonW 56–⁠2167%
Sep 25vsSouth Dakota StateW 17–⁠390%
Oct 7atKansas StateW 48–⁠1362%
Oct 16vsTexasL 13–⁠2064%
Oct 23at17Oklahoma StateW 51–⁠4143%
Oct 30vs7MissouriW 31–⁠1763%
Nov 6atIowa StateW 31–⁠3070%
Nov 13vsKansasW 20–⁠391%
Nov 20at18Texas A&ML 6–⁠959%
Nov 26vsColoradoW 45–⁠1786%
Dec 4vs10OklahomaBig 12 Championship GameL 20–⁠2348%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsWashingtonHoliday BowlL 7–⁠1980%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Washington 19–⁠7 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Big 12.

In program history: The 45th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 9
  12. Wk 12: 9
  13. Wk 13: 16
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 17
  16. Final: 20

Big 12 North champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Missouri

Consensus All-AmericanPrince Amukamara, CB

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Big 12
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 5
Points
432–⁠243
Coach
Bo Pelini
Elo
1673 +29 this season
SP+ rating
18.8 No. 19 of 120; offense No. 42, defense No. 8, special teams No. 3
SRS
14.2 No. 14 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 26
Offensive coordinator
Shawn Watson
Defensive coordinator
Carl Pelini
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2

How good, play by play

  • Offense34th of 120
  • Defense13th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted35th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted8th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0841%1.0134th of 120
Defense-0.0237%0.7913th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
-0.01 def		41% off
36% def		—35th off
8th 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
Offense0.1own 292% allowed
Defense-0.2own 293% 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 yardsTaylor Martinez QB1,631 yds
Passing touchdownsTaylor Martinez QB10 TD
Rushing yardsRoy Helu Jr. RB1,245 yds
Rushing touchdownsTaylor Martinez QB12 TD
Receiving yardsNiles Paul WR516 yds
Receiving touchdownsKyler Reed TE8 TD
InterceptionsEric Hagg DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2010 class

Braylon Heard RB★★★★No. 100
Andrew Rodriguez OT★★★★No. 124
Corey Cooper S★★★★No. 224
Chase Rome DT★★★★No. 260
Brion Carnes DUAL★★★No. 386

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

The 2010 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.890
Running backs14.00.953
Receivers13.00.876
Offensive line23.50.914
Defensive line33.00.851
Defensive backs43.30.880
Athletes and specialists32.70.836
Whole class153.10.875

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 2011

The 2011 draft
Rd 1Prince Amukamara CBNew York Giants
Rd 4Roy Helu RBWashington Redskins
Rd 4Alex Henery KPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5Dejon Gomes SWashington Redskins
Rd 5Niles Paul WRWashington Redskins
Rd 6Keith Williams OGPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7Eric Hagg SCleveland Browns

Roster 152

The 2010 roster

152 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2010 line; 30 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

7 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2010 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2010 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma6–⁠212–⁠26
Oklahoma State6–⁠211–⁠213
Missouri6–⁠210–⁠318
Nebraska6–⁠210–⁠420
Texas A&M6–⁠29–⁠419
Baylor4–⁠47–⁠6
Texas Tech3–⁠58–⁠5
Kansas State3–⁠57–⁠6
Iowa State3–⁠55–⁠7
Texas2–⁠65–⁠7
Colorado2–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas1–⁠73–⁠9

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