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2011 Nebraska

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Bo Pelini, finished No. 24 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2011, game by game: won vs. Chattanooga 40–7; won vs. Fresno State 42–29; won vs. Washington 51–38; won at Wyoming 38–14; lost at No. 7 Wisconsin 17–48; won vs. Ohio State 34–27; won at Minnesota 41–14; won vs. No. 9 Michigan State 24–3; lost vs. Northwestern 25–28; won at No. 12 Penn State 17–14; lost at No. 20 Michigan 17–45; won vs. Iowa 20–7; lost vs. No. 10 South Carolina 13–30+33−31Won 40–7 vs. Chattanooga+33ChattanoogaWon 42–29 vs. Fresno State+13Fresno StateWon 51–38 vs. Washington+13WashingtonWon 38–14 at Wyoming+24WyomingLost 17–48 at No. 7 Wisconsin-31No. 7 WisconsinWon 34–27 vs. Ohio State+7Ohio StateWon 41–14 at Minnesota+27MinnesotaWon 24–3 vs. No. 9 Michigan State+21No. 9 Michigan StateLost 25–28 vs. Northwestern-3NorthwesternWon 17–14 at No. 12 Penn State+3No. 12 Penn StateLost 17–45 at No. 20 Michigan-28No. 20 MichiganWon 20–7 vs. Iowa+13IowaLost 13–30 vs. No. 10 South Carolina-17No. 10 South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsChattanoogaW 40–⁠788%
Sep 10vsFresno StateW 42–⁠2974%
Sep 17vsWashingtonW 51–⁠3870%
Sep 24atWyomingW 38–⁠1470%
Oct 1at7WisconsinL 17–⁠4837%
Oct 8vsOhio StateW 34–⁠2756%
Oct 22atMinnesotaW 41–⁠1480%
Oct 29vs9Michigan StateW 24–⁠359%
Nov 5vsNorthwesternL 25–⁠2883%
Nov 12at12Penn StateW 17–⁠1446%
Nov 19at20MichiganL 17–⁠4551%
Nov 25vsIowaW 20–⁠763%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs10South CarolinaCapital One BowlL 13–⁠3047%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Carolina 30–⁠13 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 57th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 10
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 14
  8. Wk 8: 13
  9. Wk 9: 13
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 19
  12. Wk 12: 17
  13. Wk 13: 22
  14. Wk 14: 20
  15. Wk 15: 21
  16. Final: 24
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 5th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 8
Points
379–⁠304
Coach
Bo Pelini
Elo
1644 +29 this season
SP+ rating
14.5 No. 25 of 120; offense No. 36, defense No. 25, special teams No. 16
SRS
8.6 No. 26 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 16
Offensive coordinator
Tim Beck
Defensive coordinator
Carl Pelini
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2

How good, play by play

  • Offense58th of 120
  • Defense66th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted69th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted60th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0541%0.9458th of 120
Defense0.0640%0.9866th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.04 def		41% off
39% def		—69th off
60th 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
Offense0.0own 331% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsTaylor Martinez QB2,089 yds
Passing touchdownsTaylor Martinez QB13 TD
Rushing yardsRex Burkhead RB1,357 yds
Rushing touchdownsRex Burkhead RB15 TD
Receiving yardsKenny Bell WR461 yds
Receiving touchdownsKenny Bell WR3 TD
InterceptionsAustin Cassidy S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Aaron Green RB★★★★No. 33
Jamal Turner WR★★★★No. 66
Charles Jackson CB★★★★No. 79
Bubba Starling DUAL★★★★No. 112
Tyler Moore OT★★★★No. 149
Todd Peat DT★★★★No. 187
Ryne Reeves OC★★★★No. 244
Ryan Klachko OG★★★★No. 247

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

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.945
Running backs14.00.982
Receivers33.00.850
Offensive line43.80.904
Defensive line14.00.919
Linebackers13.00.877
Defensive backs14.00.962
Athletes and specialists13.00.805
Whole class133.50.897

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 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 2Lavonte David OLBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 4Jared Crick DEHouston Texans
Rd 7Alfonzo Dennard CBNew England Patriots
Rd 7Marcel Jones OTNew Orleans Saints

Roster 143

The 2011 roster

143 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 27 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2011 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2011 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan State7–⁠111–⁠311
Michigan6–⁠211–⁠212
Wisconsin6–⁠211–⁠310
Penn State6–⁠29–⁠4
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠424
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue4–⁠47–⁠6
Ohio State3–⁠56–⁠7
Northwestern3–⁠56–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠67–⁠6
Minnesota2–⁠63–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠81–⁠11

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