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2012 Nebraska

10–⁠4 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Bo Pelini, finished No. 25 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2012, game by game: won vs. Southern Miss 49–20; lost at UCLA 30–36; won vs. Arkansas State 42–13; won vs. Idaho State 73–7; won vs. Wisconsin 30–27; lost at No. 12 Ohio State 38–63; won at Northwestern 29–28; won vs. No. 20 Michigan 23–9; won at Michigan State 28–24; won vs. Penn State 32–23; won vs. Minnesota 38–14; won at Iowa 13–7; lost vs. Wisconsin 31–70; lost vs. No. 6 Georgia 31–45+66−39Won 49–20 vs. Southern Miss+29Southern MissLost 30–36 at UCLA-6UCLAWon 42–13 vs. Arkansas State+29Arkansas StateWon 73–7 vs. Idaho State+66Idaho StateWon 30–27 vs. Wisconsin+3WisconsinLost 38–63 at No. 12 Ohio State-25No. 12 Ohio StateWon 29–28 at Northwestern+1NorthwesternWon 23–9 vs. No. 20 Michigan+14No. 20 MichiganWon 28–24 at Michigan State+4Michigan StateWon 32–23 vs. Penn State+9Penn StateWon 38–14 vs. Minnesota+24MinnesotaWon 13–7 at Iowa+6IowaLost 31–70 vs. Wisconsin-39WisconsinLost 31–45 vs. No. 6 Georgia-14No. 6 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsSouthern MissW 49–⁠2052%
Sep 8atUCLAL 30–⁠3661%
Sep 15vsArkansas StateW 42–⁠1367%
Sep 22vsIdaho StateW 73–⁠795%
Sep 29vsWisconsinW 30–⁠2753%
Oct 6at12Ohio StateL 38–⁠6344%
Oct 20atNorthwesternW 29–⁠2849%
Oct 27vs20MichiganW 23–⁠952%
Nov 3atMichigan StateW 28–⁠2444%
Nov 10vsPenn StateW 32–⁠2360%
Nov 17vsMinnesotaW 38–⁠1482%
Nov 23atIowaW 13–⁠771%
Dec 1vsWisconsinBig Ten Championship GameL 31–⁠7057%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6GeorgiaCapital One BowlL 31–⁠4539%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 45–⁠31 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 25 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 62nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 16
  3. Wk 4: 25
  4. Wk 5: 22
  5. Wk 6: 21
  6. Wk 10: 21
  7. Wk 11: 18
  8. Wk 12: 16
  9. Wk 13: 17
  10. Wk 14: 14
  11. Wk 15: 23
  12. Final: 25

Big Ten Legends champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 25 peak No. 14
Points
487–⁠386
Coach
Bo Pelini
Elo
1640 +43 this season
SP+ rating
20.3 No. 14 of 124; offense No. 19, defense No. 27, special teams No. 32
SRS
8.8 No. 28 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 32
Offensive coordinator
Tim Beck
Defensive coordinator
John Papuchis
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense9th of 124
  • Defense25th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted7th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted17th of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1346%0.919th of 124
Defense0.0037%0.9525th of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.02 def		47% off
37% def		—7th off
17th 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-0.3own 292% allowed
Defense-0.1own 314% 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 QB2,871 yds
Passing touchdownsTaylor Martinez QB23 TD
Rushing yardsAmeer Abdullah RB1,137 yds
Rushing touchdownsTaylor Martinez QB10 TD
Receiving yardsKenny Bell WR863 yds
Receiving touchdownsKenny Bell WR8 TD
InterceptionsDaimion Stafford S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Paul Thurston OT★★★★No. 151
Greg McMullen SDE★★★★No. 260
Jordan Westerkamp WR★★★★No. 264
Imani Cross RB★★★★No. 266
Tommy Armstrong DUAL★★★★No. 290
Michael Rose-Ivey ILB★★★★No. 295
Jared Afalava OLB★★★★No. 305

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.904
Running backs14.00.909
Receivers33.30.873
Offensive line23.50.874
Defensive line33.30.882
Linebackers24.00.902
Athletes and specialists13.00.810
Whole class133.50.880

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 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 6Rex Burkhead RBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 7Daimion Stafford STennessee Titans

Roster 141

The 2012 roster

141 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2012 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠03
Nebraska7–⁠110–⁠425
Penn State6–⁠28–⁠4
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠524
Northwestern5–⁠310–⁠317
Wisconsin4–⁠48–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠56–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠66–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠64–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠82–⁠10

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