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2019 Nebraska

5–⁠7 (3–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Scott Frost.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2019, game by game: won vs. South Alabama 35–21; lost at Colorado 31–34; won vs. Northern Illinois 44–8; won at Illinois 42–38; lost vs. No. 5 Ohio State 7–48; won vs. Northwestern 13–10; lost at Minnesota 7–34; lost vs. Indiana 31–38; lost at Purdue 27–31; lost vs. No. 15 Wisconsin 21–37; won at Maryland 54–7; lost vs. No. 19 Iowa 24–27+47−41Won 35–21 vs. South Alabama+14South AlabamaLost 31–34 at Colorado-3ColoradoWon 44–8 vs. Northern Illinois+36Northern Illino…Won 42–38 at Illinois+4IllinoisLost 7–48 vs. No. 5 Ohio State-41No. 5 Ohio StateWon 13–10 vs. Northwestern+3NorthwesternLost 7–34 at Minnesota-27MinnesotaLost 31–38 vs. Indiana-7IndianaLost 27–31 at Purdue-4PurdueLost 21–37 vs. No. 15 Wisconsin-16No. 15 WisconsinWon 54–7 at Maryland+47MarylandLost 24–27 vs. No. 19 Iowa-3No. 19 Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsSouth AlabamaW 35–⁠2171%
Sep 7atColoradoL 31–⁠3444%
Sep 14vsNorthern IllinoisW 44–⁠857%
Sep 21atIllinoisW 42–⁠3853%
Sep 28vs5Ohio StateL 7–⁠4826%
Oct 5vsNorthwesternW 13–⁠1053%
Oct 12atMinnesotaL 7–⁠3430%
Oct 26vsIndianaL 31–⁠3856%
Nov 2atPurdueL 27–⁠3146%
Nov 16vs15WisconsinL 21–⁠3728%
Nov 23atMarylandW 54–⁠745%
Nov 29vs19IowaL 24–⁠2733%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Iowa 27–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 103rd-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: 25
Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠6 tied for 10th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 24
Points
336–⁠333
Coach
Scott Frost
Elo
1486 +5 this season
SP+ rating
2.6 No. 54 of 130; offense No. 40, defense No. 61, special teams No. 124
SRS
1.9 No. 56 of 130 in FBS
Returning
70% of last season’s EPA, No. 45 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 18 roster talent No. 24 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Troy Walters
Defensive coordinator
Erik Chinander
Offense
No-huddle spread option
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense86th of 130
  • Defense39th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted69th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted39th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0743%1.1786th of 130
Defense0.0543%1.1539th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.06 def		44% off
42% def		—69th off
39th 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
Offense3.5own 2920% allowed
Defense3.4own 2926% caused

CORE rating -1.9, 67th of 130 (offense -2.2, defense -0.3).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsAdrian Martinez QB1,956 yds
Passing touchdownsAdrian Martinez QB10 TD
Rushing yardsDedrick Mills RB745 yds
Rushing touchdownsDedrick Mills RB10 TD
Receiving yardsJ.D. Spielman WR898 yds
Receiving touchdownsJ.D. Spielman WR5 TD
TacklesMohamed Barry LB89 tkl
SacksKhalil Davis DL8 sacks
InterceptionsCam Taylor CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Wan’Dale Robinson APB★★★★No. 87
Nick Henrich ILB★★★★No. 147
Noa Pola-Gates CB★★★★No. 148
Bryce Benhart OT★★★★No. 153
Ty Robinson SDE★★★★No. 165
Luke McCaffrey ATH★★★★No. 269
Demariyon Houston WR★★★★No. 393
Darien Chase ATH★★★★No. 392

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs33.30.912
Receivers23.50.891
Offensive line53.20.872
Defensive line53.20.878
Linebackers23.50.914
Defensive backs43.30.888
Athletes and specialists43.50.889
Whole class253.30.888

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 6Khalil Davis DTTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Carlos Davis DTPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 149

The 2019 roster

149 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2019 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2019 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State9–⁠013–⁠13
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠29
Minnesota7–⁠211–⁠210
Wisconsin7–⁠210–⁠411
Iowa6–⁠310–⁠315
Michigan6–⁠39–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠65–⁠7
Purdue3–⁠64–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠83–⁠9
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Rutgers0–⁠92–⁠10

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