Tag: Nebraska Football History

The last 31 opening day quarterbacks for Nebraska

Take a trip down memory lane!!

With the recent news that the Nebraska Cornhuskers will start true freshman Dylan Raiola at quarterback when the season opens on August 31, it’s time to take a trip down memory lane and look back at the history of Nebraska’s starting quarterbacks.

The Huskers have a long line of memorable starting quarterbacks. The program features QBs that have won the Heisman, the Walter Camp Trophy, the Davey O’Brien Award, and the Johnny Unitas Award.

There were a few names I had forgotten were once starters for the Huskers, but the list contains a few memorable players and Nebraska football legends.

Scroll below and take a look at Nebraska’s starting quarterback history.

Nebraska’s season openers through the years

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will kick off the 2024 season on Saturday when they host the UTEP Miners at Memorial Stadium.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will kick off the 2024 season on Saturday when they host the UTEP Miners at Memorial Stadium. This will be the first season opener Nebraska has played at home since 2019.

Nebraska has a solid track record in season openers. The Huskers have won 98 out of 134 season openers. Their record in home season openers is even more impressive at 85-14-3.

Since 1980, Nebraska has lost only twice when playing its season opener at home (1986 and 2015). Historically, the Huskers also had a good August, with a 14-3 record overall and a 10-0 record at Memorial Stadium.

The opener is the first of four straight home games to start the 2024 season. That’s the longest homestand to open a season since Nebraska opened the 2013 season with five straight home games.

Nebraska will open the 2024 season on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT against UTEP. Scroll below to find a list of each and every Nebraska season opener since the 2000 season.

Every Nebraska bowl game since 2000

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are one of the most decorated postseason teams in college football history.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are one of the most decorated postseason teams in college football history. The Huskers have played in 53 bowl games, including an NCAA-record 35 straight games from 1969-2003.

They hold an overall record of 26-27 in those 53 postseason games. Since 2000, the Cornhuskers have played in 16 bowl games with a record of 8-8.

In the program’s entire postseason history, they appeared in the Orange Bowl more than any other game and by a wide margin with 17 appearances and an 8-9 record. Their most frequent opponent has been the Miami Hurricanes, with six meetings with a 2-4 record.

Nebraska’s most recent appearance occurred in December of 2016 when Nebraska faced Tennessee in the Music City Bowl. They would lose that game by a score of 38-24.

Find a list of every Nebraska bowl game since 2000 below.

Former Husker quarterback returns to Nebraska

A former Cornhusker has returned to Nebraska but in a slightly different capacity.

A former Cornhusker has returned to Nebraska but in a slightly different capacity. Quarterback Adrian Martinez is currently interning with the University’s business office.

Athletic Director Trev Alberts actually broke the news on social media.

“Great to have Adrian back in the office. Doing an internship with out business office! GBR.”

Martinez responded to the announcement.

“Once a Husker…”

Martinez played at Nebraska from 2018-21 before transferring to Kansas State last season. In his Husker career, he went 14-24 as a starter in Lincoln.

For his career, he would throw for 9,391 yards and 49 touchdowns with 30 interceptions. He also ran for 2,847 yards and 44 touchdowns.

He would spend his first NFL training camp as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions. Matinez was cut following the preseason.

Nebraska’s football history with Northern Illinois

After starting 2023 with back-to-back road games, the Nebraska Cornhuskers return home to Memorial Stadium to host the Northern Illinois Huskies.

After starting 2023 with back-to-back road games, the Nebraska Cornhuskers return home to Memorial Stadium to host the Northern Illinois Huskies. NIU will enter the game with a record of 1-1 after winning at Boston College and losing to FCS opponent Southern Illinois.

The Huskies are led by head coach Thomas Hammock, who holds a record of 1-1 against Nebraska and an overall record of 17-27. Hammock’s most successful season came in 2021 when NIU finished with a 9-5 mark and won the Mid-American Conference title game.

The Cornhuskers do not have a deep history with Northern Illinois, but they have met on the field on several occasions. Scroll below to closely examine the history on the field between the Huskers and the Huskies.

Nebraka’s football history with Washington

Here is a game-by-game look at the history between the Huskers and the Huskies.

The Big Ten has forever changed the landscape of college football by allowing USC and UCLA to join them in 2024. After them, the conference has purged the Pac-12 again by allowing Oregon and Washington into the ranks in 2024 as well.

With the future inclusion of Washington, we look at the historical head-to-head between the two schools. Nebraska currently holds the series lead by a record of 5-4-1. Even so, the current win streak belongs to Nebrakas who won the last contest in 2011.

Here is a game-by-game look at the history between the Huskers and the Huskies. Scroll below for a closer look and look out for more series history breakdowns to come.

Nebraska’s football history with the Oregon Ducks

A seismic change is coming to college football.

A seismic change is coming to college football. The story of conference realignment continues with the news that Oregon and Washington will be leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big Ten starting in 2024.

The Ducks and Huskies will be joining fellow west coast schools USC and UCLA in the league next season. The Cornhuskers have a history with all four of the new conference members.

Nebraska and the Oregon Ducks first met on the football field on September 27, 1952. The Huskers would win that matchup by a score of 25-13.

Over the next 65 years, the two schools would meet eight times, with the Cornhuskers winning six of those matchups. Scroll below to take a look at each matchup between these (soon-to-be) conference rivals.

List of Greatest National Champions mistakenly says ’95 Huskers aren’t #1

You aren’t going to agree with this list, I guarantee it!!

Let’s just cut to the chase. I don’t like the results of this list, and after you look at it, you won’t like the results either. Athlon Sports recently published a list ranking all 62 college football national champions since 1968, including the eight split national titles during that timespan (1970, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1991, 1997, and 2003). Athlon used the following methodology to decide on their list.

  • How strong was their schedule?
  • What was their record?
  • How dominant were their wins?
  • Did they win their conference?
  • Did they win their bowl game?
  • How many elite players did they have?

Let’s be honest if you’re going to create a methodology to determine the greatest national champions and your system doesn’t select the greatest team of all time, the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers, as the greatest national champion of all time… time to create a new system. Now, I could clearly and succinctly lay out the argument for why that’s true, but that’s for a different article.

Now is the time to sit back, begin scrolling, and look through the history of some of college football’s most memorable teams and greatest champions.

Nebraska’s football history against USC and UCLA

Two new members of the Big Ten Conference will officially start in 2024!!

Reactions are still pouring in after the shocking announcement on Thursday that Southern Cal and UCLA would leave the Pac-12, a conference that both schools have been a part of since its formation back in 1959. However, now that both of these programs will be joining the Big Ten in 2024, it’s time to look at how the Huskers have fared historically against these two programs.

The Huskers have far more history against the Bruins than they do the Trojans. The Cornhusker’s history with UCLA goes back to 1946, while their history with USC goes back to 1969. Below are Nebraska’s records against both schools, with a recap of each game they played against these two legendary programs.

 

Nebraska vs. UCLA

  • All-time Record: 7-6
  • Home Record: 4-2
  • Away Record: 2-4
  • Bowl Record: 0-1

Nebraska vs. USC

  • All-time Record: 0-4-1
  • Home Record: 0-2
  • Away Record: 0-1-1
  • Bowl Record: 0-1

Who are the Nebraska recruits that got away?

An impressive list of players that almost attended Nebraska!

Recruiting cycles never end. And Nebraska has had its ups and downs on the trail over the last several years, but what about recruits of Husker past? What about the ones that got away? The big-time players that all most took the field for the Big Red and instead decided to go another way.

We’ve compiled a list of famous players who got away from the Nebraska Cornhusker football program over the years. From NFL greats to MLB all-stars, you’ll see an exciting group. Players, you knew where almost Huskers and even a few you never knew about before today. So strap in and take a scroll and see a list (a partial list anyway) of the big-time recruits who decided to go to a different school for one reason or another. How different would football history be if just one of these names made another choice? This is about to get interesting.