List of Nebraska Cornhuskers bowl games explained

The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, where it has sold out every game since 1960.^[1] The team is coached by Matt Rhule.

Nebraska is among the most storied programs in college football history. Through 2019, the Cornhuskers rank seventh in all-time victories among FBS teams.^[2] Nebraska claims 46 conference championships and five national championships (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997), and has won nine other national championships that the school does not claim.^{[3] [4]} NU's 1971 and 1995 title-winning teams are considered to be among the best in college football history.^[5] Famous Cornhuskers include Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, and Eric Crouch, who join 22 other Cornhuskers in the College Football Hall of Fame. Notable among these are players Bob Brown, Guy Chamberlin, Tommie Frazier, Rich Glover, Dave Rimington, and Will Shields, and coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne.^[6]

The program's first extended period of success came just after the turn of the century. Between 1900 and 1916, Nebraska had five undefeated seasons and completed a stretch of 34 consecutive games without a loss, still a program record.^[7] Despite a span of 21 conference championships in 33 seasons, the Cornhuskers didn't experience major national success until Bob Devaney was hired in 1962. In eleven seasons as head coach, Devaney won two national championships, eight conference titles, and coached 22 All-Americans, but perhaps his most lasting achievement was the hiring of Tom Osborne as offensive coordinator in 1969.^[8] Osborne was named Devaney's successor in 1973, and over the next 25 years established himself as one of the best coaches in college football history with his trademark I-form offense and revolutionary strength, conditioning, and nutrition programs.^{[9] [10] [11]} Following Osborne's retirement in 1997, Nebraska cycled through four head coaches before hiring state native and 1997 National Championship quarterback Scott Frost in 2017.^[12]

Nebraska has played in 53 bowl games, including an NCAA-record 35 straight from 1969 to 2003, with a record of 26–27.^{[13] [14]}

List of bowl games

National championship game

Nebraska win

Nebraska loss

No.	Date	Bowl	Winning team		Losing team
1	Jan. 1, 1941		No. 2 Stanford	21		13
2	Jan. 1, 1955		No. 14 Duke	34		7
3	Dec. 15, 1962		Nebraska	36		34
4	Jan. 1, 1964		No. 6 Nebraska	13		7
5	Jan. 1, 1965		No. 2 Arkansas	10		7
6	Jan. 1, 1966		No. 4 Alabama	39		28
7	Jan. 2, 1967		No. 3 Alabama	34		7
8	Dec. 20, 1969		No. 14 Nebraska	45		6
9	Jan. 1, 1971		No. 3 Nebraska	17		12
10	Jan. 1, 1972		No. 1 Nebraska	38		6
11	Jan. 1, 1973		No. 9 Nebraska	40		6
12	Jan. 1, 1974		No. 12 Nebraska	19		3
13	Dec. 31, 1974		No. 8 Nebraska	13	No. 18 Florida	10
14	Dec. 26, 1975		No. 7 Arizona State	17		14
15	Dec. 31, 1976		No. 13 Nebraska	27		24
16	Dec. 19, 1977		No. 12 Nebraska	21		17
17	Jan. 1, 1979		No. 4 Oklahoma	31		24
18	Jan. 1, 1980		No. 8 Houston	17		14
19	Dec. 27, 1980		No. 8 Nebraska	31		17
20	Jan. 1, 1982		No. 1 Clemson	22		15
21	Jan. 1, 1983		No. 3 Nebraska	21		20
22	Jan. 2, 1984		No. 5 Miami (FL)	31		30
23	Jan. 1, 1985		No. 5 Nebraska	28		10
24	Jan. 1, 1986		No. 5 Michigan	27		23
25	Jan. 1, 1987		No. 6 Nebraska	30		15
26	Jan. 1, 1988		No. 3 Florida State	31		28
27	Jan. 2, 1989		No. 2 Miami (FL)	23		3
28	Jan. 1, 1990		No. 5 Florida State	41		17
29	Jan. 1, 1991		No. 2 Georgia Tech	45		21
30	Jan. 1, 1992		No. 1 Miami (FL)	22		0
31	Jan. 1, 1993		No. 3 Florida State	27		14
32	Jan. 1, 1994		No. 1 Florida State	18		16
33	Jan. 1, 1995		No. 1 Nebraska	24		17
34	Jan. 2, 1996		No. 1 Nebraska	62		24
35	Dec. 31, 1996		No. 6 Nebraska	41		21
36	Jan. 2, 1998		No. 2 Nebraska	42		17
37	Dec. 30, 1998		No. 5 Arizona	23		20
38	Jan. 2, 2000		No. 3 Nebraska	31		21
39	Dec. 30, 2000		No. 9 Nebraska	66		17
40	Jan. 3, 2002		No. 1 Miami (FL)	37		14
41	Dec. 27, 2002		Mississippi	27		23
42	Dec. 29, 2003		No. 22 Nebraska	17		3
43	Dec. 28, 2005		Nebraska	32		28
44	Jan. 1, 2007		No. 10 Auburn	17		14
45	Jan. 1, 2009		Nebraska	26		21
46	Dec. 30, 2009		No. 20 Nebraska	33		0
47	Dec. 30, 2010		Washington	19		7
48	Jan. 2, 2012		No. 10 South Carolina	30		13
49	Jan. 1, 2013		No. 6 Georgia	45		31
50	Jan. 1, 2014		Nebraska	24		19
51	Dec. 27, 2014		No. 24 USC	45		42
52	Dec. 26, 2015		Nebraska	37		29
53	Dec. 30, 2016		Tennessee	38		24

Record breakdown

Record by opponent 6 Miami (FL) 2–4 4 LSU 4–0 Florida State 0–4 3 Georgia 2–1 Tennessee Alabama 1–2 2 Florida 2–0 Arizona 1–1 Auburn Clemson Michigan 1 Michigan State 1–0 Mississippi State North Carolina Northwestern Texas Texas Tech UCLA Virginia Tech Arizona State 0–1 Arkansas Georgia Tech Houston Oklahoma Ole Miss South Carolina USC Washington

Record by bowl 17 8–9 6 2–4 4 Cotton 1–3 Holiday Sugar 3–1 3 3–0 0–3 2 2–0 Sun 0–2 1 1–0 Emerald Gotham Liberty 0–1 Music City

Record by coach 25 Tom Osborne 1973–97 12–13 9 1962–72 6–3 7 Bo Pelini 2008–14 4–3 5 Frank Solich 1998–2003 2–3 2 2004–07 1–1 2015–17 1 1937–41 0–1 1949–55 Barney Cotton 2014

Notes and References

1. Web site: Nebraska vs. Missouri 1962. HuskerMax.
2. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2019/FBS.pdf
3. Web site: Nebraska Conference Championships. October 23, 2016.
4. Web site: Title teams – HuskerMax™. October 23, 2016.
5. Web site: Best college football teams of all-time. October 6, 2018.
6. Web site: Major Football Award Winners. June 21, 2010. Huskers.com.
7. Web site: Nebraska Football Schedules 1910–1919. September 2, 2010 . HuskerMax.
8. Web site: Tom's Time: Devaney Selects His Successor. May 24, 2019 . HuskerMax. October 3, 2017.
9. Web site: The 150 greatest coaches in college football's 150-year history. 10 December 2019 . 2020-05-30.
10. Web site: The Greatest Coaches in College Football History. 12 August 2019 . 2020-05-30.
11. Web site: Epley leaving Huskers. 19 June 2006 . May 24, 2019.
12. Web site: Nebraska officially announces hiring of Scott Frost, introductory press conference scheduled for Sunday. 2 December 2017 . May 24, 2019.
13. Web site: Bowl Tradition. August 9, 2018. Husker Athletics.
14. Web site: Nebraska's Bowl History. August 9, 2018.