# 1985 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 1985 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The season opener against Florida State was the last season opening loss until 2015.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 7 | 2:30 pm | No. 17 Florida State* | No. 10 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska | ABC | L 13–17 | 75,943 |
| September 21 | 1:30 pm | No. 20 Illinois* | No. 18 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska | | W 52–25 | 76,149 |
| September 28 | 1:30 pm | Oregon* | No. 16 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska | | W 63–0 | 75,947 |
| October 5 | 1:30 pm | New Mexico* | No. 13 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska | | W 38–7 | 75,902 |
| October 12 | 6:45 pm | at No. 5 Oklahoma State | No. 9 | Lewis FieldStillwater, Oklahoma | ESPN | W 34–24 | 50,400 |
| October 19 | 11:30 am | at Missouri | No. 7 | Faurot FieldColumbia, Missouri (rivalry) | Raycom | W 28–20 | 62,733 |
| October 26 | 2:30 pm | Colorado | No. 5 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska (rivalry) | ABC | W 17–7 | 76,014 |
| November 2 | 1:30 pm | at Kansas State | No. 5 | KSU StadiumManhattan, Kansas (rivalry) | | W 41–3 | 41,200 |
| November 9 | 1:30 pm | Iowa State | No. 3 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska | | W 49–0 | 75,920 |
| November 16 | 1:30 pm | Kansas | No. 2 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska (rivalry) | | W 56–6 | 75,863 |
| November 23 | 2:30 pm | at No. 5 Oklahoma | No. 2 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, Oklahoma (rivalry) | ABC | L 7–27 | 75,554 |
| January 1, 1986 | 12:30 pm | vs. No. 5 Michigan* | No. 7 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona (Fiesta Bowl) | NBC | L 23–27 | 72,454 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Roster and coaching staff
### Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Bryan Sielber
* Chris Carr
* Dan Thayer
| INSDIE | INSDIE |
| Marc Munford | Mike Knox |
| Chad Daffer | Kevin Parsons |
| Steve Forch | LeRoy Etienne |
* MONSTER
* Brian Washingtion
* Guy Rozier
* Jeff Tomjack
* CB
* Cleo Miller
* Dennis Watkins
* Brian Pokorny.
| DE | DT | NT | DT | DE |
| Brad Smith | Jim Skow | Danny Noonan | Chris Spachman | Scott Tucker |
| Greg Reeves | Lee Jones | Todd Proffitt | Neil Smith | Tony Holloway |
| Brad Tyrer | Rod Reynolds | Phil Rogers | Tony Palmer | Broderick Thomas |
* CB
* Brian Davis
* Mike Carl
* Gary Schneider.
Offense :
* WR
* Robb Schnitzler
* Rod Smith
* Hendley Hawkins
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Tim Roth | Brian Blankenship | Bill Lewis | John McCormick | Tom Welter |
| Rob Maggard | Stan Parker | Mark Cooper | Ron Galois | Brad Johnson |
| Keven Lightner | Mike Hoefler | Jeff Sellentin | Dan Bailey | Todd Carpenter |
* TE
* Todd Frain
* Tom Banderas
* Todd Millikan
* WR
* Von Sheppard
* Roger Lindstorm
* Dana Brinson
* QB
* McCathron Clayton Travis Turner
* Steve Taylor
* RB
* Doug Dubose
* Paul Miles
* Keith Jones Jon Kelley
* FB
* Tom Rathman
* Ken Kaelin
* Dan Casterline
* Special teams
* PK Dale Klein
* P Dan Wingard

## Game summaries
### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #17 Florida State | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| #10 Nebraska | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Both teams started out evenly with a 7-7 tie after the first quarter, but Florida State led the Cornhuskers by 4 at the half and no one scored during the rest of this scorcher, as the mercury in Lincoln reached 93 °F (34 °C) and 133 °F (56 °C) on the field. This was the last season opener Nebraska would lose until 2015.

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Illinois | 0 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 25 |
| • #18 Nebraska | 14 | 10 | 21 | 7 | 52 |
Although Illinois started out behind 0-17, they came within 7 points of a tie before Nebraska ran away, as the Cornhuskers at one point scored 28 straight in a game whose outcome never was seriously in doubt.

### Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oregon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • #16 Nebraska | 14 | 28 | 14 | 7 | 63 |
Oregon was rendered helpless in Lincoln as Nebraska punched in four touchdowns late in the 2nd quarter and rolled to a 63-0 shutout in Lincoln. The Ducks only crossed the center of the field twice and were unable to scrape up even 1/3 of the total time of possession.

### New Mexico

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| New Mexico | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • #13 Nebraska | 7 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 38 |
Nebraska closed out the non-conference season against a New Mexico team that was not intimidated in Lincoln. The Lobos scored first and acquired 379 total yards of offense while winning the time of possession battle, but could not turn those accomplishments into scores as they also allowed nine sacks, four interceptions and lost a fumble.

### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #9 Nebraska | 0 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 34 |
| #5 Oklahoma State | 0 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 24 |
Nebraska pulled off the upset of Oklahoma State in Stillwater, as The Cowboys' passing attack was no match for the Cornhuskers' rushing attack when it was hampered by OSU's two lost fumbles and two thrown interceptions. Nebraska continued their unbeaten streak over Oklahoma State that began in 1961.

### Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #7 Nebraska | 6 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 28 |
| Missouri | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
21 of Nebraska's 28 points came off of the foot of PK Dale Klein, who not only tied the NCAA record of seven field goals in a game, but also became the first player to make seven straight in a game while also running his Nebraska field goal record streak up to nine.

### Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colorado | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • #5 Nebraska | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
Colorado, playing without its 1st and 2nd string quarterbacks, still managed to hold Nebraska to a 7-7 halftime tie before a long touchdown run at the end of the 3rd quarter allowed the Cornhuskers to pull away.

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #5 Nebraska | 7 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 41 |
| Kansas State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Kansas State managed to prevent any single Nebraska runner from exceeding 100 yards, and even though Nebraska only completed six passes, it made no difference as the Wildcats were held to just a 1st-quarter field goal while the Cornhuskers had little trouble putting up 41 points. Nebraska PK Dale Klein set a Nebraska and personal record when he kicked a 50-yard field goal, his 12th of the season.

### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • #3 Nebraska | 7 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 49 |
The #3 Cornhuskers romped in Lincoln as the Blackshirts extended their touchdown prevention streak to 11 quarters. Nebraska IB Doug DuBose entered record territory, becoming the 10th Nebraska player to post 2,000 yards, became the third (after Jarvis Redwine and Mike Rozier) to have two 1,000 yard seasons, and was the first Cornhusker to do so before their senior season.

### Kansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kansas | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| • #2 Nebraska | 10 | 28 | 11 | 7 | 56 |
Despite a 0-6 turnover margin deficit, #2 Nebraska rolled the Kansas Jayhawks up in a 56-6 drubbing that saw the Cornhusker defense extend their touchdown-free series to 15 quarters. Without the five lost fumbles and one interception given up by Nebraska, the blowout of Kansas would have been far worse.

### Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #2 Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • #5 Oklahoma | 14 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 27 |
Oklahoma completely shut down Nebraska's offensive machine, as the Cornhuskers' only score came on a 76-yard fumble return for a touchdown with just 26 seconds left to play, very narrowly avoiding what would have been Nebraska's first shutout in 147 games. There were only 19 total passes and 5 completions in the entire game, and although Nebraska had not previously allowed more than 157 ground yards this season, the vaunted Oklahoma wishbone attack netted the Sooners 423 yards.

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #7 Nebraska | 0 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
| • #5 Michigan | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 27 |
Although Nebraska led 14-3 going into halftime, turnover-free Michigan cashed in on each of several Cornhusker mistakes in the third quarter to run off 24 points and pull away, handing Nebraska its second consecutive defeat to a #5 team.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 9 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 11 |
| Coaches | 4 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 |

## After the season
### Awards

| Award | Name(s) |
| All-America 1st team | Bill Lewis, Jim Skow |
| All-America 2nd team | Doug DuBose |
| All-America 3rd team | Tom Rathman |
| All-America honorable mention | Tim Roth, Brian Blankenship |
| All-Big 8 1st team | Brian Blankenship, Bill Lewis, Doug DuBose, Tom Rathman, Dale Klein, Jim Skow |
| All-Big 8 2nd team | Danny Noonan, Brian Washington, Tim Roth, Dan Wingard, Chris Spachman, Marc Munford |

### NFL and pro players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1985 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional team as draftees or free agents.
| Name | Team |
| Brian Blankenship | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Dana Brinson | San Diego Chargers |
| Brian Davis | Washington Redskins |
| Doug DuBose | San Francisco 49ers |
| LeRoy Etienne | San Francisco 49ers |
| Todd Frain | Washington Redskins |
| Keith Jones | Cleveland Browns |
| Mike Knox | Denver Broncos |
| Bill Lewis | Los Angeles Raiders |
| Paul Miles | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Marc Munford | Denver Broncos |
| Danny Noonan | Dallas Cowboys |
| Tom Rathman | San Francisco 49ers |
| Tim Rother | Los Angeles Raiders |
| Von Sheppard | Coventry Jets |
| Jim Skow | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Neil Smith | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Steve Taylor | Edmonton Eskimos |
| Broderick Thomas | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Brian Washington | Cleveland Browns |
| Dennis Watkins | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Tom Welter | St. Louis Cardinals |