# 1989 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 1989 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 9 | 1:30 pm | Northern Illinois* | No. 4 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | | W 48–17 | 76,194 |
| September 16 | 1:30 pm | Utah* | No. 4 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | | W 42–30 | 76,333 |
| September 23 | 7:00 pm | at Minnesota* | No. 3 | Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMinneapolis, MN (rivalry) | | W 48–0 | 58,368 |
| September 30 | 1:30 pm | Oregon State* | No. 3 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | | W 35–7 | 76,290 |
| October 7 | 1:30 pm | Kansas State | No. 4 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | | W 58–7 | 76,265 |
| October 14 | 1:30 pm | at Missouri | No. 4 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (rivalry) | PPV | W 50–7 | 55,620 |
| October 21 | 1:30 pm | at Oklahoma State | No. 4 | Lewis FieldStillwater OK | | W 48–23 | 40,000 |
| October 28 | 1:30 pm | Iowa State | No. 4 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | | W 49–17 | 76,371 |
| November 4 | 1:30 pm | at No. 2 Colorado | No. 3 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO (rivalry) | CBS | L 21–27 | 52,877 |
| November 11 | 1:30 pm | Kansas | No. 6 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | | W 51–14 | 76,232 |
| November 18 | 1:30 pm | Oklahoma | No. 6 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | | W 42–25 | 76,404 |
| January 1, 1990 | 3:30 pm | vs. No. 5 Florida State* | No. 6 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona (Fiesta Bowl) | NBC | L 17–41 | 73,953 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Roster and coaching staff
### Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Tyrone Byrd
* Marvin Sanders
* Will Thomas
| OUTSIDE | INSDIE | INSDIE | OUTSIDE |
| Jeff Mills | Mike Petko | Pat Tyrance | Mike Croel |
| Travis Hill | Randall Jobman | Chris Caliendo | David White |
| Joe Spitzenberger | Mark Hagge | Scott Kurtz | Dan Svehla |
* SS
* Reggie Cooper
* Curtis Cotton
* Freeman White
* CB
* Bruce Pickens
* Jon Crippen
* Robert Hicks
| DE | NT | DE |
| Ray Valladao | Mike Murray | Kent Wells |
| Joe Sims | Pat Engelbert | Kenny Walker |
| Paul Brungardt | Junior Monarrez | Le Andre Anderson |
* CB
* Tahaun Lewis
* Tyrone Legette
* John Reece
Offense :
* WR
* Jon Bostick Morgan Gregory
* Chip Bahe
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Tom Punt | Jim Wanek | Jake Young | Bill Bobbora | Doug Glaser |
| Terry Eyman | Jon Roschal | David Edeal | Erik Wiegert | Brian Boerboom |
| Brain Boerboom | Will Shields | Roger Fitzke | Chris O'Gara | Steve Engstrom |
* TE
* Monte Kratzenstein
* Chris Garrett
* William Washington
* WR
* Richard Bell
* Nate Turner
* Tyrone Hughes
* QB
* Gerry Gdowski
* Mike Grant Mickey Joseph
* Jerry Dunlap
* RB
* Ken Clark
* Leodis Flowers
* Terry Rodgers Andre McDuffy
* FB
* Bryan Carpenter
* Sam Schmidt
* Tim Johnk
* Special teams
* PK Greg Barrios
* P Mike Stigge

## Game summaries
### Northern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northern Illinois | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| • Nebraska | 7 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 48 |

### Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Utah | 13 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 30 |
| • Nebraska | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 42 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 7 | 17 | 10 | 14 | 48 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oregon State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • Nebraska | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kansas State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • Nebraska | 14 | 21 | 23 | 0 | 58 |

### Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 26 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 50 |
| Missouri | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 10 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 48 |
| Oklahoma State | 3 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 23 |

### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa State | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| • Nebraska | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |

### Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Nebraska | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| • Colorado | 14 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 27 |

### Kansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kansas | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Nebraska | 16 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 51 |

### Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oklahoma | 7 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 25 |
| • Nebraska | 22 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 42 |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Nebraska | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| • Florida State | 0 | 21 | 20 | 0 | 41 |

## 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 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 11 |
| Coaches | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12 |

## Awards

| Award | Name(s) |
| All-America 1st team | Doug Glaser, Jake Young |
| All-America 2nd team | Reggie Cooper |
| All-America 3rd team | Ken Clark |
| Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year | Gerry Gdowski |
| Big 8 Defensive Freshman of the Year | Tyrone Byrd |
| All-Big 8 1st team | Ken Clark, Reggie Cooper, Gerry Gdowski, Doug Glaser, Jeff Mills, Bruce Pickens, Pat Tyrance, Kent Wells, Jake Young |
| All-Big 8 2nd team | Mike Croel, Mike Murray, William Washington |
| All-Big 8 honorable mention | Gregg Barrios, Richard Bell, Tyrone Byrd, Bryan Carpenter, Morgan Gregory, Randall Jobman, Tahaun Lewis, Mike Petko, Marvin Sanders, Jim Wanek |

## NFL and pro players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1989 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.
| Name | Team |
| Richard Bell | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Terris Chorney | Edmonton Eskimos |
| Ken Clark | Indianapolis Colts |
| Reggie Cooper | Dallas Cowboys |
| Mike Croel | Denver Broncos |
| LeRoy Etienne | San Francisco 49ers |
| Travis Hill | Cleveland Browns |
| Tyrone Hughes | New Orleans Saints |
| Keithen McCant | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| Jeff Mills | San Diego Chargers |
| John Parrella | Buffalo Bills |
| Bruce Pickens | Atlanta Falcons |
| John Reece | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Will Shields | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Joe Sims | Atlanta Falcons |
| Nate Turner | Buffalo Bills |
| Kenny Walker | Denver Broncos |
| Kent Wells | New York Giants |
| David White | New England Patriots |