Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in college football . The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse , and has the fourth most all - time victories of any NCAA FBS team and is one of only eleven football programs in NCAA Division I history to win 800 or more games . The Cornhuskers are the winningest college football program over the last 50 years , by winning percentage and wins . On June 11 , 2010 , Nebraska announced that its regents unanimously voted to end the university ' s affiliation with the Big 12 Conference to join the Big Ten Conference beginning with the 2011 season . Nebraska has claimed 43 conference championships and part or all of five national championships : 1970 , 1971 , 1994 , 1995 , and 1997 . The titles in the 1990s marked the first time since Notre Dame in 1946 – 49 when a team won three national championships in four seasons . The 2011 - 2012 Alabama Crimson Tide , the 1994 - 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers , and the 1956 - 1957 Oklahoma Sooners have the only consensus back - to - back national titles by Division 1 - A schools . The Nebraska Cornhuskers also have five undefeated seasons when they were not the national champions ; 1902 , 1903 , 1913 , 1914 , and 1915 . Between 1912 and 1916 , a 34 - game unbeaten streak was recorded by then head coach Ewald O . Stiehm . Famous former Huskers include Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers , Mike Rozier , and Eric Crouch . Rodgers was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and for the new millennium he was voted the team ' s " Player of the Century " ; his Cornhusker jersey ( No . 20 ) was retired . Rozier was likewise inducted into the hall in 2006 . Other Husker players and coaches who are members of the College Football Hall of Fame include : Forrest Behm , Bob Brown , Guy Chamberlin , Sam Francis , Rich Glover , Wayne Meylan , Bobby Reynolds , Dave Rimington , George Sauer , Will Shields , Clarence Swanson , Ed Weir , Grant Wistrom , and coaches Gomer Jones , Pete Elliott , Francis Schmidt , Dana X . Bible , Bob Devaney , Biff Jones , Tom Osborne , Eddie " Robbie " Robinson , and Fielding H . Yost . The Husker defense is known by the nickname of the " Blackshirts . " Depictions of the Blackshirts often include a skull and crossbones . This nickname originated in the early 1960s and continued as a reference to the black practice jerseys worn by first - string defensive players during practice . This tradition developed when Bob Devaney had Mike Corgan , one of his assistant coaches , find contrastive jerseys to offset the red jerseys worn by the offense in practice . Further credit is given to George Kelly , Devaney ' s defensive line coach until 1968 , who frequently referred to the top defensive unit by the name ; eventually the rest of the coaching staff caught on , while the first mention of the Blackshirts in print was not until 1969 . History . The early years ( 1890 – 1917 ) . Nebraska football began play in 1890 with a 10 – 0 victory over the Omaha YMCA on Thanksgiving Day , November 27 . The football program started strong and experienced success from the very beginning , going twenty - eight years straight with only a single losing season . Until the 1 - 7 - 1 losing season in 1899 in coach A . Edwin Branch ' s only year at the helm , Nebraska had compiled a 40 - 18 - 3 ( 0 . 680 ) record . Nebraska ' s 4th coach , Frank Crawford ( 1893 – 94 , 9 - 4 - 1 , 0 . 679 ) was the first paid head football coach at Nebraska . Eddie " Robbie " Robinson ( 1896 – 1897 , 11 - 4 - 1 , 0 . 719 ) and Fielding H . Yost ( 1898 , 8 - 3 - 0 , 0 . 727 ) , the sixth and seventh head coaches , were the earliest Nebraska coaches to eventually be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Walter C . Booth ( 1900 – 05 , 46 - 8 - 1 , 0 . 845 ) was the program ' s 9th leader , and had the second - best career record spanning more than a year during this era , bested only by Ewald O . Stiehm ( 1911 – 15 , 35 - 2 - 3 , 0 . 913 ) , who won the conference title in all five of his seasons and whose winning percentage as Nebraska ' s 12th head coach remains an all - time program best . A brief slump ( 1918 – 20 ) . When the United States became involved in World War I , many young men went off to war , depleting the ranks of football teams nationwide . In addition , travel was severely restricted , causing the cancellation of numerous scheduled football games . Further complicated by the effects of the 1918 flu pandemic , the 1918 college football season was severely impacted . William G . Kline led Nebraska through the stunted 1918 season , managing a 2 - 3 - 1 ( 0 . 417 ) record . Henry Schulte ( 1919 – 20 , 8 - 6 - 3 , 0 . 559 ) , with thirteen years as a coach at other schools before arriving at Nebraska , managed over the next two years to barely attain a winning record as the program recovered from the war and aftermath . Although Schulte stepped down as head football coach after 1920 , he remained at Nebraska to coach other sports and as an assistant football coach through 1938 . Climb back to dominance ( 1921 – 41 ) . By the end of the post - war slump , Nebraska had been led by fifteen head coaches over thirty - one years , but a new period of relative stability followed as Nebraska once again experienced success in college football . Fred Dawson ( 1921 – 24 , 23 - 7 - 2 , 0 . 750 ) arrived at Nebraska after stints at Columbia , Denver , and Virginia . During the entire three - year tenure of Knute Rockne ' s Four Horsemen , Notre Dame lost only two games ; one each in 1922 and 1923 , both to Nebraska in Lincoln before packed houses . In his four years he won three conference titles and compiled the best record from this era , though it was nearly matched by the two coaches to follow him . First - time head coach Ernest E . Bearg ( 1925 – 28 , 23 - 7 - 3 , 0 . 742 ) pulled in a title in his final season before handing over the team to Dana X . Bible ( 1929 – 36 , 50 - 15 - 7 , 0 . 743 ) . Bible had an established reputation after fifteen years of experience as head coach , bringing in five Southwest Conference titles for Texas A & M , and his success continued as he led Nebraska to six more conference titles in his eight seasons . Biff Jones ( 1937 – 41 , 28 - 14 - 4 , 0 . 652 ) was not as successful as his predecessors , yet still was a winning coach who claimed two titles in his tenure and brought Nebraska to their first ever bowl game , a loss to Stanford in the 1941 Rose Bowl . The following year , as the nation began to more fully be drawn closer to involvement in World War II , the program set a new record low with five straight midseason losses . One week after the final game of the season , Japan carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor . The country was again at war . Many thousands of young men joined the armed forces and were soon shipped abroad , as Nebraska ' s fortunes once again headed into a downturn . Slide into obscurity ( 1942 – 61 ) . Nebraska was led by three head coaches during the war years , with a scarcity of players available as so many of the country ' s young men were abroad and at war . By 1945 , the year the war ended , the Cornhuskers recorded a losing 11 - 24 - 0 ( 0 . 314 ) record . The situation did not improve after the war , as Bernie Masterson ( 1946 – 47 , 5 - 13 - 0 , 0 . 250 ) recorded the worst head coach career winning percentage ever compiled at Nebraska in his first and only head football coaching appointment . Previous head coach George Clark ( 1945 & 1948 , 6 - 13 - 0 , 0 . 316 ) , a veteran of both world wars with an extensive coaching pedigree and who led Nebraska in the final war season of 1945 , returned as Nebraska ' s coach for 1948 temporarily as a search was made for his successor , prior to his ascension to Athletic Director at Nebraska . Clark hired Bill Glassford ( 1949 – 55 , 50 - 40 - 4 , 0 . 471 ) , and Nebraska ' s performance improved somewhat over previous years , especially after the 6 - 2 - 1 1950 season , and Nebraska ' s second - ever bowl appearance , a 7 - 34 loss to Duke in the 1955 Orange Bowl . Following Glassford , Pete Elliott , a star quarterback who led Michigan to the 1948 national championship , arrived at Nebraska for his first ever head coaching appointment . Although he would go on to achieve successes later in his career , he recorded a 4 - 6 - 0 ( 0 . 400 ) record in his one year at Nebraska . His replacement , Bill Jennings ( 1957 – 61 , 15 - 34 - 1 , 0 . 310 ) fared even worse at the helm , his final career record with the Cornhuskers being the lowest of all but three of Nebraska ' s coaches . The Devaney and Osborne dynasties ( 1962 - – 97 ) . Bob Devaney ( 1962 – 72 , 101 - 20 - 2 , 0 . 829 ) brought about an immediate turnaround in the fortunes of Nebraska football . He led Nebraska to a 9 - 2 record in his first season , including Nebraska ' s first ever bowl win against Miami in the 1962 Gotham Bowl . This was the first of what would eventually be 40 consecutive winning seasons , and Nebraska ' s NCAA - record ongoing sellout streak began in the seventh game of this season . After five straight bowl game seasons , Devaney ' s squad suffered two 6 – 4 years in a row in 1967 and 1968 , prompting a change in philosophy suggested by offensive assistant Tom Osborne , who would also advance to Offensive Coordinator the following season . Over the next four seasons , Nebraska suffered just four losses , amassed an overall 42 - 4 - 2 ( 0 . 896 ) record , won the conference title in each year , and secured Nebraska ' s first and second national championships . Devaney stepped down after the 1972 season and took over the duties of Nebraska ' s Athletic Director . Osborne ( 1973 – – 97 , 255 - 49 - 3 , 0 . 836 ) subsequently became Nebraska ' s longest - tenured and all - time winningest coach , who also became the NCAA ' s fifth most winning Division 1 - A coach in history over the course of his 25 years at the helm . Osborne never won fewer than nine games in any of his seasons , and secured thirteen conference titles . Nebraska posted a 60 – 3 – 0 record between the 1993 - 97 seasons to end Osborne ' s tenure . ESPN . com has named the 1995 Nebraska Cornhusker team the greatest team of all time . Fan voting has consistently pegged the 1995 Cornhuskers or the 2001 Miami Hurricanes ( who would later cap their perfect season against Nebraska in the Rose Bowl ) as the greatest college football team in history . The Post - Osborne era ( 1998 - present ) . Upon Osborne ' s retirement , the program was handed over to coaching assistant Frank Solich ( 1998 – 2003 , 58 - 18 , 0 . 766 ) , who also had played for Nebraska from 1963 - 1965 . In his six seasons , Solich won one Big 12 North Division title , an outright conference championship , and took the Cornhuskers to the 2001 National Championship Game . After a weak 7 - 7 campaign in 2002 , Solich changed his approach , much as Devaney had done after 1968 , and made changes to his assistant coaching staff . The turnaround appeared successful , as Solich ' s 2003 team went 9 - 3 in the regular season . However , second - year Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson fired Solich before the bowl game , justifying the move by stating he would not " let Nebraska gravitate into mediocrity " , and would not " surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma and Texas " . Solich ' s defensive coordinator , Bo Pelini , hired in the 2002 staffing shakeup , was appointed interim coach and led the Cornhuskers to a 17 - 3 Alamo Bowl win over Michigan State to close out the 2003 Nebraska season with a 10 - 3 record . Although Pelini interviewed for the position as permanent replacement , ultimately former Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan ( 2004 – 2007 , 27 - 22 , 0 . 551 ) was named as Solich ' s successor . Callahan ' s mandate to prevent Nebraska ' s decline was not immediately successful , as he installed the West Coast offense made popular in the National Football League . His 2004 first - year record of 5 - 6 was Nebraska ' s first losing season since 1961 . The 8 - 4 2005 season showed improvement , and Nebraska ' s 9 - 5 record in 2006 accompanied a conference division title . However , in 2007 , Nebraska dropped five games in a row for the first time since 1958 , including a record - setting 76 - 39 loss to Kansas . Pederson was fired as athletic director in the middle of the five - game slide , and Tom Osborne returned from his political career to fill in as interim athletic director . Callahan subsequently put up just one more win , against Kansas State , before closing the season with a 65 – 51 loss to Colorado . In four years , Callahan had achieved the lowest winning percentage by a Nebraska head coach in 46 years , and Osborne fired him the following day . Osborne selected Bo Pelini ( 2008 – present , 38 - 12 , 0 . 760 as of the end of the 2011 season ) to return to Nebraska as the 32nd head coach of the Cornhuskers . Pelini ' s first team tied for the division title with a 9 - 4 record , the best record among all twenty - eight first - season coaches in college football ' s FBS division . In 2009 , Nebraska led the nation in scoring defense , finishing 10 - 4 with another division championship and a # 14 overall ranking . Following the 2009 season , Pelini was given his second raise and contract extension . In 2010 , Nebraska again finished 10 - 4 with another division championship and a # 20 overall ranking . The Cornhuskers ' 2011 season , its first as a member of the Big Ten Conference , was moderately successful , with wins over eventual Legends division champion Michigan State and Leaders division runner - up Penn State , but a close loss to Northwestern , and blowout losses to Wisconsin and Michigan . Nebraska finished its season in disappointing fashion , losing to South Carolina 30 - 13 in the Capital One Bowl , for a final record of 9 - 4 . Logos and uniforms . Nebraska has worn traditional uniforms throughout its history . The first helmet was red , with a white stripe . This was later changed to a plain white helmet with a black number on the side . During 1967 – 1969 , a red , offset " NU " was placed on each side of the helmet . From 1970 , the " NU " was changed to the simple , familiar " N " that remains today , although it is thought a few " NU " helmets remained in use as late as 1972 . There were not enough U stickers available before the 1970 season , which became the first national championship season . The single letter was considered a good luck charm so it remained . The helmet design has remained essentially unchanged since 1970 , with the exception of the face mask , as it was changed from grey to red prior to the 1982 Orange Bowl game against Clemson . The jerseys have only been altered a few times , with the addition of shoulder stripes and numbers . In the late 1960s and early 1970s , the Huskers wore full shoulder stripes reminiscent of those worn by the Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts of the NFL . These were gradually phased out when mesh and tearaway jerseys became popular . For the 1974 Cotton Bowl Classic , the jersey has the script " Nebraska " embroidered onto the front . From 1980 – 83 , Nebraska ' s jerseys featured just a simple block " N " on the sleeves . In 1984 , two sleeve stripes and sleeve numbers were added back to the uniform , where they essentially remain today , although the stripes and numbers have decreased in size as jersey sleeves have shortened over the years . Shoulder patches were added to the jerseys beginning in 1989 , with a patch that commemorated the 100th season of Nebraska football . The following season , a patch with " Nebraska Football : A Winning Tradition " embroidered on it was added above the left breast of the jersey . In 1999 a new version of this patch debuted and it has remained there to date . Names began appearing on the backs of the jerseys for bowl games beginning in the 1970s . Around 1980 , the players ' names began appearing on the road jerseys . The home jerseys remained nameless except for when worn during bowl games , with one exception . A brief tradition was established for the last home game of each season , where seniors ( playing their final game in Memorial Stadium ) were allowed to wear names on their jerseys ; underclassmen , however , did not . This explains why footage of many Oklahoma - Nebraska games played in Lincoln during this era feature some Nebraska players with names on their jerseys and some without . From approximately 1988 onwards , names were permanently affixed to the home jersey , where they remain . The team traditionally wears white pants at home and red on the road , although there have been exceptions . Nebraska donned red pants with red jerseys for the first ( and to date , only ) time in school history for its 1986 contest against Oklahoma . Nebraska led this game for 58½ minutes before losing a 20 - 17 heartbreaker due to some late OU heroics , and the combination was deemed to be unlucky . Nebraska began periodically donning all - white , beginning with the 1991 Citrus Bowl game against Georgia Tech ( a game in which they were blown out , 45 - 21 ) . They next tried the combo during the 1992 season , wearing all - white for the first three road games of that year . They lost two of the three , including an embarrassing 19 - 10 decision to an unranked Iowa State squad . The combination was not tried again until the ill - fated 2002 uniform ( see next paragraph ) and was also worn during Bill Callahan ' s last game as head coach ( another embarrassing loss , this time 65 - 51 to Colorado ) . As a result , Husker fans typically associate the all - white look with losing and tend to prefer the red road pants . From 1968 – 94 , the pants had two stripes down each side . Originally they were thin stripes , but became thicker sometime in the mid - 1970s . These were removed prior to the 1995 season , and the pants remained stripe - less until 2001 . For the 2002 season , Nebraska experimented with side panels on the jersey and pants , and went to all white permanently on the road . The look was overwhelmingly disliked by most fans , presumably because the Huskers went 7 - 7 , which was at the time their worst season in 40 years . In 2003 , Nebraska returned to a look similar to the one they wore from 1995 – 2001 . In 2004 , the two pant stripes returned to the uniform , where they have remained since . On September 26 , 2009 , for the first time in school history , the Cornhuskers wore " throwback " uniforms from 1962 in honor of Nebraska ' s 300th consecutive sell out . Adidas is the official shoe and uniform sponsor of Nebraska athletics . For the 2010 season , the numbers on the outside of the shoulder were placed on the top of the shoulder pads , similar to the style of the late 1970s . Memorial Stadium . The Huskers currently hold the record for the most consecutive sold out home games , which celebrated its 325th consecutive sellout on November 17 , 2012 when the Huskers played host to the University of Minnesota . The stadium is currently under construction to add approximately 6 , 000 additional seats bringing attendance to over 92 , 000 on game days . The sellout streak dates back to November 3 , 1962 during Bob Devaney ' s first season at Nebraska . The Huskers lost the first game in the current streak , a Homecoming game , to Missouri 16 – 7 ; 36 , 501 fans were in attendance . Since the 1994 season , Nebraska ' s home games have opened with the Tunnel Walk . Before the team enters , the HuskerVision screens light up with a burst of computer animation , and " Sirius " ( an instrumental by The Alan Parsons Project ) blares from the speakers . Accompanied by cheers from the crowd , the Huskers take the field . When the Cornhuskers play at home in Memorial Stadium , the stadium holds more people than the third - largest city in Nebraska , Bellevue . Rivalries . Natural . Oklahoma . Historically , the Nebraska – Oklahoma rivalry often carried league championship and occasional national championship implications . The teams regularly battled for the Big Eight Conference title until 1996 , when the conference was absorbed by the new Big 12 Conference . Out of the Big Eight , Big Seven , and Big Six ' s 89 - year history , Nebraska or Oklahoma won or shared the conference championship 71 times . The Cornhuskers and Sooners also played several games during the 1970s and 1980s that decided the national championship . Trophy games . Missouri . The Victory Bell is awarded to the winning team . Nebraska won the last meeting between the two schools and now holds the Victory Bell until a game is scheduled between the two schools again . Iowa . The Heroes Game awards the Heroes Trophy the winning team . Coaches . Career Coaching Records ( 1893 - 2012 ) . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > - Interim Head Coach for 2003 Alamo Bowl Championship and Post season . National championships . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Texas retained a # 1 ranking in the UPI Poll despite a 24 - 11 loss to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Classic ; < br > prior to the 1974 season , the UPI Poll ( coaches ) released its final rankings before the bowl games . < br > Nebraska was # 1 in the final AP Poll ( writers ) for the 1970 season , conducted after the bowl games . Bowl results . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > - Denotes National title Rankings . AP Poll began in 1936 All - Americans . The Husker football program has a long tradition of All - Americans . Since 1914 , Nebraska has produced 96 players who have collected a total of 110 First - Team All - American awards , including 14 double winners . Nebraska claims 47 Consensus All - Americans who have won a total of 56 Consensus All - American honors and 20 Unanimous All - Americans who have won 21 Unanimous awards . Alumni . Pro Football Hall of Fame . Three Nebraska players have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame : College Football Hall of Fame . Nebraska boasts 21 inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame : Nebraska All - Century Football Team . All - century team members were selected via an online poll hosted at huskerwebcast . com during the 1999 football season . Offense QB - Tommie Frazier ( 1992 – 1995 ) IB - Mike Rozier ( 1981 – 83 ) IB - Roger Craig ( 1979 – 82 ) FB - Tom Rathman ( 1983 – 85 ) FB - Joel Makovicka ( 1995 – 98 ) WR - Irving Fryar ( 1981 – 83 ) WR - Johnny Rodgers ( 1970 – 72 ) TE - Junior Miller ( 1977 – 79 ) OT - Bob Newton ( 1969 – 70 ) OG - Will Shields ( 1989 – 92 ) OC - Dave Rimington ( 1979 – 82 ) OG / C - Aaron Taylor ( 1994 – 97 ) OG - Dean Steinkuhler ( 1981 – 83 ) OT - Zach Wiegert ( 1991 – 94 ) Defense DE - Grant Wistrom ( 1994 – 97 ) DT - Ndamukong Suh ( 2005 – 09 ) NT - Rich Glover ( 1970 – 72 ) DE / OLB - Trev Alberts ( 1990 – 93 ) DE / OLB - Broderick Thomas ( 1985 – 88 ) LB - Marc Munford ( 1984 – 86 ) LB - Ed Stewart ( 1991 – 94 ) LB - Tom Novak ( 1946 – 49 ) CB - Michael Booker ( 1994 – 96 ) CB - Ralph Brown ( 1996 – 99 ) ROV - Mike Brown ( 1996 – 99 ) ROV - Mike Minter ( 1993 – 96 ) Special Teams PK - Kris Brown ( 1995 – 98 ) P - Jesse Kosch ( 1994 – 97 ) KR - Tyrone Hughes ( 1989 – 92 ) PR - Johnny Rodgers ( 1970 – 72 ) Nebraska ' s All - Time Team . As selected by " Athlon Sports " in 2010 . " Offense " WR Johnny Rodgers 1970 - 72 E Guy Chamberlin 1914 - 15 TE Tracey Wistrom 1998 – 2001 OL Bob Brown 1961 - 63 OL Zach Wiegert 1991 - 94 OL Dave Rimington 1979 - 82 OL Dean Steinkuhler 1981 - 83 OL Will Shields 1989 - 91 OL Aaron Taylor 1994 - 97 QB Tommie Frazier 1992 - 95 RB Mike Rozier 1981 - 83 RB Bobby Reynolds 1950 - 52 FB George Sauer 1931 - 33 P / K Alex Henery 2007 - 10 " Defense " DL Willie Harper 1970 - 72 DL Ed Weir 1923 - 25 DL Larry Jacobson 1969 - 71 DL Rich Glover 1970 - 72 DL Wayne Meylan 1965 - 67 DL Grant Wistrom 1994 - 97 DL Ndamukong Suh 2005 - 09 LB Tom Novak 1946 - 49 LB Jerry Murtaugh 1968 - 70 LB Trev Alberts 1990 - 93 DB Dana Stephenson 1967 - 69 DB Larry Wachholtz 1964 - 66 DB Pat Fischer 1958 - 60 DB Dave Butterfield 1974 - 76 DB Ralph Brown 1996 - 99 P / K Alex Henery 2007 – 2010 Retired Jerseys / Numbers . Nebraska has only retired three jersey numbers , generally retiring the player ' s jersey itself rather than the jersey number . Current NFL Players . There are 29 Huskers are currently on NFL rosters . Series records . All - Time Record : 856 – 353 – 40 ( ) < br > " Updated January 1 , 2013 "