2007 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team The 2007 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The team was coached by Bill Callahan and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln , Nebraska . Before the season . The Nebraska football team ' s schedule was rated the toughest in the Big 12 Conference , and the 12th toughest in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The team had predictions to win the Big 12 North division . After a tight competition with two - year backup Joe Ganz , former - Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Keller won the starting position ; Keller had spent the previous season on the scout team as per NCAA transfer rules . Game notes . Nevada . Marlon Lucky was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week for his career - best 233 yards rushing against Nevada . Wake Forest . As ESPN described the game , " Sam Keller nearly gave away the game during his first road start at Nebraska . Zack Bowman jumped up to take it back for the Cornhuskers . Three plays after Keller threw an interception deep in Nebraska territory , Bowman picked off a Wake Forest pass in the end zone and the 16th - ranked Cornhuskers held on to win 20 – 17 on Saturday . " USC . After a bye week , the Trojans visited the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln , Nebraska . In the pre - season , the game was named as one of the candidates for the 10 most important games of 2007 . For the Huskers , the game was especially critical to their hopes of showing progress under 4th year head coach Bill Callahan . The game marks the first time a No . 1 - ranked team has visited Lincoln since 1978 . Because of the game ' s significance , ESPN " College GameDay " chose it as the site of its weekly broadcast . Callahan had been criticized for his conservative play - calling during the 2006 game in Los Angeles ; instead of playing to win , it appeared the Huskers were playing to not get blown out by the then - favored Trojans . In that game the normally prolific West Coast offense of Nebraska , which had produced 541 yards a game , was corralled on the ground and attempted only 17 passes in a 28 – 10 Husker loss . For 2007 , Callahan pledged to play more aggressively , using running back Marlon Lucky and quarterback Sam Keller . Keller , the Huskers redshirt senior starting quarterback , was a 2006 transfer from Arizona State ; as a Sun Devil Keller started the first seven games of his 2005 junior season , throwing for 2 , 165 yards , before a disastrous game against USC where , after leading ASU to a 21 – 3 halftime lead , he and the offense fell apart on the way to a 38 – 28 loss where he was sacked five times and threw five interceptions . Due to NCAA transfer rules , Keller spent the 2006 season on the Huskers ' scout team . The Trojans stayed in nearby Omaha and practiced at a local high school ; Carroll took the rare step of closing practice to outsiders after a local radio station announced the location . The game marked the return of primary receiver Patrick Turner and running back Chauncey Washington from injury ; linebacker Brian Cushing , who injured his ankle early against Idaho , had not fully recovered but was allowed to suit - up as a reserve . Senior center Matt Spanos remained injured , and true freshman Kris O ' Dowd was called to start again . Veteran secondary member Josh Pinkard was lost for the season after his sore knee gave out during a bye week practice , resulting in a torn ACL requiring surgery . Anticipation for the game was high in Lincoln , fueling strong demand for tickets and accommodations ; the game brought celebrities including USC fans Will Ferrell ( also an alumnus ) and Keanu Reeves , Nebraska fans Larry the Cable Guy , Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas , Rush Limbaugh , and Ward Connerly ; past Husker Heisman - winner Mike Rozier , Trojans Heisman - winner Marcus Allen and star Trojans safety Ronnie Lott were also on hand for the game . The game fell on Pete Carroll ' s 56th birthday ; as a surprise , Carroll was treated to a recorded message by actor Kiefer Sutherland , star of his favorite television show , " 24 " . The morning recording of " College GameDay " attracted 13 , 293 fans , second to the all - time record of 15 , 808 set by Nebraska in 2001 . With 84 , 959 in attendance , Nebraska recorded its NCAA - record 284th consecutive home sellout dating back to 1962 . USC dominated the game 49 – 31 , in a game that was not as close as the final score indicated : the Trojans led 42 – 10 going into the fourth quarter ; Nebraska scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes during garbage time . The Trojans dominated on the ground , as they out - gained Nebraska 313 – 31 in rushing yards and averaged 8 . 2 yards per carry , the most ever against a Nebraska team . Stafon Johnson led USC running backs with a career - best 144 yards in 11 carries with one touchdown ; other major contributors were C . J . Gable ( 69 yards in four carries , including a 40 yard run ) , Washington ( 43 yards in 12 carries with two touchdowns ) , and another versatile performance by fullback Stanley Havili ( 52 rushing yards in two rushes with one touchdown , and three pass receptions for 22 yards with one touchdown ) . The Trojans passing game again did not find a rhythm , with several dropped passes , but the defense was able to frustrate the Husker offense for most of the game and cause two pivotal 3rd quarter interceptions . The Trojans did not escape injuries , as linebacker Clay Matthews , substituting for the recovering Brian Cushing , broke his thumb , causing Cushing to enter the game as his replacement . The Trojans also suffered two injuries on kick returns : fullback Alfred Rowe suffered a mild concussion , and there was a moment of worry when returner Vincent Joseph , after being tackled and fumbling the ball , lay on the turf for over 10 minutes before being removed by stretcher with a bruised larynx and a neck sprain , but no serious injuries . Linebacker Rey Maualuga was flagged during a field goal attempt for the rarely called penalty of " disconcerting " , which is given for " words or signals that disconcert opponents when they are preparing to put the ball in play " . After losing first place votes in the polls during the bye week , USC ' s performance regained six after their performance against the Huskers in a hostile environment . Receiving specific praise was the Trojans offensive line , as well as the continued poise and ability of freshman center O ' Dowd . Oklahoma State . Athletic Director Steve Pederson was fired after this game . Former Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne was named as interim Athletic Director . He is indicating that there will be no coaching changes during the season . " Texas . Nebraska first played the Texas Longhorns in 1933 and the Longhorns hold a 7 – 4 – 0 record . Nebraska won the first meeting by the lopsided score of 26 – 0 . As with Oklahoma State and Texas A & M , Nebraska plays the Longhorns two out of every four years as part of the Big 12 Conference schedule . Since their first meeting , the series has included a number of upsets and close calls . In 1960 a # 4 ranked Longhorn squad was upset by an unranked Nebraska team , 14 – 13 . In 1996 an unranked Texas team defeated # 3 ranked Nebraska ( who were also the defending national champions ) 37 – 27 to win the inaugural Big 12 Conference football championship and deprive the Cornhuskers a shot at repeating as national champions . In 1998 an unranked Texas team beat # 7 Nebraska 20 – 16 . In 1999 the two teams met twice . In the regular season , # 18 Texas beat # 3 Nebraska by 24 – 20 . However , # 3 Nebraska beat # 12 Texas in the Big 12 Championship game , 6 – 22 . In 2002 the Longhorns were ranked No . 7 and they went to Lincoln , Nebraska to play an unranked Nebraska team . In front of the largest crowd in Nebraska history ( 78 , 268 ) the ' Horns snapped the Huskers ’ national - best 26 - game winning streak at Memorial Stadium by a score of 27 – 24 . Most recently , in the 2006 game , # 5 Texas faced # 17 Nebraska on a snowy day in Lincoln . The Longhorns were trailing and needed a field goal by walk - on kicker Ryan Bailey ( with just 23 seconds remaining in the game ) to win 22 – 20 . On the morning of the game , oddsmakers favored Texas to win by 21 points . The weather forecast called for a high of 76 degrees and plentiful sunshine with winds NNE at 10 to 15 miles per hour . Texas stuck with their passing game for three quarters and was trailed Nebraska most of the way ; the Cornhuskers led 17 – 9 to start the fourth . ESPN reported , “ Once Texas figured out it should be running against one of the nation ' s worst run defenses , things turned out all right for the Longhorns . ” The Longhorns may have switched to running game almost by chance . McCoy took a hard hit as he scrambled outside the pocket and was shaken up badly enough to leave the game for a play . John Chiles came in at quarterback ; his one play , a zone - read handoff to Jamaal Charles , produced 24 yards . According to ESPN , “ suddenly Texas had figured out how to beat a Cornhuskers ' team that had been steamrolled on the ground in recent weeks . Texas only threw three passes in the fourth quarter . ” Once Texas switched to the zone read offense , they quickly started gaining yards and points . Charles ran for a career - high 290 yards , including 216 yards and three long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter . His tally also set a new record for rushing against the Cornhuskers , surpassing the old record of 247 yards by Oklahoma ’ s Billy Simms . Charles explained " It was my time to show everyone what I can do . When I saw a hole , I blasted through it . " Texas finished with 181 yards passing and 364 yards rushing ; Nebraska had 315 yards passing and 132 yards rushing . The running back was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week . The game was a milestone for one coach and a millstone for another ; it was the 100th win for Mack Brown at Texas ; and it put more pressure on beleaguered Nebraska coach Bill Callahan . Brown remarked on his victory , “ A hundred is nice . I knew the game was going to come down like it did . It didn ’ t surprise me . They made sure that I ’ ll remember it the rest of my life . ” Callahan was fired five weeks later . Kansas . The Nebraska - Kansas series is the longest uninterrupted series in college football at 102 years . < ref name = " ESPN N / K recap " > < / ref > In the 2007 meeting , Kansas beat Nebraska 76 – 39 . The Jayhawks set an all - time record for most touchdowns and most points scored by a Nebraska opponent . Their 48 points in the first half was the most ever scored against Nebraska in the first half . With the win , Kansas took their record to 9 – 0 for the first time since 1908 . < ref name = " Fox Sports N / K " > < / ref > Fox Sports reported , " It was only the second victory for Kansas in the last 39 games against Nebraska , which appears to be coming to pieces in the fourth season of embattled coach Bill Callahan . " Kansas State . Getting just his second career start after taking over for the injured Sam Keller in the fourth quarter of the Texas game , Joe Ganz broke the school single - game records for passing yards and touchdowns . Colorado . It was a must - win situation for both teams , as they had identical 5 – 6 records and each needed a win to get to a bowl . Although they trailed by 11 points at the half , Colorado went on to win 65 – 51 , as the Husker defense simply could not find an answer for Colorado ' s offense . Husker Coach Bill Callahan , having had his second losing season in four years , both being decided by a loss to Colorado , was fired the day after the game . Athletic Director Tom Osborne went on to hire Mark " Bo " Pelini as Head Coach . After the season . The team was coached by Bill Callahan , who returned for his fourth year with the Huskers , and expectations for the season were high , considering NU had reached the Big 12 title game the previous year . But the Huskers recorded only their second losing season since 1961 , and the second in four years ( the last one coming in 2004 on Callahan ' s watch ) . Following the conclusion of the season , Callahan was fired by interim athletic director Tom Osborne . On December 2 , 2007 , Bo Pelini was named as Head Coach for Nebraska by interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne . Awards . < br >