1981 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team The 1981 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in the 1981 NCAA Division I - A football season . The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln , Nebraska . Game notes . Iowa . Unranked Iowa jumped out to 10 - 0 lead by halftime on their way to paying back the 0 - 57 defeat handed to them by the Cornhuskers last year , and Nebraska was unable to answer in kind . Three 4th quarter Nebraska forays into Hawkeye territory produced no points , and an Iowa interception with 39 seconds remaining closed the book on the upset . Iowa went on to play in the Rose Bowl . Florida State . Nebraska held a close 10 - 7 lead at halftime , but the momentum quickly turned in favor of the Cornhuskers when WB Irving Fryar scored on an 82 yard punt return , followed up six game clock seconds later when DE Tony Felici ' s off - the - bench opportunity allowed him to recover a Florida State fumble and return it 13 yards for another touchdown . Nebraska sealed the deal on a 94 yard touchdown run by IB Roger Craig , tying the standing Nebraska record . Felici ' s defensive performance earned him the starting position . Penn State . No major records fell on this day , as each team fought to overcome the other and the scoring lead was exchanged five times . Penn State running back and future NFL star Curt Warner rolled up 238 yards , nearly matching the entire Nebraska team ground production . Penn State pulled ahead on an early 4th quarter touchdown and added a field goal with 4 : 54 remaining to extend their lead to 6 points , and the Cornhuskers were unable to muster a response before time expired . Nebraska fell out of the rankings for the first time since a one week absence early in the 1977 season . Auburn . Auburn put up a 1st quarter field goal to take the lead , and the score remained 3 - 0 at halftime . Through the course of the game , however , Auburn coughed up 10 fumbles , losing half of them , and never scored again . Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill took over after halftime , and with help from the turnovers , Nebraska overcome the weight of their worst season start since 1961 and put up 17 points in the second half and evened up their season record at 2 - 2 . Colorado . This game marked the first start for Nebraska QB Turner Gill and IB Mike Rozier , and the Cornhuskers finally came to life . Gill tied an existing Nebraska record by passing for four touchdowns , as Nebraska piled up 719 offensive yards and set a new NCAA record with 42 first downs while racking up all 59 points before the start of the 4th quarter , while the Blackshirts posted their first shutout of the season . Kansas State . For the third straight game , the Nebraska defense prevented a touchdown , as the Cornhuskers rolled up 674 offensive yards and handled Kansas State with ease , showing that the return of Nebraska to the rankings at # 19 was appropriate . Despite recovering three of eight Nebraska fumbles and the opportunity to capitalize accordingly , the Wildcats still managed only 8 first downs , and they barely avoided the shutout with a single 3rd quarter field goal . Missouri . This slugfest of two near evenly - ranked teams contained plenty of action if not points , as the stalemate dragged on until time nearly ran out . Finally with just 23 seconds left in the 4th quarter , Nebraska FB Phil Bates punched a three yard run into the end zone . Like all the other scoring attempts preceding the eventual touchdown , even the PAT failed , and Nebraska departed Columbia with the 6 - 0 win . Kansas . The Blackshirts extended their touchdown - prevention streak to five games , yet Nebraska was still behind 9 - 3 at halftime due to the prolific field goal production from Kansas PK Bruce Kallmeyer . Adjustments made during the break had an immediate effect , however , and despite Kallmeyer putting two more kicks between the uprights , the Cornhusker offense ran off four touchdowns with the help of IB Mike Rozier ' s career - best 179 yards to pull away . Oklahoma State . The high - flying Oklahoma State defense , ranked # 1 in the nation when the Cornhuskers rolled into town , were obliterated by Nebraska ' s 546 yards of offense . Nebraska QB Turner Gill led his squad to scores on their first three possessions , and handed over the controls shortly after halftime , but the Cornhuskers continued to score with ease . The Nebraska defense allowed just one score , a 3rd quarter touchdown , which ended their touchdown - free streak at 22 quarters . Iowa State . The Cornhuskers struggled to put Iowa State behind them , catching up with them to enter halftime tied at 7 , and it wasn ' t until the 4th quarter that the worn - down Cyclones allowed a 63 yard punt return touchdown by WB Irving Fryar as they gave up 24 unanswered points to decide the outcome . However , Nebraska QB Turner Gill suffered a leg injury that eventually became serious enough to cause nerve damage , putting him out for the rest of the season and also casting a shadow over his athletic future . Oklahoma . Oklahoma started out strong but failed to produce points to match their ability to march down the field , hampered by losing 3 of 5 fumbles over the course of the game . Despite the early concern , the Sooners went to the locker room at the half trailing 24 - 7 after a successful campaign by backup Nebraska QB Mark Mauer , and Oklahoma was never able to recover . Nebraska finished with an unbeaten conference slate and headed to Miami as conference champions . Clemson . Nebraska failed to capitalize on the opportunity for a national championship , coming in as # 4 to attempt a takedown of the # 1 Tigers as both the # 2 and # 3 teams dropped their own bowl games , but in a hard fought game that showed a near match of squads statisitically , Clemson simply outplayed the Cornhuskers and took advantage of Nebraska mistakes to hold on to their 7 point lead for the final nine minutes to keep their claim on the # 1 ranking , departing Miami with the 1981 national title . Rankings . Awards . < br > NFL and Pro Players . The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1981 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi - pro team as draftees or free agents . < br >