1980 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team The 1980 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in the 1980 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 . Utah . Nebraska racked up 545 yards on the ground , the second - highest total in school history , as IB Jarvis Redwine averaged over 10 yards per carry before leaving the game in the hands of capable reserves . Utah suffered from two interceptions , and the sole Utes touchdown didn ' t get punched in until Cornhusker backups were on the field in the 4th quarter for playing time . Iowa . Nebraska completely shut down Iowa ' s heralded runner Jeff Brown , putting to rest Iowa ' s hope for a rushing contest with Nebraska IB Jarvis Redwine . Redwine left the game shortly after halftime after collecting 153 yards on 12 attempts , while Brown added only 51 to his career total during the entire game . Other Iowa rushing attempts went the other way , and the Hawkeye ground total netted only 44 yards as the Cornhuskers allowed Iowa into Nebraska territory only twice in the entire game on their way to delivering a painful 57 - 0 shutout . Penn State . The Blackshirts were the stars of this day in front of a record crowd at State College , as the Nebraska defense sacked Penn State QB Jeff Hostetler eight times for 89 yards , and forced seven turnovers , keeping the Nittany Lions constantly on their heels and away from any hope of an upset . Penn State managed just one touchdown , in the 2nd quarter , and accumulated a net rushing total of only 33 yards . Florida State . Trailing by 4 points as the clock wound down under 15 seconds , Nebraska QB Jeff Quinn was hit only three yards from the end zone , forcing a fumble which was recovered by Florida State . The Seminoles escaped Lincoln with a win , and the Cornhuskers lost IB Jarvis Redwine for two weeks due to broken ribs , along with their hopes for an undefeated season . Kansas . The temporary loss of IB Jarvis Redwine to injury presented no difficulties to the Big Red Machine , as Nebraska steamrolled Kansas in Lawrence , chalking up 33 points in the 1st half alone . By the end of the game , the Blackshirts had posted another shutout to their stats while the Cornhusker offense rolled up 520 yards of offense and 54 points . Oklahoma State . The Nebraska defense saw their string of touchdown - prevention quarters ended at 8 when Oklahoma State managed to squeak in a touchdown in the 3rd quarter , but that was all that would be heard from the Cowboys on this day since they were held to - 13 ground yards compared to the 430 ground yards posted by the Cornhuskers . Colorado . The return of Nebraska IB Jarvis Redwine was short - lived , as both he and 2nd string IB Craig Johnson left the game with injuries in the 1st quarter . 3rd string IB Roger Craig was still too much for Colorado as Nebraska swept up the Buffaloes in Boulder while collecting 403 ground yards and a decisive 45 - 7 win , the 13th Cornhusker win in a row over Colorado , whose only score came in the 4th quarter against Nebraska reserves . Missouri . Nebraska created a 15 point lead by halftime and never looked back , though Missouri was not to be trifled with . Where the Cornhuskers made their gains on the ground , the Tigers achieved their yards in the air , but at the end of the game it was still the Cornhuskers well ahead and celebrating their first win over Missouri in Memorial Stadium since 1972 . Kansas State . Kansas State was demolished in Lincoln in every way , as Nebraska racked up 495 yards on the ground and pushed both the 1st and 2nd string Wildcat quarterbacks backwards for a combined - 67 yard net on the day . The normally ground - oriented Cornhuskers also dominated in the air , nearly doubling the Wildcat passing yard total and bringing the Nebraska yardage total to 695 . Kansas State scored a single touchdown and capped it with a two point conversion with just 1 : 52 left on the clock in garbage time , narrowly avoiding the shutout . Iowa State . Compared with the week prior , Nebraska had a slow start , leading by only 14 at the half , and that only when a Cornhusker punt was fumbled by the Cyclone returner into the end zone and recovered by the Cornhuskers to add 7 to the total with 2 : 28 left in the half . Nonetheless , the Nebraska offense simply kept powering along , wearing down the Iowa State squad until they surrendered another 21 points , while the Blackshirts held the Cyclone offense to just 130 total yards and no points . Oklahoma . The Cornhuskers had a promising start , as IB Jarvis Redwine tore the Sooner defense for an 89 yard touchdown run on Nebraska ' s first possession and PK Kevin Seibel put a 47 yarder through the uprights to go up by 10 , but Oklahoma came to life to lead 14 - 10 by halftime . Nebraska held the Oklahoma wishbone attack to just 7 yards in the 3rd quarter , but also gave up a couple of turnovers which proved costly as both teams put up only another touchdown each before the game was over with Oklahoma still up by 4 to claim the Big 8 title . Mississippi State . Nebraska marked their 12th consecutive bowl game appearance by striking first with 7 points only 2 : 30 into the first quarter . It was not a major record - setting day , but consistent production and solid ball control provided the Cornhuskers with ample opportunities to produce points . The Bulldogs found themselves behind 17 – 0 at the half and never had an opportunity to make any serious threat to the Cornhuskers again . Rankings . Awards . < br > NFL and Pro Players . The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1980 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi - pro team as draftees or free agents . < br >