Rose Bowl (0-2)
1941: Stanford 21 Nebraska 13
In 1940, Nebraska’s only loss heading into the 27th edition of the Rose Bowl was to top-ranked Minnesota. Fourth-year head coach Bliff Jones led the Cornhuskers to finish seventh in the AP Poll, the highest finish in school history to that point.
Stanford led 14-13 in the third quarter when Stanford drove to the one-yard line. Then, Nebraska’s defense wouldn’t let them into the end zone with a four-play goalline stand. Nebraska took over at its own one and punted on first down. Stanford returned the punt for a touchdown and a 21-13 lead.
2002: Miami 37 Nebraska 14
In 2001, Frank Solich led Nebraska to an 11-1 record which sent the Cornhuskers to the 2002 Rose Bowl which was the BCS National Championship game. The Cornhuskers were No. 2 in the country but were no match for Ken Dorsey, Andre Johnson, and the undefeated No. 1 Miami Hurricanes.
Nebraska missed the Big 12 championship game after a loss to Colorado in the final week of the season. This dropped the Cornhuskers to fourth in the BCS, but No. 2 Florida and No. 3 Texas both lost their conference championship games, as did Tennessee and that opened the door for Nebraska.