The Nebraska Cornhuskers haven’t reached the mountaintop of college football since the days of Tom Osborne, and now it’s Matt Rhule’s turn to try and finish that climb.
While the 2000s haven’t been great for Nebraska, it is still a school with plenty of football history and the infrastructure to compete in the new Big 10.
The Cornhuskers have appeared in 53 bowl games in their history and have a record of 26-27. Nebraska also holds an incredible streak of 35 consecutive years with a bowl game appearance spanning from 1969-2003.
The school’s longest streak of consecutive bowl wins came at the beginning of that stretch with six straight from 1969-1974 under head coach Bob Devaney. Devaney and the Huskers won two national championships in that stretch.
Scott Frost didn’t work out as head coach, and Nebraska hasn’t made a bowl game since 2016, but Matt Rhule will likely change that.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane with all 53 bowl games from 124 years of Nebraska football.
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.
Orange Bowl (8-9)
1955: Duke 34 Nebraska 7
1964: Nebraska 13 Auburn 7
In Bob Devaney’s second season at the helm in Lincoln, he led the Cornhuskers to their second bowl win in school history. He also brought the first the year prior. Nebraska finished the season at 10-1 and ranked sixth in the AP Poll.
1966: Alabama 39 Nebraska 28
1971: Nebraska 17 LSU 12
The 1971 Orange Bowl was played at night on New Year’s Day and the 10-0-1 No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers were well aware that the No. 1 Texas Longhorns had lost the Cotton Bowl and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes lost the Rose Bowl.
That opened the door for Nebraska and Boby Devaney to win the first national championship in school history. Nebraska jumped out to a 10-1 first-quarter lead but relinquished it in the third. Trailing 12-10, Jerry Tagge led Nebraska on a 67-yard drive, capped off by a Tagge touchdown run from two yards out.
This was the first of back-to-back national championships for Devaney.
1972: Nebraska 38 Alabama 6
This was the second of back-to-back national championships for Devaney. Nebraska came into the matchup with 11-0 No. 2 Alabama, ranked No. 1 in the country with a 12-0 record.
The Big 8 champs had won 31 straight games and jumped out to a 28-0 first-half lead. Alabama managed six points in the second half, but that was all. The Cornhuskers and quarterback Jerry Tagge were national champions again.
1973: Nebraska 40 Notre Dame 6
In the 1972 season, Nebraska finally lost a few games. With Jerry Tagge gone, the No. 9 Cornhuskers leaned on their Heisman Trophy-winning running back, Johnny Rogers. Rogers ran for three touchdowns in the third straight Orange Bowl win.
The Huskers finished the season 9-2-1 in Bob Devaney’s final season.
1979: Oklahoma 31 Nebraska 24
1982: Clemson 22 Nebraska 15
1983: Nebraska 21 LSU 20
Tom Osborne kept Nebraska in the national championship conversation after taking over for Devaney in 1973, but it took him a while to break through. In his first nine seasons he never won fewer than nine games, but also never finished in the top 5 of the AP Poll.
The Cornhuskers traveled to Miami at 11-1, with no shot at the national title. No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Penn State were playing in the Sugar Bowl at the same time. The Cornhuskers beat LSU but finished third in the AP Poll. Their only loss was to Penn State 27-24 in September.
1984: Miami 31 Nebraska 30
After narrowly falling short the year before, Nebraska went to the Orange Bowl in Miami unbeaten in 1984 and ranked No. 1 in the country. The Cornhuskers were led by Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier at running back, future No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Irving Fryar at wingback, and All-American quarterback Turner Gill.
The “Triplets” backfield ultimately left the game in the hands of Tom Osborne. Down 31-17 in the fourth quarter, Nebraska rallied back to pull within one point on Jeff Smith’s second touchdown of the quarter. Instead of kicking the extra point and settling for a tie, Osborne left his offense out there to go for two.
With losses by No. 2 Texas in the Cotton Bowl and No. 4 Illinois in the Rose Bowl, Miami jumped everyone to win the national championship.
1989: Miami 23 Nebraska 3
Miami beats Nebraska again, but Notre Dame claims the national title.
1992: Miami 22 Nebraska 0
1993: Florida State 27 Nebraska 14
1994: Florida State 18 Nebraska 16
Nebraska came into the game as the No. 2 team in the country but were over two-touchdown underdogs to Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles after losing to Florida State in the Orange Bowl the year prior.
Nebraska kept the game close and had an opportunity for a game-winning field goal as time expired, but it sailed wide.
1995: Nebraska 24 Miami 17
In Osborne’s 22nd year as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, he finally got over the hump and won the national championship. Even with a 13-0 record and an Orange Bowl win over No. 3 Miami, Nebraska’s title still came with some controversy.
No. 2 Penn State was obligated to play in the Rose Bowl and won to finish 12-0 and making a strong case to be crowned the champs. Nebraska was awarded the title and Penn State finished No. 2, the BCS National Championship game was introduced in 1998.
1996: Nebraska 41 Virginia Tech 21
Like his predecessor, Osborne went back-to-back with national championships in 1994 and 1995, but in 1996 Nebraska finished No. 6 at 11-2.
1998: Nebraska 42 Tennessee 17
Nebraska finished the 1997 campaign with a resounding win in the Orange Bowl over Tennessee but finished second in the AP Poll in the final season before the BCS National Championship game.
The Cornhuskers claim a share of the 1997 national title with Michigan after Scott Frost outdueled Peyton Manning and No. 3 Tennessee, while Michigan won the Rose Bowl.
This was Tom Osborne’s final game and third national title as head coach, fifth overall, and fifth in Nebraska history.
Cotton Bowl (1-3)
1965: Arkansas 10 Nebraska 7
1974: Nebraska 19 Texas 3
Tom Osborne’s first season as head coach ended with a Cotton Bowl win. The Cornhuskers finished the season ranked No. 7 in the country at 9-2-1.
Texas took a 3-0 lead into the second quarter but didn’t score again as Osborne’s Huskers scored 19 unanswered.
1980 Houston 17 Nebraska 14
2007: Auburn 17 Nebraska 14
Sugar Bowl (3-1)
1967: Alabama 34 Nebraska 7
1974: Nebraska 13 Florida 10
After winning the Cotton Bowl in Tom Osborne’s first season as head coach, Nebraska won the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day 1974. This was the Cornhuskers’ sixth straight bowl game win which bridged the tenures of Bob Devaney and Osborne.
This was the final win in the longest streak of consecutive bowl game wins in Nebraska history. Nebraska trailed 10-0 in the fourth quarter and was backed up on its own one-yard line. Osborne turned to backup quarterback Terry Luck and leaned on his running backs for a 99-yard touchdown drive.
Nebraska added two more field goals and intercepted a Florida Hail Mary attempt on the final play of the game.
1985: Nebraska 28 LSU 10
1987: Nebraska 30 LSU 15
Fiesta Bowl (2-3)
1975: Arizona State 17 Nebraska 15
1986: Michigan 27 Nebraska 23
1988: Florida State 31 Nebraska 28
1996: Nebraska 62 Florida 24
Steve Spurrier’s “Fun N Gun” offense was outgunned by the defending national champions. Lawrence Phillips scored three touchdowns for the Huskers in a blowout win of the No. 2 Gators.
Nebraska came into the game No. 1 in the country and put a stamp on its national championship resume. Tom Osborne’s team followed up a 13-0 1994 championship season with a 12-0 championship season in 1995.
2000: Nebraska 31 Tennessee 21
Sun Bowl (2-0)
1969: Nebraska 45 Georgia 6
After missing bowl games in 1967 and 1968, Bob Devaney guided his Cornhuskers back to prominence in 1969. This Sun Bowl win began a streak of six straight bowl game victories over the next six years and 35 straight seasons ending with a bowl game appearance.
1980: Nebraska 31 Mississippi State 17
Holiday Bowl (1-3)
1998: Arizona 23 Nebraska 20
2009: Nebraska 33 Arizona 0
2010: Washington 19 Nebraska 7
2014: USC 45 Nebraska 42
Barney Cotton coached the Huskers in the bowl game loss in Bo Pelini’s final season. Pelini went 9-3 in his final year and Nebraska has not won more than nine games since his firing.
Alamo Bowl (3-0)
2000: Nebraska 66 Northwestern 17
2003: Nebraska 17 Michigan State 3
2005: Nebraska 32 Michigan 28
Nebraska hangs on against No. 20 Michigan but is nearly stunned by one of the most unbelievable final plays of a football game you’ll ever see.
Gator Bowl (2-0)
2009: Nebraska 26 Clemson 21
2014: Nebraska 24 Georgia 19
The Cornhuskers finished 9-3 with this win. Bo Pelini never finished with fewer than nine wins.
Capital One Bowl (0-2)
2012: South Carolina 30 Nebraska 13
2013: Georgia 45 Nebraska 31
Nebraska finished 9-4 and 10-4 and ranked 24 and 25 in back-to-back seasons despite Capital One Bowl losses.
Miscellaneous
Gotham Bowl
1962: Nebraska 36 Miami 34
The first bowl game win in Nebraska history came in the Bronx in the Gotham Bowl. Bob Devaney led the Cornhuskers to 9-2 in his first season.
Bluebonnet Bowl
1976: Nebraska 27 Texas Tech 24
Nebraska overcame two 10-point deficits to win the Bluebonnet Bowl.
Liberty Bowl
1977: Nebraska 21 North Carolina 17
Citrus Bowl
1991: Georgia Tech 45 Nebraska 21
Independence Bowl
2002: Ole Miss 27 Nebraska 23
Foster Farms Bowl
2015: Nebraska 37 UCLA 29
Music City Bowl
2016: Tennessee 38 Nebraska 24