1977 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Schedule

Roster

Coaching staff

Game notes

Rankings

References

Washington State

Alabama

Baylor

Indiana

Kansas State

Iowa State

Colorado

Oklahoma State

Missouri

Kansas

Oklahoma

North Carolina

Awards

NFL and Pro Players

1977 Nebraska Cornhuskers football

Liberty Bowl Champions
Liberty Bowl vs. #14 North Carolina, W 21-17
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#10
AP	#12
1977 record	9–3 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Tom Osborne (5th year)
Offensive coordinator	Tom Osborne (9th year)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Lance Van Zandt (1st year)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1977 Big 8 football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#7 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Iowa State	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
#12 Nebraska	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Colorado	3	–	3	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Kansas	2	–	4	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Kansas State	0	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 1977 college football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

^[1]

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 10	Washington State*	#15	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska		L 10-19	75,922
September 17	#4 Alabama*		Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska	ABC	W 31-24	75,899
September 24	Baylor*	#14	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska		W 31-10	76,231
October 1	Indiana*	#11	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska		W 31-13	76,034
October 8	at Kansas State	#9	KSU Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas		W 26-9	41,100
October 15	Iowa State	#9	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska		L 21-24	76,090
October 22	#7 Colorado	#18	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska		W 33-15	76,486
October 29	at Oklahoma State	#12	Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma	ABC	W 31-14	49,100
November 5	at Missouri	#11	Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri		W 21-10	67,000
November 12	Kansas	#12	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska		W 52-7	76,392
November 25	at #3 Oklahoma	#11	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma	ABC	L 7-38	71,184
December 19	vs. #14 North Carolina*	#12	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee (Liberty Bowl)	ABC	W 21-17	49,456
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

^[2]^[3]

Name	Title	First year in this position	Years at Nebraska	Alma Mater
Tom Osborne	Head Coach Offensive Coordinator	1973	1964-1997	Hastings College
Lance Van Zandt	Defensive Coordinator Defensive Backs	1977	1977-1980	Lamar
Cletus Fischer	Offensive Line		1960-1985	Nebraska
John Melton	Tight Ends Wingbacks	1973	1962-1988	Wyoming
Mike Corgan	Running Backs	1962	1962-1982	Notre Dame
Boyd Epley	Head Strength Coach	1969	1969-2003	Nebraska
Jerry Moore	Wide Receivers	1973	1973-1978	Baylor
George Darlington	Defensive Backs		1973-2002	Rutgers
Milt Tenopir	Offensive Line	1974	1974-2002	Sterling
Guy Ingles	Freshman Head Coach		1976-1978	Nebraska
Gene Huey	Receivers	1977	1977-1986	Wyoming
Charlie McBride	Defensive Line	1977	1977-1999	Colorado

Washington State at #15 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Washington State	0	7	7	5	19
#15 Nebraska	0	7	0	3	10

Date: 1977-09-10
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,922

Nebraska convincingly dominated Washington State on the field and statistically, but fumbled repeatedly, including three times inside the Cougar 10-yard line and once on a punt. Despite the miscues, Nebraska still held onto a 7-7 tie at halftime. As the game progressed and Washington State began to pull away, Nebraska kept piling up the statistics but failed to get any closer than 10-14 before the Cougars iced the game with a field goal and a safety in the 4th quarter. The numbers defied the scoreboard, as Nebraska led in first downs 24-14, on the ground 247-120 and in the air 223-174, but the number that mattered was 0-1 to start the season.

#4 Alabama at Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#4 Alabama	7	10	0	7	24
• Nebraska	10	7	7	7	31

Date: 1977-09-17
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,899

Alabama came into Lincoln ranked #2 as Nebraska was still feeling the sting of the loss to Washington State and a rare absence from the polls. While the Crimson Tide slightly exceeded the Cornhuskers on offensive production, the 5-1 interception ratio and 25-17 first down edge each helped give Nebraska the edge to pull off the stunning upset.

Baylor at #14 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Baylor	3	0	7	0	10
• #14 Nebraska	10	13	0	8	31

Date: 1977-09-24
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,231

Baylor was behind 10-3 by the end of the 1st quarter, and their only other score was a 3rd-quarter touchdown made possible in part by a lost Nebraska fumble. It was the offensive production that told the story of the day, as Nebraska rolled up 414 yards compared to the 182 produced by Baylor.

Indiana at #11 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana	7	3	3	0	13
• #11 Nebraska	10	7	0	14	31

Date: 1977-10-01
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,034

Nebraska IB I.M. Hipp, starting place of injured IB Rick Berns, set a new single game rushing record of 254 yards, besting the previous record of 211 set the previous year by Berns. Despite that performance, the game actually was in doubt entering the 4th quarter as the Hoosiers trailed 13-17, but the Cornhuskers added two more touchdowns soon after and came away with their 3rd consecutive 31-point score and win to close out the non-conference slate.

#9 Nebraska at Kansas State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #9 Nebraska	0	10	7	9	26
Kansas State	3	0	0	6	9

Date: 1977-10-08
Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
Game attendance: 41,100

Two long touchdown runs by Nebraska IB I.M. Hipp created the gap between Kansas State and Nebraska, but the three interceptions suffered by the Wildcats also hurt any hopes that Kansas State may have had to put up a fight. Though Nebraska started out behind 0-3 in the 1st quarter, they scored the next touchdown and never looked back.

Iowa State at #9 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Iowa State	7	14	3	0	24
#9 Nebraska	14	0	7	0	21

Date: 1977-10-15
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,090

Nebraska struck first and still held the 14-7 lead by the end of the 1st quarter, but two more Iowa State scores before the half put the Cyclones ahead for the rest of the game. Both offenses ground to a halt in the 4th quarter as the Cornhuskers failed to overcome the 21-24 deficit and were handed their second loss of the season.

#7 Colorado at #18 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Colorado	7	8	0	0	15
• #18 Nebraska	3	13	3	14	33

Date: 1977-10-22
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,486

The season of upsets for and against Nebraska continued, as the #7 Colorado team arrived in Lincoln to be dealt its first loss of the season. One of the two Colorado scores came on a 98-yard kickoff return, but after the half it was all Nebraska as the Cornhuskers piled up 390 yards on the ground and 480 in total.

#12 Nebraska at Oklahoma State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #12 Nebraska	0	14	14	3	31
Oklahoma State	7	0	0	7	14

Date: 1977-10-29
Location: Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 49,100

Nebraska owned the edge in all facets, leading 74-63 through the air and 318-196 on the ground. Although the Cornhuskers didn't see the scoreboard until the 2nd quarter, they quickly took the lead with help from the Blackshirts, as the Cowboys soon found themselves too far behind to pose any further threat to Nebraska.

#11 Nebraska at Missouri [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #11 Nebraska	9	0	6	6	21
Missouri	0	10	0	0	10

Date: 1977-11-05
Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri
Game attendance: 67,000

Once again the Blackshirts helped carry the day to make up for repeated turnovers, along with help from Nebraska PK Billy Todd, who created some breathing room by accounting for 9 of the 11 points that separated the Cornhuskers from the Tigers at the final whistle.

Kansas at #12 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas	0	0	0	7	7
• #12 Nebraska	14	14	10	14	52

Date: 1977-11-12
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,392

Nebraska steamrolled Kansas in Lincoln to close out the home schedule, setting records all over in the process. Cornhusker PK Billy Todd set a new Nebraska record for field goals in a season with his 12th and tied a 55-yard longest Nebraska field goal record set in 1969, while the offense set a new single-game rushing record at 550 yards. The Jayhawks' only score came in the 4th quarter against reserves.

#11 Nebraska at #3 Oklahoma [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Nebraska	0	7	0	0	7
• #3 Oklahoma	0	21	3	14	38

Date: 1977-11-25
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 71,184

Both teams struggled to put points up to start out, but adjustments made by Oklahoma, with help from inopportune tunovers by Nebraska, led to a Sooner halftime lead of 21-7. The Cornhuskers never were able to get consistent production after that and never saw the scoreboard again as Oklahoma had little trouble padding their lead by an additional 17 points to secure their 6th straight win over Nebraska.

#12 Nebraska vs #14 North Carolina [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #12 Nebraska	0	7	0	14	21
#14 North Carolina	0	14	3	0	17

Date: 1977-12-19
Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Game attendance: 49,456

Nebraska survived a scare when they came from behind, lagging North Carolina 7-17 at the start of the 4th quarter, to post two straight touchdowns for the lead and the win. Nebraska was the only team to score more than 14 against the Tar Heels all year, as North Carolina led the nation in scoring defense and had held opponents to an average of under 8 points per game. It was backup Nebraska QB Randy Garcia who provided the late spark for the Cornhuskers as he came off the bench and directed the two touchdown drives that put Nebraska ahead with just 3:16 left to play, putting away the game and closing the door on the Tar Heels' bid for an upset.

Ranking Movement
Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Final
AP	15	NR	14	11	9	9	18	12	11	12	11	11	12	12
Coaches														10

^[4]

Award	Name(s)
All-America 1st team	Tom Davis
All-America 2nd team	Greg Jorgensen, I.M. Hipp
All-America honorable mention	Ken Spaeth, Kelvin Clark, Lee Kunz, Ted Harvey
All-Big 8 1st team	Tom Davis, Greg Jorgensen, I.M. Hipp, Jim Pillen
All-Big 8 2nd team	Rick Berns, Kelvin Clark, Ted Harvey, Lee Kunz, Steve Lindquist, Ken Spaeth, Stan Waldemore
All-Big 8 honorable mention	George Andrews, Tony Samuel, Tom Sorley

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1977 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.^[5]

Name	Team
George Andrews	Los Angeles Rams
Bill Barnett	Miami Dolphins
Rick Berns	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ed Burns	New Orleans Saints
Kelvin Clark	Denver Broncos
Barney Cotton	Cincinnati Bengals
Tom Davis	Toronto Argonauts
Andra Franklin	Miami Dolphins
Mark Goodspeed	St. Louis Cardinals
Rod Horn	Cincinnati Bengals
Lee Kunz	Chicago Bears
Jeff Lee	St. Louis Cardinals
Oudious Lee	St. Louis Cardinals
Frank Lockett	Boston Breakers
Junior Miller	Atlanta Falcons
Brett Moritz	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Derrie Nelson	San Diego Chargers
Jeff Quinn	Pittsburgh Steelers
Stan Waldemore	New York Jets

Anderson, Rene #2 (Sr.) DB
Andrews, George #96 (Jr.) DE
Anthony, Monte #49 (Sr.) IB
Barnett, Bill #97 (So.) DT
Berns, Richard #35 (Jr.) IB
Bishop, Keith #53 (Jr.) C
Bloom, Jeff #50 (So.) C
Brown, Kenny #22 (Jr.) WB
Bruce, Mike #76 (So.) OT
Bryant, Bill #95 (Jr.) DT
Burns, Ed #17 (Sr.) QB
Carpenter, Jeff #37 (Sr.) LB
Cass, Dan #8 (So.) DB
Clark, Kelvin #73 (Jr.) OT
Cole, Lawrence #81 (So.) DE
Cooley, Lawrence #67 (Jr.) OG
Cotton, Barney #54 (Jr.) C
Craig, Curtis #33 (Sr.) WB
Davis, Tom #52 (Sr.) C
Dixon, Rod #5 (Jr.) PK
Donnell, Dodie #45 (Sr.) FB
Dufresne, Mark #88 (Sr.) TE
Dunning, Bruce #40 (So.) LB
England, Gary #91 (So.) DT
Everett, Earl #9 (Sr.) WB
Fischer, Tim #16 (Jr.) DB
Franklin, Andra (So.) FB
Frei, Steve #27 (So.) DB
Garcia, Randy #18 (Sr.) QB
Gast, Reg #82 (Sr.) DE
Gemar, Scott #1 (So.) PK
Glenn, Steve #71 (Jr.) OT

Goodspeed, Mark #72 (So.) OT
Hager, Tim #10 (So.) QB
Hansen, Jeff #48 (Jr.) DB
Harvey, Ted #31 (Sr.) DB
Havekost, John #69 (So.) OG
Hedrick, Brian #43 (So.) DT
Henson, Zac #79(Sr.) OGK
Hipp, I.M. #32 (So.) IB
Horn, Rod #55 (So.) DT
Ingram, John #19 (So.) DB
Jorgensen, Greg #63 (Sr.) OG
Keith, Percy #21 (So.) DB
Keuten, John #64 (So.) OG
Kunz, Lee #38 (Jr.) LB
Lee, Jeff #26 (Jr.) SE
Lee, Oudious #65 (So.) MG
Lehigh, Pat #6 (Jr.) DB
Lindquist, Steve #68 (Jr.) OG
Lockett, Frank #80 (Jr.) SE
Loken, Rocke #87 (Sr.) SE
Markus, Steve #56 (Sr.) LB
Matthies, Tom #77 (So.) OT
McCrady, Tim #24 (So.) WB
McQuitter, Greg #41 (Jr.) DB
Means, Andy #34 (So.) DB
Miller, Junior #89 (So.) TE
Moritz, Brett #70 (Sr.) OG
Nelson, Derrie #92 (So.) DE
O'Doherty, Dave #78 (So.) OT
Ohrt, Tom #74 (Jr.) OT
Payne, Dennis #13 (Jr.) DB
Pensick, Dan #93 (So.) DT
Pillen, Jim #29 (Jr.) DB

Poeschl, Randy #75 (Jr.) DT
Powers, Dana #28 (So.) DB
Pullen, Jeff #66 (Sr.) MG
Quinn, Jeff #11 (So.) QB
Rick, Randy #90 (Sr.) DE
Roehrs, Kelvin #99 (Jr.) MG
Ruud, John #46 (So.) LB
Saalfeld, Kelly #57 (Jr.) C
Samuel, Tony #98 (Sr.) DE
Schleusener, Randy #61 (So.) OG
Selko, John #83 (Jr.) TE
Smith, Kent #23 (Sr.) DB
Smith, Tim #84 (So.) SE
Sorley, Tom #12 (Jr.) QB
Spaeth, Ken #86 (Sr.) TE
Steiner, Dan #58 (So.) OG
Steward, Keith #44 (Jr.) FB
Stewart, Byron #30 (Jr.) IB
Stroh, Mark #85 (So.) DE
Sukup, Dean #3 (So.) PK
Todd, Billy #14 (Jr.) PK
Valasek, Larry #4 (Sr.) DB
Vering, Tom #47 (Jr.) LB
Waldemore, Stan #62 (Sr.) OT
Walton, Darrell #7 (Jr.) DB
Washington, Mike #36 (So.) FB
Weinmaster, Kerry #51 (So.) MG
Wightman, Jim #59 (Sr.) LB
Wurth, Tim #25 (So.) IB
Young, Larry #94 (Jr.) DE
Young, Willie #39 (So.) LB

↑ "Football - 1977 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
↑ Nebraska 1977 Roster
↑ "Nebraska 1977 Commitments". Archived from the original on 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
↑ 1977 Husker Honors
↑ "All Time NFL Huskers". Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-06-10.

Nebraska Cornhuskers football

Venues	Lincoln Park (1890–95) "M" Street Park (1894–96) Antelope Field (1897–1908) Nebraska Field (1909–22) Memorial Stadium (1923–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Colorado Iowa Miami Minnesota Missouri Oklahoma Texas Wisconsin

Culture & lore	Herbie Husker Lil' Red "Dear Old Nebraska U" "Hail Varsity" Marching band Blackshirts Origin of "Cornhuskers" 1939 Kansas State game 1971 Oklahoma game Fumblerooski 1982 Penn State game Flea Kicker Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass 1 Second Left

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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