1986 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

1986 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Sugar Bowl Champions
Sugar Bowl vs. #5 LSU, W 30–15
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#4
AP	#5
1986 record	10–2 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Tom Osborne (14th year)
Offensive coordinator	Tom Osborne (17th year)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Charlie McBride (6th year)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 73,650)

1986 Big 8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Colorado	6	–	1	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
#5 Nebraska	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Iowa State	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Missouri	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Kansas	0	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Schedule

^[1]

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	7:00 PM	#11 Florida State*	#8	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ABC	W 34–17	75,865
September 20	6:00 PM	at Illinois*	#6	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	WTBS	W 59–14	75,865
September 27	1:30 PM	Oregon*	#4	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE		W 48–14	76,185
October 4	12:30 PM	at South Carolina*	#3	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC		W 27–24	73,109
October 11	6:45 PM	Oklahoma State	#3	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ESPN	W 30–10	76,041
October 18	1:30 PM	Missouri	#3	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE		W 48–17	76,005
October 25	2:30 PM	at Colorado	#3	Folsom Field • Boulder, CO		L 10–20	52,440
November 1	1:30 PM	Kansas State	#9	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE		W 38–0	75,893
November 8	11:30 AM	at Iowa State	#7	Cyclone Stadium • Ames, IA	Raycom	W 35–14	48,007
November 15	1:30 PM	at Kansas	#6	Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS		W 70–0	48,800
November 22	2:30 PM	#3 Oklahoma	#5	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ABC	L 17–20	76,198
January 1	2:30 PM	vs. #5 LSU*	#6	Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 30–15	76,234
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

Roster and coaching staff

1986 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OG 68 Bailey, DanDan Bailey Jr TE 87 Banderas, TomTom Banderas Jr WB 18 Behrens, VanceVance Behrens Jr WB 21 Bell, RichardRichard Bell So QB 12 Blakeman, CleteClete Blakeman Jr WB 33 Brinson, DanaDana Brinson So FB 24 Casterline, DanDan Casterline Sr C 54 Cooper, MarkMark Cooper Sr FB Dalton, DougDoug Dalton Jr TE 81 Diaz, MarkMark Diaz Sr IB 22 DuBose, DougDoug DuBose Sr OT 77 Ernest, JimJim Ernest So OG 67 Galois, RonRon Galois Sr SE 86 Gamble, JasonJason Gamble So WB 8 Gatson, PernellPernell Gatson Sr OT 73 Green, DerrickDerrick Green Jr TE 84 Hall, MikeMike Hall Jr SE 82 Hawkins, HendleyHendley Hawkins Jr FB 48 Heibel, MicahMicah Heibel Jr OG 75 Hoefler, MikeMike Hoefler Sr WB 27 Holscher, JimJim Holscher Jr OT 70 Hudson, Corey BillCorey Bill Hudson Jr OT 64 Johnson, BradBrad Johnson Sr IB 6 Jones, KeithKeith Jones Jr FB 49 Kaelin, KenKen Kaelin Sr OG 65 Keeler, AndyAndy Keeler So IB 40 Kelley, JonJon Kelley Jr FB 34 Knox, TyreeseTyreese Knox So OT 57 Lightner, KevenKeven Lightner Jr OT 72 Maggard, RobRob Maggard Sr OG 61 McCormick, JohnJohn McCormick Jr TE 43 Millikan, ToddTodd Millikan So QB 16 Mlinar, JerryJerry Mlinar Sr WB 4 Nelson, RayRay Nelson Sr C 63 Nichols, JohnJohn Nichols Jr OT 74 Parker, StanStan Parker Sr IB 20 Rodgers, TerryTerry Rodgers Fr SE 85 Schnitzler, RobbRobb Schnitzler Sr C 53 Sellentin, JeffJeff Sellentin Sr WB 2 Sheppard, VonVon Sheppard Jr OT 62 Sledge, BobBob Sledge So SE 88 Smith, RodRod Smith Jr QB 9 Taylor, SteveSteve Taylor So OT 69 Welter, TomTom Welter Sr IB 25 Wheeler, JeffJeff Wheeler So QB 15 Wooten, WendellWendell Wooten So C 68 Young, JakeJake Young Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 23 Blazek, MarkMark Blazek Jr MG 58 Bryan, DaveDave Bryan Sr CB 42 Carl, MikeMike Carl Sr S 45 Carr, ChrisChris Carr Sr CB 31 Chealey, GeneGene Chealey Jr CB 7 Clayton, McCathornMcCathorn Clayton Jr CB 28 Custard, JohnJohn Custard So CB 32 Davis, BrianBrian Davis Sr LB 47 Etienne, LeRoyLeRoy Etienne So LB 38 Forch, SteveSteve Forch Sr CB 10 Fryar, CharlesCharles Fryar So DT 84 Griffin, WillieWillie Griffin So DT 52 Groskurth, DannyDanny Groskurth Jr LB 39 Henning, BlakeBlake Henning Jr CB 8 Hicks, LorenzoLorenzo Hicks So DE 91 Holloway, TonyTony Holloway Sr DE 80 Jamrog, JeffJeff Jamrog Jr DE 55 Jobman, RandallRandall Jobman So DT 98 Jones, LeeLee Jones Jr DE 93 Marco, JonJon Marco So CB 17 Miller, CleoCleo Miller Sr LB 41 Munford, MarcMarc Munford Sr MG 95 Noonan, DannyDanny Noonan Sr DE 94 Novacek, BumpBump Novacek So DE 90 Opie, HarlanHarlan Opie Jr DT 97 Palmer, TonyTony Palmer Jr LB 35 Parsons, KevinKevin Parsons Sr MG 96 Pete, LawrenceLawrence Pete So MG 92 Putnam, SeanSean Putnam So DT 78 Rother, TimTim Rother Jr CB 26 Sanders, MarvinMarvin Sanders So LB 51 Shaw, PatPat Shaw Sr S 19 Siebler, BryanBryan Siebler Sr DT 66 Skradis, KurtKurt Skradis So DT 99 Smith, NeilNeil Smith Jr DT 76 Spachman, ChrisChris Spachman Sr S 29 Thayer, DanDan Thayer Sr DE 89 Thomas, BroderickBroderick Thomas So DE 83 Tyrer, BradBrad Tyrer Sr LB 37 Welniak, DougDoug Welniak Jr LB 24 Wiley, DanteDante Wiley So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 44 Barrios, GreggGregg Barrios Fr PK 44 Drennan, ChrisChris Drennan So PK 1 Klein, DaleDale Klein Sr P 45 Kroeker, JohnJohn Kroeker So MON 3 Schneider, GaryGary Schneider Sr P/PK 13 Schnitzler, CraigCraig Schnitzler Jr MON 11 Tomjack, JeffJeff Tomjack Jr P 14 Toner, JimJim Toner So MON 5 Washington, BrianBrian Washington Jr	Head coach Tom Osborne    14th season    23rd year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Nebraska Coordinators/assistant coaches Charlie McBride    6th season as DC/LB coach    10th year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Colorado John Melton    14th season as TE/WB coach    25th year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Wyoming Boyd Epley    18th season as S&C coach    18th year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Nebraska George Darlington    DB coach    14th year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Rutgers Milt Tenopir    13th season as OL coach    13th year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Sterling Gene Huey    10th season as WR coach    10th year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Wyoming Frank Solich    4th season as RB coach    8th year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Nebraska Jack Pierce    8th year at Nebraska Dan Young    4th season as OL/K coach    4th year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Reed Tony Samuel    1st season as OLB coach    1st year at Nebraska    Alma mater: Nebraska Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2011-01-17

Game notes

Florida State

Florida State at Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Florida State 7 7 3 0 17 • Nebraska 0 10 14 10 34 Date: 1986-09-06 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 75,865

This was the first ever night game at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska's loss to FSU in Lincoln the previous year was avenged when the Cornhuskers came back from a halftime deficit, outscoring FSU 24-3 and holding the Seminoles to -2 yards in the second half.

Illinois

Nebraska at Illinois [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 28 10 14 7 59 Illinois 0 7 0 7 14 Date: 1986-09-20 Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois Game attendance: 75,865

The outcome of this game was more or less sealed from the very first play, as Illinois QB Chris Lamb threw an interception that Cornhusker CB Brian Davis returned for a touchdown, and Nebraska never looked back.

Oregon

Oregon at Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Oregon 7 0 0 7 14 • Nebraska 14 21 13 0 48 Date: 1986-09-27 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 76,185

Oregon made the first strike, but Nebraska then ran away from the Ducks, scoring 48 unanswered points, though the Cornhuskers suffered the loss of WB Von Sheppard to injury and saw PK Dale Klein's consecutive PATs streak ended at 60.

South Carolina

Nebraska at South Carolina [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 10 3 0 14 27 South Carolina 0 7 3 14 24 Date: 1986-10-04 Location: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, South Carolina Game attendance: 73,109

Nebraska survived a scare in Columbia, escaping with a victory due to recovering a Gamecock fumble with two minutes left to play to set up the go-ahead touchdown, and then intercepting a throw by South Carolina QB Todd Ellis at NU's 10 yard line with just 10 seconds remaining.

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State at Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Oklahoma State 0 10 0 0 10 • Nebraska 14 7 9 0 30 Date: 1986-10-11 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 76,041

Nebraska continued their string of domination over Oklahoma State in the second ever night game at Memorial Stadium, extending their win streak over the Cowboys to 25.

Missouri

Missouri at Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri 3 0 0 14 17 • Nebraska 0 20 21 7 48 Date: 1986-10-18 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 76,005

Missouri scored first on a 29-yard field goal, but Nebraska owned the show for the rest of the game, scoring six straight touchdowns on their way to the win. Nebraska PK Dave Klein beat the Cornhusker career FG record of 22 when he extended his total to 24 in this game.

Colorado

Nebraska at Colorado [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Nebraska 0 0 7 3 10 • Colorado 7 3 0 10 20 Date: 1986-10-25 Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado Game attendance: 52,440

Unranked Colorado stunned the #3 Cornhuskers, holding Nebraska to its lowest rushing yard total in eight years and ending Nebraska's 18-year winning streak against the Buffaloes.

Kansas State

Kansas State at Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total Kansas State 0 0 0 0 0 • Nebraska 17 0 14 7 38 Date: 1986-11-01 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 75,893

The hapless Wildcats suffered Nebraska's wrath following their loss to unranked Colorado the week prior, as the Cornhuskers romped in the snow at Memorial Stadium and shut out Kansas State while allowing them just 106 total yards of offense.

Iowa State

Nebraska at Iowa State [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 7 0 14 14 35 Iowa State 0 14 0 0 14 Date: 1986-11-08 Location: Cyclone Stadium, Ames, Iowa Game attendance: 48,007

Nebraska struck first but then seemed to flame out, as Iowa State sent the Cornhuskers to the locker room behind 14-7 at halftime. After a rousing pep talk from Coach Osborne, the Cornhuskers stormed back in the 2nd half for the win.

Kansas

Nebraska at Kansas [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 21 14 21 14 70 Kansas 0 0 0 0 0 Date: 1986-11-15 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas Game attendance: 48,800

Nebraska absolutely crushed Kansas in Lawrence, handing the Jayhawks their worst-ever loss and posting the biggest Cornhusker shutout since a 100-0 smashing of Nebraska Wesleyan in 1917.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma at Nebraska [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • Oklahoma 7 0 0 13 20 Nebraska 7 3 7 0 17 Date: 1986-11-22 Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 76,198

The #5 Cornhuskers, flying high after their 70-0 shutout against Kansas the previous week, looked ready to upset the #3 Sooners, but it was not to be. Oklahoma found the end zone twice in the 4th quarter to tie the game, and forced a Nebraska punt with 1:22 remaining. After grinding back down the field, and with just 9 seconds remaining, Oklahoma PK Tim Lashar made a 31-yard kick to split the uprights for the win, handing the Sooners their 2nd consecutive Big 8 Championship title.

LSU

Nebraska vs LSU [box score]

1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 0 10 7 13 30 LSU 7 0 0 8 15 Date: 1987-01-01 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana Game attendance: 76,234

Nebraska's 25th bowl appearance saw the Blackshirts setting two new bowl-game records by holding LSU to just 32 net rushing yards and 10 first downs as the #5 Cornhuskers rolled up the upset win over the #3 Tigers.

Rankings

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	Wk 13	Final
AP	8	6	6	4	3	3	3	3	9	7	6	5	6	6	5
Coaches															4

Awards

^[2]

Award	Name(s)
All-America 1st team	Danny Noonan
All-America 3rd team	Tom Welter
All-America honorable mention	Broderick Thomas, Keith Jones, Rob Maggard, John McCormick, Marc Munford, Stan Parker, Chris Spachman
Sophomore All-America 1st team	Broderick Thomas
Sophomore All-America honorable mention	LeRoy Etienne
Big 8 Athlete of the Year	Danny Noonan
All-Big 8 1st team	Keith Jones, Danny Noonan, Broderick Thomas, Tom Welter, Marc Munford
All-Big 8 2nd team	John McCormick, Brian Davis, Rob Maggard, Todd Millikan, Stan Parker, Rod Smith

NFL and pro players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1986 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.^[3]

Name	Team
Richard Bell	Pittsburgh Steelers
Dana Brinson	San Diego Chargers
Brian Davis	Washington Redskins
Doug DuBose	San Francisco 49ers
LeRoy Etienne	San Francisco 49ers
Keith Jones	Cleveland Browns
Marc Munford	Denver Broncos
Danny Noonan	Dallas Cowboys
Lawrence Pete	Detroit Lions
Tim Rother	Los Angeles Raiders
Neil Smith	Kansas City Chiefs
Steve Taylor	Edmonton Eskimos
Broderick Thomas	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Brian Washington	Cleveland Browns
Tom Welter	St. Louis Cardinals

References

1. "Football - 1986 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
2. 1986 Husker Honors
3. "All Time NFL Huskers". Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-30.