Numbers That Tell the Story of Nebraska’s First 1½ Decades in the Big Ten

The Huskers’ 16th round of Big Ten play kicks off Saturday against a noteworthy rival. Here’s a look at 130 games’ worth of facts and figures from the first 15 seasons.

Taylor Martinez and Emmett Johnson were triggers for the offense on opposite ends of the timeline. | HuskerMax and IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In less than 48 hours, Nebraska begins its 16th round of conference football games as a member of the Big Ten.

What better time than now to look back at the facts and figures from that first decade and a half?

There are numbers to crunch and superlatives to sort out, and we'll get to that shortly.

But first, here's a hat tip to the series against Saturday night's opponent, Michigan State. In terms of sheer entertainment value, the Spartans' conference games against Nebraska have delivered more often that not.

There's joy in Lincoln after the Huskers' upset of sixth-ranked Michigan State in 2015. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ranked wins and wild finishes

   • 2011: Nebraska throttles Connor Cook and No. 9 Michigan State in Lincoln, 24-3. It’s a rare a win against a ranked conference opponent.

   • 2012: The Huskers trail by 10 in the fourth quarter but win it in the final 10 seconds. MSU fans won’t let you forget the third-down pass interference call a few plays before the winning TD.

   • 2014: After trailing 27-3 in the fourth quarter, Nebraska comes agonizingly close to completing the comeback. Alonzo Moore can’t reel in Tommy Armstrong’s 37-yard pass in the end zone in the final minute.

   • 2015: After No. 6 MSU takes a 38-26 lead with 4:16 left, the Huskers storm back. Brandon Reilly’s winning TD catch in the final 20 seconds comes after he goes out of bounds — but he was forced out, the ref rules. No way, say Spartans fans.

   • 2018: Snow flies and points are few as Nebraska wins, 9-6. Barret Pickering’s 47-yard field goal clinches it with a little over five minutes left. Three years after needing 39 points to win, the Huskers win without a touchdown.

   • 2021: Now it’s Sparty’s turn for a fourth-quarter comeback. After dominating on defense, Nebraska lets it slip away with a misdirected punt. MSU returns it 62 yards to tie the game with 2½ minutes left, then wins in overtime.

Most of those games against the Spartans have a place in the listings below, generated from the Huskers' 130 Big Ten contests from 2011 through 2025.

It should surprise nobody that the numbers reflect more losses than wins, more points surrendered than scored, more blowout losses than lopsided victories. That’s not exactly what most people expected when Nebraska joined the conference 15 years ago.

The point here, though, is not to accentuate the negative or point fingers. These are the numbers, and you can make of them what you will. Keep in mind that these figures are for conference games only, including the 2012 league championship game.

Nebraska has won 40% of its conference road games, most recently at UCLA last season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Victories and defeats

   • 57-73: The Huskers’ 15-year record
   • 43.8%: Winning percentage
   • 4-5: Average season record (rounded from 3.8-4.9)

   • 7-2: Best record (2012, 77.8%)
   • 1-8: Worst record (2021, 11.1%)

   • 31-33: Home record (48.4%)
   • 26-38: Road record (40.1%)
   • 0-2: Neutral site record (0%)

   • 4-0: Best home record (2012 & 2016)
   • 1-4: Worst home record (2017, 2019, 2021)

   • 3-1: Best road record (2012, 2013)
   • 0-5: Worst road record (2018)

NOTE: The Huskers’ average conference record is one game under .500, but that actual finish has happened just once, in 2025. The most frequent record is 3-6, which has happened six times.

Scoring

• 3,214: Points scored
• 3,544: Points given up

• 25-27: Average score (rounded from 24.7-27.3)
   - A game that’s close to that average: 2019 Iowa

• 31-18: Average score in games won
   - A win that’s close to that average: 2016 Illinois

• 20-35: Average score in games lost (rounded from 19.8-34.6)
   - A loss that’s close to that average: 2019 Wisconsin

The Huskers' most lopsided conference win, against Northwestern in 2021, came during a season notable for one-score Nebraska losses. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Point extremes & margins

   • 56: Most points scored (vs. Northwestern, 2021)
   • 70: Most points given up (vs. Wisconsin, 2012, B1G championship game)

   • 56-7: Most lopsided win (vs. Northwestern, 2021)
   • 3-62: Most lopsided loss (at Ohio State, 2016)

   • 38: Most points given up in a win: (vs. Michigan State, 2015)
   • 45: Most points scored in a loss (at Purdue, 2015)

   • 26: One-score wins
   • 41: One-score losses

   • 13: Wins by 21 points or more
   • 21: Losses by 21 points or more

   • 2: Wins by 40 points or more
   • 6: Losses by 40 points or more

   • 15-0: Record when giving up 10 points or fewer
   • 1-15: Record when scoring 10 points or fewer

   • 2: Overtime wins
    - at Penn State, 2013
    - at Iowa, 2014
   • 5: Overtime losses
    - at Wisconsin, 2016
    - vs. Northwestern, 2017
    - at Northwestern, 2018
    - at Michigan State, 2021
    - vs. Illinois, 2024

Ameer Abdullah's 12-yard TD run in the fourth quarter helped secure the Huskers' win over 20th-ranked Michigan in 2012. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wins against AP-ranked teams

   • #6 Michigan State, 2015, 39-38
   • #9 Michigan State, 2011, 24-3
   • #12 Penn State, 2011, 17-14
   • #20 Michigan, 2012, 23-9

Winning percentage by coach

   • .667: Bo Pelini (22-11)
   • .462: Mike Riley (12-14)
   • .375: Mickey Joseph (interim; 3-5)
   • .370: Matt Rhule (10-17
   • .278: Scott Frost (10-26)

Momentum changed in the Huskers' 2011 game against Ohio State when All-America linebacker Lavonte David stripped the ball from quarterback Braxton Miller | Nebraska Athletics

Honors & titles

   • 1: Division championship (2012)

   • 17: First-team all-conference players
     - Rex Burkhead, RB, 2011
     - Lavonte David, LB, 2011*
     - Alfonzo Dennard, DB, 2011
     - Brett Maher, P/PK, 2011
     - Spencer Long, OL, 2012
     - Brett Maher, PK, 2012
     - Eric Martin, DE, 2012
     - Taylor Martinez, QB, 2012
     - Daimion Stafford, S, 2012
     - Ameer Abdullah, RB, 2013
     - Ciante Evans, CB, 2013
     - Randy Gregory, DE, 2013-14
     - Kenny Bell, WR, 2014
     - Sam Foltz, P, 2015
     - Connor Culp, PK, 2020
     - Austin Allen, TE, 2021
     - Emmett Johnson, RB, 2025*

* Also first-team All-America

Series records

The Huskers have winning records in conference play against seven teams. Nebraska is 40-23 combined against:

   • Illinois (7-5)
   • Maryland (3-1)
   • Michigan State (5-4)
   • Northwestern (8-6)
   • Penn State (4-2)
   • Purdue (7-5)
   • Rutgers (6-0)

A winning record against Penn State and a losing one against Minnesota is not what anyone might've predicted 15 years ago. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Huskers have losing records in conference play against six teams. Nebraska is 14-47 combined against:

   • Iowa (4-11)
   • Michigan (2-6)
   • Minnesota (5-9)
   • Ohio State (1-8)
   • USC (0-2)
   • Wisconsin (2-11)

The Huskers have split their games in conference play against two teams, going a combined 3-3 against:

   • Indiana (2-2)
   • UCLA (1-1)

(Nebraska’s first conference games against Oregon and Washington won’t happen until next month.)

A couple of the Huskers’ notable bad streaks have been broken in the last few seasons. Will the next 15 years of conference play bring better results and stronger numbers than what’s shown above? The answer will begin to unfold Saturday night at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

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