The 1986 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...

 in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season

1986 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the national championship, launching it into the top tier of...

. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium

Memorial Stadium, Lincoln

Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team....

 in Lincoln, Nebraska

Lincoln, Nebraska

The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....

.

Schedule

Roster and coaching staff

Florida State

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

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

Brian Davis (American football)

Brian Wesley Davis is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, the Seattle Seahawks, the San Diego Chargers, and the Minnesota Vikings...

 returned for a touchdown, and Nebraska never looked back.

Oregon

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 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

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 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

Unranked Colorado stunned the #3 Cornhuskers, holding Nebraska to its lowest rushing yard total in eight years and ending Nebraska's 19-year winning streak against the Buffaloes.

Kansas State

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

Oklahoma

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's 25th bowl appearance saw the Blackshirts

Blackshirts (football)

The Blackshirts are the first-string defensive unit players for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.-History:The term originally dates back to the early 1960s and refers to the black practice jerseys that Nebraska's first-string defenders began to wear during practice...

 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

Award	Name(s)
All-America 1st team	Danny Noonan
All-America 3rd team	Tom Welter
All-America honorable mention	Broderick Thomas Broderick Thomas Broderick Lee Thomas is a former professional American football player in the National Football League.-High school career:Thomas graduated from Madison High School in Houston in 1985.-College career:... , 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 Brian Davis (American football) Brian Wesley Davis is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, the Seattle Seahawks, the San Diego Chargers, and the Minnesota Vikings... , 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.

Name	Team
Richard Bell	Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
Dana Brinson Dana Brinson Dana Brinson is a former professional American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the eight round of the 1989 NFL Draft. He played college football at Nebraska....	San Diego Chargers San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Brian Davis Brian Davis (American football) Brian Wesley Davis is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, the Seattle Seahawks, the San Diego Chargers, and the Minnesota Vikings...	Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
Doug DuBose	San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
LeRoy Etienne	San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
Keith Jones	Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Marc Munford	Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Danny Noonan	Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
Lawrence Pete Lawrence Pete Lawrence Pete is a former American football nose tackle. He played five in the NFL for the Detroit Lions who selected him with the 115th pick in the 1989 NFL Draft...	Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
Tim Rother	Los Angeles Raiders
Neil Smith	Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
Steve Taylor Steve Taylor (quarterback) Steve Taylor was a quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League. Taylor had signed a four year contract with the Edmonton Eskimos just one month after finishing his senior season with the University of Nebraska...	Edmonton Eskimos Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
Broderick Thomas Broderick Thomas Broderick Lee Thomas is a former professional American football player in the National Football League.-High school career:Thomas graduated from Madison High School in Houston in 1985.-College career:...	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
Brian Washington Brian Washington Brian Wayne Washington is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He played for the Cleveland Browns , the New York Jets , and the Kansas City Chiefs ....	Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Tom Welter	St. Louis Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...