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Nebraska Cornhuskers
[[1]]
see logo here
Conference
Big Ten
Location
Lincoln, Nebraska
Colors
Scarlet and Cream
Head Coaches
Stadium
CFP National Championships
None
Bowl Championships
Foster Farms Bowl (2018)

The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represents the University of Nebraska in NFCAA. The Cornhuskers are a part of the Big Ten Conference. The school colors are scarlet and cream. The mascots are Herbie Husker and Lil' Red, officially introduced in 1974 and 1993, respectively.

Records[edit | edit source]

Overall Record: 15-12

Bowl/Playoff Record: 2-0

Record vs Top 25: 4-1

Record vs Top 10: 0-0

Seasons[edit | edit source]

2019 Season[edit | edit source]

The 2nd season of Fake College Football (fCFB) started off with Bear Thomas as the newest Cornhusker Head Coach after a season of mediocrity lead by 3 different head coaches throughout 2018. The Cornhuskers ended the regular season .500, but won the Big Ten West and ultimately the Big Ten championship game against Ohio State University. They faced off against the PAC-12 champions USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl game, a 38-28 victory for the Cornhuskers.

Records

Overall Record: 8-6 (5-3)

Bowl Record: 1-0

Record vs Top 25: 3-0

Record vs Top 10: 0-0

Season & Single-Game Stats

Schedule

Week Loc Opp Score Game Thread
1 vs #18 Notre Dame 35-31 W Notre Dame v Nebraska
2 @ Texas 21-31 L Nebraska v Texas
3 @ Colorado 29-30 L Nebraska v Colorado
4 vs Hawaii 7-21 L Hawaii v Nebraska
5 vs Minnesota 34-31 W Minnesota v Nebraska
6 @ Wisconsin 28-23 W Nebraska v Wisconsin
7 vs Maryland 16-17 L Maryland v Nebraska
8 @ Penn State 17-27 L Nebraska v Penn State
9 @ Purdue 29-15 W Nebraska v Purdue
10 vs Illinois 7-6 W Illinois v Nebraska
11 @ Northwestern 28-7 W Nebraska v Northwestern
12 vs Iowa 37-44 L Iowa v Nebraska
CONF @ #17 Ohio State 31-24 W Nebraska v Ohio State
BOWL @ #14 USC 38-28 W ROSE BOWL - Nebraska v USC

Poll Position

Week Coaches' Playoff
1 NR N/A
2 NR N/A
3 NR N/A
4 NR N/A
5 NR N/A
6 NR N/A
7 NR N/A
8 NR NR
9 NR NR
10 NR NR
11 NR NR
12 NR NR
CHAMP NR NR

Roster[edit | edit source]

Offense

Pos Player Class
QB #6 Thom McClure SO(RS)
RB #24 Marcus Robinson SR(RS)
RB #11 Derek McClure FR
WR #12 D'Andre Thompkins SR(RS)
WR #82 Christopher Doolittle FR(RS)
WR #88 Tyreek Masterson FR
TE #19 Grant Matthews SR
TE #91 Matthew Grant SR
OL #62 Bentley Patterson JR(RS)
OL #64 R.J. Vickery SO(RS)
OL #73 Demetrius Valenbolenkratz SO(RS)
OL #79 Matthew Donaldson SR(RS)
OL #69 Jacob Klein FR(RS)

Defense

Pos Player Class
DL #59 Jamarcus Valentine SR(RS)
DL #46 Ozzie Borchardt SR
DL #63 Kyle Thorp JR(RS)
DL #42 Marcus Jullen III FR
DL #98 DeMarcus DiMarco FR
LB #96 Gary McGill SR
LB #44 Anthony Jackson JR
LB #52 Augustine Van Der Klaust FR(RS)
LB #54 Mario Rivera FR
LB #76 Mark Cox FR
DB #33 Tyson Cook FR
DB #41 Kai Thompson-McGuire FR
DB #48 Maximilian duFont FR
DB #66 Donald Tribiano SR(RS)
DB #49 Omar VasValenti SR

Special Teams

Pos Player Class
K #1 Titus McGowan FR
P #99 Dominick Quevedo FR
LS #90 Harold Thomas SR(RS)

2018 Season[edit | edit source]

This was the inaugural season for Fake College Football (fCFB). rmcauliffe was the first hire by the Cornhuskers, Giordano_5 was the 3rd and final coach of the season. Aarik Long coached for the longest tenure during the season (7 weeks). The Cornhuskers eventually ended their season 6-6 plus a bowl victory in the Foster Farms Bowl against the Stanford Cardinal.

Records

Overall Record: 7-6

Bowl/Playoff Record: 1-0

Record vs Top 25: 1-1

Record vs Top 10: 0-0


Schedule

Week Loc Opp Score Game Thread
1 vs LSU 13-30 L LSU v Nebraska
2 @ #11 Oklahoma 10-16 L Nebraska v Oklahoma
3 vs Miami (FL) 33-10 W Miami(FL) v Nebraska
4 @ Arizona State 31-24 W Nebraska v Arizona State
5 vs Purdue 10-52 L Purdue v Nebraska
6 vs Michigan State 27-42 L Michigan State v Nebraska
7 vs. Illinois 14-0 W Illinois v Nebraska
8 vs Minnesota 21-14 W Minnesota v Nebraska
9 @ Michigan 20-10 W Nebraska v Michigan
10 @ Wisconsin 42-47 L Nebraska v Wisconsin
11 @ Northwestern 31-32 L Nebraska v Northwestern
12 @ #11 Iowa 52-40 W Nebraska v Iowa
BOWL @ Stanford 49-20 W Nebraska v Stanford

Poll Position

Week Coaches' Playoff
1 NR
2 NR
3 NR
4 NR
5 NR
6 NR
7 NR
8 NR
9 NR
10 NR
11 NR
12 NR
POST NR

Rivalry Games[edit | edit source]

Iowa[edit | edit source]

Nebraska and Iowa play annually as they are both in the Big Ten West Division. The Heroes Trophy has been awarded to the winner of the Iowa–Nebraska game since the 2011 season. "The Heroes Game," as it is known, takes place on Black Friday and is last game of the regular season. The teams have met 48 times, with the series dating back to 1891. The Cornhuskers lead the series 29–16-3 in real life, and the series is tied 1-1 in fCFB.

2019 Matchup[edit | edit source]

The 2019 matchup in Lincoln, Nebraska was entertaining even though there was nothing to lose for Nebraska, other than a current 3-game winning streak. Having already clinched the Big Ten West the previous week, Nebraska coasted through this game against Iowa, who was looking to become bowl eligible with a win. The game was heavy on the offense, with the first quarter seeing the Hawkeyes start off the game leading 10-0 before the Huskers were able to score a touchdown and force a safety to come within one point. At the end of the first half, Nebraska and Iowa were tied 30-30. With a quiet second half, Iowa led at the end of the 3rd quarter 37-30. After tying the game at 37, Iowa was able to drop a 65-yard touchdown pass to go up a score on Nebraska late in the fourth quarter. On Nebraska's last drive of the game, the Cornhuskers made it to midfield before facing a fourth-and-four. A screen pass for three yards kept Nebraska just short of the first down marker, and Iowa was able to kneel the game to their victory and bowl eligibility.

Statistically speaking, this game was incredibly close. Iowa ended the game with 300 yards of total offense, 146 passing and 154 rushing. Nebraska ended the game with 308 yards of total offense, 200 passing and 108 rushing. The Iowa won the turnover battle, with only one turnover (INT) to Nebraska's two (INT and FUM). This game featured the most points scored and the most points allowed by the Cornhuskers all season, a major contrast to the Cornhuskers during their three-game winning streak where they relied heavily on strong defensive showings. Head Coach Bear Thomas ignored most critics after the game, calling it a "stats-padding" matchup, and doubled down towards the end of a press conference by saying "we want to win all of the games, but more importantly we want to win the games that matter. Next week's [Big Ten championship] game matters. You can decide if this game really did or not."

2018 Matchup[edit | edit source]

The 2018 Heroes Game in Iowa City was a surprising affair. Although Iowa was ranked #11, they had just dropped out of the College Football Playoff picture after a tough overtime loss to Wisconsin 45-49 the week before bumping them five spots down from #6. The 8-3 Hawkeyes were led by BoomerSooner5 as they hosted the 5-6 Cornhuskers and their head coach Giordano_5, who was 0-2 in 2 close matchups against Wisconsin (42-47) and Northwestern (31-32) leading into the game. Despite the difference in records, Iowa opened as only 3-point favorites over Nebraska in the regular season finale.

After forcing a three-and-out on Iowa's first drive and then stalling out on their own, Nebraska and Iowa traded punts back and forth until Nebraska broke out on a 70-yard touchdown pass with 1:43 left in the 1st quarter. After that, Nebraska kept a hold of the lead, taking a 21-6 lead into halftime, and 42-19 into the 4th quarter. Down 52-32 in the 4th, Iowa was able to run a kickoff back and convert on the 2-point attempt after a Husker touchdown, but with only 1:23 left in the 4th quarter the Hawkeyes were unable to recover the onside kick and Nebraska was able to run out the clock to secure the 52-40 victory

Though Nebraska came away with the victory and held on throughout the game, statistically speaking the game was much harder fought than the score indicated. Iowa put up 428 total yards of offense, 306 passing and 122 rushing, while Nebraska put up 368 yards of offense, 326 passing and only 42 yards rushing. The most important distinction between the teams was Iowa's 4 turnovers- 1 interception and 3 fumbles- while Nebraska committed 0 turnovers.

Iowa ended the regular season 8-4 and was knocked out of Big Ten Championship contention. The Hawkeyes were relegated to the Holiday Bowl against USC where they lost 36-37 after blowing a 33-20 4th quarter lead. They ended the season ranked #24 after the 3-game losing streak.

Wisconsin[edit | edit source]

Nebraska and Wisconsin play regularly as they are both in the Big Ten West. The Freedom Trophy has been awarded to the winner of the Nebraska–Wisconsin game since the 2014 season. The teams have met thirteen times, with the series dating back to 1901. The Badgers lead the series 8-4 in real life while it is currently tied 1-1 in fCFB.

2019 Matchup[edit | edit source]

With first-year head coach Bear Thomas leading the team, the 2-3 Cornhuskers visited the 4-1 Wisconsin Badgers. Sitting right outside the top 25, the Badgers were the overwhelming favorite to beat Nebraska. However, Nebraska came out strong, scoring 14 unanswered points in the first quarter. The Badgers attempted a comeback in the 2nd, putting up 10 before Nebraska pulled out another Thom McClure touchdown just before halftime. Leading 21-10, Nebraska scored again in the third quarter to go up 28-10. After a touchdown, McClure interception, and another touchdown Wisconsin was able to pull within 5 points, down 23-28. However, Nebraska was able to grab the Badgers onside kick attempt and run out the clock, sealing their 28-23 victory. After the game, Coach Bear told the media, "be excited for the future of Husker football. We're gonna be beating these guys a lot."

2018 Matchup[edit | edit source]

The 2018 edition, the inaugural fCFB season, of the Nebraska-Wisconsin rivalry was an exciting pairing even though both teams were sitting at 5-4 on the season coming into the game. Buckingham U Badger (u/icanhasadhd) coached the Wisconsin Badgers while first-time head coach Giordano_5 took the helm for the Cornhuskers in this matchup. After trading scores throughout the first half, Nebraska held the lead 24-20 going into the second half. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Cornhuskers held a 35-27 lead when the Badgers drove downfield and threw a touchdown, but the Huskers were able to hold the Badgers on the 2-point conversion attempt. Going into the 4th quarter, Nebraska led 35-33. Unfortunately, Wisconsin was able to force an interception early in the 4th quarter and were able to put up 14 unanswered points to take a 47-35 lead late in the game. Nebraska had hope, however, when a 65-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 left in the game brought them back into striking distance, 5 points down. Nebraska elected to kick an onside, but were unable to recover and Wisconsin was able to run out the clock to win 47-42.

Both teams were able to execute offensively while Wisconsin put up 479 yards of total offense and Nebraska put up 406 yards in response. Virtually equal in every way, both teams lost 3 turnovers and went 2/2 on field goal attempts. Only 30 seconds of possession time separated them.

Oklahoma[edit | edit source]

Nebraska and Oklahoma has long been considered one of the great college football rivalries. The teams have met 86 times, dating back to 1912. The Sooners lead the series in real life 45–38–3, and the fCFB series 1-0. Due to Nebraska leaving the Big XII for the Big Ten, Nebraska and Oklahoma only play by out of conference availability, not regularly.

The series began on November 23, 1912 in Lincoln with 13–9 Cornhuskers victory. Nebraska dominated the series until 1942, going 16–3–3 in the first 22 meetings. The Sooners then ran off 16 consecutive victories, the longest streak in the series. The Sooners won nearly all of these games by substantial margins; only the 1947 and 1950 matches were competitive. The streak ended in 1959 when unranked Nebraska upset no. 19 Oklahoma 25–21. In addition to ending the Cornhuskers' drought against the Sooners, this victory snapped Oklahoma's remarkable 74-game win streak against conference opponents. Through the 1960s and early 1970s, the two teams traded wins and losses, with each team going 6–6. From 1972 to 1977, Oklahoma went on a six-game win streak, which ended in 1978, when no. 4 Nebraska upset no. 1 Oklahoma 24–21. Less than two months later, OU won a rematch in the Orange Bowl. Throughout the 1980s, the series was evenly split, with each team going 5–5. In 1990, unranked Oklahoma shocked no. 10 Nebraska 45–10. The rest of the decade, however, was dominated by Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers went on a seven-game win streak, outscoring Oklahoma by a combined margin of 265–61. This includes NU's 69-7 victory in 1997, the largest margin of victory in series history.

Historically, the two teams regularly competed against each other for conference championships. Over the Big 8 Conference's 89-year history (1907–1995), Nebraska and Oklahoma combined to win 74 conference titles, 41 by the Cornhuskers and 33 by the Sooners.

The Nebraska-Oklahoma game often showcased the highest level of college football. In eighteen of the matches, both teams held top ten rankings in the AP Poll; in nine of these games, both teams held top five rankings. The 1971 and 1987 matchups featured teams ranked no. 1 and no. 2. The rivalry's greatest moment was likely the 1971 game, when no. 1 Nebraska squared off with no. 2 Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Day in Norman. The game aired on ABC, with an estimated 55 million viewers. Deemed the "Game of the Century," this game highlighted the skills of Nebraska Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers and Oklahoma All American Jack Mildren, among many other standout players. The game, evenly matched in practically every aspect, ended with a 35–31 Cornhuskers victory, and Rodgers' first-quarter punt return touchdown is still considered one of the greatest plays in college football history. Following the game Dave Kindred of The Courier-Journal wrote, "They can quit playing now, they have played the perfect game."

Over the years, the rivalry has produced several upsets. On sixteen occasions, the lower-ranked team won the game. NU's 25–21 upset of top-ranked OU in 1959 is one of the biggest upsets in program history.[49] On four occasions, the no. 1 team in the country lost the matchup: 1978, 1984, 1987, and 2000.

2018 Matchup[edit | edit source]

The inaugural fCFB season pitted #11 Oklahoma at unranked Nebraska to reawaken this traditional rivalry in week 2. rmcauliffe (Nebraska) and Joe Namath (Oklahoma) led their teams as head coaches. A strong defensive battle, Nebraska led for the first 3 quarters of play, 10-3 at halftime, 10-6 going into the 4th quarter. But with 5:11 left in the 4th quarter, Oklahoma was finally able to run into the endzone to take a 13-10 lead. The Cornhuskers stalled and punted the ball away, leading Oklahoma to run the clock down to 0:37 before kicking another field goal to extend the lead to 16-10. Nebraska took the ball and on threw the ball 4 times on the final 4 plays of the game before the clock expired, sealing the 16-10 Oklahoma victory.

The defensive effort held Oklahoma to 254 total yards of offense, 101 yards posted in the 4th-quarter alone including the 43-yard touchdown run that took the lead. Nebraska was held to only 165 yards of total offense, only 45 of which came on the ground. Both teams turned the ball over once. Nebraska was 1 of 2 in field goal attempts, while Oklahoma's 3-for-3 by the kicker was crucial for Oklahoma to claim victory.

Oklahoma would go on to go 5-7 and fall out of the rankings by the end of the season.

Colorado[edit | edit source]

The rivalry between Nebraska and Colorado is often considered one-sided. The teams have met 70 times, with the series dating back to 1898, a 23–10 Nebraska win. The rivalry gained traction when Colorado joined the Big Eight in 1947; they would play in the same conference as Nebraska until 2010. For a brief period of time (1951–61), a buffalo head named Mr. Chip was presented to the winning team, but this exchange ended when Colorado misplaced the trophy. With Nebraska's move to the Big Ten in 2011, the series currently lies dormant. The Cornhuskers lead the in real life series 49–19–2 as of 2018. In fCFB, the Buffaloes hold a 1-0 lead in the series over the Cornhuskers.

2019 Matchup[edit | edit source]

Nebraska played the Buffaloes in Boulder, CO during week 3 of the 2019 fCFB regular season. The game was marked with some drama for the Huskers after a tough and frustrating loss to the Texas Longhorns the week before and a vocal minority was already calling for Head Coach Bear Thomas's firing. The 0-2 Buffaloes were looking to steal a marquee win against a traditional rival, and came out strong with a touchdown drive to open the game, though the decision to go for it on 4th down at the Nebraska 15 was questioned by their fanbase. The decision was overshadowed by Coach Bear's decision to go for it on 4th down on the Nebraska side of the field, failing to convert and allowing Colorado to come out and score after only two plays. Down 14-0, the Cornhuskers drove downfield with an 11-play drive to score a touchdown behind quarterback Thom McClure's arm, going 6-for-7 and throwing for 53 yards on the drive. Nebraska would follow that up with another long touchdown drive, where McClure went 6-for-6 with 75 yards passing. The two rushing touchdowns tied the game between Colorado and Nebraska going into halftime.

The opening drive of the second half for the Huskers started strong, but ended on an interception in Husker territory and led to a 34-yard touchdown pass to put the Buffs up 20-14, after a missed PAT. McClure and the Nebraska offense responded immediately with a McClure-to-Chris Doolittle 75-yard touchdown pass to take the lead 21-20. Colorado fought back to the Nebraska 7-yard line and nailed a field goal to go up 23-21. The following drive, from the Colorado 42-yard line on 4th and 2, McClure threw a big touchdown to tight end Grant Matthews to retake the lead 27-23. The younger Derek McClure rushed the 2-point conversion to go up 29-23. The Buffs wasted no time driving down field on 6 plays, scoring with 0:55 left in the game and making the PAT to go up 30-29. The Cornhuskers didn't let up, though, and drove downfield, ending on a 20-yard pass to the Colorado 21... as time expired. The Buffaloes edged out the Cornhuskers by the clock, winning 30-29 in Boulder.

After the game, questions of Bear Thomas's clock management skills came into question, but was quickly erased by the explanation to hold the time out for a field goal the play before last, which ended up costing Nebraska by the skin of their teeth.

Texas[edit | edit source]

The Cornhuskers' rivalry with Texas is known more for the tension between the two teams rather than number of games played. The teams have met 14 times, with the series dating back to 1933, a 26–0 Nebraska win. Texas leads the in real life series 10–4. With Nebraska's move to the Big Ten in 2011, the series currently lies dormant. The Longhorns have the fCFB series lead, 1-0.

In the first-ever Big 12 Championship game, unranked Texas upset heavily favored Nebraska after the Cornhuskers, looking to win a third straight national championship, blew a fourth quarter lead to Priest Holmes and the Longhorns.

The 2009 Big 12 Championship Game featured one of the most controversial ending in recent college football history. Late in the game, with no. 19 Nebraska holding a surprising 12–10 lead over no. 2 Texas, Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy threw a pass out of bounds and the clock expired. After a lengthy review, one second added back onto the game clock, allowing Texas to kick the game-winning field goal. While there did appear to be remaining time when the ball hit the ground, the call was criticized by fans and media under the premise that no calls of that nature had been previously reviewed during the game.

2019 Matchup[edit | edit source]

The Cornhuskers played the Longhorns in week 2 of the 2019 regular season. After a referee mistake of allowing Texas to call the coin toss, Nebraska still won the toss and elected to defer. Texas started the game with a 20-play drive that spanned the entirety of the first quarter and the first few seconds of the second quarter and ended on a field goal. The drive consisted of the Longhorns going 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.

Although the Longhorns would take and never relinquish the lead, the game was competitive throughout. The Huskers passing attack led by redshirt sophomore Thom McClure would put up 220 yards through the air and two touchdowns, while the Longhorns rushing attack would put up 236 yards and two touchdowns of their own. Both teams would return special teams touchdowns, Nebraska a kickoff and Texas a punt. The major difference between the teams was Nebraska ineffectiveness on the ground. Only eight yards rushing from two attempts, the second attempt leading to a fumble inside the Texas 5 yard line. In conjunction with the weak rushing game, Nebraska also committed two turnovers while Texas had none. Texas won the matchup with a final score of 31-21.

Miami (FL)[edit | edit source]

Nebraska and Miami are two of the biggest "bowl rivals" in college football, matching up in many memorable bowl games over the years. The teams have met 12 times, with the series dating back to 1951. The series in real life is tied 6–6, while Nebraska owns the fCFB series 1-0. They are not in the same conference and only meet when out of conference availability aligns.

The rivalry's most notable game is also one of college football's all-time greats. In the 1984 Orange Bowl, Nebraska scored with seconds remaining to make the game 31–30. NU head coach Tom Osborne opted to try for a two-point conversion instead of an extra point, even though a tie would have given Nebraska the national championship. Miami won the game and its first national title

2018 Matchup[edit | edit source]

Nebraska dominated Miami (FL) in their fCFB matchup in week 3 of the inaugural season. Aarik Long led the Cornhuskers in his first game as head coach while Command67 led Miami, although TheEconomy10 came in to subcoach for Miamai during the 2nd quarter. Although Miami scored first, Nebraska followed up with 19 1st-quarter points and held the lead the rest of the game. Leading 19-10 going into halftime, the Nebraska defense had held Miami to 58 yards of total offense, only 8 on the ground. Nobody scored again until the 4th quarter, when Nebraska scored 14 more. At game's end, Nebraska held a 33-10 victory.

Statistically, Nebraska played a near perfect game. On the defensive side of the ball, Nebraska held Miami to 133 yards passing, 47 yards rushing for a total of 180 offensive yards. Nebraska also forced an interception and caused Miami to go 1-for-2 in their field goal attempts. Offensively, the Huskers racked up 233 yards passing, 94 yards rushing for a total of 327 yards offensively, nearly double what Miami was able to total. The Huskers had 0 turnovers and went 1-of-1 in field goal atttempts.

Head Coach[edit | edit source]

2018 Head Coaches[edit | edit source]

Nebraska's first hire was rmcauliffe, who led the Cornhuskers in marquee games to start the season against LSU and Oklahoma, though they both ended in losses. Even with the 0-2 start, however, a competitive matchup against #11 Oklahoma gave hope to the Huskers. Unfortunately, during the week 3 matchup against Miami (FL), rmcauliffe disappeared part way through the 1st quarter, requiring a scramble to find a subsitute coach. After a couple attempts to fill the gap Aarik Long took over as the head coach of the Huskers, leading the team to victory in the game against Miami (FL).

Coach Long then led the team to a second consecutive win against Arizona State, continuing the trend of hope started in week 2. The new head coach had seemingly brought Nebraska out of the fire, until the week 5 matchup against Purdue to start conference play. Purdue dominated Nebraska in Lincoln 52-10, a second consecutive 50+ point game for the Boilermakers who would eventually be an on the bubble top 25 team and lose to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship game. This was then followed by another home loss to Michigan State, the eventual conference champions, by a score of 42-27. Nebraska fell back into a 2-4 hole, 0-2 in conference play, and Aarik Long was under fire as suddenly as he was considered the savior. Timely home games against conference bottom-dwellers Illinois and Minnesota helped keep Nebraska's bowl eligibility hopes alive and Coach Long's hot seat from burning too hot leading into another marquee matchup going into the Big House in Ann Arbor to face Michigan. The big name matchup was bloated by tradition as Michigan had also been underperforming, sitting at 3-5 overall leading into the Nebraska game. The Cornhuskers were able to win 20-10, sealing a 3-game win streak and moving above .500 for the first time all season, 5-4 (3-2 in conference play). However, with the lackluster coaching performance by Aarik Long, even a 5-2 record as head coach (all victories against teams who would end the season below .500 and losses against teams above .500) couldn't protect Coach Long from the narrative that he had led Nebraska to mediocrity and wouldn't lead the Huskers to competing for championships. He was let go from the position, and Giordano_5 took over as head coach.

The Huskers hired their new coach with the hopes of competing against the rest of the competitive teams on their schedule, and it seemed that Giordano_5 could pull out big wins against important conference opponents, but would ultimately lead the Huskers to 2 consecutive losses against Wisconsin and Northwestern. However, the narrative of mediocrity disappeared as both games were lost by a combined 6 points. 42-47 against Wisconsin in Madison and 31-32 against Northwestern in Evanston were quality enough performances that Nebraska fans began to call for Giordano_5 to be officially hired as 2019 head coach. The demands grew louder after Nebraska was able to knock off #11 Iowa in Iowa City 52-40 to secure bowl eligibility. However, Giordano_5 had little interest in continuing as the Nebraska head coach and avoided discussions about the job. He would lead the Cornhuskers to playing against Stanford in the Foster Farms Bowl, still with no certainty about his future at Nebraska, and winning in dominating fashion 49-20.

Nebraska fans called and wrote in to university administration begging them to keep Giordano_5, but a mutual disinterest between parties became evident. Giordano_5 would leave Nebraska for the head coaching job at Hawaii, breaking the hearts of the fanbase and calling administration leadership into question that a coach would leave Nebraska for a group of 5 school. However, trust in university administration was restored when former Notre Dame head coach Bear Thomas was announced as the newest hire for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football program. Thomas, a Nebraska native from Omaha, addressed the press in his first conference since being hired with poise and character and promised "like I did at Notre Dame, I will right this ship".

Almost immediately, a divided fan base began to call into question Thomas's promise, noting his near loss to the same Stanford team that Giordano_5 had lead Nebraska to dominate. When asked about the matchups, Thomas noted that the same Stanford team had 3 different coaches over those 2 games, and the Stanford team who Nebraska played was a team "broken and playing for nothing, instead of a team playing for a big win in a marquee matchup" when they played Notre Dame. After that address to the media, Thomas clarified by saying "Nebraska will remain competitive against the Iowas and Wisconsins and will continue to beat the Stanfords and Minnesotas, but you didn't hire me to remain competitive against the teams you've been competitive against before. You hired me to become competitive and beat the Michigan States and Purdues and Missouris that we'll be facing. That's what Nebraska will become". After that, fan approval skyrocketed and Nebraska fans began looking ahead to Nebraska's 2019 campaign.

2019 Head Coach[edit | edit source]

During the 2018-2019 coaching carousel, Notre Dame Head Coach Bear Thomas was offered the position at Nebraska to take over head coaching duties as successor to former Head Coach Giordano_5. Bear Thomas orchestrated marquee out of conference matchups against Notre Dame, Colorado and Texas- traditional rivalries from decades past- and a matchup against Hawaii where former Nebraska head coach Giordano_5 left Nebraska for.