2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 football 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers Nebraska Cornhuskers logo.svg 100 Logo of the Nebraska athletic teams 2004– Big 12 Conference North Division Big 12 24 24 8–4 4–4 Bill Callahan 2nd Jay Norvell 2nd Kevin Cosgrove 2nd West Coast 4–3 Memorial Stadium Alamo Bowl champion Alamo Bowl W 32–28 vs. Michigan The 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bill Callahan and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Before the season Nebraska experienced many changes to their team's roster; not only did key wide receiver Ross Pilkington leave the team after he gave up football, but after the spring game, new junior college transfer Zac Taylor replaced the 2004 starter Joe Dailey at the key position of quarterback. Shortly thereafter Joe Dailey transferred to North Carolina. Schedule 2005 AP Central September 3 6:10 pm w y Maine Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE FSN PPV 25–7 77,469 September 10 6:10 pm w y Wake Forest Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE TBS 31–3 77,380 September 17 2:30 pm w y Pittsburgh Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE ABC 7–6 77,336 October 1 2:30 pm w Iowa State 23 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE rivalry ABC 27–20 2OT 77,433 October 8 3:00 pm l y Texas Tech 15 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE TBS 31–34 77,580 October 15 6:05 pm w y Baylor Floyd Casey Stadium Waco, TX FSN PPV 23–14 40,857 October 22 11:30 am l y Missouri rivalry Faurot Field Columbia, MO FSN 24–41 60,641 October 29 11:00 am l Oklahoma rivalry Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE ABC 24–31 77,438 November 5 12:00 pm l y Kansas rivalry Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS 15–40 51,750 November 12 1:05 pm w Kansas State rivalry Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE 27–25 77,761 November 25, 2005 2:30 pm w y Colorado rivalry Folsom Field Boulder, CO ABC 30–3 54,831 December 28, 2005 7:00 pm w y y Michigan 20 Alamo Bowl Alamodome San Antonio, TX ESPN 32–28 62,016 http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=3&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100&KEY=&Q_SEASON=2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20121022232341/http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=3&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100&KEY=&Q_SEASON=2005 dead October 22, 2012 Football – 2005 Schedule/Results May 13, 2009 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department Roster and coaching staff 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers y Jordan Adams 7 QB SO Greg Austin 65 OL J Chris Brooks 23 WR F Brett Byford 59 OL SO Wes Cammack 82 WR F Andy Christensen 62 OL RF y Beau Davis 15 QB SO Dan Erickson 26 WR SO Seppo Evwaraye 77 OL S y Paul Farino 47 FB F Isaiah Fluellen 28 WR J Conan Fredinburg 57 OL F Cornealius Fuamatu-Thomas 79 OL S y Joe Ganz 8 QB RF Adam Gibson 69 OL J Cody Glenn 34 IB F Frantz Hardy 7 WR SO David Harvey 35 TE F Jared Helming 73 OL S Matt Herian 11 TE S y Sean Hill 86 TE SO Mike Huff 61 OL RF Brandon Jackson 32 IB SO y Brandon Jackson (American football) Brandon Koch 75 OL S Thomas Lawson 36 FB RF Mark LeFlore 9 WR S Newton Lingenfelter 74 OL J Marlon Lucky 20 IB F Kurt Mann 50 OL J Shamus McKoy 5 WR S Grant Miller 33 FB J Josh Mueller 81 TE SO Grant Mulkey 84 WR J Lydon Murtha 76 OL RF y Terrence Nunn 83 WR SO y Will Otto 45 FB J Brock Pasteur 78 OL J Chris Patrick Chris Patrick (gridiron football) 54 OL SO y Todd Peterson 17 WR RF J.B. Phillips 85 TE SO Jordan Picou 68 OL J Rodney Picou 72 OL F Gary Pike 56 OL S Craig Roark 63 OL F Cory Ross 4 IB S C y Andy Sand 48 TE SO Matt Schroeder 14 WR S Clayton Sievers 88 TE RF Matt Slauson 70 OL F Nate Swift 87 WR RF Zac Taylor 13 QB J y Hunter Teafatiller 89 TE F Dane Todd 41 FB J Titus Adams 96 DL S y Adam Blankenship 48 DE RF Zackary Bowman 1 CB J Stewart Bradley 34 LB J y Stewart Bradley (American football) Lance Brandenburgh 40 LB SO Titus Brothers 21 SS SO Mycheal Brown 26 SS J Chris Bryant 65 DL J Daniel Bullocks 14 SS S C y Adam Carriker 90 DE J y Nick Covey 45 LB F Barry Cryer 94 DL J Ola Dagunduro 54 DL J Donald DeFrand 6 CB S Phillip Dillard 38 LB F Ben Eisenhart 46 SS SO Tyler Fisher 4 FS S Travis Gingery 18 CB SO Tierre Green 30 CB SO Cortney Grixby 2 CB SO y Adam Ickes 49 LB S Chris LeFlore 35 CB SO Kevin Luhrs 89 DE SO Corey McKeon 13 LB SO Dontrell Moore 58 LB J Jay Moore 44 DE J y Wali Muhammad 55 DE S Matt O'Hanlon 33 SS F Mark O'Shea 52 LB F Matt O'Shea 95 DL S Steve Octavien 15 LB J y Zach Potter 98 DE F Andy Poulosky 86 DE SO Thomas Rice 85 DE SO Brandon Rigoni 24 SS J Joey Robison 19 CB S Bo Ruud 51 LB SO y Andrew Shanle 8 FS J y Le Kevin Smith 66 DL S y Jeff Souder 39 SS F Ty Steinkuhler 43 DE RF Mike Stuntz 16 FS S Ndamukong Suh 77 DL Fr y Blake Tiedtke 25 FS S Barry Turner 99 DL F Brian Voges 59 LB J Bryan Wilson 28 CB SO Tyler Wortman 53 LB RF Jordan Alegria 93 PK F Bryan Benzel 52 LS F Jordan Congdon 29 PK F David Dyches 27 PK J Tyler Kester 19 P SO Sam Koch 37 P S y Eric Lueshen 91 PK SO Nathan McBride 55 LS F T.J. O'Leary 82 LS F Jake Peetz 9 LS S Dan Titchener 97 P RF Jake Wesch 98 PK RF http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=4&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100&Q_SEASON=2005 January 16, 2011 Bill Callahan   2nd season   2nd year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Benedictine Jay Norvell   2nd season as OC/QB coach   2nd year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Iowa Kevin Cosgrove   2nd season as DC/LB coach   2nd year at Nebraska   Alma mater: UW-Oshkosh John Blake   2nd season as DL coach   2nd year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Oklahoma Bill Busch   2nd season as ST/S coach   6th year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Nebraska Wesleyan Scott Downing   3rd season as TE/ST coach   6th year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Sterling Phil Elmassian   1st season as CB coach   2nd year at Nebraska   Alma mater: William & Mary Ted Gilmore   1st season as WR coach   1st year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Wyoming Randy Jordan   2nd season as RB coach   2nd year at Nebraska   Alma mater: North Carolina Dennis Wagner   2nd season as OL coach   2nd year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Utah Dave Kennedy   2nd season as S&C coach   9th year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Nebraska Aaron Stamn   2nd season as GA coach   2nd year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Minnesota Mankato Angus McClure   1st season as GA coach   1st year at Nebraska   Alma mater: Sacramento State Depth chart Pro-Set 4–3 Yes No Yes Zac Taylor Harrison Beck Cory Ross Marlon Lucky Cody Glenn Dana Todd Grant Miller Nate Swift Frantz Hardy Terrence Nunn Grant Mulkey J.B. Phillips Clayton Sievers Cornealius Fuamatu-Thomas Lydon Murtha Chris Patrick Greg Austin Jared Helming Kurt Mann Greg Austin Brandon Koch Mike Huff Seppo Evwaraye Matt Slauson Bo Ruud Lance Brandenburgh WILL Corey McKeon Phillip Dillard MIKE Stewart Bradley Adam Ickes SAM Blake Tiedtke Tyler Fisher Daniel Bullocks Andrew Shanle Cortney Grixby Zack Bowman Zack Bowman Tierre Green Chris LeFlore Jay Moore Wali Muhammad Barry Turner Le Kevin Smith Ola Dagunduro Titus Adams Barry Cryer Adam Carriker Ty Steinkuhler Jordan Congdon Sam Koch Marlon Lucky Coutney Grixby Terrence Nunn \ 110 85 No Game summaries Maine Maine at Nebraska [box score] Maine Nebraska 0 0 0 7 0 9 6 10 September 3 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska 6:10 p.m. CST 77,469 Greg Sharpe (Play-by-play), J. C. Pearson (Color), & Kent Pevelka (Sideline) PPV Speculation that the 2005 season could perhaps be worse than the 2004 season began when Nebraska struggled to defeat the severe underdog Maine team 25–7. Wake Forest Wake Forest at Nebraska [box score] Wake Forest Nebraska 0 3 0 0 14 0 10 7 September 10 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska 6:10 p.m. CST 77,380 Ron Thulin (Play-by-play), Charles Davis (Color), & Craig Sager (Sideline) TBS The team went on to crush the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Zac Taylor's former four year college) 31–3. The win was unusual in that Nebraska's defense scored more points than either team's offense (Nebraska's defense scored 18 points, their offense 6, their special teams 7). Pittsburgh Pittsburgh at Nebraska [box score] Pittsburgh Nebraska 0 0 6 0 0 7 0 0 September 17 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska 2:30 p.m. CST 77,336 Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Gary Danielson (Color), & Jack Arute (Sideline) ABC Their next game is arguably one of the most climactic in the history of all of football. The score was Nebraska 7 and the Pittsburgh Panthers 6. With 7 seconds remaining, the Panthers were going to attempt a game-winning field goal from 36 yards. The ball was snapped with the holder unprepared for the play. The ball rebounded off the holder's helmet. Pittsburgh's kicker recovered the ball and threw it incomplete to preserve time. One second remained on the clock as Pittsburgh prepared for the final play. Pittsburgh attempted the kick again, the holder prepared this time. Pittsburgh's kicker looked as though he would have made the field goal had it not been blocked by Nebraska's Adam Ickes. Iowa State Iowa State at Nebraska [box score] Iowa State Nebraska 0 3 10 0 7 3 0 7 3 14 October 1 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska 2:30 p.m. CST 77,433 Dr. Jerry Punch (Play-by-play), Terry Bowden (Color), & Trenni Kusnierek (Sideline) ABC Nebraska's next game was equally exciting as unranked and undefeated Nebraska took on the #23 Iowa State Cyclones. They won in a hard fought match that went into 2 overtimes by a score of 27–20. The game marked the first time that overtime had occurred in Memorial Stadium. Regardless of the quality win, Nebraska remained unranked. Texas Tech Texas Tech at Nebraska [box score] Texas Tech Nebraska 7 14 6 7 0 14 7 10 October 8 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska 3:00 p.m. CST 77,580 Bob Neal (Play-by-play), Tom Ramsey (Color), & Kip Lewis (Sideline) TBS Nebraska was the only team that was unranked and had no losses going into their next game against the 15th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. After trailing 21–0 in the first half, Nebraska fought back and eventually gained a 31–27 foothold over Texas Tech. In the final minutes of the game, Nebraska seemingly sealed their victory and a top 25 ranking when lineman LeKevin Smith intercepted a Texas Tech pass only to fumble it seconds later to return possession to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were given a second-chance and with time winding down threw the game-winning touchdown pass to defeat Nebraska. Baylor Nebraska at Baylor [box score] Nebraska Baylor 3 10 7 3 7 0 7 0 October 15 Floyd Casey Stadium, Waco, Texas 6:05 p.m. CST 40,857 Dan McLaughlin (Play-by-play), Gary Reasons (Color), & Greg Sharpe (Sideline) PPV Missouri Nebraska at Missouri [box score] Nebraska Missouri 10 14 0 0 21 3 7 10 October 22 Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri 11:30 a.m. CST 60,641 Bill Land (Play-by-play), Dave Lapham (Color), & John Rhadigan (Sideline) FSN Oklahoma Oklahoma at Nebraska [box score] Oklahoma Nebraska 7 14 3 7 0 3 7 14 October 29 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska 11:00 a.m. CST 77,438 Gary Thorne (Play-by-play), Ed Cunningham (Color), & Mark Morgan (Sideline) ABC Kansas Nebraska at Kansas [box score] Nebraska Kansas 2 7 6 0 14 3 7 16 November 5 Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas 12:00 p.m. CST 51,750 The Huskers lost 3 of their next 4 games, including losses to their rival Missouri Tigers, who defeated them 41–24, a crushing 40–15 defeat to the Kansas Jayhawks (which snapped a 36-year winning streak over Kansas), and rival Oklahoma Sooners, the latter being lost in the final minutes of the game. (This victory was vacated by an NCAA disciplinary panel in July 2007 and then conversely overruled in February 2008.) The only win in this slump was a victory over a sub-par Baylor team. Kansas State Kansas State at Nebraska [box score] Kansas State Nebraska 6 6 10 3 7 10 7 3 November 12 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska 1:05 p.m. CST 77,761 In a particularly windy game against Kansas State, Nebraska trailed 25–24 with 4:18 remaining in the game. Zac Taylor was on the receiving end of a hard hit that landed him with a mild concussion, removing him from the game. Zac remained on the ground for a couple of minutes with Callahan and KSU's Bill Snyder towering over him. The sold out crowd began to chant his name, as Taylor tried to recompose himself. Backup quarterback, freshman Harrison Beck, burned his redshirt in order to record his first action in a college football game. After throwing an interception in his first drive, he threw a key reception in Nebraska's final drive. Freshman kicker Jordan Congdon came in to make the go-ahead field goal. This was a risky move as the wind was swirling and was so strong that it ripped the stadium's mammoth U.S. flag off a crane that was suspending it, seemingly as a testament to its power. Regardless, Congdon made the 40-yard field goal to give Nebraska the win. Colorado Nebraska at Colorado [box score] Nebraska Colorado 3 17 7 3 3 0 0 0 November 25 Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado 2:30 p.m. CST 54,831 Mike Tirico (Play-by-play), Tim Brant (Color), & Suzy Shuster (Sideline) ABC Nebraska's final regular season game of 2005 was at Colorado. Colorado, who was leading the Big 12 North division in the race to the Big 12 championship game, was the heavy favorite, as Nebraska was cold after 3 straight losses followed by a near miss against a struggling Kansas State team. Tension built up between the rivals as a verbal skirmish involving every player erupted in the center of the field between the two teams when Nebraska mistook Colorado players walking toward their half of the field as an insult. Colorado was stunned, however, when Nebraska dominated Colorado in every aspect of the game. Wearing motivational T-shirts reading "RESTORE THE ORDER" underneath their jerseys, Nebraska beat Colorado 30–3 with breakout performances from nearly every player, particularly Zac Taylor and Colorado native Cory Ross. Alamo Bowl vs Michigan Nebraska vs Michigan [box score] Michigan Nebraska 7 7 7 7 7 7 3 15 December 28 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas 7:00 p.m. CST 62,016 Mike Tirico (Play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (Color), & Erin Andrews (Sideline) ESPN The team finished with 7 wins and 4 losses in the regular season. Nebraska would play their bowl game against the Michigan Wolverines in the 2005 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. With 2 seconds left in the game the Wolverines trailed the Cornhuskers 32–28 and set up the hook & lateral play for a miracle touchdown. In one of the wildest finishes ever, Michigan lateraled the football 9 times, fumbling once on their way to a 59-yard gain. In the midst of all this the entire Nebraska sideline stormed the field in celebration thinking the game was over when Michigan fumbled the ball (from their point of view they could not see that the ball was loose and assumed the Michigan player to be down). Many players thinking the play was over stopped playing entirely. This allowed the Michigan ball carrier to run by them, In all the confusion some Michigan players did not block for their carrier. Before the play was over the Cornhuskers, several Michigan players and coaches, and several other individuals along with the awards podium were on the field, and the game officials had left to submit their votes for the award winners. The Michigan ball carrier had been pushed out of bounds inside of the red zone. No penalties were awarded to either team because the officials had already left. When all was said and done, Nebraska came off with a victory and ended their season with an 8–4 record. Rankings 2005 NCAA Division I-A football rankings 15 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 24 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 24 4 NR NR 25 NR 24 NR NR NR NR NR NR 7 23 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR After the season After the acrimonious firing of Frank Solich in 2003 for what Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson perceived as a failure to recruit top players, Nebraska hired Callahan, who promptly introduced the West Coast offense, a marked shift from Nebraska's traditional I-formation option attack. The offense took time to register with the players as the Huskers struggled to adapt, posting a 5–6 season in 2004, Nebraska's first losing season in over 40 years. However, in 2005 the Huskers started fast, going 4–0 to start the season before being defeated at home by Texas Tech 34–31. After a rebound win over a weak Baylor squad, the next few games were some that Huskers fans would want to forget: a 41–24 loss away to Missouri, a home loss to Oklahoma, and a crushing road defeat at Kansas, which had not defeated Nebraska since 1968. However, the season ended on a higher note, as the Huskers dominated the Colorado 30–3 in Boulder. Awards 2005 Husker Honors Award Name(s) Freshman All American 1st team Jordan Congdon, Barry Turner All-Big 12 1st team Adam Carriker, Sam Koch, Terrence Nunn All-Big 12 2nd team Daniel Bullocks, Jordan Congdon, Kurt Mann, Corey McKeon, Cory Ross All-Big 12 honorable mention Titus Adams, Seppo Evwaraye, Cortney Grixby, Brandon Koch, Jay Moore, Bo Ruud, Nate Swift Freshman All-Big 12 1st team Jordan Congdon, Nate Swift, Barry Turner NFL and pro players The following Nebraska players who participated in the 2005 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.All Time NFL Huskers http://nflhuskers.com/alltime.html nflhuskers.com https://web.archive.org/web/20090815013540/http://nflhuskers.com/alltime.html August 15, 2009 live May 13, 2009 Name Team Titus Adams New York Jets Stewart Bradley Philadelphia Eagles Daniel Bullocks Detroit Lions Adam Carriker St. Louis Rams Seppo Evwaraye Carolina Panthers Joe Ganz Washington Redskins Cortney Grixby Carolina Panthers Brandon Jackson Green Bay Packers Sam Koch Baltimore Ravens Jay Moore San Francisco 49ers Lydon Murtha Detroit Lions Terrence Nunn New England Patriots Chris Patrick New York Giants Todd Peterson Jacksonville Jaguars Andy Poulosky Sioux City Bandits Cory Ross Baltimore Ravens Bo Ruud New England Patriots Andrew Shanle Chicago Bears Le Kevin Smith New England Patriots Ty Steinkuhler New York Jets Nate Swift Denver Broncos Zac Taylor Tampa Bay Buccaneers References Nebraska Category:Nebraska Cornhuskers football seasons Category:Alamo Bowl champion seasons Nebraska Cornhuskers football