PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Schedule

Roster

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Rankings

Awards

References

Depth chart

LSU

Indiana

TCU

Miami

Kansas

Oklahoma State

Colorado

Missouri

Kansas State

Iowa State

Oklahoma

Arizona State

NFL and Pro Players

1975 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
1975 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Big Eight co-champion
Fiesta Bowl, L 14–17 vs. Arizona State
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 9
Record	10–2 (6–1 Big 8)
Head coach	Tom Osborne (3rd season);
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Monte Kiffin (7th season)
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1974 1976 →

1975 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Oklahoma +	6	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Nebraska +	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Colorado	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Kansas	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	3	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Kansas State	0	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1975 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	1:30 pm	LSU*	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 10–7	76,259	^[1]
September 20	1:30 pm	Indiana*	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 45–0	76,022
September 27	1:30 pm	TCU*	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 56–14	75,931
October 4	1:30 pm	Miami (FL)*	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 31–16	76,231
October 11	1:30 pm	Kansas	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 16–0	76,285
October 18	1:30 pm	at Oklahoma State	No. 4	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		W 28–20	48,500
October 25	1:30 pm	No. 10 Colorado	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 63–21	76,509
November 1	12:00 pm	at No. 12 Missouri	No. 3	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)	ABC	W 30–7	68,195
November 8	1:30 pm	at Kansas State	No. 3	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)		W 12–0	41,300
November 15	1:30 pm	Iowa State	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 52–0	76,131
November 22	1:30 pm	at No. 7 Oklahoma	No. 2	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		L 10–35	71,952
December 26	2:00 pm	at No. 7 Arizona State*	No. 6	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	CBS	L 14–17	51,396
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[2]^[3]

Defense

FS
Jim Burrow
Larry Valasek
Dennis Payne

INSDIE	INSDIE
Cletus Pillen	Jim Whightman
Precy Eichelberger	Jeff Hansen
Jeff Carpenter	Randy Lessman

MONSTER BACK
Wonder Monds
Kent Smith
Tim Borg

CB
Chuck Jones
Kurt Stacey
Rod Stovall

DE	DT	NT	DT	DE
Ray Phillips	Jerry Wied	John Lee	Mike Fultz	Bob Martin
Dave Redding	Dean Gissler	Jeff Pullen	George Mills	Tony Samuel
Georgie Andrews	Randy Poeschl	Willie Thornton	Dan Brock	Tom Coccia

CB
Dave Butterfield
Ted Harvey
Jake Cabell

Offense

WR
Bobby Thomas
Chuck Malito
Dave Shamblin

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Bob Lingenfelter	Dan Schmidt	Rik Bonness	Rich Costanzo	Steve Hoins
Bob Hayes	Greg Jorgensen	Tom Davis	Stan Waldemore	Tom Ohrt
Steve Glenn	Rich Varner	Tom Thomas	Steve Lindquist	Bob Hayes

TE
Brad Jenkins
Larry Mushinskie
Ken Spaeth Rick Panneton

WR
Curtis Craig
Tom Heiser
Kenny Brown

QB
Vince Ferragamo
Terry Luck
Randy Garcia

RB
Monte Anthony
John O'Leary
Dave Gillespie

FB
Tony Davis
Dodie Donnell
Gary Higgs

Special teams

Name	Title	First year in this position	Years at Nebraska	Alma mater
Tom Osborne	Head Coach Offensive Coordinator	1973	1964–1997	Hastings College
Monte Kiffin	Defensive Coordinator	1973	1967–1976	Nebraska
Cletus Fischer	Offensive Line		1960–1985	Nebraska
Jim Ross			1962–1976
John Melton	Tight Ends Wingbacks	1973	1962–1988	Wyoming
Mike Corgan	Running Backs	1962	1962–1982	Notre Dame
Warren Powers	Defensive Backs		1969–1976	Nebraska
Boyd Epley	Head Strength Coach	1969	1969–2003	Nebraska
Bill Myles	Offensive Line	1972	1972–1976
Jerry Moore	Wide Receivers	1973	1973–1978	Baylor
George Darlington			1973–2002	Rutgers
Milt Tenopir	Offensive Line	1974	1974–2002	Sterling

LSU at #6 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
LSU	0	0	7	0	7
• #6 Nebraska	0	7	3	0	10

Date: 1975-09-13
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,259
Referee: Vance Carlson

For the first time ever, the Cornhuskers were not able to suit up all players due to a new NCAA rule limiting the number of suited players to 60. Also, four players were ruled ineligible by the NCAA, further limiting the resources available to Nebraska. Still, the Tigers were unable to score until after the half, and their only touchdown was not sufficient to overcome the 10 Cornhusker points already on the board, and Nebraska started the season with a win.

Indiana at #6 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana	0	0	0	0	0
• #6 Nebraska	10	14	14	7	45

Date: 1975-09-20
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,022

Nebraska intercepted an Indiana pass on the first play to set the tone as the Cornhuskers rolled with ease over the Hoosiers in Lincoln. A total of twelve Nebraska runners added ground yards to their career totals in this game as the team collected 300 yards rushing, while the Blackshirts obtained a shutout.

TCU at #4 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
TCU	0	7	0	7	14
• #4 Nebraska	14	14	14	14	56

Date: 1975-09-27
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,931

After Nebraska punched in two 1st-quarter touchdowns, TCU never got closer to the lead again, scoring only 14 of their own the entire game while the Cornhuskers put 14 more in each quarter. Another dominating performance was turned in by the Blackshirts, who allowed only one touchdown and held the Horned Frogs to just 16 yards on the ground.

Miami at #4 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami	6	3	0	7	16
• #4 Nebraska	0	7	10	14	31

Date: 1975-10-04
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,231

Someone forget to tell Miami to give up before the game started, and the Hurricanes came out intending to make it a game as they jump started the scoring with two field goals to lead 6-0 and another to lead 9–7 at the half, and Nebraska first 7 points were set up by a turnover instead of any serious offensive production. Halftime adjustments and superior conditioning took over for the rest of the game, however, as Nebraska ran off 24 unanswered points, making Miami's final touchdown with just over two minutes remaining too little, too late.

Kansas at #4 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas	0	0	0	0	0
• #4 Nebraska	3	3	3	7	16

Date: 1975-10-11
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,285

Nebraska prevented a 1st half Kansas field goal on their way to posting a second shutout, closing their long five-game opening home stand with a 5–0 record. Although the Cornhuskers did not score big nor often, it made no difference as the scoreless Jayhawks watched the game slip farther from their reach as time ticked away. Kansas completed only 2 of 10 passes, and obtained only 7 first downs, while the Cornhuskers had double the Jayhawks yards by both ground and air.

#4 Nebraska at Oklahoma State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #4 Nebraska	14	7	7	0	28
Oklahoma State	0	7	13	0	20

Date: 1975-10-18
Location: Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 48,500

Nebraska's first road game of 1975 was not an easy win, despite the strong 14–0 start. Oklahoma State pulled within 14 by the end of the half and within 7 in the 3rd quarter. After another set of touchdowns, the Cowboys were still down by just 8 in the 4th when they capitalized on a bad Cornhusker punt snap and took over inside the Nebraska 25. The Blackshirts made a stand when Oklahoma State got inside the Nebraska 5, and forced the Cowboys to go 3-and-out on three scoring attempts to preserve the win.

Colorado at #4 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	7	0	14	0	21
• #4 Nebraska	21	21	21	0	63

Date: 1975-10-25
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,509

Source:^[4]

Statistically, the game was close save for Nebraska's 350-268 rushing edge and 2-0 interception margin, but the scoreboard told another story. Even though Colorado scored first at the start of the game, the Cornhuskers unleashed a scoring onslaught that put the Buffaloes behind 42–7 at the half, putting the game far out of reach long before Nebraska backups entered the game in the 4th quarter.

#3 Nebraska at #12 Missouri [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #3 Nebraska	10	6	7	7	30
#12 Missouri	0	7	0	0	7

Date: 1975-11-01
Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri
Game attendance: 68,195

Nebraska Head Coach Tom Osborne notched his first career win against 12th-ranked Missouri, in Columbia, with style and a little help from well-executed trickery. The 'Bummeroosky" play worked flawlessly, even fooling the TV cameras, as Nebraska lined up in punt formation and snapped to FB Tony Davis, who immediately passed the ball back through the legs of IB John O'Leary and then faked a pass to a bait receiver. As the entire Cornhusker unit moved to simulate the punt fake play, the Tigers chomped on the bait and took off to the right in pursuit while O'Leary remained motionless with the ball hidden until no one remained before jaunting 40 yards untouched for the touchdown.

#3 Nebraska at Kansas State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #3 Nebraska	9	0	3	0	12
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0

Date: 1975-11-08
Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
Game attendance: 41,300

It was a battle of the defenses as the Blackshirts rang up their 3rd shutout on the season, while Kansas State managed to hold Nebraska to just 12 points.

Iowa State at #2 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa State	0	0	0	0	0
• #2 Nebraska	14	17	7	14	52

Date: 1975-11-15
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,131

Iowa State probably knew they were going to have a bad day when they fumbled the opening kickoff, allowing Nebraska to convert that turnover into 7 points. Iowa State never saw the scoreboard as Nebraska put up yet another shutout for the season, their 4th, on the way to dismantling Iowa State 52–0.

#2 Nebraska at #7 Oklahoma [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#2 Nebraska	3	0	7	0	10
• #7 Oklahoma	0	7	7	21	35

Date: 1975-11-22
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 70,286

Nebraska scored first on a field goal, but scoring production fizzled as Oklahoma led 7–3 at the half. The Cornhuskers took advantage of a Sooner fumble in the 3rd quarter to go up 10–7, but Nebraska soon committed its own turnover to help Oklahoma get back up front, and it didn't stop there. Two more subsequent, painful Cornhusker turnovers sealed the game as Oklahoma converted each for points and handed Nebraska their first loss of the year and forced them to share the Big 8 title.

#6 Nebraska at #7 Arizona State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#6 Nebraska	0	7	7	0	14
• #7 Arizona State	3	3	0	11	17

Date: 1975-12-26
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Game attendance: 51,396

Nebraska led the Sun Devils through the entire game until the 4th quarter, when a fierce Arizona State Rally brought the score to a 14–14 tie and then 17–14 on a Sun Devil field goal with 4:50 remaining in the game. The Cornhuskers were driving again and progressed to the Arizona State 21 with 2 minutes to go when the Cornhuskers lost an ill-timed fumble to end their hopes for the win. As it turned out, Nebraska's only two losses for the season ended up being to the teams ranked #1 and #2 in the season's final polls.

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	7	6	6	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	2	7	6	9
Coaches															9

^[5]

Award	Name(s)
All-America 1st team	Rik Bonness, Bob Martin, Wonder Monds
Big 8 Offensive Newcomer of the Year	Vince Ferragamo
All-Big 8 1st team	Rik Bonness, Dave Butterfield, Mike Fultz, Bob Martin, Wonder Monds
All-Big 8 2nd team	Jimmy Burrow, Mike Coyle, Tony Davis, Steve Hoins, John Lee, Bob Lingenfelter, Clete Pillen, Dan Schmidt, Bobby Thomas

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1975 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.^[6]

Name	Team
George Andrews	Los Angeles Rams
Monte Anthony	Baltimore Colts
Rik Bonness	Oakland Raiders
Ed Burns	New Orleans Saints
Jim Burrow	Green Bay Packers
Kelvin Clark	Denver Broncos
Tom Davis	Toronto Argonauts
Tony Davis	Cincinnati Bengals
Vince Ferragamo	Los Angeles Rams
Mike Fultz	New Orleans Saints
John Lee	San Diego Chargers
Bob Lingenfelter	Cleveland Browns
Terry Luck	Cleveland Browns
Bob Martin	New York Jets
Wonder Monds	Ottawa Rough Riders
John O'Leary	Montreal Alouettes
Ray Phillips	Cincinnati Bengals
Stan Waldemore	New York Jets

Andrews, George #96 (So.) DE
Anthony, Monte #49 (So.) IB
Avery, Scott #57 (Jr.) DT
Belka, Jim #47 (Jr.) LB
Block, King #55 (So.) LB
Bonness, Bob (So.) DE
Bonness, Rik #54 (Sr.) C
Borg, Tim #19 (So.) DB
Brock, Dan #94 (Jr.) DT
Brown, Kenny (So.) WB
Burns, Ed #17 (Jr.) QB
Burrow, Jim #2 (Sr.) DB
Butterfield, Dave #34 (Jr.) DB
Cabell, Jake #24 (Jr.) DB
Carpenter, Jeff #37 (So.) LB
Clark, Kelvin #73 (So.) OT
Clark, Mike (So.) OT
Coccia, Tom #90 (Sr.) DE
Cooley, Lawrence (So.) OG
Costanzo, Rich #77 (Sr.) OT
Coyle, Mike #42 (Sr.) PK
Craig, Curtis #33 (So.) WB
Davis, Tom #52 (So.) C
Davis, Tony #25 (Sr.) FB
Dervin, Joe (So.) LB
Donnell, Dodie #45 (So.) FB
Eichelberger, Percy #44 (Jr.) LB
Eveland, Al #43 (Jr.) PK
Everett, Earl #9 (Jr.) WB
Ferragamo, Vince #15 (Jr.) QB
Fischer, Tim #10 (So.) DB
Folsom, Bob (Jr.) FB
Fultz, Mike #72 (Jr.) DT
Gade, Steve #56 (So.) C
Galano, Bobby #59 (So.) OG
Garcia, Randy #18 (So.) QB
Gast, Reg #82 (So.) DE
Gillespie, Dave #28 (Jr.) IB

Gissler, Dean #97 (Sr.) DT
Glenn, Steve #71 (So.) OT
Hansen, Jeff #48 (So.) LB
Harvey, Ted #31 (So.) DB
Hayes, Bob #76 (So.) OT
Heiser, Tom #27 (Sr.) WB
Higgs, Gary (Jr.) FB
Hunter, Ken #78 (Jr.) OT
Jenkins, Brad #92 (Sr.) TE
Jones, Chuck #35 (Sr.) DB
Jorgensen, Greg #63 (So.) OG
Justice, Jason #38 (So.) FB
Kane, John (Unk) LB
Kraft, Bill #83 (So.) SE
Kroneberger, Jon #64 (So.) OT
Lee, John #69 (Sr.) MG
Lehigh, Pat #6 (So.) DB
Lessman, Randy #39 (Jr.) P
Lindquist, Steve #68 (So.) OG
Lingenfelter, Bob #70 (Jr.) OT
Loken, Rocke #16 (So.) SE
Luck, Terry #11 (Sr.) QB
Malito, Chuck #89 (Jr.) SE
Markley, Paul (So.) DB
Markus, Steve (So.) LB
Martin, Bob #87 (Sr.) DE
Miller, Dan #58 (So.) OG
Mills, George #75 (Sr.) DT
Monds, Wonder #26 (Sr.) DB
Mushinskie, Larry #88 (Sr.) TE
Nitzel, Ron #85 (Jr.) SE
Ohrt, Tom #74 (So.) OT
O'Leary, John #14 (Sr.) IB
Panneton, Rick #95 (Sr.) TE
Payne, Dennis #13 (So.) DB
Phillips, Ray #80 (Jr.) DE
Pillen, Clete #61 (Jr.) LB
Pittman, Randy #1 (So.) WB

Plucknett, John #50 (Jr.) MG
Poeschl, Randy (So.) DT
Porter, G.M. (Budge) (So.) DB
Pruitt, Ron #91 (Sr.) DT
Pullen, Jeff #36 (Jr.) MG
Redding, Dave #84 (Sr.) DE
Rick, Randy #22 (Jr.) DE
Ridder, Tom (So.) DE
Samuel, Tony #98 (So.) DE
Schmidt, Dan #51 (Jr.) OG
Schroeder, John (So.) OG
Shamblin, Dave #81 (Jr.) SE
Smith, Kent #23 (So.) DB
Sorley, Tom #12 (So.) QB
Spaeth, Ken #86 (So.) TE
Stacey, Kurt #3 (So.) DB
Stewart, Byron #30 (So.) IB
Stovall, Rod #5 (So.) DB
Talley, Chester #32 (Jr.) DE
Thomas, Bobby #8 (Jr.) SE
Thomas, Tom #53 (Sr.) C
Thompson, Mike (So.) SE
Thornton, Willie #65 (Sr.) MG
Valasek, Larry #4 (So.) DB
Vanous, Russ (So.) P
Varner, Rich #67 (Jr.) OG
Vernon, Kirby (So.) DB
Waldemore, Stan #62 (So.) OG
Walton, Darrell #7 (So.) WB
Webb, Mitchell #99 (So.) MG
Wied, Jerry #93 (Sr.) DT
Wightman, Jim #46 (So.) LB
Wilkins, Roger (So.) OT
Williquette, Jim #41 (So.) DB
Young, Larry #40 (So.) LB
Zabrocki, Dale #21 (So.) IB
Zanetich, Nick #66 (Jr.) OG

^ "Cornhuskers edge LSU". The Wichita Eagle & Beacon. September 14, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Nebraska 1975 Roster
^ "Nebraska 1975 Commitments". Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1975 Oct 26.
^ 1975 Husker Honors
^ "All Time NFL Huskers". Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2009.