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1985 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
1985 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Fiesta Bowl, L 23–27 vs. Michigan
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 11
Record	9–3 (6–1 Big 8)
Head coach	Tom Osborne (13th season);
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Charlie McBride (5th season)
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 11 Nebraska	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Colorado	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Iowa State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Missouri	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The season opener against Florida State was the last season opening loss until 2015.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	2:30 pm	No. 17 Florida State*	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska	ABC	L 13–17	75,943
September 21	1:30 pm	No. 20 Illinois*	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska		W 52–25	76,149
September 28	1:30 pm	Oregon*	No. 16	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska		W 63–0	75,947
October 5	1:30 pm	New Mexico*	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska		W 38–7	75,902
October 12	6:45 pm	at No. 5 Oklahoma State	No. 9	Lewis Field Stillwater, Oklahoma	ESPN	W 34–24	50,400
October 19	11:30 am	at Missouri	No. 7	Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri (rivalry)	Raycom	W 28–20	62,733
October 26	2:30 pm	Colorado	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska (rivalry)	ABC	W 17–7	76,014
November 2	1:30 pm	at Kansas State	No. 5	KSU Stadium Manhattan, Kansas (rivalry)		W 41–3	41,200
November 9	1:30 pm	Iowa State	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska		W 49–0	75,920
November 16	1:30 pm	Kansas	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska (rivalry)		W 56–6	75,863
November 23	2:30 pm	at No. 5 Oklahoma	No. 2	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, Oklahoma (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–27	75,554
January 1, 1986	12:30 pm	vs. No. 5 Michigan*	No. 7	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	L 23–27	72,454
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[1]

Roster and coaching staff

1985 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
G		Dan Bailey	So
TE	`87`	Tom Banderas	So
WB		Vance Behrens	So
QB	`12`	Clete Blakeman	So
G	`70`	Brian Blankenship	Sr
WB	`33`	Dana Brinson	Fr
G	`58`	Dave Bryan	Jr
OT	`73`	Todd Carpenter	Jr
FB	`24`	Dan Casterline	Jr
QB	`7`	McCathorn Clayton	So
C	`54`	Mark Cooper	Jr
TE		Mark Diaz	Jr
OT	`59`	Jim Dittmer	Sr
IB	`22`	Doug DuBose	Jr
OT	`77`	Jim Ernest	RFr
TE	`80`	Todd Frain	Sr
G	`67`	Ron Galois	Jr
SE	`86`	Jason Gamble	So
WB		Pernell Gatson	Jr
OT		Derrick Green	So
TE		Mike Hall	So
QB	`86`	Hendley Hawkins	So
FB	`36`	Mike Hedlund	So
FB	`48`	Micah Heibel	So
G	`75`	Mike Hoefler	Jr
WB		Jim Holscher	So
OT	`64`	Brad Johnson	Jr
IB	`6`	Keith Jones	So
FB	`49`	Ken Kaelin	Jr
IB	`40`	Jon Kelley	So
SE		Jeff Krantz
C	`68`	Bill Lewis	Sr
OT	`57`	Keven Lightner	So
WB	`23`	Roger Lindstrom	Sr
OT	`77`	Bill Macias	So
OT	`72`	Rob Maggard	Jr
G	`61`	John McCormick	So
IB	`21`	Paul Miles	Sr
TE	`43`	Todd Millikan	Fr
QB	`16`	Jerry Mlinar	Jr
TE	`90`	Brian Moore	Sr
WB	`8`	Ray Nelson	Jr
C	`63`	John Nichols	So
C	`56`	Jack Noel	Sr
SE		Mike Otte
G	`74`	Stan Parker	Jr
FB	`26`	Tom Rathman	Sr
OT	`65`	Tim Roth	Sr
OT	`78`	Tim Rother	So
G	`62`	Jim Schaaf	So
SE	`85`	Robb Schnitzler	Jr
C	`53`	Jeff Sellentin	Jr
WB	`2`	Von Sheppard	So
SE	`88`	Rod Smith	So
QB	`10`	Jeff Taylor	So
QB	`11`	Steve Taylor	Fr
QB	`14`	Travis Turner	Sr
OT	`69`	Tom Welter	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`42`	Mike Carl	Jr
S	`45`	Chris Carr	Jr
CB	`28`	John Custard	So
LB	`46`	Chad Daffer	Sr
CB	`32`	Brian Davis	Jr
LB	`48`	LeRoy Etienne	Fr
LB	`38`	Steve Forch	Jr
DE		Paul Gangwish	Sr
DT	`52`	Danny Groskurth	So
LB	`39`	Blake Henning	So
S	`15`	Scott Hill	So
LB	`91`	Tony Holloway	Jr
DE	`55`	Jeff Jamrog	So
DT	`98`	Lee Jones	So
LB	`44`	Mike Knox	Sr
CB	`17`	Cleo Miller	Jr
LB	`41`	Marc Munford	Jr
MG	`95`	Danny Noonan	Jr
DE		Harlan Opie	So
CB	`9`	Woody Paige	Sr
DT	`97`	Tony Palmer	So
LB	`35`	Kevin Parsons	Jr
CB	`18`	Brian Pokorny	Sr
MG	`34`	Todd Proffitt	Sr
DE	`84`	Gregg Reeves	Sr
DT	`93`	Rod Reynolds	Sr
MG	`66`	Phil Rogers	Sr
CB	`3`	Gary Schneider	Jr
LB	`51`	Pat Shaw	Jr
LB	`99`	Ken Shead	Sr
S	`19`	Bryan Siebler	Jr
DT	`96`	Jim Skow	Sr
DE	`81`	Brad Smith	Sr
DT	`92`	Neil Smith	So
DT	`76`	Chris Spachman	Jr
S		Matt Strasburger	Jr
S	`29`	Dan Thayer	Jr
DE	`82`	Broderick Thomas	Fr
DE	`89`	Scott Tucker	Sr
DE	`83`	Brad Tyrer	Jr
CB	`27`	Dennis Watkins	Sr
LB	`37`	Doug Welniak	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
MON	`31`	Gene Chealey	So
PK	`1`	Dale Klein	Jr
MON	`4`	Guy Rozier	Sr
P/PK	`13`	Craig Schnitzler	So
MON	`11`	Jeff Tomjack	So
MON	`43`	Brian Washington	So
P/PK	`47`	Dan Wingard	Sr

Head coach

Tom Osborne
   13th season
   22nd year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Charlie McBride
   5th season as DC/LB coach
   9th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Colorado
Cletus Fischer
   OL coach
   26th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska
John Melton
   13th season as LB coach
   24th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Wyoming
Boyd Epley
   17th season as S&C coach
   17th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska
George Darlington
   DE coach
   13th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Rutgers
Milt Tenopir
   12th season as OL coach
   12th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Sterling
Gene Huey
   9th season as WR coach
   9th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Wyoming
Frank Solich
   3rd season as RB coach
   7th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska
Jack Pierce
7th year at Nebraska
Bob Thornton
   5th season as Sec coach
   5th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska
Dan Young
   3rd season as OL/K coach
   3rd year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Reed

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2011-01-17

Depth chart

Defense

FS
Bryan Sielber
Chris Carr
Dan Thayer

INSDIE	INSDIE
Marc Munford	Mike Knox
Chad Daffer	Kevin Parsons
Steve Forch	LeRoy Etienne

MONSTER
Brian Washingtion
Guy Rozier
Jeff Tomjack

CB
Cleo Miller
Dennis Watkins
Brian Pokorny.

DE	DT	NT	DT	DE
Brad Smith	Jim Skow	Danny Noonan	Chris Spachman	Scott Tucker
Greg Reeves	Lee Jones	Todd Proffitt	Neil Smith	Tony Holloway
Brad Tyrer	Rod Reynolds	Phil Rogers	Tony Palmer	Broderick Thomas

CB
Brian Davis
Mike Carl
Gary Schneider.

Offense

WR
Robb Schnitzler
Rod Smith
Hendley Hawkins

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Tim Roth	Brian Blankenship	Bill Lewis	John McCormick	Tom Welter
Rob Maggard	Stan Parker	Mark Cooper	Ron Galois	Brad Johnson
Keven Lightner	Mike Hoefler	Jeff Sellentin	Dan Bailey	Todd Carpenter

TE
Todd Frain
Tom Banderas
Todd Millikan

WR
Von Sheppard
Roger Lindstorm
Dana Brinson

QB
McCathron Clayton Travis Turner
Steve Taylor
⋅

RB
Doug Dubose
Paul Miles
Keith Jones Jon Kelley

FB
Tom Rathman
Ken Kaelin
Dan Casterline

Special teams
PK Dale Klein
P Dan Wingard

Game summaries

Florida State

#17 Florida State at #10 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #17 Florida State	7	10	0	0	17
#10 Nebraska	7	6	0	0	13

Date: 1985-09-07
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,943

Both teams started out evenly with a 7-7 tie after the first quarter, but Florida State led the Cornhuskers by 4 at the half and no one scored during the rest of this scorcher, as the mercury in Lincoln reached 93 °F (34 °C) and 133 °F (56 °C) on the field. This was the last season opener Nebraska would lose until 2015.

Illinois

Illinois at #18 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	10	0	15	25
• #18 Nebraska	14	10	21	7	52

Date: 1985-09-21
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,149

Although Illinois started out behind 0-17, they came within 7 points of a tie before Nebraska ran away, as the Cornhuskers at one point scored 28 straight in a game whose outcome never was seriously in doubt.

Oregon

Oregon at #16 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon	0	0	0	0	0
• #16 Nebraska	14	28	14	7	63

Date: 1985-09-28
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,947

Source: ^[2]

Oregon was rendered helpless in Lincoln as Nebraska punched in four touchdowns late in the 2nd quarter and rolled to a 63-0 shutout in Lincoln. The Ducks only crossed the center of the field twice and were unable to scrape up even 1/3 of the total time of possession.

New Mexico

New Mexico at #13 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
New Mexico	7	0	0	0	7
• #13 Nebraska	7	7	10	14	38

Date: 1985-10-05
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,902

Nebraska closed out the non-conference season against a New Mexico team that was not intimidated in Lincoln. The Lobos scored first and acquired 379 total yards of offense while winning the time of possession battle, but could not turn those accomplishments into scores as they also allowed nine sacks, four interceptions and lost a fumble.

Oklahoma State

#9 Nebraska at #5 Oklahoma State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #9 Nebraska	0	17	3	14	34
#5 Oklahoma State	0	3	14	7	24

Date: 1985-10-12
Location: Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 50,400

Nebraska pulled off the upset of Oklahoma State in Stillwater, as The Cowboys' passing attack was no match for the Cornhuskers' rushing attack when it was hampered by OSU's two lost fumbles and two thrown interceptions. Nebraska continued their unbeaten streak over Oklahoma State that began in 1961.

Missouri

#7 Nebraska at Missouri [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #7 Nebraska	6	9	3	10	28
Missouri	7	0	6	7	20

Date: 1985-10-19
Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri
Game attendance: 62,733

21 of Nebraska's 28 points came off of the foot of PK Dale Klein, who not only tied the NCAA record of seven field goals in a game, but also became the first player to make seven straight in a game while also running his Nebraska field goal record streak up to nine.

Colorado

Colorado at #5 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	7	0	0	0	7
• #5 Nebraska	0	7	7	3	17

Date: 1985-10-26
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 76,014

Colorado, playing without its 1st and 2nd string quarterbacks, still managed to hold Nebraska to a 7-7 halftime tie before a long touchdown run at the end of the 3rd quarter allowed the Cornhuskers to pull away.

Kansas State

#5 Nebraska at Kansas State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #5 Nebraska	7	17	3	14	41
Kansas State	3	0	0	0	3

Date: 1985-11-02
Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
Game attendance: 41,200

Kansas State managed to prevent any single Nebraska runner from exceeding 100 yards, and even though Nebraska only completed six passes, it made no difference as the Wildcats were held to just a 1st-quarter field goal while the Cornhuskers had little trouble putting up 41 points. Nebraska PK Dale Klein set a Nebraska and personal record when he kicked a 50-yard field goal, his 12th of the season.

Iowa State

Iowa State at #3 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa State	0	0	0	0	0
• #3 Nebraska	7	14	21	7	49

Date: 1985-11-09
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,920

The #3 Cornhuskers romped in Lincoln as the Blackshirts extended their touchdown prevention streak to 11 quarters. Nebraska IB Doug DuBose entered record territory, becoming the 10th Nebraska player to post 2,000 yards, became the third (after Jarvis Redwine and Mike Rozier) to have two 1,000 yard seasons, and was the first Cornhusker to do so before their senior season.

Kansas

Kansas at #2 Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas	3	0	3	0	6
• #2 Nebraska	10	28	11	7	56

Date: 1985-11-16
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,863

Despite a 0-6 turnover margin deficit, #2 Nebraska rolled the Kansas Jayhawks up in a 56-6 drubbing that saw the Cornhusker defense extend their touchdown-free series to 15 quarters. Without the five lost fumbles and one interception given up by Nebraska, the blowout of Kansas would have been far worse.

Oklahoma

#2 Nebraska at #5 Oklahoma [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#2 Nebraska	0	0	0	7	7
• #5 Oklahoma	14	3	10	0	27

Date: 1985-11-23
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Game start: 2:30 PM CST
Game attendance: 75,554
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles, and Tim Brant

Oklahoma completely shut down Nebraska's offensive machine, as the Cornhuskers' only score came on a 76-yard fumble return for a touchdown with just 26 seconds left to play, very narrowly avoiding what would have been Nebraska's first shutout in 147 games. There were only 19 total passes and 5 completions in the entire game, and although Nebraska had not previously allowed more than 157 ground yards this season, the vaunted Oklahoma wishbone attack netted the Sooners 423 yards.

Michigan

#7 Nebraska vs #5 Michigan [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Nebraska	0	14	0	9	23
• #5 Michigan	3	0	24	0	27

Date: 1986-01-01
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Game attendance: 72,454

Although Nebraska led 14-3 going into halftime, turnover-free Michigan cashed in on each of several Cornhusker mistakes in the third quarter to run off 24 points and pull away, handing Nebraska its second consecutive defeat to a #5 team.

Rankings

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	14	15	Final
AP	9	10	18	18	16	13	9	7	5	5	3	2	2	8	7	7	11
Coaches	4	4	14	17	14	10	9	6	3	3	2	2	2	8	6	6	10

After the season

Awards

^[3]

Award	Name(s)
All-America 1st team	Bill Lewis, Jim Skow
All-America 2nd team	Doug DuBose
All-America 3rd team	Tom Rathman
All-America honorable mention	Tim Roth, Brian Blankenship
All-Big 8 1st team	Brian Blankenship, Bill Lewis, Doug DuBose, Tom Rathman, Dale Klein, Jim Skow
All-Big 8 2nd team	Danny Noonan, Brian Washington, Tim Roth, Dan Wingard, Chris Spachman, Marc Munford

NFL and pro players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1985 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional team as draftees or free agents.^[4]

Name	Team
Brian Blankenship	Pittsburgh Steelers
Dana Brinson	San Diego Chargers
Brian Davis	Washington Redskins
Doug DuBose	San Francisco 49ers
LeRoy Etienne	San Francisco 49ers
Todd Frain	Washington Redskins
Keith Jones	Cleveland Browns
Mike Knox	Denver Broncos
Bill Lewis	Los Angeles Raiders
Paul Miles	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Marc Munford	Denver Broncos
Danny Noonan	Dallas Cowboys
Tom Rathman	San Francisco 49ers
Tim Rother	Los Angeles Raiders
Von Sheppard	Coventry Jets
Jim Skow	Cincinnati Bengals
Neil Smith	Kansas City Chiefs
Steve Taylor	Edmonton Eskimos
Broderick Thomas	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Brian Washington	Cleveland Browns
Dennis Watkins	Philadelphia Eagles
Tom Welter	St. Louis Cardinals

References

^ "Football - 1985 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1985 Sept 29.
^ 1985 Husker Honors
^ "All Time NFL Huskers". Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.