2020 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team explained

Year:2020
Team:Nebraska Cornhuskers
Sport:football
Conference:Big Ten Conference
Division:West
Short Conf:Big Ten
Record:3–5
Conf Record:3–5
Head Coach:Scott Frost
Hc Year:3rd
Off Coach:Matt Lubick
Oc Year:1st
Def Coach:Erik Chinander
Dc Year:3rd
Stadium:Memorial Stadium

The 2020 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by third-year head coach Scott Frost and played their games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, as members of the West Division in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

On August 11, 2020, the Big Ten Conference suspended all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The team disclosed an attempt to play a fall football season as an independent, but Commissioner Kevin Warren stated they could not do so without facing consequences. In late-August, a group of Nebraska players also sued the Big Ten, alleging that its council did not actually vote on the postponement.[3] [4] On September 16, the Big Ten reinstated the season, announcing an eight-game season beginning on October 24.[5]

After playing to a 3–5 record, all in conference games, the team announced on December 20 that it would not participate in any bowl game.[6]

Offseason

2020 NFL Draft

!Round!Pick!Player!Team
6194Khalil DavisTampa Bay Buccaneers
7232Carlos DavisPittsburgh Steelers
UndraftedDarrion DanielsSan Francisco 49ers
Lamar JacksonNew York Jets

Transfers

Outgoing

Name Number Position Height Weight Class Hometown Destination
Jaylin Bradley
  1. 33
RB 6'0"200 Junior N/A
Moses Bryant
  1. 35
CB 5'11"200 Sophomore N/A
Andrew Bunch
  1. 17
QB 6'1"215 Senior Southeast Missouri State
Tony Butler
  1. 25
CB 6'2"220 Senior Kent State
Darien Chase
  1. 13
WR 6'1"180 RS-Freshman Portland State
Ethan Cox
  1. 16
CB 5'10"195 Junior N/A
AJ Forbes
  1. 52
OL 6'4"310 Sophomore Montana
Jaiden Francois
  1. 12
CB 6'0"185 Freshman Central Florida
Henry Gray N/A CB 6'0"175 Freshman Florida International
Keyshawn Greene
  1. 17
LB 6'3"175 Freshman Florida Atlantic
Andre Hunt
  1. 15
WR 6'0"190 Sophomore (dismissed from team)
Pernell Jefferson
  1. 32
LB 6'2"250 Senior Arkansas–Monticello
Joey Johnson
  1. 53
LB 6'3"240 Sophomore N/A
Miles Jones
  1. 22
WR 5'8"175 Sophomore Tennessee
Dylan Jorgensen
  1. 97
PK 5'9"185 Sophomore N/A
Katerian Legrone
  1. 12
TE 6'3"235 Sophomore (dismissed from team)
Jaevon McQuitty
  1. 4
WR 6'0"200 Junior South Dakota
Jordan Paup
  1. 57
LB 6'3"245 Junior Abilene Christian
Barret Pickering
  1. 32
PK 6'0"200 Junior (retired)
John Raridon
  1. 50
OL 6'4"315 Senior (retired)
JD Spielman
  1. 10
WR 5'9"180 Senior TCU
Isaiah Stalbird
  1. 49
S 6'0"210 Sophomore South Dakota State
Noah Vedral
  1. 16
QB 6'1"200 Junior Rutgers
Matt Waldoch
  1. 35
PK 6'0"170 Junior (retired)
Maurice Washington
  1. 28
RB 6'1"190 Junior (dismissed from team)
Jaron Woodyard
  1. 8
WR 5'11"185 Senior Marshall

Incoming

!Name!Number!Position!Height!Weight!Class!Hometown!Previous School
Jared Bubak
  1. 80
TE6'5"240SeniorLincoln, NEArizona State
Connor CulpN/APK5'10"185SeniorPhoenix, AZLSU
Levi FalckN/AWR6'2"205SeniorCircle Pines, MNSouth Dakota
Ezra MillerN/AOL6'6"310SophomoreHolstein, IAIowa
Nouredin Nouili
  1. 63
OL6'4"285SophomoreFrankfurt, GermanyColorado State
Zach Schlager
  1. 25
LB6'0"210SophomoreMcCook, NEColorado State

Recruits

The Cornhuskers signed a total of 23 scholarship recruits and 20 walk-ons during the Early Signing Period on December 18, 2019.[7]

Walk-on recruits

Preseason

Award watch lists

Doak Walker Award[8] Dedrick MillsRBSR
John Mackey Award[9] Jack StollTESR
Maxwell Award[10] Adrian MartinezQBJR
Paul Hornung Award[11] Wan'Dale RobinsonWRSO
Wuerffel Trophy[12] Ben StilleDLSR

Preseason media polls

Below are the results of the media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses. For the 2020 poll, Ohio State was voted as the favorite to win both the East Division and the Big Ten Championship Game. This is the 10th iteration of the preseason media poll conducted by Cleveland.com, which polls at least one credentialed media member for each Big Ten team. Only twice in the last ten years has the media accurately predicted the Big Ten champion.[13]

East
1 Ohio State 237 (33)
2 Penn State 204 (1)
3 Michigan 169
4 Indiana 134
5 Michigan State 94
6 Maryland 76
7 Rutgers 38
West
1 Wisconsin 221 (19)
2 Minnesota 209.5 (14)
3 Iowa 157
4 Nebraska 117
5 Purdue 105
6 Northwestern 87.5 (1)
7 Illinois 55
Media poll (Big Ten Championship)
1 Ohio State over Wisconsin 19
2 Ohio State over Minnesota 13
3 Ohio State over Northwestern 1
4 Penn State over Minnesota 1

Schedule

Nebraska had games scheduled against Central Michigan, South Dakota State, and Cincinnati, but canceled these games on July 9 due to the Big Ten Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

On September 19, the Big Ten announced a new league schedule to accommodate a new 9-game conference-only season, where the ninth game will feature cross divisional matchups of #1 vs #1, #2 vs. #2, etc.[15]

On October 29, Nebraska attempted to replace the Wisconsin game with a game against FCS school Chattanooga. However, it was denied by the Big Ten Conference, which reaffirmed its policy against scheduling nonconference games for the 2020 season.[16]

Nebraska's game with Wisconsin was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game was not rescheduled. Instead, both teams had a bye week and played only eight conference games.[17]

Nebraska's game with Rutgers was adjusted from a 3:00 PM to a 6:30 PM kickoff time on Friday, December 18, after the cancellation of the Indiana-Purdue game.[18]

Roster and coaching staff

Depth chart

Game summaries

at No. 5 Ohio State

See also: 2020 Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

Statistics NEB OSU
First downs 17 28
Total yards 370 491
Rushes/yards 36–210 48–215
Passing yards 160 276
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 16–20–0 20–21–0
Time of possession 26:46 33:14
Team Category Player Statistics
Nebraska Passing 12/15, 105 yards
Rushing Adrian Martinez 13 carries, 85 yards, TD
Receiving 6 receptions, 49 yards
Ohio State Passing 20/21, 276 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Justin Fields 15 carries, 54 yards, TD
Receiving 7 receptions, 129 yards, TD

vs Wisconsin

See also: 2020 Wisconsin Badgers football team.

The Wisconsin at Nebraska game was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Wisconsin. The game will not be rescheduled. Instead, both teams will have a bye and will have just seven games.[19]

at Northwestern

See also: 2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team.

Statistics NEB NW
First downs 28 14
Total yards 442 317
Rushes/yards 43–224 38–148
Passing yards 218 169
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 24–45–2 16–27–2
Time of possession 32:27 27:33
Team Category Player Statistics
Nebraska Passing Adrian Martinez 12/27, 125 yards, INT
Rushing Adrian Martinez 13 carries, 102 yards
Receiving Marcus Fleming 5 receptions, 75 yards
Northwestern Passing 16/27, 169 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Drake Anderson 18 carries, 89 yards, TD
Receiving John Raine 4 receptions, 33 yards, TD

vs Penn State

See also: 2020 Penn State Nittany Lions football team.

Statistics PSU NEB
First downs 30 17
Total yards 501 298
Rushes/yards 52–245 39–146
Passing yards 256 152
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–39–1 13–21–1
Time of possession 36:24 23:36
Team Category Player Statistics
Penn State Passing 14/31, 219 yards
Rushing Devyn Ford 16 carries, 66 yards, TD
Receiving 7 receptions, 113 yards
Nebraska Passing 13/21, 152 yards, TD, INT
Rushing Luke McCaffrey 13 carries, 67 yards, TD
Receiving Zavier Betts 2 receptions, 54 yards, TD

vs Illinois

See also: 2020 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.

Statistics ILL NEB
First downs 25 25
Total yards 490 392
Rushes/yards 52–285 44–215
Passing yards 205 177
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 18–25–0 18–30–3
Time of possession 36:21 23:39
Team Category Player Statistics
Illinois Passing 18/25, 205 yards, TD
Rushing Mike Epstein 13 carries, 113 yards, TD
Receiving 4 receptions, 71 yards, TD
Nebraska Passing Luke McCaffrey 15/26, 134 yards, 3 INT
Rushing Luke McCaffrey 26 carries, 122 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Wan'Dale Robinson 6 receptions, 60 yards

at No. 24 Iowa

See also: 2020 Iowa Hawkeyes football team.

Statistics NEB IOWA
First downs 20 22
Total yards 338 322
Rushes/yards 38–143 45–129
Passing yards 195 193
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 21–25–0 18–30–1
Time of possession 25:36 34:24
Team Category Player Statistics
Nebraska Passing Adrian Martinez 18/20, 174 yards
Rushing Luke McCaffrey 5 carries, 42 yards
Receiving Wan'Dale Robinson 9 receptions, 75 yards
Iowa Passing 18/30, 193 yards, TD, INT
Rushing 30 carries, 111 yards
Receiving 3 receptions, 44 yards

at Purdue

See also: 2020 Purdue Boilermakers football team.

Statistics NEB PUR
First downs 20 19
Total yards 364 332
Rushes/yards 40–111 17–-2
Passing yards 253 334
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 24–31–0 33–47–0
Time of possession 33:49 26:11
Team Category Player Statistics
Nebraska Passing Adrian Martinez 23/30, 242 yards, TD
Rushing Dedrick Mills 16 carries, 60 yards, TD
Receiving Wan'Dale Robinson 9 receptions, 114 yards
Purdue Passing 33/47, 334 yards, 3 TD
Rushing 7 carries, 21 yards
Receiving 10 receptions, 132 yards, TD

vs Minnesota

See also: 2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.

Statistics MINN NEB
First downs 19 17
Total yards 387 308
Rushes/yards 43–206 36–197
Passing yards 181 111
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 17–30–0 16–29–1
Time of possession 35:28 24:12
Team Category Player Statistics
Minnesota Passing 17/30, 181 yards, TD
Rushing 20 carries, 108 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Chris Autman-Bell 5 receptions, 82 yards
Nebraska Passing Adrian Martinez 16/27, 111 yards, TD
Rushing Adrian Martinez 15 carries, 96 yards, TD
Receiving Wan'Dale Robinson 6 receptions, 41 yards

at Rutgers

See also: 2020 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team.

Statistics NEB RUTG
First downs 27 9
Total yards 620 252
Rushes/yards 58–365 30–130
Passing yards 255 122
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 24–28–2 11–22–1
Time of possession 39:31 20:29
Team Category Player Statistics
Nebraska Passing Adrian Martinez 24/28, 255 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing Dedrick Mills 25 carries, 191 yards
Receiving Wan'Dale Robinson 6 receptions, 79 yards, TD
Rutgers Passing 10/20, 122 yards
Rushing Johnny Langan 9 carries, 54 yards
Receiving 5 receptions, 81 yards

Big Ten awards

All-Conference awards

2020 Big Ten Offense All-Conference Teams and Awards[20]

Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year
PKConnor Culp
Coaches All-Big Ten
PKConnor CulpFirst Team
CBCam Taylor-BrittSecond Team
WRWan'Dale RobinsonHonorable Mention
OLMatt FarniokHonorable Mention
OLBrenden JaimesHonorable Mention
DLBen StilleHonorable Mention
LBJoJo DomannHonorable Mention
LBWill HonasHonorable Mention
SMarquel DismukeHonorable Mention
SDeontai WilliamsHonorable Mention
Media All-Big Ten
PKConnor CulpFirst Team
OLMatt FarniokHonorable Mention
OLBrenden JaimesHonorable Mention
DLBen StilleHonorable Mention
LBJoJo DomannHonorable Mention
LBWill HonasHonorable Mention
CBDicaprio BootleHonorable Mention
CBCam Taylor-BrittHonorable Mention
SMarquel DismukeHonorable Mention
SDeontai WilliamsHonorable Mention

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft.

5 159 OT Los Angeles Chargers
7 238 OG Dallas Cowboys

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nebraska Husker 2020 Schedule Isn't Only Backloaded. 247Sports.com. December 7, 2019. December 7, 2019.
  2. Web site: Big Ten Statement on 2020–21 Fall Season . https://web.archive.org/web/20200811191111/https://bigten.org/news/2020/8/11/general-big-ten-statement-on-2020-21-fall-season.aspx . dead . August 11, 2020 . . August 11, 2020. August 11, 2020.
  3. Web site: Gabriel. Parker. Warren updates stance, says Huskers cannot play this fall without consequences. 2020-09-09. JournalStar.com. en.
  4. Web site: Martin. Jill . 8 Nebraska Huskers football players sue the Big Ten. 2020-09-08. CNN.
  5. Web site: The Big Ten Conference Adopts Stringent Medical Protocols; Football Season to Resume October 23–24, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200916150241/https://bigten.org/news/2020/9/16/the-big-ten-conference-adopts-stringent-medical-protocols-football-season-to-resume-october-23-24-2020.aspx . dead . September 16, 2020 . . September 16, 2020. September 16, 2020.
  6. Web site: Gabriel . Parker . After 'long grind,' Huskers decide not to play in a bowl game . JournalStar.com . December 20, 2020 . en.
  7. Web site: Huskers Announce December Signing Class. Huskers.com. 18 December 2019.
  8. Web site: Mills Named to Doak Walker Award Watch List. Huskers.com. July 15, 2020. July 15, 2020.
  9. Web site: Stoll Named to Mackey Award Watch List. Huskers.com. July 17, 2020. July 17, 2020.
  10. Web site: Martinez Named to Maxwell Award Watch List. Huskers.com. July 24, 2020. July 24, 2020.
  11. Web site: Robinson Named to Hornung Award Watch List. Huskers.com. July 23, 2020. July 23, 2020.
  12. Web site: Stille Named to Wuerffel Trophy Watch List. Huskers.com. July 24, 2020. July 24, 2020.
  13. Web site: Ohio State voted 2020 Big Ten favorite in cleveland.com Preseason Poll. July 31, 2020. Cleveland.com. Nathan. Baird.
  14. Web site: Myerberg . Paul . Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow . USA TODAY . 10 July 2020.
  15. Web site: Big Ten Releases Updated 2020 Football Schedule . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923124213/https://bigten.org/documents/2020/9/19//2020_B1GFB_919.pdf?id=6820 . dead . September 23, 2020 . BigTen.org . 19 September 2020.
  16. Web site: Big Ten reportedly rejects Nebraska's bid to play Tennessee-Chattanooga this weekend. Sam. McKewon. Big Red Today.
  17. Web site: Mark. Schlabach. Badgers halt, cancel game after COVID outbreak. October 28, 2020. October 28, 2020. ESPN.com.
  18. https://huskers.com/news/2020/12/15/football-nebraska-rutgers-now-set-for-6-30-pm-ct-on-friday.aspx Nebraska-Rutgers Now Set for 6:30 PM (CT) on Friday
  19. Web site: Mark. Schlabach. Badgers halt, cancel game after COVID outbreak. October 28, 2020. October 28, 2020. ESPN.com.
  20. https://web.archive.org/web/20201217174939/https://bigten.org/documents/2020/12/17//2020_All_Big_Ten.pdf?id=6877 2020 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards