2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by first-year head coach Scott Frost and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.[1] They competed as members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference.[2][3]

2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
2018 record4–8 (3–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTroy Walters (1st season)
Offensive schemeNo-huddle spread option
Defensive coordinatorErik Chinander (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
(Capacity: 85,458)
2018 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 3 Ohio State xy$  8 –1     13 –1  
No. 14 Michigan x  8 –1     10 –3  
No. 17 Penn State  6 –3     9 –4  
Michigan State  5 –4     7 –6  
Maryland  3 –6     5 –7  
Indiana  2 –7     5 –7  
Rutgers  0 –9     1 –11  
West Division
No. 21 Northwestern xy  8 –1     9 –5  
Wisconsin  5 –4     8 –5  
No. 25 Iowa  5 –4     9 –4  
Purdue  5 –4     6 –7  
Minnesota  3 –6     7 –6  
Nebraska  3 –6     4 –8  
Illinois  2 –7     4 –8  
Championship: Ohio State 45, Northwestern 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

After Nebraska's season opener against Akron was canceled due to inclement weather, the Cornhuskers began the season with six straight losses, the worst start in program history. This, combined with their four losses at the end of 2017, formed a school-record 10-game losing streak.[4] The team's performance improved in the second half of the season, and the team won four of their last six games to finish at 4–8 overall.

Freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez led the team on offense, finishing with 2,617 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, and 8 rushing touchdowns.[5] Senior running back Devine Ozigbo finished with 1,082 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, becoming the first Nebraska running back to exceed 1,000 rushing yards since Ameer Abdullah in 2014.[6] Senior wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. finished with 1,004 receiving yards and was named second-team All-Big Ten.[7] Linebacker Mohamed Barry led the team in tackles.[5]

Previous season

The Cornhuskers finished the 2017 season 4–8 and 3–6 in Big Ten conference play, a fifth-place finish in the West Division. On November 25, 2017, the school fired head coach Mike Riley after three seasons.[8] On December 2, the school hired UCF head coach and Nebraska alum, Scott Frost, as head coach.[9]

Offseason

Position key
Back B Center C Cornerback CB Defensive back DB
Defensive end DE Defensive lineman DL Defensive tackle DT End E
Fullback FB Guard G Halfback HB Kicker K
Kickoff returner KR Offensive tackle OT Offensive lineman OL Linebacker LB
Long snapper LS Punter P Punt returner PR Quarterback QB
Running back RB Safety S Tight end TE Wide receiver WR

Recruits

The Cornhuskers signed a total of 12 recruits during the Early Signing Period from December 20–22, 2017.[10]

Scholarship recruits
Walk-on recruits

Outgoing
NameNo.Pos.HeightWeightYearHometownNew school
Patrick O'Brien#12QB6'4"230SophomoreSan Juan Capistrano, CAColorado State
Ben Miles#29FB6'1"210RS FreshmanBaton Rouge, LATexas A&M
Bryan Brokop#61OL6'5"295SophomoreNew Lenox, ILTBD
Keyan Williams#09WR5'10"195SeniorNew Orleans, LABall State
Andrew Ward#52LB6'1"200RS FreshmanMuskegon, MICentral Michigan
Sean Lambert#24RB6'1"225RS Freshman (walk-on)Fremont, NEMidland
Willie Hampton#33LB6'1"225RS FreshmanPlantation, FLTBD
Will Jackson#33DB6'3"200JuniorWashington, DCTBD
Jalin Barnett#74OL6'4"310JuniorLawton, OKN/A
Avery Roberts#14LB6'1"230SophomoreWilmington, DEOregon State
Tristan Gebbia#14QB6'3"185RS FreshmanCalabasas, CAOregon State

Incoming
NameNo.Pos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrev. school
Tre Neal#14S6'1"200Senior (graduate transfer)Atlanta, GACentral Florida
Vaha Vainuku#11DT6'3"295Junior (graduate transfer)Salt Lake City, UTUtah
Alec Cromer#95QB/P6'5"225Sophomore (Walk-on)Beatrice, NESouth Dakota State
Breon Dixon#34DB5'11"206SophomoreLoganville, GAMississippi
Noah Vedral#16QB6'2"190Sophomore (Walk-on)Wahoo, NECentral Florida
Lane McCallum#48S/K6'2"205RS Freshman (Walk-on)Norfolk, NEAir Force
Corbin Ruth#46DB6'0"180RS Freshman (Walk-on)Malcolm, NENorthwest Missouri State

Spring scrimmage
2018 Red—White Spring Game
1 234Total
White 6 300 9
• Red 7 21714 49

Preseason

Award watch lists
Award Player Position Year
Lott Trophy Dedrick Young[11] LB SR
Fred Biletnikoff Award[12] Stanley Morgan Jr. WR SR
JD Spielman WR SO
John Mackey Award[13] Jack Stoll TE SO
Ray Guy Award[14] Caleb Lightbourn P JR
Paul Hornung Award[15] JD Spielman WR/KR SO
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award[16] Devine Ozigbo RB SR

Schedule

The 2018 schedule consisted of seven home and five away games in the regular season. Nebraska hosted conference foes Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan State and the Cornhuskers traveled to play Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Iowa in Big Ten play.[17]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 82:30 p.m.Colorado*
ABCL 28–3389,853
September 1511:00 a.m.Troy*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
BTNL 19–2489,360
September 2211:00 a.m.at No. 19 Michigan
FS1L 10–56111,037
September 292:30 p.m.Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
BTNL 28–4288,911
October 66:30 p.m.at No. 16 Wisconsin
BTNL 24–4180,051
October 1311:00 a.m.at Northwestern
ABCL 31–34 OT47,330
October 202:30 p.m.Minnesota
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
BTNW 53–2889,272
October 27[a]11:00 a.m.Bethune–Cookman*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
BTNW 45–988,735
November 311:00 a.m.at No. 8 Ohio State
FOXL 31–36104,245
November 1011:00 a.m.Illinois
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
BTNW 54–3588,316
November 1711:00 a.m.Michigan State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lincoln, NE
FOXW 9–688,793
November 2311:00 a.m.at Iowa
FOXL 28–3165,299
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game
  • All times are in Central time
^[a] The game between Nebraska and Akron, originally scheduled for September 1, 2018, was canceled due to inclement weather.[18] Nebraska finalized an agreement to play Bethune–Cookman on October 27 at Memorial Stadium to fill an opening on the schedule that replaced the Huskers’ September 1 game against Akron.[19]

Roster and coaching staff
2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 42 Chad Alioth Jr. RFr
TE 11 Austin Allen RFr
OL 61 Mitchell Balenger Fr
OL 73 Broc Bando RFr
WR 36 Christian Banker RFr
RB 25 Greg Bell Jr
RB 38 Brody Belt Fr
RB 33 Jaylin Bradley So
QB 17 Andrew Bunch So
WR 45 Ty Chaffin So
OL 62 Cole Conrad Sr
OL 63 Tanner Farmer Sr
OL 71 Matt Farniok So
OL 68 Will Farniok Fr
WR 29 Bennett Folkers Fr
OL 52 AJ Forbes Fr
OL 67 Jerald Foster (C) Sr
OL 65 Christian Gaylord Jr
RB 49 Austin Hemphill Jr
TE 31 Keaton Henry So
OL 75 Trent Hixson RFr
TE 47 Branden Hohenstein So
WR 41 Justin Holm Fr
WR 89 Todd Honas So
WR 15 Andre Hunt Fr
OL 76 Brenden Jaimes So
WR 26 Miles Jones Fr
TE 44 Cameron Jurgens Fr
TE 30 Bo Kitrell Sr
TE 48 Bryson Krull Fr
TE 32 Katerian Legrone Fr
WR 30 Wyatt Liewer Fr
WR 1 Tyjon Lindsey So
QB 2 Adrian Martinez Fr
QB 11 Matt Masker Fr
RB 37 Wyatt Mazour Jr
WR 13 Justin McGriff Fr
WR 4 Jaevon McQuitty RFr
OL 66 Hunter Miller RFr
WR 8 Stanley Morgan Jr. (C) Sr
RB 22 Devine Ozigbo Sr
TE 82 Kurt Rafdal RFr
OL 50 John Raridon So
WR 83 Bryan Reimers Sr
WR 40 Brandon Robbins RFr
RB 23 Austin Rose Sr
RB 43 Connor Ruth Fr
OL 56 Collin Shefke Fr
OL 70 Matt Sichterman RFr
WR 10 JD Spielman So
TE 86 Jack Stoll So
WR 39 Andrew Thurman RFr
QB 16 Noah Vedral So
WR 81 Kade Warner RFr
RB 28 Maurice Washington Fr
RB 21 Mikale Wilbon Sr
WR 19 Mike Williams Jr
OL 56 Boe Wilson So
WR 88 Jaron Woodyard Jr
WR 87 Conor Young Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DL 91 Freedom Akinmoladun Sr
OLB 30 Quayshon Alexander So
OLB 45 David Alston Fr
DB 4 Avery Anderson Jr
DL 75 Fyn Anderson Jr
LB 50 Jake Archer Fr
LB 51 Anthony Banderas Fr
ILB 7 Mohamed Barry Jr
CB 23 Dicaprio Bootle So
DB 35 Moses Bryant Fr
DB 39 Bradley Bunner RFr
CB 2 Tony Butler So
LB 58 Chris Cassidy Fr
CB 15 Braxton Clark Fr
DB 16 Ethan Cox RFr
DL 93 Damion Daniels RFr
OLB 22 Alex Davis Jr
DL 96 Carlos Davis Jr
DL 94 Khalil Davis Jr
S 19 Marquel Dismuke So
OLB 34 Breon Dixon So
OLB 13 JoJo Domann So
DL 82 Colton Feist Fr
OLB 43 Tyrin Ferguson Jr
DB 37 Corbin Frederick Fr
OLB 12 Luke Gifford (C) Sr
ILB 3 Will Honas Jr
DL 38 Damian Jackson RFr
CB 21 Lamar Jackson Jr
DL 47 Matt Jarzynka Sr
OLB 32 Pernell Jefferson So
LB 53 Joseph Johnson Fr
DB 29 Cam'ron Jones Fr
ILB 40 Grant Jordan So
ILB 36 Spencer Jordan So
S 36 Reid Karel Jr
CB 6 Eric Lee Jr. Jr
DL 90 Ben Lingenfelter RFr
DB 48 Lane McCallum (I) RFr
ILB 31 Collin Miller So
DL 9 DaiShon Neal Jr
S 14 Tre Neal Sr
DL 99 Peyton Newell Sr
LB 34 Simon Otte Fr
OLB 55 Jordan Paup RFr
S 25 Antonio Reed Sr
DL 98 Casey Rogers Fr
DB 46 Corbin Ruth (I) RFr
DL 54 Ryan Schommer Fr
S 26 CJ Smith Fr
DB 49 Isaiah Stalbird Fr
DL 95 Ben Stille So
DL 44 Mick Stoltenberg (C) Sr
DB 42 Jeramiah Stovall Jr
DB 28 Eli Sullivan So
OLB 4 Caleb Tannor Fr
CB 17 Cam Taylor Fr
DL 97 Deontre Thomas So
OLB 18 Guy Thomas RFr
DL 11 Vaha Vainuku Jr
DL 55 Chris Walker RFr
ILB 57 Jacob Weinmaster Jr
DL 92 Tate Wildeman Fr
S 24 Aaron Williams Sr
S 41 Deontai Williams So
ILB 5 Dedrick Young II Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 98 Isaac Armstrong Jr
P 95 Alec Cromer (I) So
PK 39 Cole Frahm RFr
P 35 Caleb Lightbourn Jr
LS 84 Jordan Ober Sr
PK 32 Barret Pickering Fr
LS 91 Cameron Pieper Fr
LS 92 Chase Urbach Jr
P 90 Jackson Walker Jr
Head coach
  • Scott Frost
       3rd season as HC
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Erik Chinander
       3rd season as DC
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Iowa
  • Troy Walters
       10th season as WR coach, 4th as OC
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Stanford
  • Greg Austin
       6th season as OL coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
  • Sean Beckton
       3rd season as TE coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Central Florida
  • Mike Dawson
       6th season as DL coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Massachusetts-Amherst
  • Jovan Dewitt
       10th season as OLB coach, 6th as ST coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Northern Michigan
  • Travis Fisher
       7th season as DB coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Central Florida
  • Ryan Held
       3rd season as RB coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
  • Barrett Ruud
       1st season as ILB coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: Nebraska
  • Mario Verduzco
       26th season as QB coach
       1st year at Nebraska
       Alma mater: San Jose St.
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 3, 2018

|-

Depth chart

Game summaries

Colorado
See also: 2018 Colorado Buffaloes football team and Colorado–Nebraska football rivalry
Colorado at Nebraska
1 234Total
• Colorado 14 3106 33
Nebraska 7 1470 28

Troy
See also: 2018 Troy Trojans football team
Troy at Nebraska
1 234Total
• Troy 3 1407 24
Nebraska 0 766 19

at Michigan
See also: 2018 Michigan Wolverines football team
Nebraska at Michigan
1 234Total
Nebraska 0 037 10
• No. 19 Michigan 20 19107 56

Purdue
See also: 2018 Purdue Boilermakers football team
Purdue at Nebraska
1 234Total
• Purdue 10 10157 42
Nebraska 7 0147 28

at Wisconsin
See also: 2018 Wisconsin Badgers football team
Nebraska at Wisconsin
1 234Total
Nebraska 0 3147 24
• No. 16 Wisconsin 3 17147 41

at Northwestern
See also: 2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team
Nebraska at Northwestern
1 234OTTotal
Nebraska 7 67110 31
• Northwestern 0 140173 34

Minnesota
See also: 2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
Minnesota at Nebraska
1 234Total
Minnesota 0 8146 28
• Nebraska 14 14817 53

After starting the season 0-6, Nebraska finally got its first win under Scott Frost against Minnesota

Bethune–Cookman
See also: 2018 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team
Bethune–Cookman at Nebraska
1 234Total
Bethune–Cookman 3 006 9
• Nebraska 28 1007 45

at Ohio State
See also: 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Nebraska at Ohio State
1 234Total
Nebraska 7 14010 31
• Ohio State 16 0146 36

Illinois
See also: 2018 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
Illinois at Nebraska
1 234Total
Illinois 14 7014 35
• Nebraska 21 1779 54

Michigan State
See also: 2018 Michigan State Spartans football team
Michigan State at Nebraska
1 234Total
Michigan State 3 003 6
• Nebraska 0 009 9

at Iowa
See also: 2018 Iowa Hawkeyes football team and Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry
Nebraska at Iowa
1 234Total
Nebraska 7 6015 28
• Iowa 7 1473 31

Big Ten Awards

Player of the Week Honors
Weekly Awards
Player Award Week Awarded Ref.
Adrian Martinez Big Ten Freshman of the Week Week 8 [39]
Adrian Martinez Big Ten Freshman of the Week Week 10 [40]
Devine Ozigbo Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Week 11 [41]
Adrian Martinez Big Ten Freshman of the Week Week 11 [41]
Barret Pickering Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week Week 12 [42]

All-Conference Awards

2018 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards[7]

References
  1. Gleeson, Scott (January 8, 2018). "Top coaches will be honored at AFCA Awards Show". USA Today. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  2. "Football – 2018 Schedule". Huskers.com. University of Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  3. McKweon, Sam (December 18, 2017). "Scott Frost got a quarterback fast — he must get it right, too". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  4. "Nebraska sees 10-point lead slip away in OT loss to Northwestern". ESPN.com. October 13, 2018.
  5. "2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  6. Bland, Evan (March 8, 2019). "'Hopefully they like what they saw': After NFL combine snub, Devine Ozigbo tests well at NU's Pro Day". Omaha World-Herald.
  7. 2018 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards
  8. writer, Sam McKewon / World-Herald staff. "Nebraska fires football coach Mike Riley after three seasons". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  9. "Nebraska hiring Scott Frost as new head coach". SI.com. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  10. "Nebraska Recruiting: Early Signing Period Weekend Wrap-up". Cornnation.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  11. "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best". lottimpacttrophy.org. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  12. "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  13. "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  14. "Ray Guy Award preseason watch list unveiled". July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  15. "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  16. "2018 Nominations The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award" (PDF). August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  17. "Nebraska football schedule, rankings and history". Dataomaha.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  18. "Nebraska and Akron Football Cancelled Due to Weather". Twitter/Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site. September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018. Nebraska Huskers on Twitter: The game vs. Akron has been cancelled. We will open our season against Colorado next Saturday.
  19. "Nebraska Announces Addition to 2018 Football Schedule". Nebraska Athletics Official Website. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  20. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Colorado (September 8, 2018 at Lincoln, NE)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  21. "Colorado vs. Nebraska – Box Score". ESPN.com. September 8, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
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  25. "Nebraska vs. Michigan – Box Score". ESPN.com. September 22, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
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  27. "Purdue vs. Nebraska – Box Score". ESPN.com. September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  28. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Wisconsin (October 6, 2018 at Madison, WI)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  29. "Nebraska vs. Wisconsin – Box Score". ESPN.com. October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  30. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Northwestern (October 13, 2018 at Evanston, IL)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  31. "Nebraska vs. Northwestern – Box Score". ESPN.com. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  32. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Minnesota (October 20, 2018 at Lincoln, NE)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  33. "Minnesota vs. Nebraska – Box Score". ESPN.com. October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  34. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Bethune-Cookman (October 27, 2018 at Lincoln, NE)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  35. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Ohio State (November 3, 2018 at Columbus, OH)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  36. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Illinois (November 10, 2018 at Lincoln, NE)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  37. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Michigan State (November 17, 2018 at Lincoln, NE)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  38. "Scoring Summary (Final), 2018 Nebraska Football, Nebraska vs. Iowa (November 23, 2018 at Iowa City,IA)" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Athletics. November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  39. "Big Ten Players of the Week". Big Ten Conference. October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  40. "Big Ten Players of the Week". Big Ten Conference. November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  41. "Big Ten Players of the Week". Big Ten Conference. November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  42. "Big Ten Players of the Week". Big Ten Conference. November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
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