| 1970 Nebraska Cornhuskers football | |
|---|---|
AP Poll national champion FWAA national champion Big Eight champion Orange Bowl champion | |
Orange Bowl, W 17–12 vs. LSU | |
| Conference | Big Eight Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 3 |
| AP | No. 1 |
| Record | 11–0–1 (7–0 Big Eight) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Tom Osborne (2nd season) |
| Offensive scheme | I formation |
| Defensive coordinator | Monte Kiffin (2nd season) |
| Base defense | 5–2 |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Nebraska $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Oklahoma | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1970 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Bob Devaney and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The Huskers went 11–0–1 to win the first of two consecutive national championships.
The Huskers started the season at No. 9 and tied No. 3 USC in Los Angeles in the second game of the season. After winning their next nine games, including all seven in the Big Eight, Nebraska was ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the Orange Bowl against No. 5 LSU of the SEC. Top-ranked Texas and No. 2 Ohio State both lost their bowl games earlier in the day and a 17-12 Nebraska victory that night in Miami gave the Cornhuskers their first AP national championship.
Through the 1973 season, the final UPI Coaches' Poll was released in early December, before the bowl games. In 1970 it picked Texas as national champion on December 8, before the Longhorns' 24-11 loss to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year's Day. Notre Dame (10–1) finished second to Nebraska in the final AP Poll, released after the bowls in early January.
The 1970 Cornhuskers championship season was notable for Devaney's rotation of two quarterbacks - Van Brownson and Jerry Tagge - in every game throughout the season.[1][2][3]
President Richard Nixon honored Nebraska's 1970 national championship team and head coach Bob Devaney with the presentation of a presidential plaque (noting the team's No. 1 ranking in the final AP Poll and Orange Bowl victory) during a January 14, 1971, celebration at the Nebraska Coliseum.[4]