2011Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Capital One Bowl, L 13–30 vs.South Carolina
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	Legends Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 24
AP	No. 24
Record	9–4 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bo Pelini (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Beck (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Carl Pelini (4th season)
Base defense	4–2
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 2010 2012 →

The2011 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln in the2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cornhuskers were coached byBo Pelini and played their home games atMemorial Stadium inLincoln, Nebraska. This season was Nebraska's first in theBig Ten Conference in the Legends Division as they moved from theBig 12 Conference to the Big Ten following the conclusion of the 2010 season. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in Big Ten play to finish in third place in the Legends Division. They were invited to theCapital One Bowl where they were defeated bySouth Carolina 30–13.

The 2011 football season marks Nebraska's entrance into theBig Ten Conference.

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Ameer Abdullah RB	Homewood, Alabama	Homewood	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	4.51	Jan 20, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Taariq Allen WR	Weston, Massachusetts	Rivers	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.54	Oct 26, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Mauro Bondi K	Boca Raton, Florida	West	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	N/A	Jan 30, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Joe Carter DE	Aiken, South Carolina	Chaffey CC	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	N/A	Jan 28, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Daniel Davie S	Beatrice, Nebraska	Beatrice	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	4.32	Jun 17, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Aaron Green RB	San Antonio, Texas	Madison	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	4.44	Oct 27, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Charles Jackson CB	Klein, Texas	Collins	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.4	Oct 30, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Ryan Klachko OL	Springfield, Illinois	Sacred Heart-Griffin	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	5.47	Apr 7, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Tyler Moore OT	Clearwater, Florida	Countryside	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	5.07	Oct 10, 2009
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Todd Peat DT	Tempe, Arizona	Corona del Sol	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	300 lb (140 kg)	5.04	Feb 2, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Max Pirman OLB	Orrville, Ohio	Orrville	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	4.69	Nov 15, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Givens Price OT	Houston, Texas	Taylor	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	278 lb (126 kg)	5.09	Dec 6, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Ryne Reeves OG	Crete, Nebraska	Crete	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	286 lb (130 kg)	5	Jun 10, 2009
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
David Santos LB	Klein, Texas	Collins	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	4.55	Jul 31, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Daimion Stafford S	Norco, California	Chaffey CC	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	4.46	May 19, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Bubba Starling QB	Gardner, Kansas	Gardner Edgerton	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	4.5	Jun 19, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Zach Sterup OT	Hastings, Nebraska	St. Cecilia	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	5	Jun 22, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
David Sutton TE	Lincoln, Nebraska	Southeast	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	4.60	Jan 30, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Jamal Turner QB	Arlington, Texas	Sam Houston	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.5	Jan 28, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Kevin Williams DT	Holland, Ohio	Springfield	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	4.9	Apr 19, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    ESPN:
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: 23   Rivals: 15   ESPN: 16
‡ Refers to40-yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Yahoo! Sports: Rivals.com 2011 Nebraska Commitments". Rivals. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2011. "Scout.com 2011 Nebraska Commitments". Scout. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2011. "ESPN 2011 Nebraska Commitments". ESPN. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2011. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. RetrievedFebruary 19, 2011.

• Note:Bubba Starling opted to play professional baseball with theKansas City Royals rather than play baseball and football with Nebraska.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	2:30 p.m.	Chattanooga*	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska	BTN	W 40–7	84,883
September 10	6:00 p.m.	Fresno State*	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska	BTN	W 42–29	85,101
September 17	2:30 p.m.	Washington*	No. 11	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska	ABC/ESPN	W 51–38	85,110
September 24	6:30 p.m.	atWyoming*	No. 9	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, Wyoming	Versus	W 38–14	32,617
October 1	7:00 p.m.	at No. 7Wisconsin	No. 8	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, Wisconsin (College GameDay)	ABC	L 17–48	81,384
October 8	7:00 p.m.	Ohio State	No. 14	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska	ABC	W 34–27	85,426
October 22	2:30 p.m.	atMinnesota	No. 13	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis	ABC/ESPN2	W 41–14	49,187
October 29	11:00 a.m.	No. 9Michigan State	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska	ESPN	W 24–3	85,641
November 5	2:30 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska	BTN	L 25–28	85,115
November 12	11:00 a.m.	at No. 12Penn State	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, Pennsylvania	ESPN	W 17–14	107,903
November 19	11:00 a.m.	at No. 20Michigan	No. 17	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan	ESPN	L 17–45	113,718
November 25	11:00 a.m.	Iowa	No. 22	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, Nebraska (Heroes Game)	ABC	W 20–7	85,595
January 2, 2012	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 10South Carolina*	No. 21	Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida (Capital One Bowl)	ESPN	L 13–30	61,351
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inCentral time

^[1][2]

Defense NICKEL Ciante Evans Lance Thorell ⋅ FS Damian Stafford Courtney Osborne ⋅ MIKE WILL Will Compton Lavonte David Graham Stoddard Sean Fisher Alonzo Whaley ⋅ ⋅ SS Austin Cassidy P.J. Smith ⋅ CB Alfonzo Dennard Josh Mitchell ⋅ DE DT DT DE Cameron Meredith Baker Steinkuler Jared Crick Terrence Moore Jason Ankrah Joseph Carter Chase Rome Josh Williams Eric Martin ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ CB Andrew Green Stanley Jean-Baptiste ⋅ Offense WR Kenny Bell Tim Marlowe ⋅ WR Brandon Kinnie Jamal Turner ⋅ LT LG C RG RT Jermarcus Hardrick Seung Hoon-Choi Andrew Rodriguez Mike Caputo Spencer Long Marcel Jones Jeremiah Sirles Brandon Thompson Cole Pensick Brent Qvale Tyler Moore ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ TE Kyler Reed Ben Cotton Jake Long ⋅ WR Quincy Enunwa Khiry Cooper ⋅ QB Taylor Martinez Brion Carnes ⋅ Key reserves FB Tyler Legate FB C.J Zimmerer Special teams PK Brett Maher P Brett Maher KR Ameer Abdullah PR Ameer Abdullah LS \ RB Rex Burkhead Ameer Abdullah Aaron Green Braylon Heard

This game was Nebraska's first football game as a representative of theBig Ten, and the first meeting between the Cornhuskers and theFCS Chattanooga Mocs, who are members of theSouthern Conference. The Mocs finished 2010 with a 6–5 record (5–3 in conference for a three-way tie for 3rd place), including a 24–62 defeat at the hands of #3Auburn on November 6, 2010.

Nebraska opened a series with another new foe never before met on the field, for a second consecutive week, when the Fresno State Bulldogs arrived in Lincoln. Fresno State finished the 2010 season under 14th–year Head CoachPat Hill with an 8–5 record (5–3 in theWestern Athletic Conference for 4th place), including a 17–40 postseason loss to the2010 Northern Illinois Huskies football team Huskies in the2010 Humanitarian Bowl.

When Nebraska metWashington in their September 18, 2010 non-conference match, the Cornhuskers won 56–21 in Seattle, tying the most points ever scored by a non–conference opponent inHusky Stadium, and ignitingHeisman Trophy talk around Nebraska's redshirt freshman QBTaylor Martinez. However, a mid-season ankle injury to Martinez coincided with a downturn in Nebraska's fortunes late in the season, as the Cornhuskers finished the season by losing two of the last three games, including letting a 17–3 advantage overOklahoma in the2010 Big 12 Championship Game fade into a 20–23 defeat. After the loss, Nebraska was selected for a rematch with Washington in the2010 Holiday Bowl, where an uninspired Cornhusker squad bowed to the effort and determination of the underdog Huskies and their senior QB,Jake Locker. The 7–19 postseason loss left Nebraska with three losses in the final four games of the season. This closing chapter matched a mark not seen since 2007, the final season of former Cornhusker Head CoachBill Callahan. The 2011 meeting of these teams, this time in Lincoln, was the third time Washington and Nebraska played in just under a year. The all-time series now has a one-game edge for Nebraska with a 5–4–1 record between the two teams.

Wyoming Head CoachDave Christensen led the2009 Cowboys to a 7–6 (4–4Mountain West Conference) finish in his first season, including a 35–28 defeat of Fresno State in the2009 New Mexico Bowl. However, the Cowboys slid to a disappointing 2010 final record of 3–9 (1–7), which included a 28–20 win overSouthern Utah of the FCS. Nebraska is undefeated in all five previous meetings of these teams, with a combined scoring total of 203–69. The series dates back to 1934, but this will be the first time the squads meet at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.

Nebraska opened Big Ten conference play for the first time, with a road game at Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers met a team that finished 2010 in a three-way tie for the Big Ten title and an 11–2 (7–1) record, which included a 19–21 loss to #3TCU in the2011 Rose Bowl. Following Wisconsin's 48—17 win, the series between the two schools is tied at 3–3.

This game was the third all-time meeting between Nebraska and Ohio State, and the first since 1956. The game also marked the Buckeyes' first appearance in Lincoln. In two previous three contests, Ohio State had outscored Nebraska a combined 62–27. Nebraska trailed at halftime 20–6, and would ultimately fall behind by a score of 27–6 midway through the third quarter. Nebraska's ultimate comeback began with a LaVonte David strip and fumble recovery of Ohio State quarterbackBraxton Miller. On the next play Taylor Martinez ran past the Ohio State defense for an 18-yard touchdown, the first of four unanswered touchdowns. On the subsequent Ohio State series, Miller twisted his ankle causing him to leave the game. He did not return. He was replaced byJoe Bauserman who went 1–10 passing including a costly interception. The Nebraska offense out-gained Ohio State in the second half by a total of 250 to 45 yards. With the win, Nebraska secured its first ever victory over Ohio State and as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The win also marked the largest come from behind win in school history after trailing 27–6 midway through the third quarter.^[9]

Nebraska renewed an old rivalry against the Golden Gophers, as the Cornhuskers played at TCF Bank Stadium for the first time for Minnesota's 2011 homecoming game. The last meeting was a 1990 non-conference game. First-year Minnesota Head CoachJerry Kill has taken over the squad following a 3–9 (2–6) finish in 2010. With Nebraska's 41–14 win in this contest Minnesota still holds a 29–21–2 edge in the all-time series.

Nebraska met Michigan State for the first time since the Spartans were defeated 3–17 by Nebraska in the2003 Alamo Bowl. Of special significance, that was the first Nebraska football victory under Head Coach Bo Pelini, as he served a one-game stint as interim Head Coach following the late-season dismissal ofFrank Solich in 2003. The victory added to Nebraska's undefeated record against the Spartans, moving the streak to 6–0.

Following an important Legends division win against Michigan State the previous week, Nebraska dropped a stunning 28–25 decision toPat Fitzgerald's Northwestern Wildcats. The 2011 match up between the Huskers and Wildcats marked the first contest between the two schools since the Nebraska's 66–17 victory in the 2000 Alamo Bowl. Despite the loss, Nebraska still holds a 3–2 lead in the all-time series.

The game against Penn State was surrounded by the circumstances presented in thePenn State sex abuse scandal. Allegations against the former Penn State assistant coach emerged nationally in the week leading up the game. In the wake of the scandal, Penn State head coachJoe Paterno was fired the Wednesday of game week. Penn State's contest against Nebraska marked the first Nittany Lion's game not coached by Paterno in 46 years.^[14] Before the kickoff, players from both sides met at mid–field for a prayer led by Nebraska assistant football coach Ron Brown. In the game, Nebraska led 10–0 at halftime and then extended their lead to 17–0 after taking advantage of aMatt McGloin fumble in the third quarter. Penn State rallied and had a chance to win after scoring two touchdowns and narrowing the deficit to 17–14.^[15] However, Nebraska's defense came up with two key fourth down stops to secure the victory. The game was marked with much emotion with a blue-out at Beaver Stadium in support of the alleged victims of Sandusky's crimes.

As selected by the media and coaches:

• RB – Rex Burkhead
• LB – Lavonte David
• CB – Alfonzo Dennard
• PK – Brett Maher
• P – Brett Maher

• Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year: Alfonzo Dennard CB
• Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year: Lavonte David LB
• Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year: Brett Maher K/P
• Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year: Brett Maher K/P
• Big Ten Sportsmanship Award: Jared Crick DT
• Big Ten Freshman of the Year: Ameer Abdullah RB/KR/PR

Media related to2011 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team at Wikimedia Commons

• 2011 Big Ten Conference football season
• Nebraska Cornhuskers football seasons
• 2011 in sports in Nebraska

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Pages using CFB schedule with named parameters
• Articles with hCards
• Commons category link from Wikidata