In the 2015 Nebraska Cornhuskers football season, the team finished 5–7 in the regular season, their 39–38 win over playoff team Michigan State being the most notable. Though not bowl eligible based on their regular-season record, the Cornhuskers went to the Foster Farms Bowl and beat UCLA 37–29. The team finished 4th in the Big Ten West division at the end of the season. On July 23, 2016, senior punter and returning starter Sam Foltz was killed in a single-car crash in Waukesha County, Wisconsin following serving as staff for a training camp for high school kickers and punters. Former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler was also killed; LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye was also in the accident but sustained only non-life-threatening injuries.
Departures
The offensive line had 7 departures, prompting heavy recruiting of offensive line players out of high school. Departures included:
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Notes
Maliek Collins
#7
DT
6'2
300
Junior
Kansas City, MO
Left early for NFL Draft
Greg McMullen
#90
DT
6'3
300
Junior
Akron, OH
Retired from football
Vincent Valentine
#98
DT
6'3
320
Junior
Edwardsville, IL
Left early for NFL Draft
Taariq Allen
#7
WR
6'3
200
Senior
Weston, MA
Graduated
Tyson Broekemeier
#9
QB/P
6'1
200
Senior
Aurora, NE
Graduated
Sam Burtch
#9
WR
6'3
200
Senior
Murdock, NE
Graduated
Jamal Turner
#10
WR
6'0
190
Senior
Arlington, TX
Graduated
Jonathan Rose
#14
CB
6'2
195
Senior
Leeds, AL
Dismissed from team
Joe Keels
#19
DE
6'3
265
Senior
Kenosha, WI
Graduated
Anthony Ridder
#22
DB
6'2
205
Senior
West Point, NE
Graduated
Daniel Davie
#23
CB
6'1
190
Senior
Beatrice, NE
Graduated
Byerson Cockrell
#28
DB
6'0
185
Senior
Columbus, MS
Graduated
Imani Cross
#32
IB
6'1
240
Senior
Gainesville, GA
Graduated
Andy Janovich
#35
FB
6'1
230
Senior
Gretna, NE
Graduated
Zach Sterup
#57
OL
6'8
320
Senior
Hastings, NE
Graduated
Matt Finnin
#59
OL
6'7
305
Senior
Crete, IL
Graduated
Ryne Reeves
#65
OL
6'3
300
Senior
Crete, NE
Graduated
Chongo Kondolo
#70
OL
6'5
300
Senior
Carrollton, TX
Graduated
Alex Lewis
#71
OL
6'6
290
Senior
Tempe, AZ
Graduated
Chris Long
#75
OL
6'4
300
Senior
Blair, NE
Graduated
Givens Price
#78
OL
6'4
310
Senior
Houston, TX
Graduated
David Sutton
#86
TE
6'3
255
Senior
Lincoln, NE
Graduated
Jack Gangwish
#95
DE
6'2
265
Senior
Wood River, NE
Graduated
Transfers
Outgoing
Incoming
*Player is not eligible to play in 2016 season due to transfer regulations **Son of Nebraska WR coach Keith Williams †Walk-on transfer
72,992 fans attended the Nebraska spring game, continuing the streak of 60,000+ in attendance for Nebraska spring games since 2008. Unlike previous spring games, the teams did not trade the ball but Team Red was the offense and Team White was the defense for the entire game. Additionally, the scrimmage used a unique scoring system that allowed the defense to score and rewarded plays that would otherwise be non-scoring in a normal football game. At the end of the game, Kyle Kasun intercepted the ball as the time expired, allowing the white team to win. The final score was White 46–41. Tommy Armstrong Jr., Ryker Fyfe and Patrick O'Brien all played at quarterback for team Red.
Nebraska opened the 2016 season with a non-conference matchup against Fresno State at Memorial Stadium. The game marked the start of the second season for head coach Mike Riley. The game marked the completion of a three-game series with Fresno State. The Huskers defeated Fresno State in Lincoln 42–29 in 2011 before winning on the road in Fresno 55–19 in 2014. These three games are the only meetings between the Huskers and Bulldogs in program history. Before the game, there was a tribute to the late Nebraska punter Sam Foltz, who was killed in a car crash in July. Before their first punt, the Huskers observed a moment of silence for Foltz by sending only 10 players onto the field with no punter waiting for the snap. A delay of game penalty was called on the Huskers, which the Bulldogs declined.
Wyoming
Sources:*Sources:
Series Record
Previous Meeting
Previous Winner
7–0
August 31, 2013
Nebraska, 37–34
The 2016 edition of the Nebraska–Wyoming series marked the 8th meeting between the two neighboring state programs. Nebraska entered the game with a perfect 7–0 all-time record against the Wyoming Cowboys. Senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw three touchdown passes during this matchup, in which he set the record for most career touchdown passes in the Nebraska program history, surpassing Taylor Martinez's previous record of 56. The Cornhuskers defeated the Cowboys 52–17 in front of a crowd of 89,895, the stadium's 349th consecutive sellout.
Oregon
Sources:*Sources:
Series Record
Previous Meeting
Previous Winner
5–1
September 27, 1986
Nebraska, 48–14
Nebraska and Oregon played for the 7th time between the two programs on September 17, 2016 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Ducks went for the two point conversion after every touchdown, only succeeding once, early in the game. Nebraska went on to win the game 35–32, giving Oregon their first loss of the season, and Nebraska their third win to improve their record to 3–0. Nebraska had 428 total offensive yards the whole game, and the Ducks had 482. The Cornhuskers will travel to Eugene, Oregon in the 2017 season to face the Ducks at Autzen Stadium, game 2 of the home-and-home series between the two programs.
Northwestern
Sources:
Series Record
Previous Meeting
Previous Winner
6–3
October 24, 2015
Northwestern, 30–28
Nebraska opened conference play with their first road game of the season in Evanston, Illinois against Northwestern. The Cornhuskers won the contest by a score of 24–13. Early in the game, I-back Terrell Newby fumbled the ball at the sideline near the end zone, resulting in a touchback, giving Northwestern the ball. In the second quarter, Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson ran the ball 42 yards for a touchdown. Thorson also had a 24-yard touchdown pass to Austin Carr in the 3rd quarter. Nebraska will play the Wildcats at home in 2017 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Nebraska played its second conference game at home against the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 1, 2016. Nebraska beat the Illini by a score of 31–16, claiming their 5th win on the season to make the Cornhuskers 5–0.
Indiana
Sources:
Series Record
Previous Meeting
Previous Winner
7–9–3
September 30, 1978
Nebraska, 69–17
Purdue
Sources:
Series Record
Previous Meeting
Previous Winner
2–2
October 31, 2015
Purdue, 55–45
Wisconsin
Sources:
Series Record
Previous Meeting
Previous Winner
4–6
October 10, 2015
Wisconsin, 23–21
Nebraska played the Wisconsin Badgers on October 29, 2016 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers entered the game ranked at #7 in the AP Poll, while Wisconsin sat not far behind at #11. The game was the 11th game in the series, Wisconsin winning the previous matchup, 23–21 in Lincoln on October 10, 2015. Wisconsin won the game 23–17 in overtime. Wisconsin scored first in overtime, but missed the extra point attempt. Nebraska failed to score after, allowing Wisconsin to win the game. The all-time series record is now 7–4 in Wisconsin's favor.
Ohio State
Sources:
Series Record
Previous Meeting
Previous Winner
1–3
October 6, 2012
Ohio State, 63–38
Minnesota
Sources:
Series Record
Previous Meeting
Previous Winner
23–31–2
October 17, 2015
Nebraska, 48–25
Maryland
Sources:
Nebraska went undefeated at home for the first time in 4 years thanks to their win over Maryland.
