Following Saturday night’s 34-3 Husker victory over Northern Illinois, the Nebraska has started its season 3-0 for the first time since 2016.
Even though the last year of Mike Riley, the Scott Frost years and the first year of Matt Ruhle resulted in losing records, the 2016 team was coached by Riley who started the season with seven straight victories.
Bob Devaney, Tom Osborne, Frank Solich, Bill Callahan, and Bo Pelini all had seasons that started both gallantly and poorly.
Let’s look back at the past 62 years and how each team started the season.
The Devaney Era:
1962: 6-0. Then lost to Missouri in Lincoln, 16-7.
1963: 3-0. Then lost to Air Force in Lincoln, 17-13.
1964: 9-0. Then lost at Oklahoma, 17-7.
1965: 10-0. Lost national title game to Alabama, 39-28, in the Orange Bowl.
1966: 9-0. Then lost at Oklahoma, 10-9.
1967: 3-0. Then lost at Kansas, 10-0.
1968: 3-0. Then lost to Kansas in Lincoln, 23-13.
1969: 0-1. Lost season opener to USC in Lincoln, 31-21.
1970: 1-0. Then tied USC in Los Angeles, 21-21.
1971: 13-0. Perfect season and National Champions.
1972: 0-1. Lost season opener at USC, 20-17.
The Osborne Era:
1973: 4-0. Then lost at Missouri, 13-12.
1974: 1-0. Then lost at Wisconsin, 21-20.
1975: 10-0. Then lost at Oklahoma, 35-10.
1976: 0-0-1. Tied LSU in season opener at Baton Rouge, 6-6.
1977: 0-1. Lost season opener to Washington State in Lincoln, 19-10.
1978: 0-1. Lost season opener at Alabama, 20-3.
1979: 10-0. Then lost at Oklahoma, 17-14.
1980: 3-0. Then lost to Florida State in Lincoln, 18-14.
1981: 0-1. Lost season opener at Iowa, 10-7.
1982: 0-2. Then lost at Penn State, 27-24.
1983: 12-0. Lost national title game to Miami, 31-30 in the Orange Bowl.
1984: 3-0. Then lost at Syracuse, 17-9.
1985: 0-1. Lost season opener to Florida State in Lincoln, 17-13.
1986: 6-0. Then lost at Colorado, 20-10.
1987: 9-0. Then lost to Oklahoma in Lincoln, 17-7.
1988: 2-0. Then lost at UCLA, 41-28.
1989: 8-0. Then lost at Colorado, 27-21.
1990: 8-0. Then lost to Colorado in Lincoln, 27-12.
1991: 2-0. Then lost to Washington in Lincoln, 36-21.
1992: 2-0. Then lost at Washington, 29-14.
1993: 11-0. Lost national title game to Fla. State, 18-16, in the Orange Bowl.
1994: 13-0. Perfect season and National Champions.
1995: 12-0. Perfect Season and National Champions.
1996: 1-0. Then lost at Arizona State, 19-0.
1997: 13-0. Perfect season and National Champions.
The Solich Years:
1998: 5-0. Then lost at Texas A&M, 28-21.
1999: 6-0. Then lost at Texas, 24-20.
2000: 7-0: Then lost at Oklahoma, 31-14.
2001: 11-0: Then lost at Colorado, 62-26.
2002: 3-0. Then lost at Penn State, 40-7.
2003: 5-0. Then lost at Missouri, 41-24.
The Callahan Years:
2004: 1-0. Then lost to Southern Mississippi in Lincoln, 21-17.
2005: 4-0. Then lost to Texas Tech in Lincoln, 34-31.
2006: 2-0. Then lost at USC, 28-10.
2007: 2-0. Then lost to USC in Lincoln, 49-31.
The Pelini Era:
2008: 3-0. Then lost to Virginia Tech in Lincoln, 35-30.
2009: 2-0. Then lost at Virginia Tech, 16-15.
2010: 5-0. Then lost to Texas in Lincoln, 20-13.
2011: 4-0. Then lost at Wisconsin, 48-17.
2012: 1-0. Then lost at UCLA, 36-30.
2013: 2-0. Then lost to UCLA in Lincoln, 41-21.
2014: 5-0. Then lost at Michigan State, 27-22.
The Riley Years:
2015: 0-1. Lost season opener to BYU in Lincoln, 33-28.
2016: 7-0. Then lost at Wisconsin, 23-17, in overtime.
2017: 1-0. Then lost at Oregon, 42-35.
The Frost Years:
2018: 0-1. Lost to Colorado, 33-28. Huskers began the season 0-6.
2019: 1-0. Then lost at Colorado, 34-31, in overtime.
2020: 0-1. Lost season opener at Ohio State, 52-17.
2021: 0-1. Lost season opener at Illinois, 30-22.
2022: 0-1. Lost season opener vs. Northwestern in Ireland, 31-28
The Matt Ruhle Years:
2023: 0-1. Lost at Minnesota, 13-10.
2024: 3-0. The future looks bright!