2004 Outlook: Part 3

Nebraska Head Coach Bill Callahan
Coach Bill Callahan (Illinois Benedictine, 1978) is the 27th head coach in Nebraska history, after being named to the post on Jan. 9, 2004. Callahan took control of the Nebraska program after two seasons as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. He guided Oakland to the AFC Championship and Super Bowl XXXVII in his rookie season as a head coach in 2002, and compiled a 17-18 overall record as the Raiders' head man.

Callahan is one of five coaches to take a collegiate head coaching job after previously guiding a team to the Super Bowl appearance. Army Head Coach Bobby Ross is also active in the college ranks, while George Allen, Forrest Gregg and Bill Walsh previously led teams to the Super Bowl and returned to the college game.

The 47-year-old Callahan has spent the past nine years in the National Football League, beginning his pro coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1995 to 1997. He served as an assistant with the Raiders for four seasons from 1998 to 2001, before taking over the top job in Oakland in 2002.

Callahan has extensive experience at the collegiate level. Before moving into the professional ranks, Callahan served as the offensive line coach at Wisconsin for five seasons and also had assistant coaching stints at Illinois, Northern Arizona and Southern Illinois.

A native of Chicago, Callahan earned his bachelor's degree from Illinois Benedictine in 1978. He was an NAIA honorable-mention selection as a quarterback in each of his final two seasons.

Callahan Looks to Continue Tradition of Success for First-Year Husker Coaches
The Nebraska football program has a history of success under first-year head coaches. Bill Callahan is the 27th coach in the 115-year history of the program, but just the fourth head coach since the start of the 1962 season.

Each of Nebraska's past three head coaches began their Husker coaching career with nine-win campaigns. Bob Devaney posted a 9-2 record and led NU to the Gotham Bowl in 1962, following six consecutive losing seasons; Tom Osborne guided the Huskers to a 9-2-1 record and Cotton Bowl bid in 1973, and Frank Solich's first squad in 1998 finished 9-4 and played in the Holiday Bowl.

Huskers' Championship Staff Has Diverse Background,

Tradition of Recruiting Excellence
Nebraska's coaching staff includes coaches who spent last season in six collegiate conferences, including the Big 12 (Scott Downing, Turner Gill), Big Ten (Kevin Cosgrove, Phil Elmassian), SEC (John Blake), Mountain West (Bill Busch), Western Athletic (Dennis Wagner) and Big East (Dave Kennedy). In addition to Callahan, Randy Jordan and Jay Norvell also joined the NU staff after coaching in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders last season.

Callahan's Nebraska coaching staff features four coaches who have either played or coached in the Super Bowl. Callahan and Norvell coached in Super Bowl XXXVII with Oakland, and running backs coach Randy Jordan was a player on that team. John Blake was part of the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl championship teams in both 1993 and 1995.

In addition to the NFL success of the above-mentioned coaches, Callahan's staff has a history of winning championships at the collegiate level. Members of the Nebraska coaching staff have been part of teams that have captured league titles in each of the following conferences?Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10 and Western Athletic.

The staff has recruiting ties in nearly every part of the United States. ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Lemming compiled a list of the 10 best recruiters in college history in 2001. Callahan was included on the list although he had been out of the college ranks for six years at that time. Husker Associate A.D. Tim Cassidy was on Lemming's Top 10 recruiters (current college coaches) in 1999, and Kevin Cosgrove and Turner Gill were listed as "other big-time recruiting names."

Secondary to None
The Nebraska defensive backfield returns three starters for the 2004 season?free safety Josh Bullocks, strong safety Daniel Bullocks and cornerback Fabian Washington. Also back is fifth-year senior Lornell McPherson who has played in 38 games and made nine starts during his Husker career.

The secondary has earned recognition for its talents. The Sporting News listed the unit as the top defensive backfield in the nation, while Lindy's ranks the unit second and Athlon Sports tabs the NU secondary sixth. Josh Bullocks earned first-team All-America honors last season when he intercepted a school-record 10 passes. This summer, Bullocks has been named to nearly every first-team All-America list and is a leading contender for the Thorpe Award. Washington was a third-team All-Big 12 pick last season and is listed as the No. 1 corner in the conference and No. 6 cornerback in the country by The Sporting News heading into the 2004 season.

Numbers back up the preseason hype. As a group the Bullocks' brothers, McPherson and Washington have played in 115 career games at Nebraska with a combined 61 starts. They have also combined to intercept 27 passes, led by Josh Bullocks' 11 picks, and break up 45 passes, including 23 by Washington. McPherson is the only senior among the group, while the other three all have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

The Blackshirts have a history of outstanding defensive backs, but never before has a Nebraska defense featured a secondary with a chance to make such a significant dent in the school record book.

Josh Bullocks enters the season third on the Nebraska career interception list with 11 picks, three behind career leader Dana Stephenson and just one pick behind Bret Clark, who is second with 12 interceptions. Washington's eight career interceptions are just one outside the top 10, while McPherson has the top 10 in his sights with six career picks, including four in 2004.

The 1969 Husker team featured a threesome that completed their careers with 33 interceptions (Stephenson, 14; Bill Kosch, 10; Jim Anderson, 9), while Kosch, Anderson and Joe Blahak were all members of the 1970 and 1971 national championship teams and completed their careers with a combined 29 interceptions. Josh Bullocks, Washington and McPherson need nine combined interceptions this fall to become the top trio of teammates in career interceptions.

The 19 combined interceptions of Josh Bullocks and Fabian Washington are Nebraska's most since teammates Mike and Ralph Brown combined for 20 career interceptions from 1996 to 1999. Stephenson and Kosch were teammates on the 1969 team and finished their careers with a combined 24 picks.

Ruud Adds to Family Tradition
Nebraska senior Mike linebacker Barrett Ruud had a record-setting 2003 campaign when he racked up 149 tackles, the most ever in a season by a Husker defender. Ruud had 78 unassisted tackles among his total, the second most in a season in Nebraska history, trailing only 2003 teammate Demorrio Williams who racked up 83 unassisted tackles.

The 6-2, 240-pound Ruud enters his senior year just 53 tackles behind Nebraska career tackle leader Jerry Murtaugh, who collected 342 tackles from 1968 to 1970. During his record-setting 2003 season, Barrett Ruud raced past his father, Tom, on the Nebraska career tackles list.Tom Ruud finished his Husker career (1972-74) with 202 career tackles, including a team-leading 104 tackles in 1974.

The father-son Ruud combination own several Husker defensive milestones.

• Tom and Barrett Ruud are the only father-son combination to both lead Nebraska in tackles in a single season.
• The Ruud's are the only family combination to both rank in the top 25 on Nebraska's career tackles list.
• Barrett and Tom Ruud have a combined 491 career tackles entering Barrett's senior season.

In addition to Tom and Barrett Ruud, several other family members have made their mark at Nebraska. Barrett's great-grandfather, Clarence Swanson, was an all-conference selection during his Nebraska career (1918-21), while two of Barrett's uncles, Bob Martin (1973-75) and John Ruud (1978-79) also played for Nebraska. This fall, the Ruud family connection grows, as Barrett's younger brother, Bo, will be a redshirt freshman Sam linebacker and could line up alongside his brother.

Koch Looks to Add to Walk-On Punting Heritage
Junior Sam Koch has one of the toughest tasks of any Husker entering the 2004 season. A walk-on from Seward, Neb., Koch will be asked to replace three-year starter and 2003 All-American Kyle Larson as Nebraska's starting punter. Larson closed his Nebraska career in outstanding fashion, averaging a school-record 45.1 yards per punt last season.

The situation Koch faces is one that is not new to the Husker punting position. Nebraska has had four straight walk-on punters since 1995, and each of them has performed admirably. Jesse Kosch was Nebraska's starting punter for three straight seasons from 1995 to 1997 and finished his career with a 41.92-yard average to rank third on Nebraska's career punting chart.

Kosch was followed by Bill Lafleur, who started one season and ranked fifth nationally in punting in 1998 at 44.94 yards per boot. Lafleur was followed by Dan Hadenfeldt, who handled the chores in 1999 and 2000 and holds Nebraska's career punting average record at 44.54 yards on 104 career punts. Larson was not fazed by the task of replacing Hadenfeldt, as he finished his career averaging 43.67 yards on 195 career punts.

Lafleur has played the past two seasons in the National Football League, while Larson signed a free-agent contract with the Cincinnati Bengals this spring. Koch has yet to attempt a punt in his Nebraska career, but handled kickoff duties over the past seven games of last season.

Huskers to Face Seven Bowl Teams in 2004
Nebraska once again faces a challenging schedule, including the traditional grind in the rugged Big 12 Conference. Overall, the Huskers will face seven teams that participated in bowl games in 2003, including five Big 12 foes that appeared in the postseason a year ago.

The Huskers will open the Bill Callahan era against Western Illinois on Sept. 4 at Memorial Stadium. The Leathernecks are a Division I-AA power, having been to the playoffs in three of the past five seasons. The remainder of Nebraska's non-league schedule includes a pair of 2003 bowl participants.

The Huskers will complete a three-game contract with Southern Miss when the Golden Eagles travel to Lincoln on Sept. 11. The Huskers won 38-14 last season in Hattiesburg, but the Eagles rebounded to post a perfect league record and win the Conference USA, before playing in the Liberty Bowl. A trip to Pittsburgh will complete the 2004 non-conference schedule. Nebraska will visit Heinz Field on Sept. 18 to take on the Panthers, who played in the Continental Tire Bowl last fall. Pittsburgh is scheduled to travel to Lincoln on Sept. 17, 2005.

Nebraska will open Big 12 Conference action against Kansas (Tangerine Bowl) on Oct. 2 in Lincoln. Other conference home games include Baylor (Oct. 16), Missouri (Oct. 30, Independence Bowl) and Colorado (Nov. 26).

The Huskers face a difficult league road slate, traveling to Texas Tech (Oct. 9, Houston Bowl), defending league champion Kansas State (Oct. 23, Fiesta Bowl), Iowa State (Nov. 6) and 2003 South Division champ Oklahoma (Nov. 13, Sugar Bowl). Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma rotated onto the Huskers' schedule this fall, while Nebraska will not face Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State this season.

Seven of Nebraska's 2004 opponents won eight or more games last season, including Western Illinois, Southern Miss, Pittsburgh, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Construction at Memorial Stadium to Continue Throughout 2004 Nebraska is in the midst of a major building and stadium improvement project on the north end of Memorial Stadium. The $50 million project includes an addition of more than 6,000 seats to Memorial Stadium, which will raise Nebraska’s average crowd to 80,000 fans per game.

The project also includes the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex, which will include a new locker room for the Husker football program. The building also includes new football offices, a new strength complex, new training room, water therapy pools and administrative offices. The improvement project also includes a new indoor workout facility, giving the Huskers two full-sized indoor practice facilities adjacent to two outdoor grass fields. The project will not be completely finished until the 2006 season, leading to a few changes for Husker fans and opponents this fall. The demolition of the north fieldhouse has forced the relocation of opposing teams to East Stadium. Husker opponents will locker in the south end of the East Stadium and will enter Tom Osborne Field from the southeast corner. Nebraska will continue to enter the playing field from the southwest corner for the next two seasons, before moving to the North Stadium for the 2006 season.

Husker fans will also see minor changes in their game-day routine. Gate 14 on the northeast corner of the stadium has been combined with Gate 15. Fans previously using that entrance will now use Gate 15. The Husker Nation Pavilion will again be a gameday fixture in 2004, but fans will access the area through the upper entrance by the columns on the south side of Ed Weir Stadium. The previous entrance was along old Avery Avenue which is closed during construction.

1994 National Championship Team to Celebrate 10-Year Anniversary
Last season, Nebraska invited all living football letterwinners back for a grand celebration to open the season with the Husker Nation Celebration. More than 800 former players took part in the weekend of festivities, capped by a march onto the Memorial Stadium field before Nebraska's 17-7 victory over Oklahoma State.

The Nebraska football program will have a reunion of a smaller scale this fall when the 1994 national championship team gathers together the weekend of Oct. 29-30. The Huskers will host Big 12 North rival Missouri at Memorial Stadium on Saturday to culminate the weekend of activities.

The 1994 Huskers overcame injuries and adversity to give Head Coach Tom Osborne his first of three national championships. The Huskers used three starting quarterbacks in their 13-0 championship season that was capped by a 24-17 victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl. Coach Osborne and former defensive coordinator Charlie McBride have both committed to attend the weekend's festivities.

2004 Huskers Continue Nebraska Tradition of Award-Winning Excellence in Classroom
The Husker football program has a tradition of winning that can be matched by few in college football. Off the field, Nebraska has established a tradition of academic excellence that is matched by no one.

Huskers Continue to Lead Nation in Academic Honors
Nebraska continues to lead the nation in CoSIDA Academic All-Americans for all sports and all teams with 217; in first-team winners for all sports with 109; and also leads the nation in football academic honor winners with 59 first-team certificates and 81 football all-teams certificates. The 217 overall honorees is 61 better than second-place Notre Dame, while the 59 football honorees is 21 more than second-place Notre Dame's 38.

Last season, Husker seniors Pat Ricketts and Judd Davies earned second-team academic All-America honors adding to Nebraska's record total. In addition to Ricketts and Davies, linebacker Chad Sievers and strong safety Philip Bland were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII team.

The Husker football program also leads the nation with nine NCAA Today's Top Eight Award winners, 31 NCAA postgraduate scholarship winners, including Davies this spring and 20 National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes, most recently Chris Kelsay in 2002.

Kriewald, Cooper to Play 2004 Season as Graduate Students
Two members of Nebraska's 20-player senior class will compete in their senior seasons as graduate students. Fullback Steve Kriewald picked up his degree in construction management this May. Linebacker Ira Cooper was scheduled to graduate with his degree in sociology at the close of summer school in August. In addition to Kriewald and Cooper, nine Huskers are on track to finish their undergraduate work in December. Another eight are scheduled to graduate in May of 2005, putting 19 of 20 Husker seniors on track to earn their degrees by next spring.

4.0 GPAs not Uncommon to Husker Football Team
Three Husker players carry a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average into the fall semester. Senior linebacker Chad Sievers (business administration) has completed his first eight semesters of college without a blemish on his report card. In addition to Sievers, sophomore offensive lineman Kurt Mann and sophomore fullback Dane Todd have each completed four semesters of college with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.

During the spring 2004 semester, a total of seven players had 4.0 grade-point averages. Joining the three players listed above were quarterback Garth Glissman, defensive lineman Nathan Krug, safety Brandon Rigoni and safety Blake Tiedtke. A total of nine players had perfect 4.0 semesters in the fall of 2003.

NU Places 26 Players on Big 12 Academic Teams
Nebraska regularly sets the pace on academic All-Big 12 teams. Twenty Huskers were named to the first-team academic All-Big 12 team in 2003, the most of any school in the conference. Sievers was the only Big 12 football student-athlete with a cumulative 4.0 grade-point average. Six other Huskers were named second-team academic All-Big 12 picks.

Seniors Judd Davies, Trevor Johnson and Pat Ricketts were honored for the fourth time during their careers, while Phil Peetz was picked for the third time. The Huskers have nine returning first-team academic all-league picks for 2004, including Sievers, DT Titus Adams, PK Sandro DeAngelis, CB Kellen Huston, TE Dusty Keiser, OL Brandon Koch, WR Jack O'Holleran, LB Barrett Ruud and SS Shane Siegel. Fullback Steve Kriewald and wideout Ross Pilkington return after earning second-team honors.

Nebraska has also led the way on the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. After placing 84 players on the squad in the fall of 2003, 53 players earned the distinction in the spring of 2004. The honor roll recognizes all student-athletes who earned a 3.0 grade-point average or better in the previous semester.

Huskers Top Big 12 in Graduation Rates
Nebraska has led the Big 12 in graduation rates four times since the conference was formed eight years ago. In addition, Nebraska’s Exhausted Eligibility Graduation Rate increased for the fifth consecutive year and is currently a Big 12-leading 91 percent. The Exhausted Eligibility Rate surveys the graduation of scholarship student-athletes who entered the University of Nebraska from 1988 through 1997 and exhausted their athletic eligibility at Nebraska.

Nebraska’s football averages are higher than the national average and are higher than the general student population at UNL as well. Nebraska’s one-class average for football students entering school in 1997 is 72 percent, which is ahead of UNL's 59 percent for all students. Nebraska was one of 30 schools honored by the American Football Coaches Association, when the school received the 2004 Academic Achievement Award in late June. Nebraska was recognized for graduating 70 percent or more of its football student-athletes from the freshman class of 1998-99, as its graduation rate was 77 percent.

Two members of this year’s senior class have already earned their degree with nine more set to pick up their diplomas in December.

Nebraska Tops Elite Programs in Consistency
Nebraska ranks third among Division I-A schools in all-time football victories with 781 wins. The Huskers have the nation’s best record since 1962, posting a 415-88-5 record in the last 42 seasons. In that period, Nebraska has easily been the most consistent program in the nation. That is evident when comparing the Huskers’ record to the other nine programs among the top 10 in all-time victories.

The Huskers have had just three seasons since 1962 with eight or fewer victories. Eight of the other nine schools in the top 10 have had at least 15 seasons with eight or fewer wins in that span. Nebraska’s last losing season occurred in 1961. Michigan has not had a losing record since 1967, but the other eight schools on the all-time top 10 wins list have all had losing seasons since 1988, including six programs with losing campaigns in the past seven seasons.

Nebraska finished 10-3 last fall and was one of seven of the nation's top 10 all-time programs that finished the season nationally ranked.

Unprecedented Winning Tradition Continues
Nebraska, the nation's third-winningest program all time (fourth by percentage), boasts a 781-311-40 record in 1,132 games (.708) in 114 years of football. In the last 35 years, NU is tops, posting a record of 347-70-5 for an .828 winning percentage (422 games), an average of nearly 10 wins per year.

NU has won 10-or-more games 24 times since 1962, has gone undefeated and untied through the regular season seven times, played in 13 national title games (for at least one of the teams) and won the championship five times. Since the first Nebraska season in 1890, Husker teams have won 11 or more games 12 times, including seven of the last 11 years. NU has won 12 or more games seven times, and 13 games three times (1971, 1994 and 1997).

Nebraska (702), Michigan (705), Alabama (728) and Notre Dame (736) were the only four programs to win 700 games in the 1900s. NU became the first Division I team to win 100 or more games in consecutive decades, ranking first in the 1980s (103-20-0, .837) and second in the 1990s (108-16-1, .890) and posted a nation’s best 309-56-5 record in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

NCAA Record 262 Consecutive Sellouts
Nebraska boasts an incredible NCAA-record 262 consecutive sellouts at Memorial Stadium. The sellout streak dates back to Hall of Fame Coach Bob Devaney's first year in 1962 (vs. Missouri on Nov. 3). Notre Dame is second in all-time consecutive sellouts with 173, 89 fewer than Nebraska.

The Huskers are 233-29 during the 262 sellouts. The mark includes a 38-20 record against ranked teams. Nebraska is 5-0 in the five milestone sellouts during that period (50th, 100th, 150th, 200th and 250th sellouts), including a 24-7 win over No. 2 Colorado on Oct. 29, 1994 (No. 200) and a 44-13 victory over Utah State on Sept. 7, 2002 (No. 250).

The fan support at Memorial Stadium has led to a dominant home advantage for the Huskers in Lincoln. Nebraska has won at least six home games in each of the past 17 seasons and is a remarkable 145-13 at Memorial Stadium since 1981, with eight of those losses coming against teams that finished the season ranked in the top eight of the Associated Press poll.

Nebraska will play host to six home games in 2004, which should bring the sellout streak to 268 games by season's end.

Huskers Look to Continue Season-Opening Success in Callahan's Debut
Nebraska will open the Bill Callahan era on Sept. 4 at Memorial Stadium against Western Illinois. The Huskers have a history of opening the season in winning fashion, coming out on the winning end in their last 18 season openers since a 17-13 setback at the hands of Florida State to open the 1985 season. Nebraska's 18-game win streak in season openers is best in the nation. The Huskers have won each of those 18 games by 10 points or more. In fact, Nebraska has won 39 of 42 home openers since Bob Devaney took over the Husker program in 1962.

Huskers To Bid for NCAA-Record 36th Consecutive Bowl Appearance in 2004 Campaign
Nebraska’s visit to the 2003 Mastercard Alamo Bowl marked the Huskers’ 35th consecutive bowl game, the nation's longest current consecutive streak and an all-time NCAA record. Michigan’s streak of consecutive bowl appearances reached 29 last year, the second-longest streak in NCAA history. Nebraska's 42 overall bowl appearances is tied for fourth best with USC, trailing Alabama's 51, Tennessee’s 44, and Texas’ 43.

Nebraska played the first of its 42 bowls in the Rose Bowl, when No. 7 Nebraska lost to No. 2 Stanford, 21-13, following the 1940 season. NU's 35 consecutive bowls began with a 45-6 win over Georgia in the 1969 Sun Bowl. The Huskers are 21-21 all-time in bowl games.

NU Owns 42 Consecutive Winning Regular Seasons
The Huskers' 10-3 record in 2003 marked Nebraska's 42nd consecutive winning regular season and its 41st winning season in the last 42 years. Nebraska saw its streak of 40 consecutive winning seasons end with a 7-7 mark in 2002. Nebraska’s streak of 40 consecutive winning seasons fell two years short of Notre Dame’s NCAA-record run of 42 straight winning campaigns from 1889 to 1932.

The Huskers boast 42 consecutive winning regular seasons and 42 straight years with a .500 or better finish. Nebraska’s 42 straight non-losing seasons is tied for second all-time in NCAA Division I-A, with Notre Dame's 42 (1889-1932), trailing only Penn State’s 49 (1939-87). Since Nebraska’s 42-year .500-or-better streak began, the Huskers have averaged nearly 10 wins per season with a 415-85-5 record (.827).

Nine Wins a Regular Occurrence for Huskers
Nebraska’s amazing run of nine-win seasons came to an end at 33 consecutive years in 2002. The streak is even more remarkable when considering that Texas and Miami now share the lead for most consecutive nine-win seasons with six apiece.

The 33-year nine-win streak becomes even more impressive when comparing it to the best stretches among other college football powers. Texas’ current run of six consecutive nine-win seasons is the longest in its proud history. Miami reeled off 10 straight nine-win campaigns spanning the 1980s and 1990s and Florida State had a 14-year streak that ended in 2000.

However, among a group of other long-time powers, including Notre Dame, Penn State, Oklahoma, Michigan and Ohio State, the longest streak of nine-win seasons is eight years by both Oklahoma and Ohio State.

Nebraska has won nine-or-more games in 39 of the past 42 seasons. Only back-to-back 6-4 records in 1967 and 1968, and a 7-7 mark in 2002, have fallen short of the nine-win plateau.

Huskers Among Leaders in AP National Titles
Notre Dame leads the nation by winning eight Associated Press national titles since 1936, with Oklahoma (7), Alabama (6), Miami (5), Nebraska (4) and Minnesota (4) rounding out the top five. While the Huskers were awarded the national title by the coaches in 1997, NU finished second to Michigan in the AP poll. In 1970, NU was awarded the AP national title, but not the coaches (Texas was first, Ohio State second and NU third) as the final poll was released before the bowl games were played. In the coaches poll (since 1950), Nebraska is tied for third with USC and Miami with four titles, behind Alabama and Oklahoma with six apiece.

NU Leads Conference in Crowns
Nebraska and Oklahoma are the only teams to capture two Big 12 titles in the first eight years of the Big 12 Conference. The Huskers won titles in 1997 and 1999, and appeared in the league title game in 1996. Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas State have also made three Big 12 title game appearances. In the last 11 seasons, Nebraska has won five conference crowns (three Big Eight, two Big 12). Nebraska has won 43 football conference championships overall, including eight under Coach Bob Devaney, 13 under Coach Tom Osborne and one under Frank Solich.

Oklahoma has won 35 conference championships to ranks second behind NU among conference schools.

All-Americans Call Nebraska Home
Free safety Josh Bullocks and punter Kyle Larson are the latest players to add their names to Nebraska's prestigious list of All-Americans, receiving honors in 2003. Larson was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, while Bullocks was tabbed by The Sporting News.

Larson and Bullocks' All-America selections added to Nebraska’s long list of All-Americans, beginning with tackle Vic Halligan in 1914. The Huskers have had at least one All-American in all but two (1991, 1998) of the past 34 years. Overall, Nebraska has seen 92 different players earn first-team All-America honors from at least one recognized source with 14 winning double honors for a total of 106 first-team awards. Nebraska had its most All-Americans in one season when six Huskers earned first-team honors in the 1971 national championship campaign. The offensive line is Nebraska’s most honored position, with 26 players earning 31 first-team All-America certificates.

Huskers a Fixture in National Polls
Nebraska was unranked entering the 2003 season, marking the first time since 1969 that Nebraska entered a season unranked in the Associated Press poll. The Huskers took care of that unusual situation in just one week. NU’s 17-7 victory over Oklahoma State moved the Huskers into the polls, and the Huskers appeared in each of the remaining 16 polls for the 2003 campaign.

The Huskers’ move back into the national polls last season came after an absence from the AP weekly polls for 12 straight weeks. Entering the 2004 season, Nebraska has now been ranked in 538 of 553 AP polls since 1969 (all but one week in 1977, two weeks in 1981, the final 11 weeks of 2002 and the 2003 preseason poll). Additionally, Nebraska has been ranked in the AP top 10 for at least one week in each of the last 34 seasons and 40 of the last 41 years.

The Huskers saw an AP Poll record streak of 348 consecutive weeks in the poll end after a 2002 loss at Iowa State. Nebraska appeared in every weekly poll from Oct. 17, 1981, to Sept. 22, 2002.

Memorial Stadium Magic
Nebraska’s record home sellout streak is testament to the Huskers playing in front of the nation’s best college football fans. On the field, Nebraska has rewarded the loyalty of the Husker Nation with incredible success at Memorial Stadium through the years.

Nebraska had a nation-leading 26-game home winning streak end with a loss to Texas in November, 2002. The loss ended the third-longest home winning streak in school history and Nebraska’s third home win streak of 20 games or more since 1980, including a school-record 47-game home winning streak from 1991 to 1998.

The Huskers finished 6-1 at home in 2003, and have now won at least six home games in each of the past 17 seasons. Nebraska is 101-6 at home the last 16 years, including a pair of losses to teams that went on to win shares of the national championship?Colorado in 1990 and Washington in 1991.

The Huskers are 468-125-20 (.780, 613 games, 114 years) in Lincoln, 343-102-13 (.763, 458 games, 81 years) in Memorial Stadium (since 1923). The 2002 season marked the first time Nebraska has lost two home games (Texas, Colorado) in a season since 1980.

Since 1986 (18 seasons), NU is 112-8 in Lincoln, with losses to Colorado (twice), Washington, Oklahoma (twice), Texas (twice) and Kansas State. Nebraska has not been shut out at home since a 12-0 loss to Kansas State in 1968 (228 games). NU has posted 40 unbeaten and untied home seasons. Husker faithful set a new attendance record in Memorial Stadium in 2002 against Texas with 78,268 fans.

Nebraska A Regular Supplier to NFL
Nebraska had five players selected in the 2004 NFL Draft, led by Demorrio Williams who was a fourth-round selection. In addition to Williams, Jammal Lord (Houston), Josh Sewell (Denver), Trevor Johnson (New York Jets) and Ryon Bingham (San Diego) had their names called during the 2004 draft. Six other Huskers signed free-agent contracts with NFL teams after the draft.

The Huskers had a total of 42 former players on NFL rosters at the start of 2003 training camps and 35 players on rosters at the close of the season. In all, 19 teams had at least one former Husker on their 2003 opening day rosters, with Kansas City, Houston, St. Louis and Oakland each having three former Huskers on their opening rosters. Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro offensive guard Will Shields and Oakland Raiders defensive tackle John Parrella are Nebraska's most experienced NFL veterans, both entering their 12th season in the league in 2004.

Huskers Come From Near and Far
Nebraska has a great tradition of keeping the top in-state talent at home to play for the Cornhuskers. However, with a relatively small population base of just 1.7 million people, Nebraska looks to both ends of the United States and beyond for recruits, and that is reflected in a look at the Husker roster.

Sixty-four of 119 players (54 percent) on Nebraska’s 2004 preseason roster call the Cornhusker State home. Omaha leads the way with 13 players on this year’s roster, with 11 players from Lincoln staying within the city limits to play for Nebraska. Omaha Central High School and Lincoln Southeast High School are regular suppliers of talent to Lincoln, and are well-represented in 2004. Seven current Huskers are from Southeast, while six players graduated from Omaha Central.

Nebraska is just one of 24 states represented on the 2004 roster. Texas is home to nine Huskers, while Colorado and California are just behind with five each. From the international ranks, Nebraska has representation from Canada (Sandro DeAngelis) and Germany (Isaiah Fluellen). In addition, junior offensive tackle Seppo Evwaraye is a native of Finland who was an exchange student in Laurel, Neb.

NU Remains Television Favorite
Husker fans around the country always have an excellent opportunity to view the Big Red on television. Last season, 12 of Nebraska's 13 games were televised, with seven of the contests broadcast nationally. The Huskers' seven nationally televised games were carried by four different networks, including ABC, ESPN, TBS and Fox Sports Net.

Entering the 2004 season, Nebraska has appeared on television at least 10 times in each of the last six seasons. The Huskers already have three appearances on ABC set for this fall, with several other games likely to be picked up.

Nebraska’s Scheduled TV Appearances for 2004

• Sept. 11 vs. Southern Miss, ABC, 11 a.m. (Regional)
• Sept. 18 at Pittsburgh, ABC, 11 a.m. (National)
• Nov. 28 vs. Colorado, ABC, 11 a.m. (National)

Beginning with its first TV appearance against Oregon in September of 1953, Nebraska has been on television 223 times in school history. Nebraska owns an all-time record of 153-69-1 all time on television.

• On ABC?Nebraska is 75-33 alltime on ABC and has won 46 of its last 59 ABC telecasts.
• On Fox Sports Net?Nebraska is 23-4 on Fox Sports Net. The network began televising Big 12 Conference games in 1996.
• On ESPN?Nebraska is 24-5-1 on ESPN.
• On TBS?The Huskers are 2-1 on TBS, which began broadcasting Big 12 games in 2002.

We are Family
Family is one of the first things that come to mind in the Nebraska football program. The aforementioned Ruud family is just one of the families with father-son and brother combinations represented on the 2004 Husker squad.

The brother combination list for 2004 includes: twin brothers Josh (FS) and Daniel Bullocks (2001-present); FS Dan (2000-present) and LB Jamie Burrow (1997-2001); OL Mike (2000-present) and WR Dan Erickson (2003-present); LB Adam (2001-present) and DB Matt Ickes (1998-2001); WR Mark (2002-present) and DB Chris LeFlore (2003-present); LBs Barrett (2001-present) and Bo Ruud (2003-present); CB Andrew (2002-present) and SLB Scott Shanle (1998-2002); FB DeAntae (1999-2003) and Cortney Grixby (2004-present) and LB Chad (2001-present) and TE Clayton Sievers (2004-present). In addtion, offensive lineman Cory Timm's older brother, Dustin, is a pitcher for the Husker baseball team.

Second generation Huskers include the Burrows (father Jim played in 1974-75 and was a graduate assistant for NU); LBs Bo and Barrett Ruud (father Tom played in 1972-74 and Ruud’s great-grandfather Clarence Swanson played for NU from 1918 to 1921 and is a member of the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame); DE Ty Steinkuhler (father Dean played in 1981-83 and swept both the Outland Trophy and Outland Award in 1983); SS Shane Siegel (father Robert played basketball for NU in 1974-77); OL Newton Lingenfelter (father Bob played for NU in 1975-75-76).

Getting to the Points
The look of Nebraska's offense will change in 2004 with a switch to the West Coast Offense. However, the end goal remains the same?putting points on the scoreboard, something Nebraska has never found difficult. The Huskers have a long history of ranking among the nation’s leaders in scoring offense and have posted some amazing offensive numbers.

• NU has averaged more than 35 points a game 15 times in the last 18 years.
• NU has averaged 40-or-more points eight times since 1982, including four of the last nine seasons.
• Entering 2004, the Huskers have ranked among the nation's top 10 in scoring average 22 of the last 26 years (since 1978) and finished first on four occasions (1982, 1983, 1994 and 1997).
• Nebraska is 305-2 all time when scoring 35-or-more points, losing only to Oklahoma, 49-35, in 1950 and at Colorado, 62-36, in 2001. Before the loss at Colorado in 2001, NU had won 236 consecutive games when scoring 35-or-more points.
• The last time the Huskers were shut out was a 19-0 loss at Arizona State in 1996. Nebraska has since scored in 102 straight games.
• Nebraska has not been shut out at home since Kansas State shut out the Huskers, 12-0, on Homecoming in 1968 (228 games).
• The Huskers have been shut out just five times since 1962, including once at home during that span. The Huskers have not been shut out by a conference opponent since a 27-0 loss at Oklahoma in 1973. NU was shut out by Miami in the 1992 Orange Bowl (22-0), the only time the Huskers have been shut out in a bowl game.
• The Huskers have scored 30-or-more points in six of their last nine bowl games, including a school and NCAA bowl-record 66 vs. Northwestern in the 2000 Alamo Bowl.
• Nebraska posted two shutouts in 2003, and has 102 shutouts in school history.