The Cornhuskers were led by tenth-year head coach Bob Devaney and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
In the years since, the 1971 Nebraska team has been cited by some sports pundits as the greatest in college football history.
RT Bell, John #31 (Jr.) MG Beran, Mike #62 (Jr.) RG Blahak, Joe #27 (Jr.) LCB Borg, Randy #19 (So.)
RCB Branch, Jim #51 (Jr.) LB Brownson, Van #12 (Sr.) QB Butts, Randy #36 (So.)
HB Olds, Bill #44 (Jr.) FB Pabis, Bob #66 (Sr.) MG Peetz, Mike #33 (So.)
The Nebraska reserves were on the field in the 4th quarter, working under a comfortable 34-0 lead, when a fumbled punt allowed Oregon to put in a late score to avoid the shutout with 3 minutes to play.
The Blackshirt Defense stymied Oregon's highly-touted passing attack of Dan Fouts to Bobby Moore, who changed his name to Ahmad Rashad in 1973.
All of Oklahoma State's entire scoring was picked up in the last 2 minutes against Nebraska reserves, making the game appear closer than it was, if 41-13 can be called close.
The Buffaloes did manage a 3rd-quarter touchdown on a broken play, but Nebraska matched it and easily held on for the win.
The Cornhuskers held Iowa State to just 105 yards of offense and had no trouble holding the Sun Bowl-bound Cyclones off the scoreboard for another shutout.
Oklahoma and Nebraska battled back and forth in the Game of the Century in front of a sold-out crowd in Norman and over 55 million viewers on ABC-TV on Thanksgiving Day.
Nebraska struck first with a 72-yard Johnny Rodgers punt return, but Oklahoma pulled ahead by 3 by halftime.
The Cornhuskers came back strong in the third quarter with two more touchdowns, but the Sooners responded with two of their own to retake the lead with only 7:10 remaining.
Down by 3 points, the Huskers went on a final drive and with only 1:38 remaining, Jeff Kinney scored his fourth touchdown of the day for the lead and the win.
[9][10][11] Almost 1/3 of the fans in the relatively sparse crowd were dressed in red and rooting for the Cornhuskers, as Nebraska handily won this game almost as an afterthought to the vacation in Honolulu.
In the 1972 Orange Bowl, the Huskers battled a #2 team for the second time this season, but Alabama hardly posed the challenge that the Oklahoma Sooners had been, as Nebraska sent the Crimson Tide to the locker room at the half trailing by an embarrassing 28-0.
Alabama managed a feeble third-quarter touchdown but failed in the following 2-point conversion and never scored again, while Nebraska responded with 10 more points of their own to close the game and ended the season as national champions for the second consecutive year and exact revenge for losses to Alabama in the 1966 Orange Bowl and 1967 Sugar Bowl.
[12] Jerry Tagge finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1971,[13]teammate Johnny Rodgers would win in 1972.