The Cornhuskers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska and were led by head coach Bo Pelini.

Nebraska's defense held the Red Wolves out of the end zone except for a single touchdown and field goal, while the Cornhusker offense was able to gain yardage.

This was the first time Nebraska had met the Arkansas State Red Wolves, who finished the 2008 season 6–6 (4–3) for a 3rd place tie with Florida Atlantic in the Sun Belt Conference, although they were not invited to a postseason bowl game.

This game was also Nebraska's 300th consecutive sellout of Memorial Stadium (an ongoing NCAA record), and the Cornhuskers wore 'throwback'-style uniforms based on the team's 1962 appearance from when the NCAA-record streak began, to commemorate the milestone.

Nebraska smothered Louisiana Lafayette in front of an all-time Memorial Stadium record crowd, piling up 55 points while posting their first shutout since a 56–0 pasting of Troy in 2006.

In a game that nearly was canceled twice—once by torrential rains, possible lightning hazards, and potential flooding, and again when a power outage darkened the stadium less than an hour before kickoff—Nebraska tied an all-time 4th-quarter comeback record, previously set in 1966, when the Cornhusker offense overcame the weather and penalties to roll off 27 unanswered points.

The teams combined for 11 punts and two fumbles in the first half, with Missouri's safety early in the second quarter and a last-second touchdown just before halftime for the only points on the board.

With electrical problems persisting and scoreboards remaining dark throughout the night, the Cornhuskers attempted to regroup during the half in a locker room without lights.

Protecting an 8-point lead, and with the stands quickly emptying of rain-soaked Tiger fans, Nebraska tried to run the ball for short gains in order to let the clock tick down.

Nebraska's hopes for redemption following last year's heartbreaking loss in Lubbock against the then-#7 Texas Tech Red Raiders fell short as the Cornhuskers never found a groove in their offensive output, even after changing quarterbacks for much of the second half.

The Cornhusker defensive effort was outstanding, holding the unranked Red Raiders to just 259 yards, less than half of their season average.

Although the offensive unit outgained Texas Tech with 285 total yards of its own, penalties and miscues took a heavy toll that could not be overcome.

Nebraska's abrupt move to the Big Ten Conference would take effect for the 2011 season, leaving this series under the control of the Cornhuskers at 7–4.

First-year Iowa State Head Coach Paul Rhoads said about the game, "When you don't win in a stadium on the road since 1977, it's big.

As part of the effort to provide a spark to its nonproductive offense, true freshman quarterback Cody Green made his first start and notched his first win against the Bears in Waco.

Although highly touted Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh had been making the most noise over the course of the season, to the point of generating early Heisman talk, it was DT Jared Crick who dominated Baylor, racking up seven additional tackles for loss and a school record five sacks, for a total of 13 tackles (10 solo), as well as a fumble recovery.

Baylor managed a single field goal and a defensive touchdown off of an interception a short time later in the third quarter to end the scoring.

Just as with the Texas Tech game, it was not known at the time that this would be the last conference meeting between these teams, and the regular series drew to a close with Nebraska in command 11–1.

This game also turned out to be the unplanned final regular season conference meeting between these programs in their storied historical rivalry, and the Sooners and Cornhuskers parted ways with Oklahoma owning the series edge 44–38–3.

Roy Helu Jr. ran 26 times for 95 yards and a touchdown, and Nebraska defeated Kansas State 17–3 to win the Big 12 North.

Three scoring opportunities were lost when Keithen Valentine fumbled at the Nebraska 1 and Josh Cherry missed field goals of 51 and 32 yards.

The Wildcats, trailing by two touchdowns, drove to the Nebraska 25 in the last 4 minutes, but Ndamukong Suh and Barry Turner teamed up to sack Gregory.

Colorado elected to receive to start, and the Cornhusker defense prevented them from getting further than their own 21-yard line on all four of their first-quarter possessions, setting the tone for the game.

The Nebraska offense, still struggling to find a productive groove, was rendered ineffective by Texas, gaining only 106 yards on the day and scoring all 12 points on field goals.

However, the highly productive Longhorn offense led by Heisman-candidate Colt McCoy found itself struggling to make progress against the blackshirts.

Texas' subsequent 4th down field goal gave the Longhorns a league title by the narrowest margin in Big 12 championship history.

Nebraska committed seven penalties for 55 yards, but managed to hold Arizona off of the scoreboard entirely, and posted the first Holiday Bowl game shutout.

Despite periods of fan outcries about Nebraska's offensive struggles, news of his injury had deliberately been withheld during the season to prevent opposing teams from using the specific knowledge to their advantage.