Despite a 27–22 record, Callahan's tenure is considered to be a failure. He led the Cornhuskers to two losing seasons in four years. He also finished ranked in a major poll only once in four years after the Huskers had only finished unranked once since 1962. Streaks such as 35 straight years in a bowl game and decades of consecutive wins against Kansas were lost in his 4 year tenure. He was 1–10 against teams ranked in the Top 25, 27–2 in games in which he led at halftime, 0–17 in games in which he trailed at halftime, 25–21 against Division I opponents, 15–18 against the Big 12, and coached the program its only two losing seasons (out of 4 seasons at Nebraska) in 46 years. "Sports Illustrated" named Callahan as the worst coaching hire of the decade in college football. Exacerbating Cornhusker fans' consternation with Bill Callahan's tenure at the university was his insistence that he had "done an excellent job in every area."