1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

American college football season

1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football

Conference| Independent
Record| 10–0
Head coach|

* Walter C. Booth (4th season)

Captain| John R. Bender
Home stadium| Antelope Field

Seasons

← 1902

1904 →

1903 Midwestern college football independents records

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |   | L |   | T |  |  | W |   | L |   | T
Nebraska |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 11  | – | 0  | – | 0
North Dakota |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 7  | – | 0  | – | 0
Central Michigan |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 6  | – | 0  | – | 0
Notre Dame |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 8  | – | 0  | – | 1
Iowa State |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 8  | – | 1  | – | 0
Marquette |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 7  | – | 1  | – | 0
Lake Forest |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 6  | – | 1  | – | 0
North Dakota Agricultural |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 5  | – | 1  | – | 0
Haskell |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 7  | – | 2  | – | 0
St. Xavier |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 7  | – | 2  | – | 0
Fairmount |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 6  | – | 2  | – | 0
Wabash |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 9  | – | 3  | – | 0
Wittenberg |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 5  | – | 2  | – | 1
Doane |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 2  | – | 1  | – | 0
Northern Illinois State |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 4  | – | 2  | – | 0
American Medical |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 6  | – | 3  | – | 0
Kansas |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 6  | – | 3  | – | 0
Drake |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 5  | – | 3  | – | 0
Kirksville Osteopaths |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 5  | – | 3  | – | 0
Iowa State Normal |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 4  | – | 3  | – | 1
Ohio Medical |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 5  | – | 4  | – | 0
Lincoln (MO) |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 1  | – | 1  | – | 0
Michigan State Normal |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 4  | – | 4  | – | 0
Washington University |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 4  | – | 4  | – | 2
Heidelberg |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 3  | – | 4  | – | 2
Kansas State |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 3  | – | 4  | – | 1
Detroit College |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 3  | – | 4  | – | 0
Shurtleff |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 2  | – | 4  | – | 1
Ohio |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 2  | – | 4  | – | 0
South Dakota Agricultural |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 1  | – | 2  | – | 0
Mount Union |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 2  | – | 5  | – | 1
DePauw |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 2  | – | 6  | – | 1
Miami (OH) |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 1  | – | 4  | – | 0
Missouri |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 1  | – | 7  | – | 1
Western Illinois |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 0  | – | 3  | – | 1
Cincinnati |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 1  | – | 8  | – | 0
Baldwin–Wallace |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 0  | – | 1  | – | 0
Buchtel |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 0  | – | 2  | – | 0
Butler |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 0  | – | 3  | – | 0
Chicago P&S |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 0  | – | 4  | – | 0

The 1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska as an independent during the 1903 college football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Walter C. Booth, the Cornhuskers compiled a record of 10–0, excluding one exhibition game. Nebraska played home games at Antelope Field in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Nebraska went undefeated for the second straight season, setting a new program record with 22 consecutive victories. One newspaper of the time wrote "Nebraska occupies a unique position in western football. Too strong to find fearful competitors, the Cornhuskers can almost weep with Alexander the Great because they have no more teams to conquer."[1]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 19| Lincoln High School|

* Antelope Field
* Lincoln, NE

| W 23–6 (exhibition)| |
September 26| Grand Island|

* Antelope Field
* Lincoln, NE

| W 64–0| |
October 3| South Dakota|

* Antelope Field
* Lincoln, NE

| W 23–0| |
October 10| at Denver| Denver, CO| W 10–0| |
October 17| Haskell|

* Antelope Field
* Lincoln, NE

| W 16–0| 3,000| [2]
October 24| Colorado|

* Antelope Field
* Lincoln, NE (rivalry)

| W 31–0| |
October 31| at Iowa|

* Iowa Field
* Iowa City, IA (rivalry)

| W 17–6| | [3]
November 7| Knox (IL)|

* Antelope Field
* Lincoln, NE

| W 33–5| |
November 14| at Kansas|

* Central Park
* Lawrence, KS (rivalry)

| W 6–0| |
November 21| Bellevue|

* Antelope Field
* Lincoln, NE

| W 52–0| |
November 26| Illinois|

* Antelope Field
* Lincoln, NE

| W 16–0| |

[4]

## Coaching staff

[edit]

Coach[5][6] | Position  | First year  | Alma mater

|
|
|

Walter C. Booth | Head coach | 1900 | Princeton
John Westover | Assistant coach | 1904 | Nebraska
Jack Best | Trainer | 1890 | Nebraska

## Roster

[edit]

[7]

Bell, Johnny HB
Bender, John R. HB
Benedict, Maurice QB
Borg, Charles C
Briggs LT
Clark PLAYER
Cortelyou, Spencer E
Cotton, Charles RG
Eager, Earl HB
Engelhart, William FB
Follmer, Eugene E
Graves, Elliot HB
Hunter, Fred RG
Lantz HB
Lesh, W.W. G
Marsh, Earl HB
Mason, Cyrus LT
Mason, John FB
Mickel, Oliver FB
Perry, F.D. T
Ringer, John LG
Robertson, Claud RT
Shedd, Charlie E
Thorpe, Orley E
Tobin, John G
Wilson, Harry LT

## Game summaries

[edit]

### Lincoln High

[edit]

Lincoln High at Nebraska

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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|
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Lincoln High |  |  | 6
• Nebraska |  |  | 23

* Date: September 19
* Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

In their sixth exhibition meeting, the Lincoln high schoolers managed to put points on the board against the Cornhuskers for the first time, remarkably ending Nebraska's run of 10 straight shutout victories. Unsurprisingly, though, the University put up more, and pushed the perfect series record to 6-0.[8]

### Grand Island

[edit]

Grand Island at Nebraska

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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|
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Grand Island |  |  | 0
• Nebraska |  |  | 64

* Date: September 26
* Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

Nebraska amassed nearly 800 yards of offense against Grand Island in the first meeting between the schools, the tenth straight shutout by the Cornhuskers defense.[8][9]

### South Dakota

[edit]

South Dakota at Nebraska

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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|
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South Dakota |  |  | 0
• Nebraska |  |  | 23

* Date: October 3
* Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

Nebraska faced South Dakota for the first time in four years, dominating the Coyotes.[8][9]

### At Denver

[edit]

Nebraska at Denver

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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• Nebraska | 0 | 10 | 10
Denver | 0 | 0 | 0

* Date: October 10
* Location: Denver, CO

Nebraska had 685 yards of offense to Denver's 15 in the first meeting between the schools. Frequent turnovers and a muddy playing surface likely prevented the Cornhuskers from scoring more than ten points.[8][9]

### Haskell

[edit]

Haskell at Nebraska

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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Haskell |  |  | 0
• Nebraska |  |  | 16

* Date: October 17
* Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE
* Game attendance: 3,000

Nebraska dominated Haskell in the 100th game in NU history. Some historical records mention this as the first game in which a Nebraska mascot appeared, in this case a bulldog wearing a scarlet and cream blanket, though records suggest NU may have used a white bull terrier painted half red as a mascot as far back as 1893.[8][9]

### Colorado

[edit]

Colorado at Nebraska

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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Colorado |  |  | 0
• Nebraska |  |  | 31

* Date: October 24
* Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

See also: Colorado–Nebraska football rivalry

Nebraska outgained Colorado 314 to 37 in the third game of the rivalry.[8][9]

### At Iowa

[edit]

Nebraska at Iowa

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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• Nebraska |  |  | 17
Iowa |  |  | 6

* Date: October 31
* Location: Iowa City, IA

See also: Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry

After three years without facing the Hawkeyes, Nebraska traveled to Iowa City for the first time. Nebraska's 14-game shutout streak ended after a fumble and penalty allowed Iowa to punch in a touchdown from NU's 2-yard line. Nebraska still won the game for its 18th straight victory.[8][9]

### Knox

[edit]

Knox at Nebraska

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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Knox |  |  | 5
• Nebraska |  |  | 33

* Date: November 7
* Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

[8][9]

### Kansas

[edit]

Nebraska at Kansas

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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|
|

• Nebraska | 0 | 6 | 6
Kansas | 0 | 0 | 0

* Date: November 14
* Location: Central Park, Lawrence, KS

See also: Kansas–Nebraska football rivalry

Kansas presented the stiffest challenge of the season for the Cornhuskers, who did not score until minutes remained in the game. That touchdown was enough to win as NU shut out the Jayhawks 6–0.[8][9]

### Bellevue

[edit]

Bellevue at Nebraska

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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|
|

Bellevue |  |  | 0
• Nebraska |  |  | 52

* Date: November 21
* Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

[8][9]

### Illinois

[edit]

Illinois at Nebraska

Team | 1 | 2| Total

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|
|

Illinois | 0 | 0 | 0
• Nebraska | 0 | 16 | 16

* Date: November 26
* Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

Nebraska managed just 58 yards in a scoreless first half, but the Cornhuskers produced 276 yards and 16 points in the second half to defeat the Fighting Illini.[8][9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Husker Football History" (PDF). University of Nebraska–Lincoln Athletics Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
2. ^ "Reds Shut Out". The Sunday State Journal. Lincoln, Nebraska. October 18, 1903. pp. 1–2. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
3. ^ "Corn Huskers Win Big Game: Iowa Defeated by Nebraska in Remarkable Fight". Daily Iowa State Press. November 2, 1903. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
5. ^ "Nebraska head coaches". HuskerMax. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
6. ^ "1902 Sombrero - University of Nebraska Yearbook". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
7. ^ "Nebraska Football 1903 Roster". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "the 1900s". HuskerMax. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "1903 Game Recaps". Husker Press Box. Retrieved November 14, 2009.[permanent dead link]

* v
* t
* e

Nebraska Cornhuskers football

Venues|

* Lincoln Park (1891–1892)
* M Street Park (1892–1896, 1908–1909)
* Antelope Field (1897–1907)
* Nebraska Field (1909–1922)
* Memorial Stadium (1923–present)

Rivalries|

* Colorado
* Iowa
* Iowa State
* Kansas
* Kansas State
* Miami (FL)
* Minnesota
* Missouri
* Oklahoma
* Wisconsin

Games|

* Bowl games
* 1922 vs. Notre Dame
* 1959 vs. Oklahoma
* 1971 vs. Oklahoma ("Game of the Century")
* 1982 vs. Penn State
* 1997 vs. Missouri ("Flea Kicker")
* 2001 vs. Oklahoma ("Black 41 Flash Reverse")

Culture and lore|

* History (under Tom Osborne)
* Herbie Husker
* Lil' Red
* "Dear Old Nebraska U"
* "Hail Varsity"
* "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A."
* "Sirius"
* Blackshirts
* Cornhusker Marching Band
* Fumblerooski
* I formation
* Option
* Sellout streak
* Team Jack

People|

* Head coaches
* All-Americans
* College Football Hall of Fame inductees
* Honors and awards
* NFL draftees
* Starting quarterbacks
* Statistical leaders
* Yearly statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
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* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
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* 1903
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* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
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National championship seasons in bold
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*[Conf.]: Conference record
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