1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Encyclopedia
The 1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1903 college football season
. The team was coached by Walter C. "Bummy" Booth
and played their home games at Antelope Field in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
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.
The Grand Island College team suffered the wrath of the Cornhuskers after Nebraska's shutout streak was ended the previous week, as the Cornhuskers rolled up almost 800 yards of offense and piled 64 points on while holding Grand Island off the scoreboard. Excluding the exhibition game, the shutout streak remained alive.
After a three-year break, Nebraska once again met South Dakota with designs to avenge the Cornhusker loss from 1899. Nebraska accumulated more than four times as many yards as South Dakota and posted yet another shutout win.
Nebraska steamrolled the University of Denver on their own field, amassing 685 yards while holding the Pioneers to just 15 yards and no points on the day. The damage would have been far worse if not for the muddy conditions leading to sloppy play and numerous turnovers. This was the first time these teams had met.
Haskell arrived in Lincoln and ended up being the next in a line of teams to be knocked off and held scoreless as the Cornhuskers rolled up the wins. Some historical records mention this game, the program's 100th, was the first game in which a Nebraska mascot dog appeared, in this case a bulldog wearing a scarlet and cream blanket, however there is a mention of a white bull terrier painted half red from a Nebraska game in 1893.
Nebraska's domination continued, as this time it was Colorado held ineffective with only 37 yards to the 314 rolled up by the Cornhuskers. Nebraska's series lead extended to 3-0 over Colorado.
Three years since their last meeting, Nebraska traveled to Iowa City to play the Hawkeyes on their own field for the first time. Iowa managed to snap the Cornhuskers shutout streak after a Nebraska fumble and subsequent penalty allowed Iowa to start from the Nebraska 2-yard line, where they were successful in getting a score. Still, Nebraska came away with the win, maintaining their unbeaten streak at 20 straight including exhibition games, and pulled ahead in the series, 5-4-2.
For the second game in a row, Nebraska allowed an opponent to score. By the time Knox reached 5 points, Nebraska already had 10, and would continue to score to pull away. Nebraska improved their record over Knox to 2-0.
Kansas presented a real challenge for the Cornhuskers, managing to hold Nebraska without points until near the end of the game. One touchdown was enough, though, as The Cornhuskers again managed to keep the other team off the board. Nebraska improved their record over the Jayhawks to 7-5.
After the relatively weak showings in the previous three games, allowing two opponents to score and one to hold the Cornhuskers to a single touchdown, Nebraska unloaded on Bellevue in the first meeting of these teams, rolling up 52 points with minimal effort.
It had been a full ten years since these teams last met, a 6-0 Nebraska victory in Lincoln, and the outcome today would be the same despite a strong defensive showing by Illinois. Nebraska only managed 58 yards in the first half, but after the break the Cornhuskers figured out the Fighting Illini and produced 276 yards and 16 points for yet another shutout, their 3rd in a row and 8th on the season. Nebraska now led the series 2-0.
At this point, Nebraska had a 24-game winning streak dating back into 1901 (including exhibition games). Coach Booth's record at Nebraska improved to 31-3-1 (.900), which also raised the program's overall record to 72-28-5 (.710). However, by being an independent program, Nebraska was unable to claim a conference title and was again snubbed for consideration for any kind of regional title.
1903 college football season
The 1903 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Michigan and Princeton as national champions....
. The team was coached by Walter C. "Bummy" Booth
Walter C. Booth
-References:...
and played their home games at Antelope Field in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
.
Before the season
Coming off an undefeated season which also featured a full schedule of shutout victories, Nebraska was intent on showing that the previous year was not a fluke. The roster grew to 26 players, up significantly from 19 in 1902.Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 19* | Lincoln High | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379.... |
W 23-6 | - |
| September 26 | Grand Island | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 64-0 | - |
| October 3 | South Dakota | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 23-0 | - |
| October 10 | at Denver Denver Pioneers The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver. They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, with most teams participating in the Sun Belt Conference. The Western Athletic Conference will become Denver's primary sports conference on July 1, 2012.The... |
Denver, Colorado Denver, Colorado The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains... |
W 10-0 | - |
| October 17 | Haskell Haskell Indian Nations University Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States... |
Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 16-0 | 3,000 |
| October 24 | Colorado Colorado Buffaloes football The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,... |
Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 31-0 | - |
| October 31 | at | Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa... |
W 17-6 | - |
| November 7 | Knox | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 33-5 | - |
| November 14 | at | Central Park • Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County... |
W 6-0 | - |
| November 21 | Bellevue Bellevue University Bellevue University is a private university located in Bellevue, Nebraska.-History:Creating a new college in Bellevue, Nebraska was No. 1 on the agenda for the Chamber of Commerce in June 1965. Local civic-leader and businessman Bill Brooks met with his fellow members of the chamber and lead the... |
Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 52-0 | - |
| November 26 | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 16-0 | - | |
| *Exhibition Game. | ||||
Roster
Bell, Johnny HB Bender, Johnny 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 |
||||||
Coaching staff
| Name | Title | First year in this position |
Years at Nebraska | Alma Mater |
| Walter C. "Bummy" Booth Walter C. Booth -References:... |
|Head Coach | 1900 | 1900–1905 | Princeton Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution.... |
| Jack Best | |Trainer | 1890 | 1890–1922 | |
| John Westover | |Assistant Coach | 1904 | 1901–1905 | Nebraska |
Lincoln High
|
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.
Grand Island
|
The Grand Island College team suffered the wrath of the Cornhuskers after Nebraska's shutout streak was ended the previous week, as the Cornhuskers rolled up almost 800 yards of offense and piled 64 points on while holding Grand Island off the scoreboard. Excluding the exhibition game, the shutout streak remained alive.
South Dakota
|
After a three-year break, Nebraska once again met South Dakota with designs to avenge the Cornhusker loss from 1899. Nebraska accumulated more than four times as many yards as South Dakota and posted yet another shutout win.
Denver
|
Nebraska steamrolled the University of Denver on their own field, amassing 685 yards while holding the Pioneers to just 15 yards and no points on the day. The damage would have been far worse if not for the muddy conditions leading to sloppy play and numerous turnovers. This was the first time these teams had met.
Haskell
|
Haskell arrived in Lincoln and ended up being the next in a line of teams to be knocked off and held scoreless as the Cornhuskers rolled up the wins. Some historical records mention this game, the program's 100th, was the first game in which a Nebraska mascot dog appeared, in this case a bulldog wearing a scarlet and cream blanket, however there is a mention of a white bull terrier painted half red from a Nebraska game in 1893.
Colorado
|
Nebraska's domination continued, as this time it was Colorado held ineffective with only 37 yards to the 314 rolled up by the Cornhuskers. Nebraska's series lead extended to 3-0 over Colorado.
Iowa
|
Three years since their last meeting, Nebraska traveled to Iowa City to play the Hawkeyes on their own field for the first time. Iowa managed to snap the Cornhuskers shutout streak after a Nebraska fumble and subsequent penalty allowed Iowa to start from the Nebraska 2-yard line, where they were successful in getting a score. Still, Nebraska came away with the win, maintaining their unbeaten streak at 20 straight including exhibition games, and pulled ahead in the series, 5-4-2.
Knox
|
For the second game in a row, Nebraska allowed an opponent to score. By the time Knox reached 5 points, Nebraska already had 10, and would continue to score to pull away. Nebraska improved their record over Knox to 2-0.
Kansas
|
Kansas presented a real challenge for the Cornhuskers, managing to hold Nebraska without points until near the end of the game. One touchdown was enough, though, as The Cornhuskers again managed to keep the other team off the board. Nebraska improved their record over the Jayhawks to 7-5.
Bellevue
|
After the relatively weak showings in the previous three games, allowing two opponents to score and one to hold the Cornhuskers to a single touchdown, Nebraska unloaded on Bellevue in the first meeting of these teams, rolling up 52 points with minimal effort.
Illinois
|
It had been a full ten years since these teams last met, a 6-0 Nebraska victory in Lincoln, and the outcome today would be the same despite a strong defensive showing by Illinois. Nebraska only managed 58 yards in the first half, but after the break the Cornhuskers figured out the Fighting Illini and produced 276 yards and 16 points for yet another shutout, their 3rd in a row and 8th on the season. Nebraska now led the series 2-0.
After the season
Nebraska wrapped up a second consecutive unbeaten season, its third overall, and had indeed become a feared power in college football. One newspaper writer 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."At this point, Nebraska had a 24-game winning streak dating back into 1901 (including exhibition games). Coach Booth's record at Nebraska improved to 31-3-1 (.900), which also raised the program's overall record to 72-28-5 (.710). However, by being an independent program, Nebraska was unable to claim a conference title and was again snubbed for consideration for any kind of regional title.