A week in Husker history
The week of Oct. 9-15, looking back in five-year intervals
1901: The badly outweighed Cornhuskers take a 19-0 beating at Minnesota, but the Nebraska fan migration is one for the books.
1906: Gil McDonald’s 40-yard run on a trick play sets up the only touchdown as Nebraska survives a scare from Drake, 5-0. Football’s new rules are blamed for the lack of scoring.
1911: Substitute halfback George Racely, a sprinter on the track team, stars in Nebraska’s 59-0 romp over Kansas State, scoring on runs of 75, 59, 48 and 40 yards.
1916: Nebraska’s defense shines but the offense sputters in a 14-0 win against Kansas State. The Cornhuskers turn their attention to their lengthy trip to Portland, Ore.
«1921: The Cornhuskers swamp Haskell in Lincoln, 41-0. Clarence Swanson showed his versatility by intercepting a pass, kicking five extra points and editing the game program.
1926: Missouri’s Bert Clark scores second-quarter touchdowns on a punt return and a deflected pass to send the Huskers to a 14-7 defeat. NU came up inches short of tying the game in the second half.
1931: George Sauer scores two long-range touchdowns in the fourth quarter to lift Nebraska to a 13-0 win over Oklahoma. It was the first home start for the sophomore fullback from Lincoln High, a future College Football Hall-of-Famer. | Also, the Huskers’ Hugh Rhea gets national attention for his two-sport exploits.
Bud Wilkinson fields a Nebraska punt and laterals to Andy Uram, who takes it 77 yards for a touchdown with 68 seconds left for a 7-0 Minnesota win.
1936: Gopher Magic strikes, with future Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson playing a key role, as the Huskers lose a heartbreaker to heavily favored Minnesota, 7-0, on a punt return with just 68 seconds left.
1941: Five Huskers score touchdowns as Nebraska routs Kansas, 32-0.
1946: NU’s strong start isn’t enough as Iowa defeats the visiting Huskers, 21-7.
1951: The Huskers give Penn State a tough game before falling, 15-7. John Bordogna, bumped from the starting quarterback slot, rushed for more than 100 yards at halfback.
1956: Kansas State, loser of its first three games by a combined 127-7, stuns the Huskers in Lincoln, 10-7.
1961: Aided by three pass interceptions, Syracuse lays a 28-6 licking on the Huskers. One consolation was that Thunder Thornton outrushed Syracuse All-American Ernie Davis, 133 yards to 120. Davis would win the 1961 Heisman Trophy.
1966: Middle guard Wayne Meylan blocks a punt for a touchdown for the second week in a row as Nebraska holds off Kansas State, 21-10.
1971: Nebraska dominates on both sides of the ball for a 36-0 win at Missouri
1976: Dave Butterfield blocks a chip-shot field goal in the fourth quarter to keep Colorado from retaking the lead, and Nebraska pulls away for a 24-12 victory in Boulder.
1981: In Turner Gill’s first start at QB, the offense enjoys a record-setting day in a 59-0 rout of Colorado.
1986: Rod Smith’s punt return for a touchdown highlights the Huskers’ 30-10 win over Oklahoma State. Meanwhile, Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne talk steroids.
1991: Quarterback Keithen McCant and I-back Derek Brown have big games as Nebraska rolls at Oklahoma State, 49-15.
1996: Nebraska outyards Baylor 405-28 in the first half and cruises to a 49-0 win.
2001: Four Huskers rush for 100-plus yards each as Nebraska crushes Baylor in Waco, 48-7.
2006: Nebraska uses a strong running game and a stifling defense defeat Josh Freeman and Kansas State, 21-3. Also, Lawrence Phillips faces a lengthy prison term after being convicted of assault.
2011: Defensive tackle Jared Crick’s Husker career comes to an early end because of a torn pectoral muscle.
2016: After jumping to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, Nebraska uses a fourth-down gamble and a late interception to hold off Indiana in Bloomington, 27-22. The Huskers are now 6-0 for the first time since 2001.
2021: A fumble in the final two minutes foils Nebraska’s chance for a signature win, and ninth-ranked Michigan prevails, 32-29.
