1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

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.

1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Conference	Independent
Record	10–0
Head coach	Walter C. Booth (4th season)
Home stadium	Antelope Field

1903 Midwestern college football independents records

	Conf							Overall
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

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."

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
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
October 24	Colorado	Antelope Field Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	W 31–0
October 31	at Iowa	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 17–6
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

Coaching staff

Coach	Position	First year	Alma mater
Walter C. Booth	Head coach	1900	Princeton
John Westover	Assistant coach	1904	Nebraska
Jack Best	Trainer	1890	Nebraska

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

Game summaries

Lincoln High

Lincoln High at Nebraska

1 2 Total 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.

Grand Island

Grand Island at Nebraska

1 2 Total 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.

South Dakota

South Dakota at Nebraska

1 2 Total 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.

At Denver

Nebraska at Denver

1 2 Total • 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.

Haskell

Haskell at Nebraska

1 2 Total 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.

Colorado

Colorado at Nebraska

1 2 Total 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.

At Iowa

Nebraska at Iowa

1 2 Total • 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.

Knox

Knox at Nebraska

1 2 Total Knox 5 • Nebraska 33 Date: November 7 Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

Kansas

Nebraska at Kansas

1 2 Total • 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.

Bellevue

Bellevue at Nebraska

1 2 Total Bellevue 0 • Nebraska 52 Date: November 21 Location: Antelope Field, Lincoln, NE

Illinois

Illinois at Nebraska

1 2 Total 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.