1953 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
|
1 |
2 |
Total |
| • Oregon
|
|
|
20 |
| Nebraska |
|
|
12 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
Total |
| Miami |
|
|
16 |
| • Nebraska
|
|
|
20 |
-
Date: October 17
-
Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska
-
Game attendance: 39,000
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Kansas |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| • Nebraska
|
0 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
8 |
-
Date: October 31
-
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
-
Game attendance: 33,000
|
-
Date: November 7
-
Location: Clyde Williams Field • Ames, Iowa
-
Game attendance: 12,000
|
The 1953 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska and member of the Big 7 Conference in the 1953 college football season. The team was coached by Bill Glassford and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Coach Glassford's fifth year began with uncertainty, as no clear pattern had yet emerged as to what to expect from the program under his leadership. After alternating losing and winning seasons since his arrival, any relief the Cornhusker faithful had felt at the improvement in fortunes since the dismal 1940s was fading as expectations held out for greater successes along the lines of what the program had been known for since its beginning. The coaching staff remained essentially intact with just one change as a former Pittsburgh head coach joined the program as an assistant.
Oregon arrived in Lincoln for the second-ever meeting of the programs following last year's 28-13 Nebraska victory in Eugene. The Cornhuskers came out flat, and gave up two turnovers to the Ducks in the first quarter, both of which were converted into points. Nebraska managed only one meaningful drive during the entire contest, and Oregon departed having dealt the Cornhuskers a home-field loss to start the 1953 campaign.
The Cornhuskers traveled to Champaign to renew a series last contested in 1925, facing a favored Illinois team. The single-wing formation shown by coach Glassford against Oregon was nowhere to be found as Nebraska came out in the classic T-formation, to everyone's surprise. A heavy air attack was also mounted against the unsuspecting Fighting Illini, and the Cornhuskers ran out to a 21-7 lead as the game clock began to wane. Illinois mounted a final counterattack that was enough to storm back and tie the game up at 21, but they could not produce an outright win. Nebraska was now 5-2-1 against the Fighting Illini all-time. Illinois went on the finish the season 7-1-1 and ranked #7 by the AP Poll.
An untimely fumble was all it took to spark Kansas State, as the Wildcats promptly converted the turnover into a touchdown. Kansas State never looked back and reeled off a total of 27 unanswered points. The flat Nebraska squad was thoroughly humiliated, as the Wildcats set new series records for most points scored on Nebraska and largest margin of victory. Even through the painful 1940's Nebraska had still managed to win eight of ten Kansas State games in that decade, and ten in a row against the Wildcats overall, before this completely demoralizing defeat. The win was just the fifth ever for Kansas State against the Cornhuskers in all 37 attempts.
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Wikipedia
