1902 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Encyclopedia
The 1902 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1902 college football season
. The team was coached by Walter C. "Bummy" Booth
and played their home games at Antelope Field in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
The Lincoln high schoolers continued their exercise in futility in hoping to knock off the university squad in the annual preseason exhibition game, losing for the 5th time in five games.
Doane's latest attempt to best the Cornhuskers fell completely apart as Nebraska scored seemingly at will against the overpowered Doane squad, and extended their series lead to 8-2.
Nebraska traveled again to Boulder, to meet Colorado for the second time. One Cornhusker score in each half, combined with a stiff defensive effort to secure Nebraska's third straight shutout, secured the victory and put Nebraska out to a 2-0 series lead.
Nebraska's star halfback was out with an injury, but neither the loss of his efforts nor the driving rain prevented the Cornhuskers from posting yet another shutout victory, allowing Nebraska to take over the series lead 3-2.
Nebraska traveled to Minneapolis to face the feared powerhouse Minnesota team for the third time, hoping to finally come away with a win and avenge the two losses recorded against them so far. The hard fought game remained scoreless until the final minutes, when the Cornhuskers managed the only points of the day on a touchdown. This was the first of Minnesota's only two losses of the season, and extremely remarkable considering that Minnesota would finish the 1902 season by outscoring its opponents 335-34, including eight shutout victories.
Meeting Missouri on new neutral ground, in St. Joseph for the first time, the Cornhuskers ended an early scoring attempt by Missouri at the Nebraska 7-yard line, and then shut down the Tigers for the rest of the day, while making two touchdowns of their own to extend the shutout streak to 6, and the series lead to 8-3.
The Haskell Indians never really had a plausible chance to make a game of it, as Nebraska dominated the contest from beginning to end in yet another shutout victory, extending their series over Haskell to 2-0.
One of Nebraska's touchdown came on a trick placekick that was instead run in for a touchdown. Nebraska's shutout streak was now eight games in a row, and the Cornhuskers pulled ahead in the series for the first time, 6-5.
Nebraska hosted Knox for the first game between the teams, and the highlight of the event was the defensive efforts of both teams. Although Knox kept Nebraska to just 7 points in the first half before closing them down, the Cornhuskers once again prevented the opponent from scoring at all. Knox came close, however, before turning over the ball on downs just inches from the end zone.
Nebraska met Northwestern for the first time, hosting another Illinois team in Lincoln for the second week in a row. The penalty-ridden game was an emotional battle, with Northwestern reporting rough treatment on the field by the Cornhuskers. Despite seven holding penalties against Nebraska, each of which required turning over the ball according to the rules of the time, the Cornhuskers still held Northwestern scoreless for its tenth straight shutout win to close out the season with a perfect record.
Being an independent seemed to work against Nebraska's title consideration, as the other contenders were members of the Big Nine Conference
. Nebraska applied to the Big Nine following the season, but the application was denied.
Coach Booth's record at Nebraska improved to 21-3-1 (.860), and the program's overall record improved to 62-28-5 (.679).
1902 college football season
The 1902 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Michigan and Yale 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
Coach Booth entered his third season hoping to improve upon the 6-2 record of the previous year. The roster shrunk somewhat over previous years and was now down to just 19 players.Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 20* | 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 27-0 | - |
| September 27 | Doane Doane College Doane College is a private liberal arts college in Crete, Nebraska, United States, with additional campuses located in Lincoln and Grand Island.-History:... |
Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 51-0 | - |
| October 4 | at 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,... |
Boulder, Colorado Boulder, Colorado Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of... |
W 10-0 | - |
| October 11 | Grinnell Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College.... |
Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 17-0 | - |
| October 18 | Minnesota | Northrop Field • Minneapolis, Minnesota | W 6-0 | - |
| October 25 | vs. | Saint Joseph, Missouri Saint Joseph, Missouri Saint Joseph is the second largest city in northwest Missouri, only second to Kansas City in size, serving as the county seat for Buchanan County. As of the 2010 census, Saint Joseph had a total population of 76,780, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The St... |
W 12-0 | 2,000 |
| November 1 | 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 28-0 | 6,000 |
| November 8 | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 16-0 | - | |
| November 15 | Knox | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 7-0 | - |
| November 27 | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 12-0 | - | |
| *Exhibition Game. | ||||
Roster
Bell, Johnny HB Bender, Johnny HB Benedict, Maurice QB Borg, Charles C Briggs T Cortelyou, Spencer E Cotton, Charles RG Engelhart, William FB Follmer, Eugene E Hunter, Fred RG Mason, Cyrus LT Mickel, Oliver FB Ringer, John LG Shedd, Charlie E Symondynes HB Thorpe, Orley QB Tobin, John G Westover, John RT 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 | |
| Lew Palmer | |Assistant Coach | 1902 | 1902 | 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.... |
| Charles Engel | |Manager | 1902 | 1902 | Nebraska |
| John Westover | |Assistant Manager | 1904 | 1901–1905 | Nebraska |
Lincoln High
|
The Lincoln high schoolers continued their exercise in futility in hoping to knock off the university squad in the annual preseason exhibition game, losing for the 5th time in five games.
Doane
|
Doane's latest attempt to best the Cornhuskers fell completely apart as Nebraska scored seemingly at will against the overpowered Doane squad, and extended their series lead to 8-2.
Colorado
|
Nebraska traveled again to Boulder, to meet Colorado for the second time. One Cornhusker score in each half, combined with a stiff defensive effort to secure Nebraska's third straight shutout, secured the victory and put Nebraska out to a 2-0 series lead.
Grinnell
|
Nebraska's star halfback was out with an injury, but neither the loss of his efforts nor the driving rain prevented the Cornhuskers from posting yet another shutout victory, allowing Nebraska to take over the series lead 3-2.
Minnesota
|
Nebraska traveled to Minneapolis to face the feared powerhouse Minnesota team for the third time, hoping to finally come away with a win and avenge the two losses recorded against them so far. The hard fought game remained scoreless until the final minutes, when the Cornhuskers managed the only points of the day on a touchdown. This was the first of Minnesota's only two losses of the season, and extremely remarkable considering that Minnesota would finish the 1902 season by outscoring its opponents 335-34, including eight shutout victories.
Missouri
|
Meeting Missouri on new neutral ground, in St. Joseph for the first time, the Cornhuskers ended an early scoring attempt by Missouri at the Nebraska 7-yard line, and then shut down the Tigers for the rest of the day, while making two touchdowns of their own to extend the shutout streak to 6, and the series lead to 8-3.
Haskell
|
The Haskell Indians never really had a plausible chance to make a game of it, as Nebraska dominated the contest from beginning to end in yet another shutout victory, extending their series over Haskell to 2-0.
Kansas
|
One of Nebraska's touchdown came on a trick placekick that was instead run in for a touchdown. Nebraska's shutout streak was now eight games in a row, and the Cornhuskers pulled ahead in the series for the first time, 6-5.
Knox
|
Nebraska hosted Knox for the first game between the teams, and the highlight of the event was the defensive efforts of both teams. Although Knox kept Nebraska to just 7 points in the first half before closing them down, the Cornhuskers once again prevented the opponent from scoring at all. Knox came close, however, before turning over the ball on downs just inches from the end zone.
Northwestern
|
Nebraska met Northwestern for the first time, hosting another Illinois team in Lincoln for the second week in a row. The penalty-ridden game was an emotional battle, with Northwestern reporting rough treatment on the field by the Cornhuskers. Despite seven holding penalties against Nebraska, each of which required turning over the ball according to the rules of the time, the Cornhuskers still held Northwestern scoreless for its tenth straight shutout win to close out the season with a perfect record.
After the season
Nebraska wrapped up coach Booth's third season with an unprecedented full slate of shutout victories, including the exhibition game at the beginning of the season, scoring 186 points while keeping all opponents off the scoreboard. Nebraska's hopes to be considered the Western Champion were dashed when Michigan was instead selected, following their 23-6 win over Minnesota, which was Minnesota's only season defeat except for their earlier loss to Nebraska.Being an independent seemed to work against Nebraska's title consideration, as the other contenders were members of the Big Nine Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. Nebraska applied to the Big Nine following the season, but the application was denied.
Coach Booth's record at Nebraska improved to 21-3-1 (.860), and the program's overall record improved to 62-28-5 (.679).