1908 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Encyclopedia
The 1908 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1908 college football season
. The team was coached by William C. "King" Cole and played their home games at Antelope Field in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
.
Nebraska again opened the season against Peru State, and again made an easy win out of it, advancing their all-time record against the Peru State teachers to 2-0.
Nebraska committed numerous errors which prevented them from scoring as often as they could have, but it was just as well for Doane so that they didn't have an even more painful blanking than the 0-43 outcome. Doane fell further in the series to 2-12.
Long suffering from a lengthening string of Nebraska victories, Grinnell got the attention of the Cornhuskers by scoring first in this game. Nebraska responded by keeping them off the board for the rest of the game while attaching four of their own touchdowns to advance to 6-2 in the series.
Nebraska once again traveled north to Minneapolis on another mission to attempt to take down the mighty Golden Gophers. Both teams made it a defensive game, with both sides making impressive goal line stands, and when time ran out there were still no points on the board. Holding Minnesota to a scoreless tie was still a big improvement to break the 4-game win streak held by Minnesota in the series, though it didn't contribute a great deal towards Nebraska making up their 1-6-1 series deficit.
Nebraska didn't put up such a large score, but held Haskell to zero to notch up a 3rd shutout in the last four games, moving to 4-1 against the Indians.
After a three-year break, Nebraska and Iowa resumed their series. Any thoughts of an easy Cornhusker victory to start the season's conference slate were quickly replaced by the reality of a struggle in which Nebraska barely escaped with a 3-point win, moving to a 7-4-2 advantage over the Hawkeyes all time.
For the second week in a row, the Cornhuskers found themselves fighting for the win against a team from Iowa. The Cyclones fought to a 17-17 tie in the 2nd half, but Nebraska found a way to score one more time to increase their series lead to 7-3.
Nebraska players accused Kansas of spying on the team practices or otherwise improperly obtaining the signals called by the Cornhuskers, but whether that was true or Kansas was just that good, Nebraska fell at home 5-20 in a loss that handed the Jayhawks the conference championship and narrowed the Nebraska series edge to 8-7. The home defeat snapped an 11-game home field winning streak, and was the first since a 6-8 loss also delivered by Kansas in 1906.
This was the only time Wabash met Nebraska to settle affairs on the football field, and the muddy, snowy day was all Nebraska. Three Wabash errors each eventually resulted in Cornhusker touchdowns.
For the second week in a row, Nebraska met a team that it would only see one time in program history. This game was arranged to bring the heralded Jim Thorpe
up against the Cornhuskers. Thorpe's Carlisle team certainly did not disappoint those who came to see impressive football being played. Although Thorpe reportedly struggled at times during the game, Carlisle still easily downed Nebraska in Lincoln 37-6.
This was the last year Nebraska played home games at Antelope Field. Next season, the new Nebraska Field was built on campus, and was located adjacent to where Memorial Stadium
sits today. Antelope Field was sent into the history books with an all-time Cornhusker football record of 64-8-2 (.878), including exhibition games.
1908 college football season
The 1908 college football season ran from Saturday, September 19, until November 28 . The Quakers of the University of Pennsylvania and the Crimson of Harvard University finished the season unbeaten, though each had been tied once during the season. The Tigers of Louisiana State University went...
. The team was coached by William C. "King" Cole 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 Cole brought his 8-2 record from 1907 with him into his second year at Nebraska. Plans were beginning to materialize to replace Antelope Field, and this season would feature a visit from legend-in-the-making Jim ThorpeJim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26* | Peru State Peru State College Peru State College is a public four-year institution located in the rural city of Peru, Nebraska, in the Midwest region of the United States. Founded by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1865, making it the first and oldest institution in Nebraska, it would undergo several name changes... |
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 20-0 | - |
| October 3* | 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 43-0 | - |
| October 10* | 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 20-5 | - |
| October 17* | at Minnesota | Northrop Field • Minneapolis, Minnesota | T 0-0 | - |
| October 24* | 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 10-0 | - |
| 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 11-8 | - |
| November 7 | vs. | Omaha, Nebraska Omaha, Nebraska Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River... |
W 23-17 | - |
| November 14 | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | L 5-20 | - | |
| November 26* | Wabash Wabash Little Giants The Wabash Little Giants are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Wabash College, a small private school for men in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The university belongs to the National Collegiate Athletic Association and participates in Division III sports. The Little Giants compete as... |
Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 27-6 | - |
| December 2* | Carlisle Carlisle Indian Industrial School Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations... |
Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | L 6-37 | 2,000 |
| *Non-Conference Game. | ||||
Roster
Beltzer, Oren HB Bentley, Orlando QB Birkner, Hugo HB Bowers RG Chaloupka, William T Collins, Sydney C Cooke, Harold QB Ewing, Henry Harry W. Ewing Harry W. "Buck" Ewing was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. He was a 1909 graduate of University of Nebraska where he played football... LG Frum, Sidney RG Harte, Louis T Harvey, James E Hascoll, Vincent QB Johnson, Frank E Kroger, Ernest FB Matters, Thomas T Miller, A.H. T Minor, Harry HB Perrin, Dale C Slaughter HB Sturmer, Frederick LT Sturzenegger, Alfonzo A. J. Sturzenegger Alfonzo John "A. J." Sturzenegger , sometimes also referred to as Jack Sturzenegger, was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football and baseball at the University of Nebraska... HB Temple, LeRoy FB Wolcott, O.M. QB |
||||||
Coaching staff
| Name | Title | First year in this position |
Years at Nebraska | Alma Mater |
| William C. "King" Cole | |Head Coach | 1906 | 1906–1910 | Marietta Marietta College Marietta College is a co-educational private college in Marietta, Ohio, USA, which was the first permanent settlement of the Northwest Territory. The school offers 42 majors along with a large number of minors, all of which are grounded in a strong liberal arts foundation... |
| Jack Best | |Trainer | 1890 | 1890–1922 |
Peru State
|
Nebraska again opened the season against Peru State, and again made an easy win out of it, advancing their all-time record against the Peru State teachers to 2-0.
Doane
|
Nebraska committed numerous errors which prevented them from scoring as often as they could have, but it was just as well for Doane so that they didn't have an even more painful blanking than the 0-43 outcome. Doane fell further in the series to 2-12.
Grinnell
|
Long suffering from a lengthening string of Nebraska victories, Grinnell got the attention of the Cornhuskers by scoring first in this game. Nebraska responded by keeping them off the board for the rest of the game while attaching four of their own touchdowns to advance to 6-2 in the series.
Minnesota
|
Nebraska once again traveled north to Minneapolis on another mission to attempt to take down the mighty Golden Gophers. Both teams made it a defensive game, with both sides making impressive goal line stands, and when time ran out there were still no points on the board. Holding Minnesota to a scoreless tie was still a big improvement to break the 4-game win streak held by Minnesota in the series, though it didn't contribute a great deal towards Nebraska making up their 1-6-1 series deficit.
Haskell
|
Nebraska didn't put up such a large score, but held Haskell to zero to notch up a 3rd shutout in the last four games, moving to 4-1 against the Indians.
Iowa
|
After a three-year break, Nebraska and Iowa resumed their series. Any thoughts of an easy Cornhusker victory to start the season's conference slate were quickly replaced by the reality of a struggle in which Nebraska barely escaped with a 3-point win, moving to a 7-4-2 advantage over the Hawkeyes all time.
Iowa State
|
For the second week in a row, the Cornhuskers found themselves fighting for the win against a team from Iowa. The Cyclones fought to a 17-17 tie in the 2nd half, but Nebraska found a way to score one more time to increase their series lead to 7-3.
Kansas
|
Nebraska players accused Kansas of spying on the team practices or otherwise improperly obtaining the signals called by the Cornhuskers, but whether that was true or Kansas was just that good, Nebraska fell at home 5-20 in a loss that handed the Jayhawks the conference championship and narrowed the Nebraska series edge to 8-7. The home defeat snapped an 11-game home field winning streak, and was the first since a 6-8 loss also delivered by Kansas in 1906.
Wabash
|
This was the only time Wabash met Nebraska to settle affairs on the football field, and the muddy, snowy day was all Nebraska. Three Wabash errors each eventually resulted in Cornhusker touchdowns.
Carlisle
|
For the second week in a row, Nebraska met a team that it would only see one time in program history. This game was arranged to bring the heralded Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
up against the Cornhuskers. Thorpe's Carlisle team certainly did not disappoint those who came to see impressive football being played. Although Thorpe reportedly struggled at times during the game, Carlisle still easily downed Nebraska in Lincoln 37-6.
After the season
Coach Cole finished his second year with a Nebraska career total of 15-4-1 (.775), and the Cornhuskers program record again improved slightly to 108-41-6 (.716). Nebraska finished 2nd in the Missouri Valley Conference, and had an abbreviated two-year conference record of 3-1 (.750).This was the last year Nebraska played home games at Antelope Field. Next season, the new Nebraska Field was built on campus, and was located adjacent to where Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team....
sits today. Antelope Field was sent into the history books with an all-time Cornhusker football record of 64-8-2 (.878), including exhibition games.