Game
Nebraska received the opening kickoff and marched fifty yards to take a quick 7–0 lead. [1] Albert led a game-tying touchdown drive, after which Stanford forced an NU punt, but Pete Kmetovic fumbled deep in his own territory. [7] Nebraska reclaimed the lead on a deep pass to Allen Zikmund. [1] After a missed extra point and a leaping touchdown by Hugh Gallarneau, Stanford led 14–13 at halftime.
Trailing by one late in the third quarter, Nebraska stopped Stanford on four consecutive goal-line runs. The Cornhuskers punted on first down from their own one-yard line, which was returned for a winding touchdown by Kmetovic. [1] It made the score 21–13, which stood through the fourth quarter as the final tally. [2] [3] Sportswriter Cy Sherman wrote that while the game was evenly matched on the lines, backfield "wizards" Albert and Kmetovic (named the game's most valuable player) made the difference. [7]
Scoring summary
| Qtr | Team | Detail [8] | NU | STAN |
|---|
| 1 | NU | Vike Francis 2-yd run (Francis kick) | 7 | 0 |
| STAN | Hugh Gallarneau 9-yd run (Frankie Albert kick) | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | NU | Allen Zikmund 33-yd pass from Herm Rohrig (kick blocked) | 13 | 7 |
| STAN | Gallarneau 41-yd pass from Albert (Albert kick) | 13 | 14 |
| 3 | STAN | Pete Kmetovic 39-yd punt return (Albert kick) | 13 | 21 |
Team statistics
Official statistics vary slightly between the schools. Statistics shown are from Nebraska's records.
| Statistic [8] | Nebraska | Stanford |
|---|
| First downs | 9 | 15 |
| Rushing yards | 58 | 202 |
| Comp.–att.–yards | 3–15–70 | 7–15–74 |
| Total offense | 128 | 276 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 4 |
Aftermath
Stanford finished a perfect 10–0 and was named national champion by several selectors, though Minnesota was named champion of the AP poll despite not playing a bowl game. Nebraska head coach Biff Jones, whose only two losses in 1940 were to the Golden Gophers and Indians, was noncommittal when asked which team deserved the title. [1]
Shaughnessy's rapid transformation of Stanford's program thrust the T formation, an afterthought since the 1890s, into the national spotlight. [9] Nebraska adopted the formation the following year, with significantly less success than the Indians. [10] It became the most widely used offensive scheme in college football throughout the 1940s and 1950s, leading Shuaghnessy to become known as "the father of the T formation." [9]
As the program's first bowl, the game was remembered fondly by Nebraska supporters; Bob Devaney arrived in Lincoln in 1962 and later joked it was years before he learned NU actually lost the 1941 Rose Bowl. [11]
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