1955 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

1955 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Conference	Big Seven Conference
Record	5–5 (5–1 Big 7)
Head coach	Bill Glassford (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Split-T
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1954 1956  →

1955 Big Seven Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Oklahoma $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	0
Nebraska	5	–	1	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Colorado	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Kansas State	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Kansas	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Iowa State	1	–	4	–	1			1	–	7	–	1
Missouri	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1955 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska and member of the Big 7 Conference in the 1955 college football season. The team was coached by Bill Glassford and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Before the season

Coach Glassford returned for a seventh season, having survived pressure to step down at the end of the 1953 season by guiding the Cornhuskers through their first-ever 11-game season and to their first Orange Bowl appearance, though that had as much to do with the Big 7's no-repeat rule that prevented Big 7 champion Oklahoma from representing the league for consecutive years, as anything Glassford had accomplished with his own squad. Two new faces appeared on the coaching staff, one of them a former Cornhusker quarterback. The seasons under Coach Glassford had alternated between winning and losing records, and with last year's 6-5 result, history suggested that the Cornhuskers might be up for another down campaign, unless Glassford could break the pattern.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	2:00 pm	Hawaii *	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	L 0–6	25,000
September 24	1:00 pm	at No. 6 Ohio State *	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 20–28	80,171
October 1	2:00 pm	at Kansas State	Memorial Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	W 16–0	12,500
October 8	2:00 pm	Texas A&M *	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	L 0–27	40,000
October 15	11:30 am	at Pittsburgh *	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	L 7–21	21,006
October 22	1:30 pm	at Missouri	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO (rivalry)	W 18–12	25,300
October 29	2:00 pm	Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	W 19–14	31,000
November 5	2:00 pm	at Iowa State	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA	W 10–7	11,237
November 12	2:00 pm	Colorado	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	W 37–20	34,000
November 19	2:00 pm	No. 1 Oklahoma	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	L 0–41	36,576	[1] [2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

Official Roster
61 Bayer, Joe G (Jr.) 54 Berguin, Robert C (Jr.) 81 Braley, Jack E (Sr.) 35 Brown, Jerry FB (So.) 80 Butherus, LeRoy E (Jr.) 37 Cifra, George FB (Jr.) 36 Coffey, William FB (So.) 42 Comstock, Don HB (Jr.) 75 Cook, Richard T (So.) 89 Cupper, Robert E (So.) 16 Edwards, John FB (Sr.) 87 Edwards, William E (So.) 24 Englert, Gordon QB (Jr.) 25 Erway, Don QB (Jr.) 26 Fischer, Rex QB (Sr.) 71 Fleming, Jack T (Jr.) 69 George, Leo G (So.) 47 Greenlaw, William HB (Jr.) 38 Haman, Gene FB (So.) 43 Harris, Sylvester HB (Sr.) 27 Harshman, George QB (So.) 72 Hawkins, William T (So.) 84 Hewitt, Don E (Sr.) 83 Howerter, Stuart E (So.) 44 Johnson, Harry HB (Jr.)		63 Jones, Larry G (Jr.) 64 Kampe, Lester G (So.) 82 Kleiber, Dick E (So.) 73 Klein, Arthur T (So.) 66 Lair, Gale G (Jr.) 86 Lux, Dean E (Sr.) 77 Lyall, Bob T (So.) 30 Martin, Lyle HB (So.) 85 McWilliams, Jon E (Sr.) 78 Moore, Richard T (Sr.) 67 Murphy, James G (Jr.) 45 Nappi, Frank HB (So.) 70 Neal, Richard T (Jr.) 19 Pickering, Farley HB (So.) 55 Post, Doran C (Jr.) 56 Prusia, Dick C (So.) 65 Pugsley, Jack G (So.) 79 Rhoda, Donald T (So.) 68 Sadowski, Joe G (So.) 46 Sandage, Gene HB (So.) 32 Scherer, Leo HB (Sr.) 51 Stewart, Merle G (So.) 62 Taylor, William G (Sr.) 50 Torczon, LaVerne C (Jr.) 74 Wheeler, Jerry T (So.)

Starters

Position Player Quarterback Don Erway Left Halfback Rex Fischer Right Halfback William Greenlaw Fullback John Edwards Left End LeRoy Butherus Left Tackle Jerry Wheeler Left Guard James Murphy Center Doran Post Right Guard William Taylor Right Tackle LaVerne Torczon Right End Jon McWilliams

Coaching staff

Name	Title	First year in this position	Years at Nebraska	Alma mater
Bill Glassford	Head coach	1949	1949–1955	Pittsburgh
L. F. "Pop" Klein	Assistant coach	1945	1945–1958
Bob Davis	Backfield Coach	1949	1949–1955
Mike Milligan		1953	1953–1955	Pittsburgh
Don Strasheim		1954	1954–1958	Nebraska
John Kovach		1955	1955
Ed Nyden		1955	1955	Nebraska

^{[3] [4] [5]}

Game summaries

Hawaii

1 2 Total • Hawaii 6 Nebraska 0 Date: September 17 Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 25,000

At the conclusion of the previous season, Nebraska traveled to Hawaii and dealt the Rainbows a severe 50–0 defeat. While Nebraska went on to play in the postseason at the 1955 Orange Bowl, Hawaii's season ended on the sour note, leaving the Rainbow squad to stew over the summer. The return visit in the home-and-home series was arranged as the first contest of the year for both teams, and so it was that Hawaii's arrival in Lincoln to open the 1955 slate was their second straight contest with the Cornhuskers. Whether Nebraska overlooked the Rainbows or the Hawaii team was bent on payback, the result was a lackluster Nebraska showing as Hawaii fought off all Cornhusker scoring attempts for the day. Nebraska never got closer than the Rainbow 13-yard line, yet Hawaii snuck through the Nebraska defenses to secure a single touchdown. Nebraska thus suffered a demoralizing shutout loss to start the season, the first opening blank since 1947. ^{[6] [7]}

Ohio State

1 2 Total Nebraska 20 • #6 Ohio State 28 Date: September 24 Location: Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio Game attendance: 80,171

Stung by the humiliating loss to Hawaii, the Nebraska team put up a much more convincing effort against the reigning Big 10 and Rose Bowl champion Ohio State Buckeyes, who had also finished 1954 at #1 atop the AP Poll. The Cornhuskers even managed to briefly hold the lead in Columbus during the second quarter, but the Buckeyes held on to pull away by eight points. Ohio State notched the first win in the series between the squads, and went on to finish 1955 with a 7–2 record and ranked #5 by the AP. ^{[6] [7]}

Kansas State

1 2 Total •Nebraska 16 Kansas State 0 Date: October 1 Location: Memorial Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas Game attendance: 12,500

The Nebraska football players traveled to Manhattan with a chip on their shoulder, having dropped the first two games of the year and wanting to break the pattern that seemed to doom them to a losing season. Kansas State was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the Wildcats were swept aside when the Cornhusker machine finally came to life in the third quarter to start the scoring. By the final whistle, Nebraska had a shutout victory of their own to hold onto, had snapped their two-game skid to the Wildcats, and improved to 31-6-2 over Kansas State all-time. ^{[6] [8]}

Texas A&M

1 2 Total • Texas A&M 27 Nebraska 0 Date: October 8 Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 40,000

Nebraska welcomed Texas A&M back to Lincoln for the second time, having not met the Aggies on the field since their initial meeting, a 13–0 win in 1930. Apparently Texas A&M remembered the shutout, as they returned the favor 25 years later, finding the end zone three times in the second quarter to stun the Cornhuskers into submission, shutting them out 0–27 on the day, and knocking Nebraska down to a 1–3 start on the season. ^{[6] [8]}

Pittsburgh

1 2 Total Nebraska 7 • Pittsburgh 21 Date: October 15 Location: Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh Game attendance: 21,006

Down on their luck so early in the season, a weary Cornhusker team made their way to Pittsburgh to face the rival Panthers who held a commanding series lead of 13-3-3, seeming to always have Nebraska's number. Today was more of the same as Pitt overcame an initial Cornhusker lead to roll off 21 unanswered points to send Nebraska home with yet another defeat by the Panthers on the books. ^{[6] [9]}

Missouri

1 2 Total •Nebraska 18 Missouri 12 Date: October 22 Location: Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri

See also: Missouri–Nebraska football rivalry

Missouri could have made a game of this contest and likely would have been victorious save for a lost fumble converted into a touchdown, an interception returned for a touchdown, and a punt returned for a touchdown. Missouri punched in two of their own touchdowns, which was not enough to extract a win in Columbus. The Cornhusker victory moved Nebraska to 27-18-3 in the series and kept the Victory Bell in Lincoln for another year. ^{[6] [9]}

Kansas

1 2 Total Kansas 14 •Nebraska 19 Date: October 29 Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 31,000

Kansas smelled blood in the water as Nebraska struggled to recover the season, and fought bravely in Lincoln to overcome Nebraska's initial score and hold the lead for a time at 14–6. Somehow the beleaguered Cornhuskers overcame the challenge to put more points up and sent the Jayhawks home without a win. It was the 4th Nebraska win in a row against Kansas, advancing the series to 45–13–3 overall. ^{[6] [10]}

Iowa State

1 2 Total •Nebraska 10 Iowa State 7 Date: November 5 Location: Clyde Williams Field • Ames, Iowa Game attendance: 12,000

The Cornhuskers claimed their tenth straight win over the Cyclones in Ames, keeping their season conference record unblemished to date. Iowa State finally managed to put points on the board in the 4th quarter, drawing up to 7–10, but Nebraska turned away all further scoring attempts and held on for the win, improving to 40–8–1 in the series. ^{[6] [10]}

Colorado

1 2 Total Colorado 20 •Nebraska 37 Date: November 12 Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 34,000

See also: Colorado–Nebraska football rivalry

Nebraska shocked the Buffaloes by jumping out to a 21–0 lead early in the first quarter of the game. Though Colorado made a respectable counterattack to put up two scores of their own by the half, and a subsequent Cornhusker kickoff fumble on their own 20 briefly put the game back in doubt. The Nebraska defense stood firm to overcome the blunder, and the Cornhuskers never looked back on their way to improving to 9–5–0 in the series. Remaining undefeated in conference play, this win set up Nebraska to meet Oklahoma for the conference title. ^{[6] [11]}

Oklahoma

1 2 Total • #1 Oklahoma 41 Nebraska 0 Date: November 19 Location: Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska Game attendance: 38,000

See also: Nebraska–Oklahoma football rivalry

The Oklahoma Sooners arrived in Lincoln to defend the conference championship, ranked #1 by the AP Poll. Both teams were undefeated in Big 7 play on the season, which meant that this game would decide the conference title for 1955. The Sooners managed to put in two touchdowns in the first half, while Nebraska fought to keep the game respectable by pulling up as close as the Oklahoma 8 yard line at one point. The second half told a different story as the Cornhuskers were no longer able to stave off the attack, and fell under the weight of an additional four Oklahoma scores. This was the 13th straight Nebraska loss to Oklahoma, an ongoing record Nebraska losing streak to any single team, but was more painful in that the Sooners had finally drawn up and evened the series record to 16-16-3. ^{[6] [11]}

After the season

Coach Glassford's up-and-down career pattern of alternating winning and losing seasons was finally broken, though instead of the losing season that seemed foretold, he also failed to come up with a winning season, as the Nebraska Cornhuskers finished evenly at 5–5–0 overall. Within conference play, the story was improved, as Nebraska's only loss was to the national championship Oklahoma team, leaving the Cornhuskers up at #2 in the Big 7. Coach Glassford decided at the conclusion of the 1955 campaign to exercise an option in his coaching contract, and stepped down from the position with a final seven-year Nebraska overall record of 31–35–3 (.471) and a conference record of 23–18–1 (.560) During his tenure, the football program's records fell to 347–183–34 (.645) overall and 143–55–12 (.710) within the league. Coach Glassford retired from athletics to pursue other career opportunities.

Future NFL and other professional league players

• Laverne Torczon , 1957 18th-round pick of the Cleveland Browns

References

1. "1955 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".
2. Dick Becker (November 20, 1955). "Terrifying Sooners, Rip Huskers 41-0, for Title: Bill Glassford's Finale, Tremendous Effort Not Enough for Game N.U." Lincoln Journal and Star. pp. 1B, 2B – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Nebraska head coaches". HuskerMax. Archived from the original on July 19, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
4. "Assistant coaches". HuskerMax. Archived from the original on July 21, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
5. "1956 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 304)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
6. "1950s Nebraska football schedules". HuskerMax. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
7. "1956 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 306)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
8. "1956 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 307)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
9. "1956 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 308)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
10. "1956 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 309)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
11. "1956 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 310)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved August 3, 2010.