1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 1903 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1903 college football season. The team was coached by Walter C. "Bummy" Booth and played their home games at Antelope Field in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Before the season
Coming off an undefeated season which also featured a full schedule of shutout victories, Nebraska was intent on showing that the previous year was not a fluke. The roster grew to 26 players, up significantly from 19 in 1902.

Lincoln High
In their sixth exhibition meeting, the Lincoln high schoolers managed to put points on the board against the Cornhuskers for the first time, remarkably ending Nebraska's run of 10 straight shutout victories. Unsurprisingly, though, the University put up more, and pushed the perfect series record to 6-0.

Grand Island
The Grand Island College team suffered the wrath of the Cornhuskers after Nebraska's shutout streak was ended the previous week, as the Cornhuskers rolled up almost 800 yards of offense and piled 64 points on while holding Grand Island off the scoreboard. Excluding the exhibition game, the shutout streak remained alive.

South Dakota
After a three-year break, Nebraska once again met South Dakota with designs to avenge the Cornhusker loss from 1899. Nebraska accumulated more than four times as many yards as South Dakota and posted yet another shutout win.

Denver
Nebraska steamrolled the University of Denver on their own field, amassing 685 yards while holding the Pioneers to just 15 yards and no points on the day. The damage would have been far worse if not for the muddy conditions leading to sloppy play and numerous turnovers. This was the first time these teams had met.

Haskell
Haskell arrived in Lincoln and ended up being the next in a line of teams to be knocked off and held scoreless as the Cornhuskers rolled up the wins. Some historical records mention this game, the program's 100th, was the first game in which a Nebraska mascot dog appeared, in this case a bulldog wearing a scarlet and cream blanket, however there is a mention of a white bull terrier painted half red from a Nebraska game in 1893.

Colorado
Nebraska's domination continued, as this time it was Colorado held ineffective with only 37 yards to the 314 rolled up by the Cornhuskers. Nebraska's series lead extended to 3-0 over Colorado.

Iowa
Three years since their last meeting, Nebraska traveled to Iowa City to play the Hawkeyes on their own field for the first time. Iowa managed to snap the Cornhuskers shutout streak after a Nebraska fumble and subsequent penalty allowed Iowa to start from the Nebraska 2-yard line, where they were successful in getting a score. Still, Nebraska came away with the win, maintaining their unbeaten streak at 20 straight including exhibition games, and pulled ahead in the series, 5-4-2.

Knox
For the second game in a row, Nebraska allowed an opponent to score. By the time Knox reached 5 points, Nebraska already had 10, and would continue to score to pull away. Nebraska improved their record over Knox to 2-0.

Kansas
Kansas presented a real challenge for the Cornhuskers, managing to hold Nebraska without points until near the end of the game. One touchdown was enough, though, as The Cornhuskers again managed to keep the other team off the board. Nebraska improved their record over the Jayhawks to 7-5.

Bellevue
After the relatively weak showings in the previous three games, allowing two opponents to score and one to hold the Cornhuskers to a single touchdown, Nebraska unloaded on Bellevue in the first meeting of these teams, rolling up 52 points with minimal effort.

Illinois
It had been a full ten years since these teams last met, a 6-0 Nebraska victory in Lincoln, and the outcome today would be the same despite a strong defensive showing by Illinois. Nebraska only managed 58 yards in the first half, but after the break the Cornhuskers figured out the Fighting Illini and produced 276 yards and 16 points for yet another shutout, their 3rd in a row and 8th on the season. Nebraska now led the series 2-0.

After the season
Nebraska wrapped up a second consecutive unbeaten season, its third overall, and had indeed become a feared power in college football. One newspaper writer of the time wrote "Nebraska occupies a unique position in western football. Too strong to find fearful competitors, the Cornhuskers can almost weep with Alexander the Great because they have no more teams to conquer."

At this point, Nebraska had a 24-game winning streak dating back into 1901 (including exhibition games). Coach Booth's record at Nebraska improved to 31-3-1 (.900), which also raised the program's overall record to 72-28-5 (.710). However, by being an independent program, Nebraska was unable to claim a conference title and was again snubbed for consideration for any kind of regional title.