1894 Nebraska Bugeaters football team

The 1894 Nebraska Bugeaters football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1894 college football season. The team was coached by Frank Crawford and played their home games at the "M" Street Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Nebraska's football team began its history as the "Old Gold Knights", and was also sometimes known as the "Tree Planters", "Nebraskans", "The Rattlesnake Boys", "Red Stockings", "Antelopes" or "Goldenrods" in their early years.

Before the season
For the first time in program history, Nebraska started the season with a returning Head Coach. Also for the first time, a pre-season exhibition game was scheduled against Lincoln High School. As the program grew, so did the roster, having increased from 17 in the first season, to 24 this year.

Lincoln High
This exhibition game to tune up for the season was played essentially as a practice scrimmage, and the results did not count towards the season record.

Grinnell
Grinnell was an established power by the time these teams met for the first time, as Grinnell had won four of the last five Iowa State championships. Few expected much of a game from Nebraska against this kind of experience, but someone forgot to tell the Bugeaters that they were supposed to lose. Nebraska fought all through the first half, and despite not scoring, also prevented Grinnell from posting points of their own, and the game was tied at 0-0 by halftime. After the break, it was all Nebraska, including three touchdowns by George Flippin.

Doane
Possibly feeling confident after the shutout defeat of Grinnell, Nebraska was humbled quickly the following week when Doane came into Lincoln and scored once in each half to shut out the Bugeaters and cut Nebraska's series lead to 4-2.

Missouri
Nebraska opened their conference slate with a road game at Missouri. The Bugeaters improved their scoring woes from the previous game by putting up 14 points, but the Tigers did better by posting 18 and taking the win as well as the series lead over Nebraska, 2-1.

Omaha YMCA
While the earlier exhibition game against Lincoln High School did not count towards the season's official record, this match against high school students and other Omaha residents forming the Omaha YMCA squad did count. It was a one side affait in every way as the Bugeaters ran out to a fast 30-0 lead by the half, though the Omaha YMCA team still managed a touchdown of their own by the game's end. Nebraska was now 2-0 over the Omaha YMCA all-time.

Kansas
A dispute over the officiating crew delayed the kickoff, but once underway Kansas took an early lead in their bid to remain perfect in their series with Nebraska. The Bugeaters fought back to pull ahead 8-6 by halftime and then kept the Jayhawks off the scoreboard in the second half while padding their lead to 12-6. Nebraska's first win in the series brought them up to 1-2 all time against Kansas.

University of Kansas records indicate this game was played November 22 in Lincoln.

Ottawa
Nebraska padded their roster in preparation for this game, adding not only Coach Crawford as quarterback, but also another football coach as fullback. Though the game was only planned with one week notice, efforst were made to publicize the match, drawing 400 locals from the area to watch. It was not a productive game on either side of the ball, and Nebraska's single first half touchdown was the sum total scoring of the day. This was the only time these teams met for a football game.

Iowa
Nebraska finished up the conference slate for the year with the anticipated Iowa match, but the day was owned by the Bugeaters as the players in scarlet and cream rolled up 36 unanswered points, including a touchdown by future Utah governor and United States Secretary of War George Dern, to shut out Iowa and pull ahead in the overall series, 2-1-1. University of Iowa records indicate the final score of this game was a 14-12 Nebraska victory.

Omaha YMCA
Unlike the previous match earlier in the year, the Omaha YMCA team made this game a challenge as these teams met in the cold of Christmas Day. The Omaha YMCA squad in fact took the lead in the first hald while keeping the Bugeaters off the board, but Nebraska answered with 10 points in the second half for the win, extending their series lead to 3-0.

After the season
This was Nebraska's first ever conference championship, but the picture changed somewhat after the close of the season, as two-year Head Coach Frank Crawford left the post to become the head football coach for the University of Texas. Crawford's two-year record at Nebraska stood at 9-4-1 (.679), and the program's overall record was 15-8-2 (.640).