When you ask a Nebraska fan to name the biggest win in Husker football history, their first response might be the 1971 Game of the Century, the 1995 Orange Bowl that gave Tom Osborne his first national championship, or any number of other classic confrontations that have taken place over the years.
But when it comes to big wins, none could match the most lopsided game in Husker football history – the day the Huskers scored 119 points in a single game.
While some Husker fans recall “The Scoring Explosion” team of 1983 that AVERAGED over 50 points a game, the 1910 Huskers more than doubled that in a single contest as they beat the overmatched and outmanned Haskell Indians 119-0 in a Thanksgiving Day game in Lincoln.
In what was the final game for then Coach W.C. “King” Cole, the Huskers put together the kind of one-sided offensive performance that today’s football junkie would find in a video game. By the time all was said and done, Nebraska had scored 20 touchdowns (touchdowns were worth five points in the early 20th century), put up over 1,100 yards in total offense and had one player score seven rushing touchdowns, all team records that still stand today.
To Haskell’s credit, they actually were able to stop Nebraska on its opening drive. Unfortunately, a Haskell player ran into the end zone while trying to return a punt, giving up a safety that got the Huskers on the scoreboard less than three minutes into the game.
By the end of the first period, it was 36-0.
Harvey Rathbone was the biggest thorn in the side for Haskell that day. He rushed for a school-record seven touchdowns, four coming in the first half as Nebraska racked up a 59-0 lead.
The Huskers continued to pour it on in the second half, and actually eclipsed the century mark by the end of the third period, scoring seven touchdowns in 15 minutes. When Rathbone scored the last of his seven touchdowns, the Huskers had the final margin of victory – but it could have been worse. Haskell fumbled the ball on their own 10-yard line in the final minute, but the Huskers were unable to score again as time ran out.
The win put the finishing touches on a 7-1 season for the Huskers, but it wasn’t the last time the Huskers would put triple digits up on the scoreboard. In fact, in their season opener the following year, Nebraska opened the 1911 schedule by putting a 117-0 hurting on Kearney State College under new coach Ewald O. “Jumbo” Stiehm.
Nebraska reached the century mark one other time in school history, opening the 1917 season with a 100-0 win over Nebraska Wesleyan. Since then, the Huskers have passed the 70-point mark on 10 occasions. The biggest single-game point totals include:
-- 84 vs. Minnesota (1983)
-- 77 vs. Army (1972), Arizona State (1995) and Iowa State (1997)
-- 76 vs. North Texas State (1993)
-- 73 vs. Iowa State (1995), Oklahoma (1996) and Kansas State (2007)
-- 72 vs. Iowa State (1983)
-- 71 vs. Colorado State (1991)
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