Now permitted three weeks of pre-season practice, the league champion Cornhuskers prepared under second-year coach Dawson to attempt to repeat as champs.
Longtime trainer Jack Best, who had been with the program since its very beginning in 1890 through all of the coaching turnovers, was in declining health but came back for the season to help ready his beloved Cornhuskers.
E McGlasson, Ross (Jr.) T Nixon, Bryan (Jr.) G Noble, Dave (Jr.) HB Peterson, Carl (Jr.) C Preston, Glen (Jr.) QB Russell, Robert (Sr.) QB Scherer, Leo (Sr.) E Schoeppel, Andrew (Sr.) E Thomsen, Fred (Jr.) E Weller, Raymond (Sr.) T Wenke, Adolph (Sr.) G [4] [5][6] South Dakota served as Nebraska's tune up game of the season, and the Coyotes were easily brushed aside with no points as the Cornhuskers cruised and looked ahead to the homecoming game coming up in two weeks.
[3][7] Missouri was supposed to be a worthy foe according to some pregame press, but the Cornhuskers rolled up their opponent for the second game in a row, holding the Tigers to just 17 total yards on the day, while playing virtually error-free in the conference opener.
Playing in muddy conditions unfavorable to the Nebraska game plan, with both teams suffering from miscues, fumbles and penalties, the Orangemen ultimately stunned the Cornhuskers with a late touchdown to go up 9-6 before the final whistle, moving ahead in the series 2-1.
[7][8][9] It was a battle of offensive philosophies in Lincoln, as Kansas State brought in a prolific passing attack, daring the Cornhuskers to stop them.
Tears were on the players' faces as they emerged onto the field amidst a crowd chanting in honor of Best, to face Knute Rockne's Fighting Irish, featuring rising stars Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden, who would later be known as the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in coming years.
The season ended in triumph with the emotional Thanksgiving Day win over Notre Dame in Lincoln, but sorrow followed not long after when Jack Best, the only trainer the program had ever known, died less than two months after watching the epic defeat of the Fighting Irish in Nebraska Field's grand finale.