1945 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1945 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska as a member of the Big Six Conference during the 1945 college football season. Led by first-year head coach George Clark, the Cornhuskers compiled an overall record of 4–5 with a mark of 2–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the Big 6. Nebraska played home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Before the season Head coach Clark arrived, hired by athletic director Adolph J. Lewandowski as his own replacement in charge of the football program, and with him came a completely new staff of five assistants. George "Potsy" Clark's playing and coaching career stretched back to 1912, included both college and professional teams, and by the time he arrived at Nebraska he had also served in both world wars, once in the Army and then later in the Navy Reserve. Coach Clark was exactly the kind of leader that Nebraska hoped could bring the troubled football program back from their unprecedented four-year slide. Now that World War II was drawing to a close, servicemen were returning home in large numbers, returning to school, and once again bolstering the quality of players on team rosters nationwide. Even with the increased pool of players to choose from, coach Clark was more selective in his choices, and the 1945 Nebraska roster was reduced by twenty from that of the previous year. Schedule Roster Coaching staff Game summaries Oklahoma The Huskers stumbled in their first game under coach Clark, and first game in Lincoln under his tenure. Different this time from previous years, however, was the competitive nature of the game. Oklahoma still kept the Cornhuskers off the board, but the defeat still provided a ray of hope that as the players learned coach Clark's ways, the fortunes of Nebraska could be reversed. Nebraska also still held the series overall, leading 16–6–3. Minnesota Encouraged by the showing at Oklahoma, and welcoming the chance to play at home against rival Minnesota, Nebraska only fell behind 0–14 before bouncing back to pull within seven points by the break. The showing was much more impressive than last week's loss to the Sooners, as the game was clearly still in reach. After the break, however, Nebraska collapsed completely under the onslaught of the Golden Gophers as a scoring explosion quickly pushed the game out of reach, with Minnesota scoring three times in each of the final two quarters. The 7–61 loss tied the worst margin of victory that the Cornhuskers had ever suffered, and set a new all-time record for most points scored against Nebraska in program history. The loss was the 5th in a row to Minnesota, as the Golden Gophers improved to 21–4–2 in the series. Indiana The Hoosiers were ranked #8 when Nebraska arrived, and it was a tall order to hope for victory against an Indiana team that had risen over the past several years to be a formidable powerhouse. The Cornhuskers were outplayed in almost every aspect of the game