The 1923 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Nebraska in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1923 college football season. In its third season under head coach Fred Dawson, the team compiled a 4–2–2 record (3–0–2 against conference opponents), won the MVC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 112 to 71. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Before the season
Coach Dawson returned for his third season with two conference championships to his credit and a new home playing field following the completion of Memorial Stadium, but it was a hard start to the season. The most pronounced change was the absence of Jack Best, the team's trainer of the previous 32 seasons dating to the beginning of the program, who had died shortly after the end of the 1922 season. The first team on the schedule was not the typical tune-up patsy scrimmage of most seasons past, as coach Dawson had arranged an opening battle on the road against Illinois in order to infuse his team with a heavy dose of experience early in the year. Making things additionally rough to start the year, only nine starters from last season's title team were returning to play for the Cornhuskers.
Schedule
Roster
Coaching staff
Game summaries
Illinois
Nebraska had not faced Illinois since 1905, but had racked up victories in every contest against the Fighting Illini to date. This time, however, the game was to be played in Champaign instead of Lincoln, and the Cornhuskers had only two weeks of practice to prepare for this opening contest. The game was held close, and the outcome was in doubt until the fourth quarter, when Illinois finally overpowered Nebraska and pulled away for the win. The Cornhuskers went home with an opening loss, but held the series advantage at 4–1.
Oklahoma
The Cornhuskers hosted Oklahoma for the first game played at the new Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The lopsided score does not tell the tale of the game, which was a bitter contest of near equals except for the breaks that fell in favor of the Cornhuskers. The Sooners repeatedly threatened to score and were thwarted by untimely errors, and the final Nebraska score came on another near-touchdown by Oklahoma that was turned over and returned 90 yards. Oklahoma remained winless in the series, trailing Nebraska 0-4-1.
Kansas
Although this was not the first game to be played at the new Memorial Stadium, this was the game associated with the official dedication of the facility, scheduled to coincide with homecoming. According to the Nebraska yearbook, there was apparently a streak of home field losses for area teams dedicating new stadiums at about this time, and although Nebraska did not drop this game, they also failed to get a win against visiting Kansas. Where Nebraska had the offense to move the ball, Kansas produced some stingy goal line stands to keep the Cornhuskers off the board for all four quarters, leaving both teams scoreless at the final whistle. Nebraska's overall lead in the series thus remained unchanged, at 19-9-2.
Missouri
For the second game in a row, Nebraska came out looking solid and played strong football, only to be met by an equally strong team opposing them. It was not a game filled with errors and mishaps, but rather two well-coached teams that matched up equally. As a result, the game ended in a 7–7 tie, the second consecutive tie game for Nebraska. The only other time Nebraska had tied two games in a row was in 1919, and it never happened again. Missouri still had a long way to go if they hoped to catch up the series, as they still lagged behind 3-13-1.