By J. Hudson, May 27, 2010

In danger of going down to defeat in their 1925 home debut, the Cornhuskers blocked a Washington extra-point attempt in the fourth quarter to salvage a 6-6 tie with the Huskies.

Washington had just driven 60 yards in six plays, a rare burst of success in a game that saw little sustained offense by either squad. George Guttormsen's point-after might well have sealed a win for the westerners, but three Nebraska linemen swarmed through and blocked the drop-kick.

Nebraska had taken a 6-0 lead in the third quarter by capitalizing on Lonnie Stiner's recovery of a UW fumble at the Huskies' 22. A 10-yard pass from southpaw quarterback Bob Stephens to halfback Avard Mandery provided a key third-down conversion. The Cornhusker touchdown came on a second-down play from the five in which the visitors were fooled by a fake plunge up the middle and Mandery scooted around right end and over the goal-line chalk. Stephens' extra-point kick was low and short.

Late in the game, after the Huskies had tied it, Nebraska drove to the UW 39 but surrendered the ball on downs. A few plays later, as Washington tried to mount a game-winning drive of its own, NU's James Wickman, who had just entered the game, batted a George Wilson pass into the air and Ed Weir intercepted it to give NU the ball at its own 46. But the Cornhuskers could get off only two plays, netting just 9 yards before the final gun sounded.

Each team squandered a chance in the scoreless first half.

Early in the second quarter, Nebraska center Harold Hutchison blocked a UW punt and recovered the ball on the Huskies' 19-yard line. Seven plays later, it was fourth and goal at Washington's 3. Stephens tossed a short pass to Mandery at the goal line for what seemed a sure touchdown, but the halfback from Tecumseh dropped the ball.

Washington later returned the favor when the Huskies drove from their own 47-yard line to the Nebraska 1 only to have the first-half clock expire as they lined up for one more play.

NOTES: The tie was the only blot on UW's regular-season record. The 10-0-1 Huskies earned their second Rose Bowl berth in three seasons but lost to Alabama in Pasadena, 20-19. … NU's only penalty was a big one: a 25-yarder in the first quarter for “hacking.” … The Lincoln Star's Cy Sherman clearly wasn't entertained. He described the game as “an almost colorless hour of jousting” that featured a “meagre contribution of thrills.” … Like NU's Ed Weir, UW halfback George Wilson is in the College Football Hall of Fame.