// This is the single game page 1961 Colorado football - HuskerMax

Colorado 7
Nebraska 0

Nov. 18, 1961 • 2 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE
1st 2nd 3rd 4th  F 
Colorado 0 0 7 0 7
Nebraska 0 0 0 0 0 
Third quarter
CU: Gale Weidner 1 run (Jerry 
    Hillebrand kick) 12:29
 
                          CU       NU
First downs ............. 20        0
  Rushing ............... 12        0
  Passing ................ 7        0
  Penalty ................ 1        0
Total offense ....... 71-343    41-31
Rushes-Net yards..... 57-193    36-31
  Yards gained ......... 217       48
  Yards lost ............ 24       17
Net yards passing ...... 150        0
  Comp-Att-Int ..... 10-14-0   0-12-0
Punts-Average ....... 3-32.3   9-38.4
  Blocked by ............. 0        0
Fumbles lost ............. 4        1
Penalized-Yards ....... 2-20     4-41
Muddy Nebraska sideline
Fullback Bill Comstock (33) and other Huskers sit on the muddy sideline.
RUSHING
CU: Schweninger 21-93; Harris 14-53; Mavity 9-26; Woods 6-29; Weidner 6-(-13); Somerville 1-5

NU: Thornton 9-30; Comstock 7-0; Claridge 5-(-3); Stuewe 4-8; Callahan 3-0; Donovan 1-(-4)

PASSING
CU: Weidner 10/14, 150 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT
NU: Claridge 0/8, 0 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT
    Meade 0/4, 0 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT

RECEIVING
CU: Hillebrand 4-84, Harris 2-45, Woods 2-12, Somerville 1-6, Schweninger 1-3.

NU: None.

MORE INDIVIDUAL STATS

Attendance: 28,108

Coverage

Recap

No joy in Mudville for Huskers: Not even a first down

On a Memorial Stadium field turned into a hog wallow by sopping snow, eighth-ranked Colorado proved to be the better mudders, throttling the Cornhuskers in a game far more one-sided than the 7-0 score.

Nebraska went without a first down or a completed pass for the second time in school history, matching a dreary milestone posted in a 0-0 tie against Pittsburgh in 1928. The Cornhuskers were outyarded 343 to 31 and never got beyond their own 41 in the first half or their own 28 in the second half. In the final 30 minutes, NU netted zero yards of total offense.

The score was kept deceptively close thanks to four lost fumbles and three missed field goals by the Buffaloes, and the booming punts of Nebraska’s Dennis Claridge.

On a gray, 31-degree day, Colorado broke the scoreless deadlock in the third quarter. CU linebacker Joe Romig’s tackle knocked the ball loose from Nebraska halfback Dick Callahan, and CU’s Claude Crabb recovered on the Cornhusker 11. Three plays and a penalty later, quarterback Gale Weidner wedged into the end zone from the 1, and Jerry Hillebrand added the point after.

CU advanced to the Nebraska 38, 29, 37 and 19 in the first half but came up empty each time. After their touch­down, the Buffaloes reached the NU 16 and 28, and on Colorado’s final possession, the game clock expired with the Buffs on the Nebraska 2 yard line.

 

NOTES
  • On the morning of the game, former Husker coach A.J. Lewandowski died of a heart attack at his home at age 56. The flag above the scoreboard was lowered to half-staff in his honor.
  • Bill “Thunder” Thornton had 30 yards rushing, accounting for all but one yard of NU’s total offense. An injury forced him to leave the game.
  • According to the Denver Post, the stadium caretaker complained to Nebraska coach Bill Jennings before the game that the coach should never allow any practice sessions on the stadium turf. “Which do you want, a good football team or a good field?” Jennings asked. The grounds­keeper’s retort: “It’s a hell of a note when you don’t have either one.”
  • Colorado improved to 6-0 in the Big Eight and 7-1 overall. Nebraska fell to 3-4-1 and 2-4.
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