1959 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team The 1959 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska and member of the Big 7 Conference in the 1959 college football season . The team was coached by Bill Jennings and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln , Nebraska . Before the season . Coach Jennings oversaw some minor changes to his assistant coaches , the most noteworthy being the replacement of longtime assistant L . F . Klien . The one new member of the staff , Russ Faulkinberry , would eventually go on to lead the football team at the University of Southwestern Louisiana , renaming them as the Ragin ' Cajuns during his tenure . With the new staff in place , Jennings was charged with proving that the two non - conference upset victories during the previous season were not flukes , and that he could do better than 6th place in the Big 7 . This would not be an easy task to fulfill , as yet another difficult non - conference schedule loomed , with visits by Texas , Oregon State and Indiana , as well as a road trip to rival Minnesota . The stakes for this year ' s homecoming game were also increased , as perennial Big 7 champion Oklahoma moved up from the usual season - ending spot to appear in Lincoln for that game . Game notes . Texas . The bright spot on this day for the Cornhusker faithful was when HB Pat Fischer ran 92 yards to score in a repeat performance of the same feat accomplished in last year ' s surprise defeat of Penn State . However , a clipping penalty resulted in the score being called back . Nothing else went right for Nebraska in game as # 17 Texas rolled off 20 points and started Nebraska ' s season off with a 0 - 20 shutout loss . This was only the second time the teams had met , and they were now even at 1 - 1 after Nebraska ' s 1933 win . Minnesota . At first it seemed like it was going to be another dark day for Nebraska in Minneapolis , the site of so many severe drubbings , as Minnesota took the early lead . As the clock wore on , however , the Golden Gophers began to stall , and the Cornhuskers capitalized to go up 13 - 12 by the half . Minnesota came out flat after the break and never scored again , as Nebraska punched in another 19 points to secure an unexpected and long - sought victory over their main northern rival . It was only the 6th win that the Cornhuskers had earned over Minnesota in 36 attempts dating back to 1900 . Oregon State . Nebraska ' s defense answered the call on this day as the Beavers repeatedly approached the goal line and were turned away time and time again . The day was a defensive affair on both sides , and despite the hard work of both teams that netted only one touchdown each , the outcome was ultimately decided by Nebraska ' s successful extra point , kicked through the uprights by PK Harry Tolly . The Cornhuskers improved to 7 - 2 over Oregon State all - time . Kansas . The Cornhuskers were hard - pressed to bring a full - strength team out to face Kansas , as numerous injuries had hobbled starters during the nonconference matchups . The Jayhawks fought Nebraska close , the teams combining to forge a mere 3 - 3 score by the half . Then , disaster struck the Cornhuskers when starting QB Tom Kramer was injured and came out of the game , severely hampering Nebraska ' s ability to score . The Jayhawks did put in another touchdown to take the win , moving to 16 - 46 - 3 in the series . Kramer ' s injury turned out to be severe enough that he was lost for the season , which considerably darkened the outlook for a successful Nebraska season . Indiana . Barely two minutes into the game , the Cornhuskers gave up a fumble which was quickly converted into points by the Hoosiers . Indiana then held the lead for the rest of the day , helped along by Cornhusker blunders and inexperience . A lone Nebraska touchdown avoided the shutout as Indiana enjoyed their 10th straight undefeated game against the Cornhuskers and improved to 9 - 3 - 3 in the series . Missouri . With the season ' s momentum waning , the Cornhuskers traveled to Columbia and were wholly ineffective at making any offensive production . The game had opened with an early Missouri field goal that was made possible by a disputed call . Any question that the game was thrown by the call was set aside when the Tigers scored again in the second half with no attached controversy . Missouri improved to 21 - 28 - 3 in the series and kept the Missouri - Nebraska bell for the third year in a row . The scoreless Nebraska squad returned to Lincoln with the season ' s second shutout loss and carrying a 2 - 4 record so far , with conference champion powerhouse Oklahoma next on the slate . Oklahoma . Reigning 12 - year league champion Oklahoma arrived in Lincoln favored by two touchdowns , and there was little reason to expect anything else . Throughout the first half , the Cornhuskers bravely fought to keep up , matching each of the two Sooner touchdowns but missing the extra points . Coming out after the break behind 12 - 14 , it only remained to see how much longer the Nebraska squad could keep up before running out of steam and becoming the latest team defeated by Oklahoma . Nebraska opened the second half with a field goal to go ahead for the first time , and to everyone ' s surprise , kept the Sooners off the scoreboard for the rest of the quarter . Suddenly , the game was in reach , and the emboldened Cornhuskers added another touchdown with help from a lost Sooner fumble , and a field goal , to go ahead 25 - 14 before the stunned crowd . Oklahoma came to life and responded to move within four points , and then quickly forced a Nebraska punt to get the ball again . Marching down the field for 67 yards in just nine plays , the Sooners were set to take back the game when Cornhusker QB Ron Meade , on the field assisting the defense , picked off an Oklahoma pass in the end zone with less than a minute remaining to seal the upset victory . The Oklahoma loss was the first conference defeat in Sooner Head Coach Bud Wilkinson ' s 13 - year career , snapped Oklahoma ' s remarkable 74 - game league winning streak , and snapped Nebraska ' s 16 - game losing streak to the Sooners in what was arguably the greatest triumph in Coach Jennings ' career . Nebraska made a bid to take back the series with Oklahoma , moving to 17 - 18 - 3 . Iowa State . Riding high on the upset defeat of Oklahoma the week prior , Nebraska now had an outside shot at the conference championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1954 , if the now - vulnerable Sooners would lose another game or two . Iowa State was unimpressed with the Cornhuskers , however , and held them off of the scoreboard for nearly the entire game . Nebraska avoided the shutout on the road with just a single fourth - quarter touchdown . It was a very abrupt reversal of fortunes for a Nebraska team that had seen great success and dismal defeat just weeks apart . The Cyclone win was their 10th in all 53 attempts . Colorado . The last home game of 1959 was on a very cold day , and Colorado arrived enjoying a three - game winning streak over the Cornhuskers . The matchup was a farily evenly - played affair , with the outcome decided by the abilities of the kickers . Nebraska QB Ron Meade ' s two kicks after touchdowns were good , while the two Buffalo kicks were not . Nebraska ' s 1959 seniors left Memorial Stadium for the last time , with a win , the program ' s 150th conference victory all - time . Colorado slipped to 8 - 10 - 0 in the series . Kansas State . The Cornhuskers were heavily favored to beat the weakened Wildcats despite the two - game winning streak that Kansas State had in the series . A season defined by the dramatic upset over Oklahoma was destined to end with an embarrassing 14 - 29 defeat at the hands of the undermanned and outgunned Kansas State squad . The Wildcats took their third straight game against Nebraska to try to close the gap in the series , moving to 9 - 32 - 2 . After the season . Head Coach Jennings ' s third campaign left the fans unsure of what to expect going forward . Flashes of brilliance with underdog defeats of Minnesota and Oklahoma this year , preceded by upsets of Pittsburgh and Penn State in 1958 , were offset by unexplained losses to weak teams and the third overall losing season in a row , with Big 7 finishes of 7th , 6th , and 6th over his tenure . The university opted to continue with their current football coach , and Jennings hoped to move forward and improve on his career record of 8 - 22 - 0 ( . 267 ) , and especially his conference record of 4 - 14 - 0 ( . 222 ) . Nebraska ' s overall program total slipped for the ninth straight year , tying the nine - year percentage slide record set from 1941 – 1949 , as it fell to 359 - 211 - 34 ( . 623 ) . The conference record also dropped further as well , to 150 - 72 - 12 ( . 667 ) .