Nebraska vs. the Military Academies: A Bit of Football History

Without peeking, can you guess which two years a loss to Army or Air Force kept Nebraska from going undefeated?

Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI | Jul 4, 2025

Bennie Dillard cradles the ball en route to Nebraska's winning touchdown against Army in 1960. / Cornhusker Yearbook

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Editor's note: This article is the work of Thomas Kraft, who asked us to share it with HuskerMax readers. Independence Day seems as appropriate a time as any to do so.

Nebraska has engaged service academies in football seven times: Five games against Army and two against Air Force. The Huskers have never played the Midshipmen at the Naval Academy. On two occasions, Nebraska’s foe handed the Huskers their only defeat of the season. On two occasions, one team or the other was scoreless, and the last meeting to put it bluntly was a blowout. So let's start with the last meeting with a service academy, which was held at West Point’s Michie Stadium during September of 1972.

When I think of military aviation in general, it’s the Army that has the helicopters and it's the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps who have the jets. But on Sept. 23, 1972, it was Nebraska who had the jet and that was Johnny “the Jet” Rodgers. The Cadets of the Military Academy knew what was coming. Two years earlier in Lincoln, Rodgers had scored twice and for this game he scored three times and was named offensive player of the game. Another legendary Husker, Rich Glover, was the defensive player of the game. The Blackshirts held Army to a total of 124 yards, and on the ground Army was in retreat with a minus-12 yards. The Cadets did manage to score during the last 35 seconds of play. I suspect there are a number of lesser-known Huskers who remember this game because all 49 players of the travel team saw action. The game was noteworthy because it was the most points scored in the nation in 1972. The final: 77-7.

I have no recollection of what I was doing on Sept. 25 or Sept. 27, 1970, but I do have some memory regarding Sept. 26, 1970 - nearly 55 years ago. My directive was to drive a busload of Military Academy cadets to UNL's Memorial Stadium and back. The cadets had flown in to the Air National Guard base in Lincoln to cheer on their team, and as their driver I needed to look good -- in other words, no fatigues. I was a member of the Guard and my uniform was Air Force Class A. I wore a blue jacket, blue slacks, light blue long-sleeve shirt, blue tie, black socks, spit-shined dress shoes and my blue (saucer) service cap. I don’t recall watching the game, but Nebraska was on its way to its first national championship season. Coach Bob Devaney's steamroller was gathering speed as the Huskers kept Army scoreless, with the final 28-0.

These last two games were unquestionably one-sided affairs, but it hasn’t always been that way.

If we go back to 1957 we would find Nebraska and first-year head coach Bill Jennings traveling to West Point for Army’s first game of the season. It was Sept. 28 and the Cadets were ready for their Big Seven Conference opponent. The 1957 season is not one Husker fans care to remember because Nebraska would squeak out just one win all season. For this event, Army dominated the battlefield 42-0.

On April 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation for construction of the Air Force Academy. The first class and football team started in 1955. The Air Force Falcons would take on the Huskers for the first time in Lincoln on Oct. 12, 1963. Second-year head coach Bob Devaney was 3-0 for the season and would go on to first place in the Big Eight, a final ranking of sixth in the AP poll and a win over Auburn in the Orange Bowl. The first Nebraska Air Force game was a close one. After three quarters the Huskers led 13-10. However, a 38-yard touchdown pass from Air Force quarterback Terry Isaacson to end Fritz Greenlee would be the undoing of a perfect season for the Big Red. The final: Air Force 17, Nebraska 13.

Winding the clock back to 1928 would bring us to the first matchup between Nebraska and Army. Nebraska was part of the Big Six Conference at the time and was coached by Ernest Bearg. The last four games of the season are worth noting. On Nov. 10, the Huskers defeated Oklahoma in Norman 44-6. A week later they would engage nonconference Pittsburg in Lincoln, ending in a 0-0 tie. Then what mirrors the 1963 season, they played Army at West Point on the 24th and were defeated 13-3. That must have been a long (train?) ride back to Lincoln. In any event, the year would end on a high note because the last game, on Nov. 29 in Lincoln against Kansas State, would be an 8-0 win for the Cornhuskers, making the season 7-1-1. They were the Big Six champions, and again, the only loss was to a military academy. This time it was Army.

The Air Force Academy's Falcon Stadium was complete and ready for use on Sept. 22, 1962. The Huskers have played there once, on Sept. 25, 1965. A noteworthy performer was Husker fullback Frank Solich, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 204 yards. It was a first time a Husker rushed for 200 yards in a game, and the record would stand for 11 years. Nebraska won 27-17 to even the series, and the two teams have not played since.

The other game against Army I have not mentioned was under the reign of Nebraska head coach Bill Jennings. Jennings coached at Nebraska from 1957 through1961. As mentioned earlier, his second game as head coach, in 1957 at West Point, was a resounding defeat for the Huskers. Three years later in Lincoln on Oct. 15, 1960, however, Nebraska quarterback Pat Fischer connected with Bennie Dillard on on a 57-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, which would push the Huskers to a 14-9 victory over Army. This was one of only four wins for Nebraska in 1960, and after coaching just one more year, Jennings left and Bob Devaney assumed control.

In the final battle tally, Nebraska vs. Air Force stands at a 1-1 draw. Regarding West Point, Nebraska leads the series 3-2. My little bit of this history was shuttling cadets to and from the stadium for the last game a military academy has played in Lincoln. As mentioned earlier, Devaney’s Orange Bowl-bound Huskers easily defeated Army 28-zip. I don’t remember a lot about the bus ride back to the National Guard base. It was quiet, not much conversation. The cadets were polite and thanked me for my services as they disembarked. After all, this was 1970 and although the war in Southeast Asia was winding down, for some of my passengers, especially those who would graduate in the spring, they likely had heavier things in mind.