1958 record 3–7 (1–5 Big 7) | ||
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Head coach Bill Jennings (2nd year) | ||
The 1958 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska and member of the Big 7 Conference in the 1958 college football season. The team was coached by Bill Jennings and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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Before the season
Nebraska was reeling from the 1957 season that saw a new all-time low mark set when the Cornhuskers finished 1-9-0, which was the first 1-win season since 1899, and the first ever 9-loss season. Coach Jennings began the second year of his first head coaching job with few places to go but up, but led a young squad with only six seniors. The 1958 schedule was loaded with powerhouse teams from the east, every bit as difficult as the 1957 slate had been, so the task to succeed over last year would not be an easy one.
After the season
It wasn't easy to determine if 1958 was a successful season or another failure. Coach Jennings had improved over last year's dismal 1-9-0 outing, but only to 3-7-0 and a 6th-place finish in the Big 7. On the other hand, surprise upset wins against Syracuse and especially against Pittsburgh were remarkable bright spots on an otherwise dreary year. These two unexpected wins may have played a part in Jennings being given additional time to see if he could turn the program around. Now with two years on the job, Coach Jennings had compiled a dismal 4-16-0 (.200) career record, with an even worse 2-10-0 (.167) history within the conference. Nebraska's overall program record slipped for the 8th straight year, to 355-205-34 (.626), with a Big 7 record now down to 148-68-12 (.689).