Nebraska 40
Missouri 34

Nov. 4, 1950 • 2 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Missouri7713734
Nebraska013131440
First quarter
MU: Ed Stephens 7 run (John Glorioso kick)
Second quarter
MU: Glorioso 3 run (Glorioso kick)
NU: Bobby Reynolds 14 run (kick failed) 
NU: Reynolds 35 pass from Fran Nagle (Reynolds kick) 
Third quarter
NU: Frank Simon 37 pass from Nagle (kick failed)
MU: Stephens 2 run (kick failed)
NU: Ron Clark 10 run (Reynolds kick)
MU: Stephens 1 run (Glorioso kick)
Fourth quarter
NU: Dick Regier 15 pass from Nagle (Reynolds kick)
NU: Reynolds 33 run (Reynolds kick) 
MU: Phil Klein 1 run (Glorioso kick)
 
                          MU       NU
First downs ............. 22       24
 By rushing ............. 14       19
 By passing .............  7        5
 By penalty .............  1        0 
Rushing yards ....... 49-340   55-432
Passing yards .......... 162      120 
  Comp-Att-Int ..... 13-17-1   6-12-1
Total offense ....... 66-502   67-552
Punts-Average ....... 2-31.5   2-33.5  
Fumbles-Lost ............5-3      1-1
Ball lost on downs ....... 2        2
Penalized-Yards ....... 5-35    10-50

Attendance: 38,000
Dick Regier TD catch
Early in the fourth quarter, a Fran Nagle pass to Dick Regier in the end zone was too hot to handle, but the Husker end was able to bat the ball into the air, turn and make the catch for the touchdown. | 1951 Cornhusker yearbook
RUSHING
MU: Wren 15-172, Glorioso 13-122, Stephens 9-43, Klein 11-5, Denke 1-minus-2.

NU: Reynolds 25-175, Clark 14-129, Adduci 11-91, Mueller 2-28, Nagle 2-8, Bloom 1-1.

PASSING
MU: Klein 11-12-0 132, Glorioso 2-3-0 30, Wren 0-1-0 0, Stephens 0-1-1 0.

NU: Nagle 6-9-0 120, Reynolds 0-2-1 0, Clark 0-1-0 0.

MORE INDIVIDUAL STATS

Coverage

Recap

Wild victory, incredible run in Lincoln

It was a shootout unlike any other in the 60-year history of Nebraska football: Five lead changes in the second half. Each team with at least five touch­downs and 500 yards of total offense. And an unforgettable fourth-quarter run by sophomore sensation Bobby Reynolds to help seal a 40-34 Husker win over visiting Missouri.

reynolds (2K)
REYNOLDS

Clinging to a 33-27 lead and facing fourth-and-one at the Mizzou 33 midway through the fourth quarter, the Huskers sent Reynolds on a right sweep. Nebraska’s blocking quickly broke down, and Reynolds was forced to retreat. Stiff-arming, spinning and weaving, he was chased nearly 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage before finally turning back upfield.

Now he was headed in the right direction, but disaster was far from averted. Missouri defenders remained in hot pursuit, but a few nifty moves, a couple of broken tackles and some timely blocks left Tigers grasping air or tasting turf as Reynolds made his way down the right sideline. Past the first-down marker he went, and then all the way into the end zone, much to the delight and amazement of the Homecoming crowd.

nagle
NAGLE

That wasn’t the only TD that had the Nebraska partisans buzzing. In the waning seconds of the first half, Fran Nagle eluded a tackler a dozen yards behind the line of scrimmage and heaved a pass nearly 50 yards into the end zone, where Reynolds out­fought two well-positioned defenders to make an improbable catch. The score completed a three-play, 77-yard drive and made it a 14-13 game at intermission.

Though Nebraska led by 40-27 after Reynolds’ spectacular fourth-quarter run, the Tigers were far from finished. Missouri put together a 63-yard touchdown drive to make it a six-point game with 1:50 left and then forced the Huskers to punt. Taking over at their own 49, the Tigers had time for just one play. The snap from center to quarterback was fumbled, but halfback John Glorioso alertly picked up the ball, faded back and and heaved a long pass downfield. Inside the NU 10, Nebraska’s Ron Clark deflected the ball upward, and it hung in the air for a dangerous moment or two before falling incomplete.

The wild victory was in the books. As it turned out, Nebraska coach Bill Glassford was spot-on when he had this to say a day or two before the game: “I figure we will have to score five touchdowns to win, and I doubt if that will be enough.”

It was as fren­zied a football contest as had ever been played on Nebraska soil. … Sensa­tion­al plays were piled one upon the other.

If that AP description seems hyper­bolic, consider this: Until 1950, there had never been a Husker game in which both teams scored at least 21 points.

Notes
  • Bobby Reynolds had “the run,” but he was far from alone in piling up the yards. Three other players rushed for 120-plus yards as the teams combined for 772 net yards on the ground.
  • Reynolds boosted his season rushing total to 1,010 yards in just six games.
  • Missouri’s starting halfbacks had the game’s two longest gains from scrimmage. Runs of 50 yards by John Glorioso and 47 yards by Junior Wren set up third-quarter touchdowns for the Tigers.
  • The Huskers’ victory broke a five-game losing streak in the series.
  • Homecoming weekend in Lincoln also served as a 10-year reunion for Nebraska’s Rose Bowl team of the 1940 season.
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