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Nebraska Football: Five Greatest Husker Coaches You’ve Never Heard About

By Oliver Vandervoort

Sep 19, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Mike Riley reacts on the sideline during the second half against Miami Hurricanes at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 19, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Mike Riley reacts on the sideline during the second half against Miami Hurricanes at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 6, 2014; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers mascot Herbie Husker performs during the game against the McNeese State Cowboys in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports /

W. C. Cole

W. C. Cole coached the Nebraska football team from 1907 to 1910 and he was quite successful in his short run here. His football career started at Michigan when he played for legendary coach Fielding Yost.

In 1903, he got his first head coaching job with Marietta, and then coached two years for Virginia when he went 12-6. In 1907 he took over the Cornhuskers and went 8-2 and won a conference championship in his first season at the helm.

His second season was almost as good going 7-2-1 and finishing second in the conference (Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association) While he took a step back in his third season, his fourth season was his second conference title and he went 7-1.

Overall, Cole was 25-8 for the Huskers and seemed to be on his way to a great career. The hitch was that back then, coaches didn’t need to be full time members of the staff. That changed after the 1910 season when the school decided all staff members needed to be part of the faculty.

Cole had a ranch in Montana he needed to pay more attention to than the job would allow so he left. He went out in a big way as his final game with the Nebraska football program was a 119-0 win over the Haskell College Indians. That’s still the highest point total and biggest win in school history.

Next: Fred Dawson

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