Notre Dame came into their Thanksgiving Day matchup with Nebraska ready for revenge. The Cornhuskers had handed coach Jesse Harper's boys their only defeat of the prior year and the Catholics circled the 1916 game as a chance at redemption.

Ironically, Harper wasn't even in attendance at the game in Lincoln. The Notre Dame coach was away at the Western Conference annual meeting in Chicago. In his abscence, the coaching duties for the game were handed to assistant coach Knute Rockne.

Notre Dame was as close to perfect as you could get without being undefeated. They won seven of their first eight games all by shutouts. The only team to score on them was an Army squad that defeated Notre Dame 30-10.

Nebraska had an impressive record on the year as well. Four of their six wins were shutouts and their only loss was a 4-point defeat against Kansas. Nebraska, however, knew Notre Dame would be a tough task. The Hoosiers were much faster than the Cornhuskers and Nebraska no longer had the talents of All-American Guy Chamberlin to depend upon. Worse than that was the Cornhuskers loss of head coach Jumbo Steihm at the end of last season. New coach E.J. Stewart decided to rely on the Cornhuskers' superior size by lining up with two fullbacks and no quarterback. This would allow the Cornhuskers to have both Hugo Outopalik and Paul Dobson in the game.

Notre Dame started off quickly. In the first quarter halfback Arthur Bergman took the ball around right end and out-ran the Nebraska defense for 44 yards and a touchdown. The kick was missed. Both teams turned on their efficient defenses for the rest of the half. Neither team was able to work up much steam on offense. Paul Dobson, John Cook and Harold Corey all took turns trying to break through the Notre Dame line but couldn't push the ball close enough. The half ended with the Catholics on top 6-0.

Nebraska figured to have an advantage in the second half. Notre Dame captain halfback Stan Cofall left the game in the first half with an injury. Cofall had been the team's on-field leader all year long.

Nebraska's strategy of pounding the Notre Dame defense into submission appeared to be working in the third period. Cook and Caley were able to get the ball downfield and within striking distance of scoring from inside the Notre Dame 20 yard line. Suddenly Nebraska's hopes collapsed. On a drive into the line the ball came loose and speedy Notre Dame end Harry Baujan scooped it up. He raced 78 yards for the Catholics second touchdown of the game. The kick was good and Notre Dame had a 13-0 lead after three periods.

Nebraska's boys were crushed by the turn of events, while Notre Dame's sideline erupted with enthusiasm. The Hoosiers kept their spirits high in the fourth with a series of well executed forward passes by back John Miller. Bergman hauled in one fourth quarter pass for the Catholics final touchdown of the game and a 20-0 victory.

After three straight seasons of seven wins or more, the 1916 campaign for Nebraska was called the "dark ages" by the student yearbook. The team still finished with six wins and just two losses while capturing the Missouri Valley Conference championship. So began the high standards of Cornhusker football at Nebraska.