Behm recalled walking onto the field, where the largest crowd of spectators ever, witnessed a live Nebraska game. 92,000 screaming fans greeted the Huskers with the yell of the Stanford Indians, "Give em the axe, the axe, the axe, the axe." Focused on the game ahead of them, Nebraska's team returned Stanford's kickoff with Francis running for 28 yards, putting the ball on the Husker's 47 yard line. On the next play Francis moved the ball forward another 14 yards, then Walter Luther did the same for 13 more yards. After a few reverses, Luther had moved the ball to the one yard line. Francis fought his way over the Stanford line then scored the extra point. The Huskers were leading.
Spirits on the Nebraska team were high, Forrest Behm remembers thinking, "We were going to win the game. No question about it. And we marched right down the field; we moved the ball well, and... I thought we handled the thing quite well." Allen Zikmund has similar recollections, "We thought, 'This is going to be great.' Because we moved down that field just... like we did all year long. You know, and it looked like, boy, this is going to be our day." But as it turned out, it was not the Husker's day.
Stanford's Albert and Kmetovic were soon confusing the Huskers. Fake passes and hand-offs left the Huskers wondering who had the ball. Albert was hiding hand-offs to Kmetovic, who was sailing by the Huskers, first gaining 29 yards then another 9. Only a few yards from the Nebraska endzone, Albert faked a pass then slipped Gallarneau the ball. Gallarneau sped through the bewildered Huskers to score. Albert kicked for the extra point and shored up the score.
The Huskers returned the favor when Al Zikmund scooped up Albert's fumble on the Stanford 33 yard line. Nebraska's Herman Rohrig passed the ball back to Zikmund who blazed past Stanford's Gallarneau for the Husker's second touchdown. The score stood at 13-7 after Nebraska missed the extra point.
Zikmund's speed was checked only a few plays later when his shin was fractured during a tackle. Stanford had begun to wear out and wear down the Huskers. With Zikmund out and Behm hobbled by his hip injury the team was beginning to suffer. After Stanford's Albert and Gallarneau scored another touchdown and extra point the Indians took the slim lead. At the beginning of the third quarter Stanford took the ball to Nebraska's two yard line. Stanford tried to push over the line four times but the determined Nebraskans used the last of their energy to hold them back.
Relieved after holding their line so long Nebraska punted. The ball was recovered by Kmetovic on the 50-yard line. He ran first to the left, where five Huskers were closing in on him. Kmetovic turned and ran back toward his own goal as Indian blockers gathered in a protective line. Stanford's blockers smashed the fatigued Husker tacklers, two were knocked unconscious, others sent flying like rag dolls. Kmetovic burst through the splintered Husker line into the endzone for the game winning touchdown.
Huskers, from coaches and players to fans, were disappointed but proud of their team. They had played valiantly through crippling injuries against a formidable team. Clark Shaughnessy, Stanford's head coach complimented the Huskers as a "Great club-the toughest we met this year."
