1954 Omaha Indians football team

1954 Omaha Indians football
Tangerine Bowl champion
ConferenceIndependent
Record10–0
Head coach
CaptainRudy Rotella, Emil Radik
Home stadiumUniversity Stadium
Seasons
← 1953
1955 →
1954 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Omaha     10 0 0
No. 4 Notre Dame     9 1 0
Wabash     7 1 1
Cincinnati     8 2 0
Youngstown     7 2 0
Washington University     6 3 0
Carthage     5 3 0
Dayton     5 5 0
Marquette     3 5 1
Wayne     3 5 1
John Carroll     3 5 0
Rose Poly     2 5 0
Drake     2 7 0
Xavier     2 8 0
Baldwin–Wallace     1 8 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1954 Omaha Indians football team was an American football team that represented the University of Omaha (now known as the University of Nebraska Omaha) as an independent during the 1954 college football season. In their eighth year under head coach Lloyd Cardwell, the Indians compiled a perfect 10–0 record, defeated Eastern Kentucky in the 1955 Tangerine Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 360 to 67.[1] The Tangerine Bowl was the first bowl game in Omaha program history.[2]

Omaha tailback Bill Engelhardt was the national total offense champion among small college players with 1,645 yards. He tallied 584 rushing yards on 134 carries and 1,061 passing yards (56 of 109 passing) during the regular season. He also scored 88 points on 13 touchdowns and 10 extra points.[3] Engelhardt also tallied 151 yards and scored all seven Omaha points in the Tangerine Bowl.[4]

The team played its home games at University Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.[5]

  1. ^ "1954 - Nebraska-Omaha". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Tangerine Bowl OK for Omaha U.: U.S. Honors Also to Champ Ground Gainer Engelhardt; Game at Orlando, Fla". Omaha Daily Journal-Stockman. November 15, 1954. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Omaha's Bill Engelhardt National Yardage Champ". The Gateway. November 19, 1954. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tang was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "OU Grid Season Opens Tomorrow: Omaha Eleven Journeys to Fort Hays for Game". The Gateweay. September 17, 1954. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.