Huskers Climb in National Polls

Lincoln -- Nebraska moved up in both national polls on Sunday following the Huskers' 28-0 shutout over Iowa State. Nebraska, 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12, moved up to ninth from ninth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, while jumping two spots, from 14th to 12th in the Associated Press poll.

The Huskers will travel to Texas (6-2, 3-1), which is ranked 16th in both weekly polls, this Saturday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. The game will be carried on ABC to much of the USA, but check local listings to see if it carried in your area.

Oklahoma kept its season-long grip on the top spot of the poll by receiving 62 of the 65 first-place votes after a 34-20 win at Colorado on Saturday. Miami, which was off this week, got the other three first-place votes.

The Sooners (8-0) received 1,622 points in balloting by the panel of sports writers and broadcasters and the Hurricanes (7-0) had 1,563.

Southern California matched their highest ranking of the season after beating the Huskies 43-23. USC jumped over Virginia Tech, which fell from third to 10th following a 28-7 loss at West Virginia last Wednesday night. Georgia remained fourth after beating UAB 16-13.

Northern Illinois also fell from the ranks of the unbeatens as their bid to bust up the BCS died with a 34-18 loss at Bowling Green. The Huskies dropped from 12th to a tie for 21st in the poll.

TCU, the only other undefeated team in major college football, remained 15th after beating Houston 62-55.

Florida State, Washington State, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan State and Virginia Tech round out the Top 10.

The USA Today/ESPN coaches poll had the same top six teams as the AP.

Michigan leads off the second 10, followed by Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Bowling Green, Purdue, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Auburn, Wisconsin, Arkansas and Utah dropped out of the poll this week, while Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota and Pittsburgh moved in. The Rebels are ranked for the first time this season.

Missouri is tied with Northern Illinois at 21st, followed by Florida, Minnesota and Pittsburgh.

The Big Ten leads all conferences with six teams in the poll, followed by five apiece for the Big 12 and SEC. The Big East has three, the Pac-10 has two and Florida State is the only ACC team in the poll.

Team
Comparison Nebraska (7-1, 3-1) Texas (6-2, 3-1)Avg. Natl. Big 12  Avg. Natl. Big 12 Rushing offense 259.13    4th 1st 205.13    16th 9thPassing offense 98.25    115th 12th 221.38    56th 5thPass efficiency 123.61    66th 9th 155.28    9th 3rdTotal offense 357.38    73rd 10th 426.50    26th 5thScoring offense 29.25    36th 8th 42.25    3rd 3rdRushing defense 97.50    18th 1st 166.25    76th 7thPass defense 154.88    5th 2nd 156.75    6th 3rdPass eff. defense 78.88    1st 1st 108.05    24th 3rdTotal defense 252.38    3rd 1st 323.00    27th 4thScoring defense 11.38    2nd 1st 21.75    47th 5thNet punting 40.15    12th 1st 37.36    40th 7thPunt returns 10.97    37th 8th 14.65    11th 4thKickoff returns 24.86    12th 2nd 20.08    68th 10thTurnover margin +1.88    t-1st 1st +0.63    t-32nd 4th

Big 12 standingsNorth Conference Overall Home Away W L PF PA W L PF PA Str W L W LNebraska 3 1 117 60 7 1 234 91 Won 2 6 0 1 1Missouri 2 2 130 124 6 2 265 186 Won 1 5 0 1 2Kansas State 2 2 145 88 6 3 341 169 Won 2 6 1 0 2Kansas 2 2 116 127 5 3 265 220 Lost 1 4 1 1 2Colorado 1 3 120 172 3 5 211 315 Lost 2 3 2 0 3Iowa State 0 4 47 173 2 6 149 267 Lost 6 2 3 0 3         North Conference Overall Home Away W L PF PA W L PF PA Str W L W L Oklahoma

4

0

186

53

8

0

354

121

Won 8

4

0

4

0 Oklahoma State

3

1

134

110

7

1

325

146

Won 7

5

0

2

1 Texas

3

1

133

104

6

2

338

174

Won 2

3

2

3

0 Texas Tech

2

2

191

162

5

3

361

294

Lost 2

4

0

1

3 Baylor

1

3

73

187

3

5

143

276

Lost 3

3

2

0

3 Texas A&M

1

3

123

155

3

5

222

264

Lost 2

3

2

0

3