Huskers and Ducks to Meet for First Time Since 1986

GAME 3: NEBRASKA vs. OREGON
SEPT. 17, 2016 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
LINCOLN, NEB. | 2:30 p.m. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - ABC (Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, Allison Williams)
RADIO - Husker Sports Network
SATELLITE RADIO - Sirius Channel 83, XM 202
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com

HUSKERS
Record: 2-0, 0-0 Big Ten
Last Game: Wyoming, W, 52-17
Rankings: RV
Series: Nebraska, 5-1
Coach: Mike Riley
Career/NU Record: 101-87 (16th Year)/8-7 (2nd Year) 
vs. Oregon: 4-10

DUCKS
Record: 2-0, 0-0 Pac-12
Last Game: Virginia, W, 44-26
Rankings: 22-AP; 21-Coaches
Coach: Mark Helfrich
Career/Oregon Record: 35-8 (4th Year)/Same
vs. Nebraska: First Meeting

The Matchup
Nebraska completes its season-opening homestand at Memorial Stadium this Saturday when the Huskers play host to the Oregon Ducks. Game time in Lincoln is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT) with the contest televised nationally on ABC.

The contest is a highly anticipated intersectional non-conference matchup. It also marks another milestone in one of the most remarkable streaks in college sports, as Nebraska will celebrate the 350th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Nebraska comes into the contest with a 2-0 record, after a 52-17 victory over Wyoming on Saturday. The Huskers broke open the game with 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away. Nebraska used a big-play passing attack and six takeaways to key the victory.

Oregon will also bring a 2-0 mark into Lincoln, following a 44-26 home win over Virginia on Saturday night. The Ducks once again feature one of the nation's high-powered offenses, averaging 48.5 points and 577.0 yards per game. Oregon is ranked 22nd in this week's AP Poll and check in at No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Oregon is one of the nation's most successful programs over the past several years. Since 2010, the Ducks' 71 victories trail only Alabama among all FBS programs.

The game with Oregon is the first in a home-and-home series between the schools. Nebraska will visit Eugene, Ore., on Sept. 9, 2017.

Nebraska Football Top 10
• Nebraska is 882-368-40 all-time, one of only 10 schools with 800 wins.

• The Cornhuskers rank fourth all-time with their 882 victories.

• Nebraska has won five national titles (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997).

• The Huskers have won 46 conference championships.

• Nebraska’s 52 all-time bowl appearances rank third nationally.

• Three Huskers have won the Heisman Trophy (Rodgers, Rozier, Crouch).

• Nebraska’s 107 football Academic All-Americans lead the nation.

• The Huskers have 110 first-team All-Americans in school history.

• Nebraska football is the only team in any sport in NCAA history to total 100 athletic and academic All-Americans.

• Memorial Stadium has been sold out every game since Nov. 2, 1962, a streak of 349 consecutive sellouts.

Nebraska-Oregon Series
• Saturday's meeting is the first in a home-and-home series between the schools, and is the first meeting between the teams in 30 years.

• Nebraska has won four straight games in the series, outscoring Oregon, 206-28, during the winning streak.

• Oregon has been unranked in the first six meetings between the schools, while Nebraska was ranked in the four meetings prior to this year.

Riley, Staff have Long History of Facing Oregon
Nebraska Head Coach Mike Riley is in his second season in Lincoln. Before taking over the Husker program, he was the head coach at Oregon State for 14 seasons, where his Beaver teams battled Oregon each year in a rivalry known as the Civil War.

• Riley owns a 4-10 record against Oregon, twice knocking off ranked Duck teams during his OSU tenure.

• Riley's most recent victory over Oregon came in the 2007 season.

Riley Owns Success Against Ranked Opponents
Oregon heads to Lincoln ranked 22nd in the Associated Press Poll and No. 21 in the coaches poll. Mike Riley has a strong history of upending ranked teams during his college coaching career.

• Riley-coached teams have 15 wins over ranked teams in his 16 seasons as a college coach, 14 at Oregon State and a win over Michigan State in 2015.

• Last year's win over No. 6 Michigan State marked the sixth top-10 opponent a Riley-coached team defeated since 2006.

• Riley owns a pair of victories over ranked Oregon teams, a 44-41 win in two overtimes against No. 15 Oregon in 1998, and a 38-31 double-overtime win over the 16th-ranked Ducks in 2007.

WINS BY RILEY-COACHED TEAMS vs. TOP 25
1998 No. 16 Oregon W, 44-41 (2ot) 2005 No. 18 California W, 23-20
2006 No. 3 USC W, 33-31
2006 No. 24 Hawaii W, 35-32
2007 No. 2 California W, 31-28
2007 No. 16 Oregon W, 38-31 (2ot)
2008 No. 1 USC W, 27-21
2008 No. 19 Pittsburgh W, 3-0
2009 No. 23 California W, 31-14
2010 No. 9 Arizona W, 29-27
2010 No. 20 USC W, 36-7
2012 No. 13 Wisconsin W, 10-7
2012 No. 19 UCLA W, 27-20
2014 No. 7 Arizona St. W, 35-27
2015 No. 6 Michigan St. W, 39-38

Nebraska has Long History of Battling Pac-12 Foes
Nebraska’s meeting with Oregon continues a tradition of playing marquee non-conference games against Pac-12 opponents. Since 1983, Nebraska has played 30 regular-season non-conference games against teams that were in the Pac-12 at game time.

• Nebraska is 22-8 against the Pac-12 in regular season games since 1983, including 2-0 against Oregon in that stretch. Additionally in the regular season since 1983, NU is 6-1 vs. Arizona State, 5-3 vs. UCLA, 2-0 vs. California, 4-2 vs. Washington, 2-0 vs. Oregon State, 1-0 vs. Washington State and 0-2 vs. USC. Nebraska is 49-18-2 all-time against current Pac-12 member Colorado, a Husker foe in the Big Seven, Big Eight and Big 12 Conferences.

• Nebraska has also played five bowl games against Pac-12 teams in that time period, going 2-3 in those games, including last year's bowl win over UCLA.

• Nebraska played at least one non-conference game against a Pac-12 foe for 17 straight seasons from 1983 to 1999.

• Oregon will be the ninth ranked Pac-12 team to play at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska is 4-4 in the previous eight games.

NEBRASKA VS. RANKED PAC-12 OPPONENTS AT MEMORIAL STADIUM
1969 No. 5 USC L, 21-31
1973 No. 10 UCLA W, 40-13
1987 No. 3 UCLA W, 42-33
1991 No. 4 Washington L, 21-36
1994 No. 13 UCLA W, 49-21
1998 No. 9 Washington W, 55-7
2007 No. 1 USC L, 31-49
2013 No. 16 UCLA L, 21-41

• Nebraska has seven games on its future schedules against Pac-12 opponents. In addition to the Nebraska-Oregon game in Eugene 2017, the Huskers are set to meet Colorado four times between 2018 and 2024, and will play Arizona in 2028 and 2031.

Huskers Set to Celebrate 350th Consecutive Sellout
One of the most remarkable streaks in college athletics history will reach another milestone on Saturday when Memorial Stadium is sold out for the 350th consecutive game. The streak dates back to Nov. 3, 1962, Nebraska's first season under Hall of Fame Coach Bob Devaney.

• Nebraska owns an impressive 298-51 record during the sellout streak.

• Since the streak began, a total of 26,530,065 fans have attended the 349 games at Memorial Stadium.

• The unmatched fan support has fueled a Nebraska program that ranks among the nation's best since 1962.

NATIONAL LEADERS SINCE 1962
MOST VICTORIES
1) Nebraska 515
2) Oklahoma 481
3) Ohio State 477
4) Alabama 474
5) Penn State 467

BEST WINNING PERCENTAGE
1) Nebraska .778
2) Oklahoma .772
3) Ohio State .768
4) Alabama .747
5) Penn State .743

MOST BOWL GAMES
1) Nebraska 50
2) Alabama 48
3) Georgia 44
4) Ohio State 42
5) Texas 42

MOST NATIONAL TITLES
1) Alabama 10
2) USC 6
3) Nebraska 5
Miami 5
5) Oklahoma 4

MOST CONFERENCE TITLES
1) Oklahoma 24
2) Ohio State 23
USC 23
4) Nebraska 22
Michigan 22

NU Offense Shows Signs of Backing Up Successful 2015
The Nebraska offense had a productive first season under Head Coach Mike Riley and offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf, and the unit appears ready for more growth this fall with many key pieces returning.

In 2015, Nebraska ranked second in the Big Ten in total offense and passing offense, while finishing third in scoring offense.

• Nebraska scored more than 30 points eight times in 2015, including five of the final seven games.

• Nebraska has averaged 47.5 points in its first two games of 2016, and its 52 points against Wyoming are the most in two seasons under Mike Riley.

• Nebraska was second in the Big Ten in total offense in 2015 at 446.9 yards per game. NU is averaging 478.0 yards per game after two games in 2016.

• Nebraska passed for 266.9 yards per game to rank second in the conference in 2015. Nebraska has averaged 263.0 passing yards through the first two games this season.

• Nebraska topped the 300-yard passing mark for the seventh time in two seasons under Mike Riley with 412 passing yards against Wyoming. The yardage total was the fifth highest in school history and most since the 2007 season.

• Nebraska has also shown big-play ability again this season. The Huskers had five passing plays of at least 25 yards against Wyoming. Nebraska's 19.48 yards per completion ranks fourth in the nation. Last season, Nebraska's 78 plays of 20-plus yards ranked second in the Big Ten.

• In addition to its passing explosion against Wyoming, the Huskers also showed the ability to pound the ball against Fresno State. The Huskers rushed for 292 yards on 51 carries in the win.

Nebraska Looks to Keep Winning the Run Game Battle
Through two games, Nebraska has shown the ability to control the running game on both sides of the ball for success in 2016.

Nebraska churned out 292 rushing yards on 51 carries in its season-opening victory over Fresno State. That rushing effort came on the heels of running for 326 yards in the Foster Farms Bowl win over UCLA to close the 2015 season. NU ran for 138 yards against Wyoming.

The Blackshirt defense has done its part by shutting down the opposing running game. Fresno State rushed for just 31 yards on 26 carries, and the Huskers registered seven tackles for loss. Wyoming rushed for 131 yards against NU. The Huskers limited UCLA to 67 rushing yards in the bowl game win.

• Nebraska is 5-0 under Mike Riley when out-rushing the opposition.

Winning the Running Game (Last 3 Games)
Opponent NU Rush Opp. Rush +/_ Score
UCLA 62-326 16-67 +259 W, 37-29
Fresno St. 51-292 25-31 +261 W, 43-10
Wyoming 43-138 31-131 +7 W, 52-17

Flipping the Turnover Script
Nebraska was -12 in turnover margin in 2015, and has had a positive turnover margin just once in the past 12 seasons (+5 in 2009).

Nebraska is off to a good start in changing its turnover fortunes in 2016. The Huskers are +7 in turnover margin after two games, tying for the national lead in that category.

• Nebraska did not commit a turnover in the season opener against Fresno State, while intercepting two Bulldog passes. The zero-turnover effort was NU's first since not having a giveaway in a 48-25 win at Minnesota last season.

• Nebraska has had four games with zero turnovers since the start of the 2014 season. In those games, Nebraska's average margin of victory is 31.3 points.

• The Huskers had six takeaways, including five interceptions against Wyoming in week two. Those are the best totals in those categories since also having six takeaways and five picks against Idaho in 2010.

• The Huskers' plus-5 in the turnover margin category against Wyoming was their best since a +8 turnover margin against Texas A&M in 2003.

• Nebraska's performance in the first two games marks the first time the Huskers have been +2 or better in turnover margin in consecutive games since the final two games of the 2003 season (Colorado, Michigan State).

• Nebraska had just two games last season when the Huskers were +2 or better in turnover margin (South Alabama, Minnesota) and won those two games by a combined 62 points.

• Nebraska has won 17 consecutive games when it has a positive turnover margin dating back to a 2011 loss to Northwestern. NU is 5-0 under Mike Riley when it wins the turnover battle.

* Check out the attached Nebraska Games Notes PDF for more notes