Huskers Host No. 9 Buckeyes Saturday Under the Lights

GAME 7: NEBRASKA vs. OHIO STATE
OCT. 14, 2017 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
LINCOLN, NEB. | 6:30 p.m. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - FS1
RADIO - Husker Sports Network
SATELLITE RADIO - Sirius Channel 81, XM 81
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com

HUSKERS
Record: 3-3, 2-1 Big Ten
Last Game: lost to Wisconsin, 38-17
Rankings: NR
Coach: Mike Riley
Career/NU Record: 111-94 (17th Year)/18-14 (3rd Year) 
vs. Ohio State: 0-1

BUCKEYES
Record: 5-1, 3-0 Big Ten
Last Game: def. Maryland, 62-14
Rankings: AP-9; Coaches-8
Coach: Urban Meyer
Career/OSU Record: 170-30 (16th Year)/66-7 (6th Year)
vs. Nebraska: 2-0

The Matchup
Nebraska continues a formidable two-game homestand on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, when the Huskers play host to No. 9 Ohio State. The Big Ten cross-division matchup of two storied college football programs is set for shortly after 6:30 p.m. CT. National television coverage will be provided by FS1, with radio coverage on the IMG Husker Sports Network.

The Huskers come into the game with a 3-3 record and a 2-1 mark in the Big Ten Conference following a 38-17 loss to ninth-ranked Wisconsin last Saturday night in Lincoln. The Huskers were tied with Wisconsin midway through the third quarter, but were unable to keep pace with the Badgers in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Ohio State comes to Lincoln with a 5-1 record and a 3-0 mark in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes defeated Maryland, 62-14, last Saturday in Columbus, for their fourth consecutive win. OSU is ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press Poll and checks in at eighth in the USA Today Coaches Poll, marking the Huskers' second consecutive top-10 opponent at Memorial Stadium.

Ohio State has shown its strength on both sides of the ball in the 2017 campaign. The Buckeyes rank first in the Big Ten in scoring offense and total offense, while ranking second in rushing offense. On defense, Ohio State ranks fifth in the conference in total defense and allowed Maryland just 66 yards of total offense. Since a September loss to Oklahoma, Ohio State has outscored its last four opponents by a total of 174 points.

Nebraska Football Top 10
• Nebraska is 892-375-40 all-time, one of only 10 schools with 800 wins.

• The Cornhuskers rank fourth all-time with their 892 victories.

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

• The Huskers have won 46 conference championships.

• Nebraska’s 53 all-time bowl appearances rank second in NCAA history.

• 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 358 consecutive sellouts.

Nebraska-Ohio State Series
• Nebraska and Ohio State are meeting for the second straight year and the fourth time as Big Ten opponents.

• The Huskers will meet Ohio State this year and each of the next four years. Big Ten schedules are currently set through 2021. 

• Nebraska's lone win in the series occurred in 2011 in Lincoln, the Huskers' first Big Ten home game. NU rallied from a 27-6 deficit for a 34-27 win, marking the largest comeback in school history. 

• With Ohio State entering the game ranked ninth, the Buckeyes have been ranked in the top 12 in the AP poll in five of six meetings.

Husker-Buckeye Matchup Pits Two Top Programs
Saturday night's matchup features two of the historically great programs in college football.

• In looking at the most wins in college football over the past 30, 40, 50 or 60 years, Nebraska and Ohio State each rank in the top four in all of those categories. 

• The schools have combined to win 11 national championships and 81 conference championships, including five national championships and 46 conference titles by Nebraska. .

Huskers Set for Second Straight Top-10 Foe in Lincoln
Nebraska will take on the ninth-ranked Buckeyes this week seven days after facing No. 9 Wisconsin in Lincoln.

The home games at Memorial Stadium against top-10 opponents in consecutive weeks is a first in program history.

• Nebraska has previously played consecutive home games against top-10 opponents, however this marks the first time in back-to-back weeks. The last occurrence of two straight home games against top-10 teams was in 2015 when NU defeated No. 6 Michigan State on Nov. 7, and lost to No. 3 Iowa on Nov. 27.

• Nebraska will be playing conseuctive games against top-10 opponents in the regular season for just the third time ever, also in 1995 and 2008.

• This will mark the 11th time in program history Nebraska is playing back-to-back games against top-10 opponents. Eight of those occurrences involved a bowl game.

Riley Hopes for Continued Success vs. Ranked Opponents
Nebraska faces its second straight ranked opponent in No. 9 Ohio State.

• Mike Riley-coached teams have 16 wins over ranked teams in his 17 seasons as a college coach, 14 at Oregon State and Husker wins over Michigan State in 2015 and Oregon in 2016.

• The 2015 win over No. 6 Michigan State marked the sixth top-10 opponent a Riley-coached team defeated since 2006. The win was Nebraska's first over a top-10 opponent since October of 2011. 

Huskers Look to Defeat Top-10 Foe in Lincoln
The opportunity against a top-10 opponent at Memorial Stadium is not a new occasion for Nebraska.

• The win over No. 6 Michigan State in 2015 was Nebraska's first over a top-10 opponent since a 24-3 victory over No. 9 Michigan State in 2011.

• An unranked Nebraska team has defeated a top 10 foe three times in school history, most recently the 2015 win over MSU.  

• Nebraska has won six of its past 10 matchups against ranked teams at Memorial Stadium dating back to 2009. 

• Nebraska has won three of its past five games at Memorial Stadium against top-10 opponents dating back to 2010.  

• The Huskers are 3-3 against ranked Big Ten teams at Memorial Stadium since 2011.

Nebraska Looks to Start New Home Night Game Streak
Memorial Stadium is always a tough environment for visiting teams in Lincoln. Historically, that has never been more evident than in home night games.

The Huskers had a streak of 20 straight home night wins snapped in last week's loss to Wisconsin. NU is 46-6 all-time in Memorial Stadium night games. 

• The Huskers’ dominance at night in Lincoln has been impressive, as 33 of the home night wins have been by at least 13 points. 

• Nebraska’s six losses in home night games have come against five teams that won at least 10 games in that season, as well as this year's game with the Badgers. (Washington, 1991; Texas, 2002; USC, 2007; Virginia Tech and Missouri, 2008).

• Nebraska is 1-1 in home night games this season, defeating Arkansas State 43-36 in the season opener. 

• Before the setback against Wisconsin, Nebraska's most recent loss in a night game at Memorial Stadium came against No. 4 Missouri in 2008.

Brown, Glover to Join NU Athletics Hall of Fame
Nebraska football standouts Bob Brown and Rich Glover are part of an illustrious group of six distinguished student-athletes who will be enshrined into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday afternoon.

Both Brown and Glover are College Football Hall of Fame members, while Brown is also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Brown was the the Huskers’ first African-American football player to be named an All-American, when he played a leading role in the Huskers winning their first-ever Big Eight title in 1963 in Bob Devaney’s second year as coach. Glover then helped the Huskers win back-to-back national titles in 1970 and 1971, the first football national championships in school history.

The other inductees in the 2017 Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame include Karen Dahlgren (Volleyball), Denise Day (Softball, Track & Field), Dave Hoppen (Men's Basketball) and Scott Johnson (Men's Gymnastics).

Brown and Glover join three previous football inductees into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame. Dave Rimington was the football representative in the inaugural class in 2015, while Johnny Rodgers and WIll Shields were part of the 2016 class.

Husker Great Dave Rimington Serving at Interim A.D.
Dave Rimington, a native of Omaha and a two-time Husker All-American, is serving as Nebraska's Interim Director of Athletics. Rimington was named to the post by Chancellor Ronnie Green on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

Widely considered to be the greatest center in college football history, Rimington is president of the New York-based Boomer Esiason Foundation. He has agreed to take a leave of absence from the foundation to lead Nebraska Athletics on an interim basis. The appointment is scheduled for up to 60 days.

A four-year letter winner at Nebraska, Rimington is the only player to win the Outland Trophy in consecutive years – 1981 and 1982 – and is among the most decorated offensive linemen in college football history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of fame in 1997 and is one of just 25 Huskers to have his jersey retired.

Riley in Third Season at Helm of Husker Program
Head Coach Mike Riley is in his third season as the Nebraska head coach in 2017. Riley has guided the Huskers to an 18-14 record.

• Riley is in his 26th season as a head coach, tying for the second-most experience of any FBS head coach entering the 2017 season.

• Riley is one of eight active FBS head coaches who also has experience as an NFL head coach.

• Riley owns 16 victories over nationally ranked opponents during his college head coaching tenure.

Numerous Huskers Make First Career Starts in 2017
Due to injuries and youth, Nebraska has had a number of players make their first career starts in 2017. Most recently, Nebraska saw redshirt freshman linebacker Ben Stille make his first career start against Wisconsin.

Stille's start brought Nebraska's first-time starters total in 2017 to 13 players.

First-Time starters in 2017
• Luke Gifford, LB (6)
• Eric Lee Jr., CB (6)
• Tyler Hoppes, TE (5)
• Connor Ketter, TE (5)
• Mikale Wilbon, Jr., IB (3)
• JD Spielman, RFr., WR (3)
• Brenden Jaimes, Fr., OT (3)
• Michael Decker, So., C (3)
• Tre Bryant, IB (2)
• Matt Farniok, RFr., OT (2)
• Sedrick King, Jr., LB (2)
• Gabe Rahn, Sr., WR (1)
• Ben Stille, RFr., LB (1)

Jaimes Joins Rare Club for NU Offensive Linemen
True freshman Brenden Jaimes earned his first career start against Rutgers and has continued to hold down the right tackle position the past two weeks. Jaimes originally started at right tackle where senior David Knevel and redshirt freshman Matt Farniok were out with injury.

A native of Austin, Texas, Jaimes became just the fifth true freshman offensive lineman to start a game at Nebraska since 1972, and the first since 2011. Jaimes is also just the 11th offensive lineman to play at Nebraska as a true freshman.

True Freshman OL Starters in Nebraska History (Since 1972)
• Matt Slauson, OG (3 games, 2005)
• Jacob Hickman, C (1 game, 2006)
• Javorio Burkes, OT (3 games, 2007)
• Tyler Moore, OT (4 games, 2011)
• Brenden Jaimes, OT (3 games, 2017)

Veteran Receiving Duo Leading Passing Attack
Nebraska has the luxury of two veteran and proven pass catchers to lead the receiving corps. Senior De'Mornay Pierson-El and junior Stanley Morgan Jr. both have extensive playing experience and have both put together a strong first half of the 2017 season.

Morgan has 30 receptions for 510 yards and five scores, despite missing the Rutgers game. Pierson-El has caught 24 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns.  

The duo leads a receiving corps that also features a pair of explosive newcomers in redshirt freshman JD Spielman and true freshman Tyjon Lindsey. 

• Morgan leads the Big Ten in receiving yards (510), receiving yards per game (102.0 ypg) receiving touchdowns (5) and 100-yard games (3). He ranks in the top 21 in the country in the first of those three categories. 

• The 510 receiving yards by Morgan through the team's first six games is the second-most in NU history through six contests. His 30 catches through six games are tied for the second-most in school history. 

Nebraska's full notes package can be found in the PDF file at the top of this page