Nebraska football is officially on the outside looking in for the first time this season.
The Huskers (5-3, 2-3 B1G) had received votes or had been a part of the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches top-25 polls all season until Sunday’s release. Nebraska had garnered only a single vote in both polls prior to the 21-17 loss to No. 4 Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday.
The Big Red were rated No. 25 by the coaches prior to their meetup with Indiana on Oct. 19, and had continued to receive votes in the Associated Press poll after peaking at No. 22 prior to their week four loss to Illinois. Nebraska has failed to re-enter the polls following the overtime loss in Lincoln to open up conference play. Prior to the Indiana contest, the Huskers were consistently one of the top two teams on the outside of the rankings.
The Big Ten remains in the driver’s seat in both polls, with No. 1 Oregon (8-0, 5-0 B1G) locked in to the top spot. Penn State (No. 3 Coaches, AP) and Ohio State (No. 4 Coaches, AP) kept their foothold inside the top five and did not move positions. Indiana (No. 13 Coaches, AP) remains just outside the top teams with an 8-0 overall record and 5-0 conference mark.
The Big Ten still features five total teams, as Illinois (6-2, 3-2 B1G) remained in the Top 25 at No. 24 in both polls despite a 38-9 loss to top-rated Oregon on Saturday. Michigan (5-3, 3-2) was the only conference program to garner an additional vote in the coaches poll.
The Southeastern Conference continues to dominate the top 25 rankings with eight teams featured, including three in the top ten. Georgia (No. 2 Coaches, AP), Texas (No. 6 Coaches, AP), and Tennessee (No. 7 Coaches, AP) are consensus top ten programs, while Texas A&M (No. 11 Coaches, No. 10 AP), Alabama (No. 14 Coaches, AP), LSU (No. 16 Coaches, AP), and Ole Miss (No. 18 Coaches, No. 19 AP) remain inside the top 20. Missouri (No. 24 Coaches, No. 25 AP) nearly fell out of the polls but remained in the rankings.
Nebraska has now played four ranked teams this season including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, and Colorado. The Buffaloes entered the Associated Press top 25 at No. 23 this week while still receiving votes in the coaches poll. The Huskers do not have any ranked opponents still remaining on their schedule.
Nebraska’s next opponent, UCLA, arrives to Lincoln on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. CDT kickoff at Memorial Stadium.
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