Nebraska Football Continues Receiving Top 25 Consideration After Bye Week

The Huskers remained near the bottom of the "receiving votes" category of the Coaches Poll.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola looks for an open receiver against Michigan. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska football continued to receive top-25 consideration through its bye week after suffering its first loss of the 2025 season.

Nebraska (3-1, 0-1 B1G) failed to move into the top 25 of the USA Today Coaches Poll or Associated Press rankings for a fifth consecutive week, but did continue receiving votes in the latest coaches' rankings. It is the sixth straight poll and fifth consecutive week that Nebraska has received votes but failed to crack the top 25 in the coaches' rankings, while making it back-to-back weeks of failing to receive any votes from the Associated Press.

Nebraska was the 36th-highest ranked team in the coaches poll two weeks ago, prior to the Huskers' 30-27 home loss to Michigan, and the Big Red fell to the 41st-ranked team a week ago. The Huskers moved up one spot from last week, bumping to the 40th-rated team ahead of Duke, Iowa, and Houston in the coaches poll. Nebraska had continually lost votes in the Associated Press rankings following the Huskers' 68-0 home victory over Akron in week two, followed by a 59-7 win against Houston Christian.

Nebraska Cornhuskers tight end Luke Lindenmeyer (right) and wide receiver Nyziah Hunter celebrate after a call against the Michigan Wolverines. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Along with the top-25 rated teams, Memphis, Louisville, Virginia, South Florida, USC, Maryland, Auburn, UNLV, Navy, Mississippi State, Tulane, Washington, North Texas, and TCU remained ahead of Nebraska outside of the top 25 rankings in the coaches' poll.

The Big Ten Conference showcased some of the top teams in the nation in the latest rankings, flexing four teams in each poll's top 10 and the top two teams in the country. No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Oregon stood atop the college football rankings after the Ducks took down No. 6/7 Penn State in Happy Valley in overtime Saturday night. No. 9/8 Indiana rose into the top 10 with a victory at Iowa. No. 20 Michigan and No. 22 Illinois wrapped up the six total Big Ten teams in this week's polls.

The Southeastern Conference had a shake-up in its rankings after a tumultuous conference weekend, although the conference still featured 10 teams in both polls, respectively. No. 4 Mississippi jumped into the top five with a victory over No. 13 LSU. No. 5/6 Texas A&M, No. 7/9 Texas, and No. 8/5 Oklahoma remained in the top 10 while No. 10/12 Georgia, LSU, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 17/16 Vanderbilt, and No. 18/19 Missouri continued their stays in the top 25.

Virginia fans storm the field after the Cavaliers' game-ending interception in overtime against the Florida State Seminoles. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Atlantic Coast Conference lost a top 10 team but did gain another in the Associated Press rankings, as No. 3 Miami (FL) remained in the top 10 while No. 19/18 Florida State dropped out but remained in the rankings. No. 16/17 Georgia Tech was joined by RV/24 Virginia in the Associated Press poll after the Cavaliers won a two-overtime thriller over the Seminoles on Friday night.

The Big 12 Conference was once again left out of the top 10 rankings, but remained strong with five teams ranked in the coaches poll and four teams ranked by the Associated Press. No. 12 Iowa State and No. 14 Texas Tech led the way at the top of the conference, while No. 23 BYU, No. 24/25 Arizona State, and No. 25/RV Utah each earned spots near the bottom of the top 25 rankings.

No. 21 Notre Dame remained the highest-rated non-Power Four conference team with no Group of Five conference teams earning top 25 recognition in either poll. Memphis, South Florida, UNLV, Navy, Tulane, and North Texas all received votes from this week's polls, as Memphis was the 26th-highest vote getter in the coaches poll, with South Florida matching that position from the Associated Press.

Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Elijah Griffin (90) blocks a field goal during the second half against Alabama. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nebraska has lost 28 games in a row against competition ranked by the Associated Press Top 25 after the week four loss to Michigan. The Huskers' last top 25 victory was against No. 22 Oregon in 2016. The Big Red will have several remaining opportunities in 2025 to end the losing streak with a road test at RV Maryland on Oct. 11, a home tilt against RV USC on Nov. 1, a Nov. 22 trip to No. 6/7 Penn State, and the regular-season finale against RV/NR Iowa on Black Friday.

Nebraska returns from its bye week on Saturday to host Michigan State to wrap up a four-game homestand. The contest from Memorial Stadium is set for a 3 p.m. CDT kickoff with television coverage on FS1.

USA Today Coaches Sept. 28 Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Miami (FL)
4. Mississippi
5. Texas A&M
6. Penn State
7. Texas
8. Oklahoma
9. Indiana
10. Oklahoma
11. Alabama
12. Iowa State
13. LSU
14. Texas Tech
15. Tennessee
16. Georgia Tech
17. Vanderbilt
18. Missouri
19. Florida State
20. Michigan
21. Notre Dame
22. Illinois
23. BYU
24. Arizona State
25. Utah

Associated Press Sept. 28 Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Miami (FL)
4. Mississippi
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Penn State
8. Indiana
9. Texas
10. Alabama
11. Texas Tech
12. Georgia
13. LSU
14. Iowa State
15. Tennessee
16. Vanderbilt
17. Georgia Tech
18. Florida State
19. Missouri
20. Michigan
21. Notre Dame
22. Illinois
23. BYU
24. Virginia
25. Arizona State

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