Nebraska Football Continues to Receive Votes in Coaches, Associated Press Polls

After a neutral site victory in week one, the Cornhuskers continued to receive top 25 consideration from the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25.

Nebraska players celebrate with wide receiver Dane Key after Key's 3-yard touchdown catch put the Huskers up 19-10 against Cincinnati. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska football continues to be on the outside looking in for the latest top 25 college football rankings.

The Huskers (1-0, 0-0 B1G) earned votes in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 rankings on Tuesday for the second straight poll. The Huskers, however, failed to garner a top-25 spot in either ranking, being placed as the 38th-best vote-getter by the coaches and 35th-highest rated team by the Associated Press. Nebraska ended the opening week of the 2025 season in the winner's column, clinching a 20-17 victory over Cincinnati at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night.

Nebraska began the season unranked, but did slightly improve its poll position from its preseason rating. The Huskers moved up one spot from No. 39 in the coaches' rankings while jumping two spots from No. 33 in the AP. Nebraska received more votes than Memphis, South Florida, Duke, Kansas, Washington, Vanderbilt, FIU, Pittsburgh, James Madison, and Liberty in each poll.

Nebraska linebacker Marques Watson-Trent during the Huskers' 2025 game vs. Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The Huskers were among 10 Big Ten Conference teams to receive votes from the coaches, while the Associated Press awarded votes to eight teams. The AP did not award any votes to Washington or Iowa. The ranked programs from the Big Ten include No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Penn State, No. 5/6 Oregon, No. 12/11 Illinois, No. 13/15 Michigan, and No. 21/23 Indiana. USC, Nebraska, Iowa, and Washington received votes from the coaches poll, while the Trojans and Huskers earned nods in the AP.

Despite losing the top spot in each ranking after the Texas Longhorns' loss at Ohio State, the Southeastern Conference remained strong with 10 programs represented in both rankings. No. 3/4 Georgia and No. 4/3 LSU led the pack while No. 6/7 Texas dropped from its No. 1 preseason ranking. No. 11/10 South Carolina, No. 14/20 Ole Miss, No. 15/13 Florida, No. 17/22 Tennessee, No. 20/21 Alabama, No. 22/19 Texas A&M, and No. 24/18 Oklahoma rounded out the SEC's top 25 teams.

The Atlantic Coast Conference jumped into the top five with No. 7/5 Miami (FL) boosting up poll position after taking down Notre Dame. The ACC added No. 8 Clemson, No. 16/17 SMU, and No. 19/14 Florida State after the Seminoles rose from unranked to the top 20 after downing Alabama.

Aug 30, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Tommy Castellanos (1) loses his footing against Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Jah-Marien Latham (20) during the second half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

The Big 12 Conference has four programs in the top 25 polls, featuring No. 10/12 Arizona State, No. 18/16 Iowa State, No. 23/24 Texas Tech, No. 25/RV BYU, and RV/No. 25 Utah. The lone independent representative was No. 9 Notre Dame, and no Group of Five team was included in either poll following Boise State's loss to South Florida.

Nebraska football's schedule remains with two opponents inside of the top 25 polls and includes two other conference foes that are receiving votes. The Huskers will have their first top 25 matchup at home against Michigan on Sept. 20, then await RV USC on Nov. 1. Nebraska will travel to No. 2 Penn State on Nov. 22 before concluding the regular season against RV Iowa at Memorial Stadium

The Huskers aim to continue their winning ways, hosting Akron for the home-opener in Lincoln on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT.

USA Today Coaches Sept. 2 Top 25

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

Associated Press Sept. 2 Top 25

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

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