Nebraska Huskers Slide to 32nd in National Polls After Third Straight Loss

Nebraska dropped to an average national ranking of 32.3 after losing its third consecutive game.

The Huskers fell to Washington 17-10 on Saturday. It marked the third straight week the team surrendered a fourth-quarter lead.

Nebraska enters Week 10 with a 5-3 overall record and a 2-3 mark in Big Ten play.

The team’s standing declined across the seven national polls and metrics tracked this week. The average rank slid from 25.0 last week to 32.3.

The steepest drop occurred in the Sagarin Ratings. Nebraska fell 12 places, moving from 16th to 28th.

The best ranking for the Huskers comes from ESPN’s Football Power Index, which lists them at 17th. That is down from 13th last week. The worst ranking is from The Athletic, which places Nebraska at 42nd, down from 34th.

Nebraska has not appeared in the Associated Press Top 25 this season. The team received zero votes for the third straight week. Thirty-five teams received votes in the latest AP poll.

UCLA leads the Big Ten in the AP Top 25 at No. 5. The Bruins improved two spots after beating Nevada 27-0. Indiana is No. 6, Ohio State is No. 11, USC is No. 18, and Iowa is No. 21.

In the CBS Sports 138 rankings, Nebraska dropped seven places to 35th. The Huskers rank ahead of eight Big Ten opponents. Those teams include Michigan at 42, Illinois at 47, and Washington at 54.

Nebraska faces Illinois on Friday night at 7 p.m. CT on FOX. Illinois holds a 5-3 record and a 3-2 mark in the conference.

ESPN’s Football Power Index projects Nebraska will finish with 7.3 wins and 4.7 losses. The model assigns the Huskers a 98.2% chance of reaching six wins for bowl eligibility.

The playoff outlook has dimmed sharply. The chance of making the College Football Playoff fell to 0.1% from 8.2% last week. The likelihood of winning the Big Ten title dropped to 0.0% from 0.2%.