AMES, Iowa, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- 19th-ranked Nebraska, whose defense has been highly suspect this season and put the Cornhuskers on the verge of falling out of the Top 25, Saturday visits dangerous Iowa State on college football's gridiron.
Nebraska (3-1), which has not dropped out of the poll since October 1981, was routed by Penn State, 40-7, in its last outing.
Meanwhile, Oregon State (4-0), which has 190 points in its first four games, can improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1939 when it visits No. 22 Southern California (2-1) in the Pac-10 Conference opener for both teams. Kentucky (4-0), ineligible for a bowl game this season after being penalized for NCAA rules violations, travels to "The Swamp" to play No. 9 Florida, which is coming off an impressive 30-13 rout at Tennessee last week on the heels of the 41-16 pasting it took from top-ranked Miami.
Florida has won its last 15 meetings against Kentucky and has averaged 53.4 points in the last eight meetings.
Nebraska faces the rising program of Iowa State, which is led by the versatile Seneca Wallace, who has vaulted him into the Heisman picture.
"They know what is ahead of them," Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said of his players. "They know there is a major challenge ahead. The mindset is to get back to the point where we are a very good football team in all aspects of the game."
Also, the Cornhuskers gained 265 rushing yards against Penn State, but most of those came on scrambles by quarterback Jammal Lord after the game already was all but over.
Through the first four games, Nebraska has not had an I-back rush for 100 yards in a game. That has not happened since the start of the 1972 season.
Iowa State has enjoyed back-to-back winning seasons, but must prove it can defeat a long-time nemesis.
Nebraska has won the last nine meetings since the last win by Iowa State, 19-10, in 1992. The Cornhuskers own a whopping 80-14-2 edge in the all-time series.
Out west, USC has won 18 straight home games against the Beavers since its last loss in 1960. In last year's 16-13 overtime setback at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Beavers dominated the game statistically, holding the Trojans to a mere 33 yards on the ground.
Ryan Cesca, the Pac-10's all-league kicker in 2000, missed a pair of short field goals that would have won the game in regulation for OSU.
USC had beaten the Beavers 26 straight times overall before a 31-21 loss at Corvallis in 2000, and leads the all-time series, 54-8-4.
Thursday night, Florida State (4-1) was upset by unranked Louisville, 26-20, in overtime.
No. 2 Texas (3-0) plays Tulane for the first time in 37 years and may be without star wide receiver Roy Williams, who is questionable with a hamstring injury.
No. 3 Oklahoma (3-0) hosts South Florida; fifth-ranked Virginia Tech (4-0) visits Western Michigan; and No. 6 Ohio State (4-0) is expected to have freshman tailback Maurice Clarett back in the lineup for its Big 10 opener with Indiana.
Clarett is listed as probable after sitting out last week's tougher-than-expected 23-19 win over Cincinnati. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery recently.
Also, No. 12 Penn State (3-0) opens its Big 10 schedule by hosting Iowa. Ditto for No. 14 Michigan (3-1), which visits Illinois.
11th-ranked Tennessee (2-1) should have little trouble when it entertains struggling Rutgers;
No. 18 Washington State (3-1) visits California; No. 13 Washington (2-1) hosts Idaho (1-3); No. 15 North Carolina State (5-0) welcomes Massachusetts; 20th-ranked LSU (2-1) entertains Mississippi State (1-2); No. 23 Colorado State (3-1) is at Nevada; and No. 25 Auburn (1-2) hosts Syracuse.
Teams in the poll that are idle this week are top-ranked Miami, No. 8 Oregon (4-0), No. 10 Notre Dame (4-0), No. 16 Wisconsin (5-0) and No. 17 Kansas State.
