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Missouri-Nebraska Preview

Oct 27, 2010 - 5:50 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

No. 6 Missouri (7-0) at No. 14 Nebraska (6-1), 3:30 p.m. EDT

Missouri didn't spend much time reveling in one of its biggest victories in school history. Knowing who was next on the schedule probably had something to do with that.

After clinching their best start in 50 years, the No. 7 Tigers will try to stay unbeaten when they travel to 14th-ranked Nebraska in the schools' final matchup as Big 12 rivals Saturday.

Missouri (7-0, 3-0) knocked off one nemesis last Saturday with a 36-27 upset of then-BCS leading Oklahoma. While Tigers coach Gary Pinkel gave his team one day to bask in that victory, he admitted to already thinking about the Cornhuskers hours after beating the Sooners.

"There will be some more distractions since we won that game. We expected that," defensive back Carl Gettis said. "It was a good win, but it's over with now. It's time to move on and get ready for Nebraska."

The win allowed Missouri climbed to sixth in the BCS standings, and a victory over Nebraska (6-1, 2-1) could push the Tigers higher.

Missouri, though, has been in a similar position recently. It was No. 1 on Nov. 25, 2007, before falling to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game.

Pinkel said he learned from that experience.

"It's just about getting your mind focused and getting your team focused to play it's very, very best. That's it," he said. "Can you lock in and do your best? It's easy to say, it's difficult to do."

It might be more difficult for Missouri to top last week's performance, especially on offense. The Tigers gained a season-high 486 yards with 308 through the air from quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

Gabbert, who has topped 300 yards passing three times this season, has not thrown an interception in three straight games, but had the first two of his career in last season's 27-12 loss to the Cornhuskers.

Those picks helped Nebraska rally from a 12-0 deficit entering the final quarter, going ahead for good when Niles Paul hauled in his second consecutive TD pass. That defeat was painful in another way as Gabbert rolled his right ankle while being tackled by former All-American Ndamukong Suh.

With Suh now in the NFL, Missouri's line will try not to allow a sack for the second straight game and help exploit a defense that gave up a season-high for points last Saturday.

Nebraska, though, prevailed 51-41 over then-No. 17 Oklahoma State as Taylor Martinez showed he's more than just a running quarterback. The freshman threw for 323 yards after topping 140 just once in his first six games.

Martinez also ran for a team-best 112 yards, giving him 870 this season - 10th most in FBS. Paul had nine catches for a season-high 131 yards and returned a kickoff for a score after dropping a pair of potential TD passes the previous week.

This time, the Cornhuskers face a defense that's given up at least 240 passing yards in the past four games, but is fifth nationally allowing 13.1 points per contest. This year's matchup will mark the final time the schools meet regularly as Nebraska joins the Big Ten in 2011.

The Cornhuskers will try for a better performance at home than in their previous two games there. In Big 12 play, they've won seven straight road games but have dropped three of five in Lincoln, including a 20-13 defeat to Texas on Oct. 16 in which they didn't score an offensive touchdown.

In its previous home game before that loss, Nebraska got by FCS opponent South Dakota State 17-3.

"We've been pretty good on the road. Not that we haven't been good at home, but it's definitely something that we know we need to do better at," receiver Mike McNeill said. "Just little things, for whatever reason have made us play differently at home."

Missouri, meanwhile, has won 10 of 13 away from home, including a 52-17 rout of Nebraska in 2008 that snapped a 15-game slide in Lincoln.

The Tigers have dropped 15 in a row on the road to AP Top 25 teams, but they've won four of seven over Nebraska since losing 24 straight in the series.