OU-Nebraska Headline Blockbuster Weekend Of Games

Oct. 24, 2001

College football's biggest weekend yet has arrived, with No. 2 Oklahoma at No. 3 Nebraska the main attraction and a five-game undercard featuring 10 more Top 25 teams.

In the race for the national championship, eight teams remain unbeaten, but that number will drop by at least one after the Sooners (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) and Cornhuskers (8-0, 4-0) play on Saturday. It could be the first of a two-game series, with a rematch likely in the Big 12 title game on Dec. 1 in Dallas.

The first game is big enough for now, as the Huskers try to avenge last year's 31-14 loss at Oklahoma.

"We've been waiting since we left Norman last year to play this game," Nebraska defensive end Chris Kelsay said. "You don't want to look past any of your other games. But I'm not going to lie to you - we've been getting ready for this game."

While the Sooners and Huskers meet for the 80th time, the supporting games are terrific, too: No. 4 UCLA at No. 20 Stanford, No. 6 Florida vs. No. 15 Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla., No. 12 South Carolina at No. 9 Tennessee, No. 10 Maryland at No. 19 Florida State, and No. 11 Oregon at No. 14 Washington State.

Oklahoma takes its nation-leading 20-game winning streak into Lincoln, where the Huskers have a nation-best 19-game home winning streak.

The defending national champion Sooners are more battled-tested than the Huskers, with wins over then-No. 11 Kansas State on Sept. 29 and then-No. 5 Texas on Oct. 6. The Huskers have one win over a team ranked in the Top 25 at gametime - then-No. 17 Notre Dame on Sept. 8.

Nebraska is led by Heisman Trophy contender Eric Crouch, who has run for 777 yards and 14 TDs and passed for 986 yards and seven TDs. Oklahoma starts sophomore Jason White in place of Nate Hybl for the second straight week.

Last week, Nebraska beat Texas Tech 41-31 and allowed 440 yards, raising questions about the Huskers' defense. Overall, Nebraska is second nationally in points allowed at 11.1. Oklahoma is 11th at 15.3 ppg.

On offense, the Huskers average 38.9 ppg, the Sooners 35.

Look for OU's defense, led by All-American linebacker Rocky Calmus, to key on the run and force Crouch to pass. The Sooners' secondary is led by star safety Roy Williams.

Two Pacific-10 Conference teams - UCLA and Washington State - are undefeated. The Bruins (6-0, 3-0) visit Stanford (4-1, 3-1), which upset previously unbeaten Oregon last week, and the Cougars (7-0, 4-0) play host to the Ducks (6-1, 3-1).

For Stanford, Chris Lewis starts at quarterback for the injured Randy Fasani, out 4-6 weeks with a sprained right knee. Lewis came in for Fasani last week and guided the Cardinal to their 49-42 win at Oregon.

Also unbeaten: Miami (5-0), Virginia Tech (6-0), Maryland (7-0) and BYU (7-0).

By RICHARD ROSENBLATT
AP Football Writer