Gophers vs. Nebraska: Get to know the (struggling!) Cornhuskers

11 a.m. Saturday, TCF Bank Stadium (TV: FS1; radio: 100.3-FM)

Nebraska was picked to be a preseason contender for the Big Ten West title, but fissures in the foundation revealed themselves in a tight, 43-36 home win over Arkansas State. A 42-35 loss at Oregon and a disastrous 21-17 home defeat to Northern Illinois followed. That led to athletic director Shawn Eichorst being fired, and the heat on coach Mike Riley being turned up several notches. On Saturday, Nebraska (4-5, 3-3 Big Ten) fell to 2-4 at home with a 31-24 overtime loss to Northwestern, a result that might have sealed Riley's fate.

Lee giveth : His 262.8 passing yards rank third in the Big Ten. And Lee taketh away: His 13 interceptions thrown are the most in the conference. The junior transfer from Tulane has had big games this year, including 303 yards in a loss to Ohio State, but he has been too careless with the ball. Against Northwestern, he threw three, interceptions, including one at the Wildcats 19-yard-line early in the fourth quarter with the Huskers leading 24-17 and threatening to make it a two-score margin. "When you turn the ball over in the red zone, it really, really hurts you,'' Riley said.

Riley posted 6-7 and 9-4 records his first two seasons at Nebraska prior to this year's 4-5 mark, which haven't lived up to the expectations of the proud program. He's barely above .500 in the Big Ten in Lincoln (12-11). Saturday's defeat was among the more painful. "It's hard,'' Riley said. "It's a very disappointing loss.'' Winning the turnover battle is paramount for the Huskers going forward. "If we can focus on anything, it's taking care of the ball,'' he said. "… I look back on missed opportunities that coulda, shoulda made a difference in the ballgame.'' Against the Gophers, Riley knows his team will have to stop the run. "Minnesota has a good running attack,'' he said. "They have good backs. We're going to have to do a good job there.''

Randy Johnson