Champaign, Ill. – Four unearned runs on three errors in the bottom of the fourth came back to haunt the Nebraska baseball team (34-21, 9-14 Big Ten) on Friday night at Illinois Field, as the No. 5 Illinois Fighting Illini (45-6-1, 21-1 Big Ten) ran their nation-leading win streak to 26 games with a 10-9 victory. The Huskers scored the game’s final five runs and had the tying run in scoring position with two outs in the top of the ninth, but Tyler Jay closed the door for his 12^thsave of the season. Saturday’s game was scheduled for 6 p.m., but first pitch was delayed until 8:40 p.m. because of rain and lightning.

With a loss by Minnesota earlier in the day to Michigan State, the Huskers clinched a bid to the Big Ten Tournament next week in Minneapolis at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. Also, following a sweep of Ohio State by Indiana the Huskers were locked into the No. 8 seed and will face No. 1 Illinois on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Nebraska had one of its best offensive games in quite some time with nine runs on 14 hits, including home runs from Luis Alvarado and Tanner Lubach, but the offensive output was unable to overcome a season-high four errors. NU got four runs (three earned) on nine hits off Illini starter Drasen Johnson, but the senior right hander improved to 9-2 on the year in the win. Illinois was just as leathal at the plate with 13 hits, including home runs from Ryan Nagle, Reid Roper, David Kerian and Will Krug.

Senior Kyle Kubat lasted only 3.0 innings after working into the sixth in each of his last four starts. On the night he gave up six runs, but only three were earned.

Trailing 10-7 going into the ninth, the Huskers loaded the bases with a leadoff walk by Lubach, a single by Blake Headley and walk by Jake Meyers. Jay then struck out Alvarado and Ben Miller before pinch hitter Taylor Fish plated two runs with a single to right field. With Meyers on second base, Jake Placzek stepped to the plate and Jay got him to pop out to shallow right field to end the game.

After the teams matched each other run-for-run in the first two innings, the Huskers scored again in the third, but this time put up a pair of runs to take a 4-2 lead. After Austin Christensen reached on a two-out bloop single to left field, Alvarado picked up his third extra-base hit of the series with a two-run homer to left field, his first home run as a Husker. Alvarado fouled off three pitches before taking Johnson deep over the left-field wall. Miller then laced a ball to right field, but right at Casey Fletcher to end the top of the frame. The Illini also recorded a home run in the third, as Roper blasted a solo shot to center for his ninth of the season, but Kubat limited the damage to the homer and the Huskers held a 4-3 lead after three.

For the first time in the game the Huskers didn’t score in the fourth. Nebraska had runners on the corners with one out, but the Illini turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the NU threat. NU’s defense fell apart behind Kubat in the bottom of the frame and Illini took advantage. The Illini scored four runs, all unearned, on two hits and three errors. The Huskers should have been out of the inning without any damage, but instead the Illini got a run on a fielder’s choice that would have ended the inning and two batters later Nagle blasted a three-run homer to left field off reliever Jeff Chesnut.

The Illini took the lead and kept adding to it with three more in the fifth on back-to-back home runs from Kerian and Krug that pushed the lead to 10-4.

The Huskers kept fighting and after Max Knutson tossed a scoreless sixth, NU scored three runs in the seventh. Ryan Boldt started the frame with a walk and Jake Schleppenbach followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Lubach stepped in against reliever J.D. Nielsen and launched a three-run home run to left field for his fourth homer of the year. Nielsen responded with a strikeout before Scott Schreiber recorded a pinch-hit single. Nielsen then came back with two straight strikeouts, but the Huskers cut the Illini lead to three at 10-7.

Knutson kept the Huskers in the game by throwing three innings of scoreless relief, but NU came up two runs short of a comeback and fell to 0-5 in Big Ten games decided by one run.

The Huskers and Illini wrap up their series tomorrow with the 2015 regular-season finale at 2 p.m. The game will be carried nationwide on the Big Ten Network.

Baton Rouge, La. – Arizona State scored five unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for a 5-2 victory over the Nebraska softball team on Friday in a game that saw two weather delays in Baton Rouge, La.

The first bout of inclement weather delayed the start of the game for one hour. Nebraska had just scored the game’s first run to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning before lightning was spotted, delaying the game for another 57 minutes. Nebraska came right back to take a 2-0 lead following the delay, only to see Arizona State score five times in the bottom of the frame.

With the win, the 23rd-ranked Sun Devils (35-20) advanced to play the winner of Friday’s second game between LSU and Texas Southern. With the loss, Nebraska (34-22) will play an elimination game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against the loser of the LSU-Texas Southern contest.

While there was plenty of offense late, runs were at a premium prior to the second weather delay.

Arizona State loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first inning on three walks, including one intentional walk. But Emily Lockman recorded a key strikeout of Haley Steele – the Sun Devils’ RBI leader – before coaxing a ground out to third.

The Sun Devils loaded the bases again with one out in the fifth on three consecutive walks, but Lockman once again escaped the jam without any damage.

Nebraska didn’t get its first runner to second base until the top of the sixth. Freshman Laura Barrow led off with a single before junior Kiki Stokes followed with her second single of the game. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, before junior Alicia Armstrong brought Barrow home with a sacrifice fly to left field. Stokes still stood at second base with two outs and following the 57-minute weather delay, senior Steph Pasquale grounded an RBI single up the middle to score Stokes and give Nebraska a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the frame, Lockman recorded a quick out before issuing a walk. Elizabeth Caporuscio then hit a ground ball to short. Armstrong bobbled the ball and still had a chance to throw out the runner at second, but her throw sailed into right field allow a run to score and Caporuscio to advance to third base. Nebraska still led 2-1 and Lockman then recorded the second out. A hit batter and a walk then loaded the bases, before Arizona State broke through with a three-run double and an RBI single to take a 5-2 lead.

Nebraska got a leadoff single from sophomore Cassie McClure to start the bottom of the seventh inning, but a fielder’s choice and a double play ended the comeback effort.

The Huskers out-hit the Sun Devils, 6-4, but Arizona State drew 10 walks and was hit by a pitch. Lockman (18-13) took the loss, but did not allow an earned run and surrendered just three hits in 5.2 innings. McClure recorded the final out of the bottom of the sixth inning after allowing an infield single.

Offensively, Stokes was 2-for-3 and scored a run, while Armstrong and Pasquale each produced an RBI.

2014 Missouri Valley Player of the Year Joins Big Red

Lincoln – Kyndal Clark, the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and a 2015 member of the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team, will join the Nebraska women’s basketball team as a fifth-year senior transfer for 2015-16, Coach Connie Yori announced on Thursday.

Clark, who will officially graduate from Drake on Saturday, averaged 19.3 points per game while knocking down a Missouri Valley Conference-record 116 three-pointers as a junior for the Bulldogs in 2013-14. Clark hit 41.1 percent of her threes on the season, including a scorching 45.3 percent (78-172) in MVC play.

The Webb City, Mo., native started all 98 games of her Drake career, including the season opener against South Dakota in 2014-15, when she scored 17 points in 37 minutes before suffering a season-ending injury.

Clark will have one season of eligibility at Nebraska and will be eligible to play for the Huskers immediately. She produced 1,418 points, 422 rebounds, 270 assists and 171 steals in 98 career games at Drake, while earning All-MVC honors in each of her first three seasons.

“We are thrilled to add a player of Kyndal Clark’s caliber to our program, even if it is for just one season,” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “We recruited Kyndal out of Webb City High School, and we are excited to finally get a chance to coach her. She is coming off a pretty significant injury, but when she is healthy she is a talented player. She also can add a lot of leadership to our program.”

Clark was a preseason first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection as a senior, before earning a spot on the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team in 2015. She will receiver her bachelor’s degree from Drake on Saturday after majoring in information systems.

As a junior, she averaged 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals on her way to Jackie Stiles Missouri Valley Conference Player-of-the-Year honors. She also was named the Drake University Howlett Female Athlete of the Year across all sports.

Her huge junior season included a career-high 41 points against Northern Iowa on March 2. She added 38 points against Missouri State on Feb. 16, 2014. She pumped in 36 points, including a school-record 10 three-pointers in a win over Loyola, while contributing 35 points against SIU-Edwardsville.

Clark claimed second-team All-MVC honors while starting every game as a sophomore. She finished with 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals while capturing a spot on the MVC All-Defensive Team.

She opened her collegiate career by starting all 34 games for then-Drake head coach Amy Stephens. As a true freshman in 2011-12, Clark averaged 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Clark also earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team.

Clark was recruited to Drake by Stephens, now an assistant coach at Nebraska, out of Webb City High School. As a senior, Clark earned first-team All-Missouri honors from the AP and the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. She led Webb City to the Missouri Class 4 state title as a junior and a third-place finish in Class 5 in 2011.

A tremendous outside shooter, Clark set a Missouri state record by burying six three-pointers in the third quarter against Joplin on Dec. 14, 2010.

Nebraska also officially added senior volleyball player Alicia Ostrander to its women’s basketball roster on Friday. Ostrander, a 6-3 outside hitter for Coach John Cook’s volleyball team, will complete her fifth season as a volleyball player for the Huskers in the fall of 2015, before turning her full attention to basketball for the start of 2016 Big Ten Conference action. The native of Gordon, Neb., will have just one season of women’s basketball eligibility with the Huskers. Ostrander is one of the top rebounders in Nebraska high school history. The two-time Class C-1 all-stater pulled down 20 or more rebounds on 10 occasions at Gordon-Rushville High School, including a school-record 30 boards in a game as a senior. She also had single-game highs of 43 points and 15 blocked shots as a prep player.

Champaign, Ill. – On a rainy night at Illinois Field, the #2 Illinois Fighting Illini (44-6-1, 20-1 Big Ten) ran its nation-leading win streak to 25 games and clinched the 2015 Big Ten regular-season title with a 6-3 victory over the Nebraska baseball team (34-20, 9-13 Big Ten).

Freshmen Luis Alvarado and Scott Schreiber each had two hits on the night, including a pair of doubles from Alvarado. Illinois didn’t have one play with multiple hits on the evening, but its first eight batters each recorded a hit.

In his final regular-season start as a Husker, Chance Sinclair lasted 5.0 innings in the loss and fell to 6-7 on the year. Sinclair struck out five and only issued two walks, but gave up four runs on five hits. After giving up three hits to start the bottom of the first, Sinclair allowed only two hits the rest of the way, but one was a two-run homer in the fourth.

Illinois junior Kevin Duchene went 7.0 innings and picked up his 10^th win of the season. Duchene allowed three runs on five hits and two walks, just his ninth and 10th walks of the season, while striking out four. The lefty entered the game with a 0.95 ERA and allowed a season-high three-earned runs to the Huskers. In his first 11 starts of the year, Duchene has allowed more than one total run only twice, and had allowed more than one earned run only once.

The Illini jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on three hits, including a leadoff double from Adam Walton. Illinois’ first three batters recorded hits, but then Sinclair settled in and kept the Illini from a big inning.

After going down in order in the first, the Huskers had their leadoff man on in each of the next three innings, including a leadoff double from Alvarado in the second, but each time Duchene kept the Huskers off the board.

Sinclair allowed one baserunner in the second and third innings combined, and had retired five straight before issuing a leadoff walk in the fourth to Jason Goldstein. After picking up his fourth strikeout of the day against Casey Fletcher, Pat McInerney doubled up Illinois’ lead with a two-run home run to left field. Sinclair retired the next two batters, but not before Illinois built a 4-0 lead through four.

Illini put together its third two-run inning of the night in the sixth to take a 6-0 lead. Will Krug drove in a run with a two-out single and then Illinois added a run on a ground ball to Blake Headley, who tagged out Krug on the play to end the inning, but David Kerian scored before the tag to put Illinois on top, 6-0.

The Husker offense came alive in the seventh, starting with a one-out single from Schreiber. Jake Meyers came in as a pinch hitter and worked a four-pitch walk off Duchene, just his ninth free pass allowed on the year. Headley then delivered the big blow of the inning with a home run off the scoreboard in right field, his second career homer off Duchene. Wes Edrington then worked a walk, marking only the second time this year Duchene has walked two batters in a game. With the top of NU’s lineup coming, Duchene put an end to the bleeding with back-to-back groundouts from Ryan Boldt and Jake Placzek.

King retired the Illini in order in both the seventh and eighth, but Nebraska just one hit off Illinois’ bullpen in the final two innings and lefty Tyler Jay earned his 11^th save of the season in the win.

Game two of the three-game series between the two teams is scheduled for 6 p.m. tomorrow night and the game will be shown nationally on the Big Ten Network.

The kickoff time for Nebraska’s Sept. 26 Homecoming matchup against Southern Miss has been announced. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. CT with television coverage to be announced six to 12 days in advance.

The matchup with Southern Miss is the second kickoff time for the 2015 season to be announced. NU will take on South Alabama on Sept. 12 at Memorial Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. CT.

Southern Miss’ trip to Lincoln will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the schools, all since 1999. Nebraska holds a 4-1 advantage in the series, most recently including victories in 2012 and 2013 at Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska will open the 2015 season on Sept. 5 against BYU at Memorial Stadium. In addition to the three non-conference home games, Nebraska will also travel to Miami on Sept. 19. Game times and television information for the matchups with BYU and Miami are expected to be announced in the near future.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska coach Mike Riley says he knows of no players planning to transfer before practice begins in August.

Riley said Thursday he’s aware of fan speculation about players leaving, especially with five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. He said he’s met individually with players in recent weeks and that the roster is “status quo as we speak.”

Riley said he’s surprised no one is transferring because invariably one or more players left in the offseason during his years at Oregon State.

Riley also said he didn’t plan to take any graduate transfers. He said he would look at a grad transfer “if it’s the right guy with the right talent and if we have a special need.” Riley said he isn’t a coach who would “seek out” graduate transfers.

 

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) recognized four Nebraska softball players on Thursday, as senior Steph Pasquale, junior Kiki Stokes and sophomores MJ Knighten and Cassie McClure were all named to the NFCA All-Midwest Region first team.

Nebraska’s four first-team selections were double the total of any other team in the Midwest region, as Huskers claimed four of the 12 spots on the first team.

Head Coach Rhonda Revelle said all four Huskers – who learned of the honor just prior to Nebraska’s team practice Thursday at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional – were more than deserving of being recognized alongside the best players in the country.

“It’s always a great thing when hard work and preparation are not only recognized but rewarded,” Revelle said. “MJ had a good freshman season but she has taken her game to another level as a sophomore. Kiki has grown every year in our program, and she has emerged this season as one of the top leadoff hitters in the country. Steph and Cassie have both made immediate impacts in their first year in our program. Steph came to Nebraska as an All-American, and she has been everything we had hoped she would be. Cassie joined us in January and has been able to not only adjust to a new school and new teammates, but has been a real key to our success offensively and on the mound.”

Knighten was named to the first team to earn the first all-region accolade of her career. Knighten joins Jessica Yoachim (2004) as the only Nebraska third baseman to earn all-region accolades as a freshman or sophomore. Overall, Knighten is the first Husker third baseman to be an all-region honoree since 2006.

One of six unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selections this spring, Knighten leads the Big Ten with 78 hits and ranks fourth with a .417 batting average. Knighten enters the NCAA Tournament with the fifth-highest batting average in school history, while ranking fifth in RBIs (57), sixth in hits and eighth in runs (52). With her 78 hits, 57 RBIs and 52 runs, Knighten has become one of only four players in school history to total 50 hits, 50 RBIs and 50 runs in the same season. The only two Huskers to accomplish that feat before this season were three-time All-American Ali Viola and two-time All-American Tobin Echo-Hawk.

Pasquale earned first-team all-region accolades for the third time in her career after twice being named a first-team All-Northeast Region honoree at Temple. A 2013 third-team All-American and 2015 first-team All-Big Ten selection, Pasquale is one of only three catchers in program history to earn first-team all-region honors. She moves on to the All-America ballot, where she will look to join Taylor Edwards as the only All-America catchers in school history.

A native of Pompton Lakes, N.J., Pasquale has put up outstanding numbers in her lone season as a Husker. She enters the NCAA Tournament batting .382 with 11 doubles, 11 homers and 51 RBIs. The 12th player in school history to produce double-digit totals in both doubles and home runs in the same season, Pasquale ranks 10th in school history with her current .671 slugging percentage. Pasquale’ 51 RBIs rank 11th in Husker history, and her 36 RBIs during the Big Ten Conference season ranked second in Big Ten history.

Stokes continued to receive recognition for her breakout junior season with the first all-region honor of her career. Stokes is the first Husker outfielder to be named a first-team all-region performer since 2004. An Olathe, Kan., native, Stokes joins All-American Kim Ogee as the only other Husker outfielder to earn first-team all-region recognition prior to her senior season.

Also a first-team All-Big Ten honoree, Stokes has excelled as Nebraska’s leadoff hitter for all 55 games this season. Stokes is batting a career-high .407, more than .100 higher than her career average entering the year. Stokes has set a school record with 63 runs and 17 hit-by-pitches this season, and she enters the NCAA Tournament with the highest on-base percentage in program history (.534). Stokes also enters the postseason with the sixth-highest batting average and slugging percentage (.707) in school history, while ranking 11th in RBIs. One of four players in program history to total 50 hits, 50 RBIs and 50 runs, Stokes has slugged a career-high 11 home runs this season, nearly double the total from her first two years combined (6). Stokes has also exceeded her career totals in doubles (9) and extra-base hits (24).

McClure earned all-region accolades for the second straight season after being a third-team All-Central Region selection as a freshman at Texas Tech in 2014. She was rewarded for her dual talents, as she earned a spot on the first team at the pitcher/utility spot, which takes into account a player’s work in the circle and at the plate.

Offensively, McClure is batting .349 entering the NCAA Tournament. She ranks second on the team with 11 doubles and has added four homers and driven in 39. A tough out, McClure has drawn 20 walks while striking out only nine times. In the circle, McClure is 9-3 after not registering a decision at Texas Tech last season. In addition to her nine wins, McClure has added five saves for the Huskers. The five saves – which rank second in the Big Ten and 12th nationally – tie for the most ever by a Husker sophomore and rank fifth overall in school history.

By earning all-region accolades, Knighten, McClure, Pasquale and Stokes move on to the national All-America ballot. The 2015 All-Americans will be announced on the NFCA’s website (nfca.org) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27.

Lincoln – Nebraska basketball’s non-conference schedule for next season received a boost Wednesday afternoon, as the Big Ten and ESPN announced that the Huskers will take on Miami in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The matchup is slated for Tuesday, Dec. 1, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff time and television information will be announced at a later date.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 14 games of the three-day event matching top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioners Cup. All 14 games will also be available via WatchESPN.

The Hurricanes went 25-13 during the 2014-15 season in overtime and lost in the championship game of the NIT Tournament. Jim Larrañaga’s Hurricanes, who finished sixth in the ACC last season, return their top four scorers, including senior guard Sheldon McClellan, who averaged 14.5 points per game as a junior. Senior point guard Angel Rodriguez (11.9 ppg, 3.9 apg and 1.8 spg) and senior center Tonye Jekiri (8.6 ppg, 9.9 rpg and 1.4 bpg) also are back for the Hurricanes. Miami posted road wins at NCAA champion Duke and Florida in 2014-15 and were ranked as high as 15th nationally at one point during last season.

This will be the second time that the Huskers and Hurricanes have faced off the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. In 2013, Nebraska posted a 60-49 victory over Miami, also at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Huskers are 4-1 all-time against Miami dating back to the 1951-52 season.

The Huskers have played well in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge under Tim Miles, going 3-0 in that stretch, including a road win over Florida State last season. Nebraska’s .750 winning percentage in the event is the best of any Big Ten school, as NU has gone 3-1 since joining the Big Ten.

The Huskers return two starters in 2015-16, including senior forward Shavon Shields, who leads NU’s returnees in scoring (15.4 ppg), rebounding (6.0 rpg) and assists (2.2 apg). The Huskers also welcome a nationally ranked recruiting class which includes freshmen Ed Morrow Jr. and Glynn Watson Jr., both of whom are ranked in the top-75 nationally by ESPN.com. In addition, the Huskers also gain the services of guard Andrew White III, who sat out last season after transferring from Kansas.

The Big Ten retained the Commissioner’s Cup, given to the champion of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, following an 8-6 victory last season. The Big Ten trails in the all-time series, 10-4-2, but is 4-0-2 in the last six years of the event.

Wednesday’s announcement is the second one for the 2015-16 season, as the Huskers will travel to Big East champion Villanova in the Gavitt Tipoff Games on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

 

Defending Division I men’s college basketball national champion Duke as well as 2015 Final Four participants Wisconsin and Michigan State are among the teams in this season’s 17th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge from November 30 to December 2.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 14 games of the event matching top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioner’s Cup. All 14 games will also be available via WatchESPN.

Overall, the Challenge includes:

Early attention: Nine programs ranked in an ESPN.com early preseason top 25 poll, highlighted by four of the top seven: No. 2 North Carolina, No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Virginia, No. 7 Duke, No. 12 Michigan State, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 14 Indiana, No. 21 Louisville and No. 25 Wisconsin. Three of the games will pit teams in the early rankings against each other: No. 4 Maryland at No. 2 North Carolina, No. 14 Indiana at No. 7 Duke and No. 21 Louisville at No. 12 Michigan State.

Recent Success: Thirteen teams that played in the 2015 NCAA Tournament: Duke, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Virginia from the ACC, and Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin from the Big Ten.

2015 Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule (times and networks will be announced at a later date):

Date	Game
Mon, Nov 30	Clemson at Minnesota
	Wake Forest at Rutgers
Tue, Dec 1	No. 4 Maryland at No. 2 North Carolina
	No. 5 Virginia at Ohio State
	Michigan at NC State
	Purdue at Pittsburgh
	Northwestern at Virginia Tech
	Miami (Fla.) at Nebraska
Wed, Dec 2	No. 14 Indiana at No. 7 Duke
	No. 21 Louisville at No. 12 Michigan State
	No. 13 Notre Dame at Illinois
	No. 25 Wisconsin at Syracuse
	Florida State at Iowa
	Penn State at Boston College

First Challenge Matchups: Eight of the 14 games will mark first-time Challenge matchups: Maryland at North Carolina, Wisconsin at Syracuse, Purdue at Pittsburgh, Louisville at Michigan State, Virginia at Ohio State, Notre Dame at Illinois, Wake Forest at Rutgers and Northwestern at Virginia Tech. Highlights:

• Louisville has won five of their nine games against Michigan State, but lost to the Spartans 76-70 in last year’s Elite Eight.
• This season’s Illinois and Notre Dame matchup will mark the 40th meeting between the programs ever, but the first since 2003. Illinois leads the series 26-13.
• In addition to first-time Challenge games, several of the teams are infrequent opponents: Syracuse has won two of its three ever matchups against Wisconsin, including a 64-63 Sweet Sixteen victory in the 2012 NCAA Tournament; Ohio State and Virginia will meet for the fifth time ever and the first since 1981, which also marked the only time the Cavaliers beat the Buckeyes; and Purdue has won six of the 10 games against Pittsburgh, including the last meeting in 1977.
• In addition to meeting in the Challenge for the first time, Wake Forest at Rutgers and Northwestern at Virginia Tech will also be the first game between the programs ever.

Rubber Match: Boston College and Penn State will square off in the Challenge for the third time with each winning one game, both as the road team (Penn State in 2011 and Boston College in 2012).

The Big Ten captured the Commissioner’s Cup last season, winning eight of the 14 matchups. The two conferences split the previous two events, winning six Challenge games each in 2012 and 2013. The ACC won the first 10 Challenges (1999-2008) while the Big Ten won the next three (2009-2011). In the event of a tie, the Commissioner’s Cup remains with the conference that won the previous year.