This isnâÂÂt the way things are supposed to go at Nebraska.

NU is the third-winningest team in college football history. Entering todayâÂÂs game against Kansas, the Cornhuskers are the fourth-best team in the Big 12 Conference North.

âÂÂNebraska is Nebraska,â KU coach Mark Mangino said. âÂÂI donâÂÂt care what their record says, Nebraska is always Nebraska. TheyâÂÂre good, theyâÂÂre fast, theyâÂÂre strong, theyâÂÂve got tremendous athletes, theyâÂÂre well coached and they will be ready. TheyâÂÂre going to play at home and theyâÂÂre a team that really wants to get a victory and get back on the wining track.âÂÂ

Nebraska (6-4, 2-3 Big 12) had won 26 straight games in Lincoln before last weekâÂÂs 27-24 loss to Texas at Memorial Stadium. UT cornerback Nathan Vasher intercepted Jammal LordâÂÂs pass near the goal line in the final seconds to thwart a Cornhusker comeback.

NU has struggled through an uncharacteristically mediocre season. Back-to-back road losses at Penn State and Iowa State in September dropped NU out of the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 1981.

A victory against Kansas today would clinch the Huskersâ 41st consecutive winning season, but NebraskaâÂÂs streak of 33 consecutive seasons of nine or more victories could be in jeopardy with games remaining against Kansas State and Colorado.

If Nebraska loses one more game, itâÂÂll be its first five-loss season since 1961.

Husker fans are hoping to end the season at a bowl game for the 34th straight year.

âÂÂWeâÂÂre not really focusing on a bowl right now,â coach Frank Solich said. âÂÂWeâÂÂre focusing on Kansas and getting the job done. WeâÂÂre not going to look down the road and weâÂÂre not going to look behind. The thing that we have to do is get ready and continue to improve as a football team.âÂÂ

The Huskers have done that. After the losses to Penn State and Iowa State, Solich took the red-shirt off running back David Horne in an effort to boost his ground attack and the freshman has rushed for 434 yards in five games.

Since being limited to 81 yards rushing against Iowa State, the Huskers are averaging 345.8 rushing yards a game. ThatâÂÂs what people have come to expect from a team that has led the nation in rushing 15 times, including the previous two seasons.

Leading the way is quarterback Jammal Lord. The junior struggled early in the season and was danger of losing his starting job after the Iowa State game when he was limited to eight yards on 11 carries and also threw an interception. He had thrown three interceptions a week earlier against Penn State.

âÂÂIt was a situation where we needed to open it up, there was no question,â Solich said of his quarterback controversy. âÂÂIf you have a player that was turning the ball over at the level that we were at that point, you canâÂÂt be an effective offensive football team, and that puts pressure on the defense. The bottom line is we did have confidence in his ability to perform well. He just needed to understand that there was going to be a situation where he had to perform better, he had to take care of the ball better, he had to make some better decisions. To his credit thatâÂÂs what heâÂÂs stepped up and done.âÂÂ

Lord, who had the added pressure of replacing 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch, has rushed for 782 yards in the last five games âÂÂ:quot; including an NU quarterback record 234 against Texas.

Lord (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) has rushed for 1,155 yards and needs only 43 passing yards to become the third Husker quarterback in six seasons to pass and rush for more than 1,000 yards in one season.

âÂÂJammal has gotten more confident as things have gone well for him,â Solich said. âÂÂHe has the ability to carry the ball 20 to 30 times in one game because of his size and strength, and then you add to it the ability to make people miss and he has a burst. Once Jammal is rolling heâÂÂs got very good speed. Jammal has a unique combination that you normally look for in an I-back.âÂÂ

Dahrran Diedrick leads NUâÂÂs I-backs with 622 yards, but Horne is gaining on the senior. The backs combined for only 18 carries last week when Lord was running wild against UT.

âÂÂJammal Lord was averaging 10 yards a snap, so when you build him into that and he becomes so effective heâÂÂs like another I-back,â Solich said. âÂÂIn that regard we used three I-backs, if you want to look at it from that angle.âÂÂ

Nebraska finished with 320 yards rushing against Texas, which entered the game with the nationâÂÂs third-ranked defense. A week earlier, the Huskers rushed for 381 yards and five TDs in a 38-31 at Texas A&M.

The Aggies had not allowed 100 yards to an individual in 20 games before Lord and Horne both topped the century mark. It was the most yardage A&M had allowed in 32 years.

NebraskaâÂÂs 283.2 rushing yards per game ranks first in the league and third in the nation. Kansas (2-8, 0-6) ranks last in the league and 114th of 117 Division I teams with a defense that allows 315 rushing yards per game.

The Huskers will extend at least one streak today, marking their 254th straight sellout at Memorial Stadium. TheyâÂÂll also be gunning for their 34th straight homecoming victory and 34th straight win against KU.