Huskers Change Dates of Future Tennessee Series; Agree to Home-and-Home Series with Oregon

Nebraska and Tennessee officials announced on Monday that the dates of the future games between the schools have been changed to accommodate a requested schedule change from Tennessee.

The games originally scheduled between the Huskers and Tennessee in 2016 and 2017 have been pushed back a decade. Nebraska and the Vols will now meet in the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

The Huskers will play host to Tennessee on Sept. 12, 2026, and travel to Knoxville and Neyland Stadium on Sept. 11, 2027. The games will be the first-ever regular-season matchups between the schools. Nebraska won the only two previous matchups in the series, defeating Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl and the 2000 Fiesta Bowl.

With the change in dates of the future matchups with Tennessee, Nebraska announced on Monday it has agreed to a home-and-home series in 2016 and 2017 with the University of Oregon. The date of a 2016 matchup with Wyoming has also been moved to accommodate the changes.

“This is a win-win scenario,” Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said. “The University of Tennessee asked for scheduling relief, and we were able to add the University of Oregon, a perennial top-25 program, to our non-conference schedule as we roll into the College Football Playoff era. This should be a great series, not only for our football programs, but for the tremendous fans of both schools.”

The Huskers and Ducks will square off in Lincoln on Sept. 17, 2016. Nebraska will travel to Oregon's Autzen Stadium for the second game in the series on Sept. 9, 2017.

The matchups will be the first between the schools since Oregon traveled to Lincoln in 1985 and 1986, with Nebraska winning both of those contests. The two schools have met six times overall, with Nebraska holding a 5-1 advantage in the series.

Oregon has been one of the nation's top programs over the past decade. The Ducks have won at least 10 games each of the past five seasons, including 12 wins each season from 2010 to 2012. Oregon currently sits at 6-0 this season and is ranked No. 2 in both polls. The Ducks will be looking for a fifth straight BCS bowl appearance in 2013.

The final adjustment to the Huskers' future schedule is moving the date of a 2016 matchup with Wyoming. Nebraska and Wyoming will meet on Sept. 10, 2016, at Memorial Stadium, after originally being scheduled to play on Sept. 17, 2016. The matchup with Wyoming completes a three-game series with the Cowboys. NU defeated Wyoming in the season opener in Lincoln this fall, and traveled to Laramie, Wyo., in 2011.

The matchups with Wyoming and Oregon in 2016 complete a non-conference schedule that opens with Fresno State visiting Memorial Stadium. The 2016 season is also the first year that Nebraska will play a nine-game Big Ten Conference schedule. NU's trip to Oregon in 2017 is the second game on the Huskers' 2017 non-league schedule, with Northern Illinois visiting Lincoln on Sept. 2.

Nebraska's two-game series with Oregon will continue the Huskers' recent trend of frequent matchups with Pac-12 foes. Nebraska has recently played home-and-home series with USC (2006, 2007), Washington (2010, 2011) and UCLA (2012, 2013), while matching up in bowl games with Arizona (2009) and Washington (2010). In addition to games in 2016 and 2017 with Oregon, Nebraska is also slated to face off against Pac-12 foe Colorado in four games between 2018 and 2024.

The Huskers are scheduled to match up with a power conference opponent in non-conference play each season from 2014 to 2027, beginning with a home-and-home series with Miami in 2014 and 2015. In addition to Oregon and Tennessee, Nebraska will also face Colorado (2018, 2019, 2023, 2024), Cincinnati (2020, 2025) and Oklahoma (2021, 2022).