Lincoln, Neb. ? The No. 9/8 Nebraska football team practiced for two hours Monday afternoon on the grass fields, beginning preparations for the upcoming matchup with Utah State. Coach Frank Solich said the tempo was good and they had a good practice.

"They moved around well today. We did a fair amount of teamwork. They seem ready to move forward and have a good week of practice. Everyone we expected to be out here practiced today, although Cory Ross was held out. We expect him to be back tomorrow. We have the typical bumps and bruises after back-to-back games, but nothing too serious."

On Mark LeFlore and Matt Herian, two true freshmen who saw their first action on Saturday, Coach Solich said, "We had been practicing them with the mindset that they would play this year. They are both very good athletes."

Solich also complimented DeJuan Groce, who had two interceptions and returned two punts for scores against Troy State on Saturday. "His durability is amazing," Solich said. "He had a great game. We have won the special teams Big 12 Player-of-the-Week Award for two weeks in a row. That is indicative of how our special teams have played to this point."

Solich said the team watched the film from the Troy State game and has now turned its attention to Utah State. "We saw some good things on the film," Solich said. "Troy State was very physical and a talented team. Their sophomore quarterback played very well and they had good receivers. We knew it would be a difficult contest. I thought we showed some progress, but we need to continue to improve."