UCLA at Nebraska Game Preview, Prediction
by Pete Fiutak, CollegeFootballNews.com
At 5-3, Nebraska has been waiting for that sixth win and bowl eligibility for too long, and it might need to come here.
The Huskers gave Ohio State a massive push a week after being steamrolled by Indiana. Now this could get really dicey really fast if they whiff this at home with games at USC, vs. Wisconsin and at Iowa to close.
UCLA finally got its first win since the opener over Hawaii with a 35-32 stunner at Rutgers.
The team is playing better -- it pushed Minnesota the week before -- and there's still time to make more noise and close strong. At least for now, a win in Lincoln would make the season.
UCLA (2-5) at Nebraska (5-3)
Saturday, November 2 - 3:30 PM (ET) - Big Ten Network
Why UCLA Will Win
So what did UCLA do right to get the win over Rutgers? The passing game was fantastic.
The running attack doesn't work. Forget about trying to get this thing going because the line just doesn't generate a push, but Ethan Garbers went off hitting 84% of his passes for 383 yards and four scores.
The interceptions weren't there, the big plays cranked up, and the offense kept firing away. Nebraska has allowed 215 passing yards or more four times. Once was in the win over Colorado, and the other three times were in the losses to Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State.
UCLA averages 238 yards per game, but ......
Why Nebraska Will Win
.....Everyone......THE OFFENSE IS FINE.
It's as if the world forgot for a moment that Nebraska played the No. 2 defense in the nation in last week's loss to Ohio State.
The Buckeye talent showed up in the second half, the Huskers shut down a week after getting rolled by Indiana, and two weeks after only coming up with 261 yards in the win over Rutgers, but really, the O is okay........
Fine. The line isn't doing enough for the ground game, and scoring in the red zone is occasionally a rumor, but the third down conversions are there.
Dylan Raiola continues to be a star despite the true freshman mistakes here and there, and in this, there's no need to press.
The UCLA defense is okay. Don't get into a twist if the Huskers aren't throwing 50 up on the board, but the UCLA offense -- last week aside -- is so mediocre that it shouldn't take too much to get this done. So.......
What Will Happen
.....as long as the Nebraska pass defense holds up, all is fine. It gives up a ton of midrange throws lately -- four of the last five offenses have connected for 72% or more of their passes -- but there's not a ton happening to anyone against the elite.
UCLA will hang around for a while, and the Nebraska offense might even be booed -- as much as it can be for the Husker crowd -- but all will be okay in the second half as Raiola gets going late just as the defense clamps down.
Prediction
Nebraska 27, UCLA 13
Spread
Nebraska is favored at home by 6.5 points
