Northwestern at Nebraska Prediction and Preview
by Pete Fiutak, CollegeFootballNews.com
Northwestern (3-3, 1-2) at Nebraska (3-3, 1-2)
Saturday, October 21 - 3:30 PM (ET) - BTN
Why Northwestern Will Win
Nebraska's offense isn't going to run away and hide with a big score put on the board.
The passing game is struggling, it's not consistent, and the ground game is hit or miss. Worse yet, there's a big problem with turnovers -- again.
It seemed like the glitch was fixed after giving the ball away eight times in the first two games, there weren't issues for a few games, and then came the fumbling issue in the win over Illinois. Northwestern could use the help.
Northwestern is rested, the run defense should be to hold up, and the passing attack that showed off a few big moments in the comeback win over Minnesota and the win over UTEP should produce against the Big Ten's worst pass defense, and ........
Why Nebraska Will Win
....Northwestern is painfully inconsistent, and it's not helping that the D isn't taking the ball away.
There were three turnovers forced against UTEP, and that's been about it with just two against everyone else. There's no pass rush and not enough big things happening behind the line. Best of all for the Huskers, their running game should go off.
The Wildcat run defense isn't awful, but it's allowing a Big Ten-worst 172 rushing yards per game. There's no ground game, no controlling the tempo, and Nebraska should take advantage of it.
Grind it with the ground game, rely on the defensive front that can get behind the line -- and the third-best run defense in the nation -- and .......
What Will Happen
..... Nebraska was really, really close to being 4-2 right now, and as is at 3-3 should get within range of a bowl game with a win.
It might not be dominant, and it might not be scintillating, but Nebraska will run well and won't let Northwestern get to 100 rushing yards. It'll all come together in the second half of a grinding performance for the first run of four wins in five games since late in 2018, and the second time since starting the 2016 season 7-0.
Prediction
Nebraska 26, Northwestern 17
Spread
Nebraska is favored at home by 12 points. The O/U is at 41 points