Match up

[SnohomishRed]

NU Offense vs Iowa Defense - NU ofense ranked #33 nationally and Iowa defense ranked #19 - Iowa is much stronger against the run than pass and has faltered lately. Some of this can be due to losing Ott ( best pass rusher) for the season. Iowa does have a secondary that produces a lot of Int's . NU has been running theball better but is still first and foremost trying to be a passing team. As long as TA is not throwing int's they are pretty effective at it

Advantage NU - but only if turnovers are limited - they will need to establish the run and be patient but I believe we will score around 30 or more

NU defense vs Iowa Offense - NU does a good job on stopping the run but a poor but improving job of stopping the pass. Iowa is balanced to be sure but is best when they are running effectively - also the QB is very good at improvising when things break down

Advantage Iowa - If however NU can generate a pass rush without losing contain our defense can slow them down - a few turnovers would also be nice

Special teams - Clear advantage Iowa - their kicker and return game could be the difference. I am not sold on our kickoff and punt return coverages and hope this doesnt come back to bite us this game

Overall I like NU to win I just think our offense will move the ball very effectively against their defense and I also believe our defense does just enough to slow down their offense

NU 38 - Iowa 28

 

[red rover 70]

Solid post.

 

[red rover 70]

Add a pick 6 by Gerry to end the game and I'm 100% on board.

 

[headcard]

I have watched Iowa, but I don't really know alot about their special teams. Why is this a clear advantage for Iowa? Nebraska has a good kicker and a great punter. Are Iowa's even better? Do they have great return units (Brown kicks alot of touchbacks)?

 

[DodgerHawki]

I have watched Iowa, but I don't really know alot about their special teams. Why is this a clear advantage for Iowa? Nebraska has a good kicker and a great punter. Are Iowa's even better? Do they have great return units (Brown kicks alot of touchbacks)?

Iowa's special teams are okay, certainly not great. The kicker has a very good leg (he hit the 57-yarder to beat Pitt). Has missed 4 or 5 XP on the year, believe it or not. The punter has made marked improvement. Good job of situational punting. Return game has been good, not great. Desmond King (the corner with 8 picks) is the kick and punt returner. Had a big punt return against Iowa State that turned that game. He had a huge kickoff return against Minnesota that set Iowa up with a short field and allowed the Hawks to get up 2 scores.

Just my 2 cents. If Nebraska turns the ball over 2+ times, Iowa wins by 8-14 points. If Huskers don't turn it over, they have an excellent chance of winning.