Tommy Armstrong and the Nebraska Cornhuskers battle Justin Jackson and the Northwestern Wildcats in a game that will feature two of the best players in the Big 10. A bad season has only gotten worse for Nebraska (3-4), as they have lost two of its last three. The game will air Saturday, Oct 24 at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESP2.
In last week’s matchup, Nebraska won big over Minnesota 48-25. Terrell Newby had a great game running the ball in the victory, rushing 13 times for 116 yards and two TDs. Tommy Armstrong had a great game as well, adding 261 yards and three TDs through the air. Northwestern is hoping for a different outcome after struggling mightily against Iowa 40-10. Mike McHugh had a good performance for the Wildcats, pulling in two receptions for 43 yards.
The odds between the Cornhuskers and the Wildcats are even this week, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available.
Sitting at 3-4 Straight Up (SU) and 4-3 Against The Spread (ATS), the Cornhuskers will look to improve heading into Week 8. The Cornhuskers run for 5.3 yards per carry, 19th in the nation. During their last five games, the Cornhuskers have done a better job of keeping their opponents from running, giving up an average of 97.2 rushing yards.
Over on the other sideline, the Wildcats head into Week 8 with records of 4-3 ATS and 5-2 SU. Running the ball is important for the Wildcats. They attempt 48 rushing plays per game. Moving on to the Northwestern defense, it has some favorable matchups that it may be able to take advantage of. The Cornhuskers are matching up with Northwestern’s defense at an inopportune time. Over the last five games, Northwestern’s opponents have only averaged 160.8 yards through the air. Yellow flags will likely be a common sight during any game with Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are one of the most penalized teams in the country with 8.6 calls per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Nebraska, ATS Winner – Nebraska
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Nebraska’s last 11 games.
Nebraska is 2-4-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
Nebraska is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Nebraska’s last 13 games at home.
Northwestern is 3-0 SU when leading at the half this season. Nebraska is 3-2 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Remarkably, Northwestern is only 1-2 SU in games where it comes out ahead in the turnover battle, yet undefeated (4-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
Dating back to last season, Northwestern is only 4-7 SU against Big 10 opponents, while Nebraska is 6-5 SU against in-conference foes.
