Two schools that prefer to run the football, Head Coach P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers (+4) are set to pay a visit to their conference rival Nebraska Cornhuskers (-4) at Tom Osborne Field at Memorial Stadium. The opening kickoff for this game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and fans can catch the action by tuning in to BTN.
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers Betting Preview
In this Saturday Big Ten game, Nebraska has been projected as the favorite and is currently giving up 4 points. The Golden Gophers are also receiving +155 moneyline odds while the Cornhuskers are -175. This Big 10 matchup should provide several decent live betting possibilities, and Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 56 points.
The game’s over/under has yet to change after it was initially posted at 56. Having said that, the line opened at -5 so the early action has swayed toward the Golden Gophers.
The Golden Gophers are 4-2 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 0.0 units this season. The team has posted an O/U record of 3-3. The lackluster Cornhuskers have lost 9.8 units so far. The team is 2-4 ATS and has an O/U record of 4-2.
The Golden Gophers are 3-3 straight up (SU), including 0-3 SU against Big 10 opponents. The Cornhuskers are 0-6 SU overall and 0-4 SU in conference play.
The Golden Gophers are most-recently on the rebound after a 30-14 defeat to Ohio State last week. Zack Annexstad completed just 13 passes on 23 attempts for 218 yards and two interceptions. Mohamed Ibrahim (157 yards on 23 rush attempts, two TDs) led the ground attack in the loss while Tyler Johnson (eight receptions, 119 yards) and Bryce Witham (two catches, 62 yards) handled the receiving duties.
Nebraska most recently dropped a 34-31 game to Northwestern. The defensive secondary allowed the Wildcats to air it out for 455 yards and three touchdowns. Flynn Nagel was outstanding, recording 220 yards and two touchdowns on 12 catches for the Wildcats. For Nebraska, Adrian Martinez completed 25-of-35 passes for 251 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Devine Ozigbo (159 rushing yards on 22 attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Martinez (37 yards on 13 carries) led the ground game in the defeat while JD Spielman (eight receptions, 76 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching corps.
Minnesota’s run the ball on 57.6 percent of its offensive plays this year, including 53.3 percent across possessions in conference play. Nebraska has an overall rush percentage of 54.6 percent, and has carried the ball 49.1 percent of the time against Big 10 opponents. The Golden Gophers have run for 151 yards per game (including 119 per game versus Big Ten opponents) and have eight touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Cornhuskers are putting up 193 rush yards per game (160 in conference) and have 10 total rushing TDs.
It seems like the Cornhuskers may be the more disruptive team in the trenches. Their offensive line has allowed only 14 sacks while the D-line has registered 15 sacks. The Golden Gophers offensive line has allowed 15 sacks and their defense has got to opposing signal-callerss just 11 times.
The Gophers offensive scheme has tallied 200 yards per game in the air overall (207 per game against conference opposition) and has nine passing scores so far. The Cornhuskers have produced 248 pass yards per game (268.5 against Big 10 foes) and have eight total pass TDs.
Minnesota seems to have an advantage in both areas of the defense. The team’s let opponents run for an average of 122 yards and pass for 233 yards per game. The Nebraska defense has given up 268.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 177.0 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to opponents, as the Gophers have given up an ANY/A of 5.93 to opposing QBs, while the Cornhuskers are yielding an ANY/A of 6.21.
Offensively, Annexstad is up to 924 passing yards on the year, and has connected on 71-of-134 attempts with five passing scores and four interceptions. He has a 5.38 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 3.67 over the past two outings.
Adrian Martinez has managed to complete 72-of-112 passes for 783 yards, four TDs and five INTs for Nebraska. His ANY/A sits at 4.70 for the year and 7.33 across his last two games.
When these two programs faced one another last year, Minnesota won easily 54-21.
RELATED: Week 8 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
NCAA Tip: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers
SU Winner – Minnesota, ATS Winner – Minnesota, O/U – Over
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Team Betting Trends
The O/U for Minnesota’s last game was set at 61. The under cashed in the team’s 30-14 defeat to Ohio State.
As a team, Minnesota has averaged 3.4 yards per carry across its past three games and 4.1 over its last two.
Nebraska has averaged 5.5 yards per carry over its last three contests and 4.8 over its past two.
The Nebraska offense has lost six fumbles this season while Minnesota has let five get away.
In its last three matchups, Minnesota is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
The O/U for Nebraska’s last game was 58. The over cashed in the team’s 34-31 defeat to Northwestern.
Over its last three matches, Nebraska is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in each of those three.
The Golden Gophers offense has recorded two pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Cornhuskers have put up three such plays.
The Minnesota defense has allowed five pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Nebraska has given up six such plays.
The Minnesota offense has created six rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Nebraska has created 15 such runs.
The Golden Gophers defense has allowed seven rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Cornhuskers have given up 11 such runs.
The Nebraska defense has sacked opposing QBs 15 times this season. Minnesota has produced 11 sacks.
+++++
