The Nebraska Cornhuskers march into Kinnick Stadium to get it on with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday, November 25th. The BIG-10 match-up will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on the ABC Network. As of Wednesday, the Hawkeyes are -3 point favorites and the contest’s total is at 41.5.
The Cornhuskers need to defeat the Hawkeyes on Friday and have the Badgers lose to Minnesota the following day, if they want to play in the BIG-10 championship game. Tommy Armstrong was absent in Saturday’s win over the Terps because of a hamstring issue.
Back-up signal-caller Ryker Fyfe stepped in but suffered a broken wrist on his non-throwing arm and needed to have surgery. Now, Nebraska isn’t sure who they can turn to to get the job done.
#16 Nebraska (9-2):
With all the quarterback concerns for the Cornhuskers, coach Mike Riley will need to dig into his bag of tricks to pull this one out on Friday. When asked about his peculiar situation, Riley responded by saying….“I don’t know.”
There’s a chance wide receiver Zack Darlington could start at quarterback. Darlington, who served as Fyfe’s backup last week, was a dual threat signal-caller in high school and could have some success against Iowa with his feet.
Obviously, Nebraska will lean on its running game to keep the pressure off of whoever is under center. They will look to move the chains via the ground with running backs Terrell Newby and Devine Ozigbo. The duo has combined for over 160 carries in 2016, racking up over 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Wide receivers may not play a huge roll in the Cornhusker’s arsenal because of their quarterback situation, but if needed, wide out Jordan Westerkamp will need to step up. Coming back from injury, Westerkamp has recorded 34 catches for almost 500 yards and five touchdowns.
The strength of this Cornhusker team rests on the defensive side of the ball. Nebraska has been solid ranking in the top twenty in three of the four major defensive categories this season. Nebraska only allows 21 points a contest which is good for 22nd in the nation.
Iowa (7-4):
Iowa can add another victory to their resume after toppling the Wolverines two weeks ago. An eight-win campaign would be quite an accomplishment considering the Hawkeyes lost to FCS power North Dakota State to begin the season.
Quarterback C.J. Beathard has been asked to manage the offense without making any game changing mistakes. So far this year, his done a pretty good job at that. With a bland playbook, Beathard has completed over 150 passes for over 1,700 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven picks.
Iowa relies on its running game to keep opposing quarterbacks on the sidelines and grind out the clock. Two back field grinders have accomplished just that. Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels Jr. have totaled over 1,700 yards on the ground with 17 touchdowns.
Four Hawkeyes wide receivers have pitched in to keep the passing game rolling in 2016. The foursome has tallied almost 100 catches for almost 1,300 yards and 10 scores. Riley McCarron leads this group with 36 catches for 398 yards and three trips to the end zone.
Iowa also relies on their defense to keep them in football games. The Hawkeyes have been solid against opposing running backs, holding teams to only 158 yards per game (50th). They also defend the pass pretty well, surrendering 206 yards which is good for 38th in the country.
Trends and Notes:
The Cornhuskers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games.
The Hawkeyes are 2-9-1 ATS in their last 12 home games.
The Under is 9-1 in the Cornhuskers last 10 conference games.
The Under is 4-1 in the Hawkeyes last 5 home games.
The Road team is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 meetings.
Game Prediction:
With all the question marks surrounding the Nebraska quarterback position, Las Vegas isn’t sure what to put on the board. Well, they decided to go with the home team by two and stick the over/under at a dismal 41.5.
Look, even if the Cornhuskers had their starting quarterback return, which they might, this game is still a toss-up. Both teams have performed well at times and other times they have looked average at best. The safe bet here is to go with what we know, and that’s both defense are pretty solid. Take the under 41.5 and if Tommy Armstrong Jr. returns, the line will go up and you can nail the under then.
