I'll also apologize that this post is coming out on a Saturday morning right before kickoff...again.
And further more, I apologize that despite it being my fall break this past weekend...along with the fact that this is coming out on a gameday morning, I actually don't have my data up to speed for this upcoming week. So this post is actually going to be very bland and more of a synopsis than a predictor (additionally also because there is also only one ranked matchup this week). But shout out to the AP Poll for recognizing Temple and Memphis finally.
Recap:
Wait. Nebraska won on the road? Against a decent opponent? And was nearly flawless? Well I'll be damned (and I should be damned since I had them losing)
That was honestly one of the best games Nebraska has played in a while. The offense was clicking, the defense wasn't awful (it helped that Minnesota was a running team and didn't care to throw it too much). AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE PUT DEMORNAY BACK TO RECEIVE A PUNT. Sure Brown missed the field goal, but think about it like this: If that wasn't Demornay returning the punt, Nebraska would have had the ball on the what, around midfield? And Nebraska went three plays of straight nothing after that punt return, which would have meant if they were at midfield instead of the Minnesota 20, that would have been a punt instead of a field goal attempt. Again, didn't horribly matter since they missed, but to have the opportunity to score 3 versus nothing at all...its those small things man.
The Big Red Throwdown:
Two weeks ago I was scared about this game. Northwestern was 5-0 and looking to shut down another opponent in Michigan, and Nebraska was reeling from a sluggish performance against Illinois. However now the story is different. Nebraska has played two solid games (one really spectacular game) and Northwestern has fallen flat on their asses with their last two games. With all of that being said, Northwestern always plays pretty scrappy against Nebraska, lets flashback to last time they were in town:
Wasn't that pretty? Fun fact if I've never told you the story: I got tackled by some drunk guy in the stands when this went down. Perks of being in the student section.
But lets also recap that game really briefly: Northwestern came into that game winless in Big Ten play, severely injured, and honestly had no shot of being terribly competitive. So to have to win on a hail mary was a bit much, but oh well we take those.
And I'll admit now still; despite Northwestern's recent struggles, I'm still a bit scared to see what happens today. Nebraska needs to play the way they did against Minnesota in order to solidly handle this game, especially if Northwestern decides to get back to their 5-0 fundamentals. If I see any of the old Nebraska that can't close out games, this is going to be a long day. That is unless Northwestern is still slacking, then that'll make for an entertaining and possibly slow moving game.
Nebraska O vs Northwestern D: Oie. Uh. Depends who shows up? If we're looking at most likely occurrence, edge Northwestern. That defense can be scary. And with how prone the offense is to being really lackluster, Northwestern will be a brick wall and then some. And they love to force turnovers
Nebraska D vs Northwestern O: Advantage Nebraska. Thankfully Northwestern is another running team, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about. If the defense can force some turnovers to combat the likelyhood that Northwestern will be forcing turnovers, then they should be in fine waters.
Special Teams: Even. Yes, even with Demornay healthy, Northwestern gets scary on the return game. And Drew Brown can't kick a field goal to save his life at times.
Nebraska 27, Northwestern 23
And as I said, due to lack of time and for the sake of there won't be anything thrilling occurring in college football, I'll take the pass on other predictions. But we're still keeping score and yikes...a losing week :/ Last Week: 3-4. Overall: 28-19
But here's a video to hold you guys over:
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