*** 2021 Game 6 "Expert" Picks: The Battle For NU ***

Call your shot!

  • Nebraska wins & covers (-9)

    Votes: 30 63.8%

  • Nebraska wins but doesn't cover

    Votes: 13 27.7%

  • Northwestern wins

    Votes: 4 8.5%
  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .
Saunders

Saunders

Heisman Trophy Winner
2021 Game 6 “Expert” Picks: Northwestern @ Nebraska (-9)

—————

CollegeFootballNews.com

Why Northwestern Will Win

Are the Wildcats figuring it out? Is this one of Pat Fitzgerald’s slow-starting teams that kicks it all in after the first few games are out of the way? Getting the running game going against Ohio isn’t all that big a deal – the Bobcats are having a rough time – but at least there’s some production. The defense isn’t its normal dominant self – Duke went off two weeks ago and Michigan State ran wild in the opener, but it’s been okay at getting into the backfield and Nebraska isn’t doing a whole lot to keep defenses from living behind the line.

Why Nebraska  Will Win

The passing game is rolling with five straight 200-yard games to start the season. It might not always be consistent, but it’s putting up yards. Adrian Martinez has been great, and … It’s the other side of the ball that’s stepping it up. The Huskers haven’t been great at getting off the field – even though they give up too many third down tries – but controlling the clock isn’t a problem with an O that’s cranking out first downs by the bucket. Oklahoma and Michigan State both stalled a bit too often – the Spartans only came up with 254 yards last week – and now Nebraska gets a Northwestern offense that can’t get anything going with the downfield passing game.

What’s Going To Happen

Enough is enough. Scott Frost and Nebraska went from being a major disappointment, to winning two games they should’ve against Fordham and Buffalo, to coming up with two totally acceptable and gut-wrenching road losses to Oklahoma and Michigan State. This is one win the coach and program must win. The Huskers are playing well, but it has to translate into a relatively easy victory against a Northwestern team that’s a mere shadow of its 2020 self. A few early Big Red scores will force the Wildcats to press, and it won’t go well. It’s Northwestern – and it’s Nebraska – so there will be a bit of second-half comeback thanks to a few Husker mistakes. It won’t be as easy as it should be, but Nebraska will get the win with Martinez being the difference-maker to control the clock and the game in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 20

—————

ESPN FPI

Nebraska - 79%

—————

DRatings

Nebraska 26 - Northwestern 21

Nebraska - 68.1%

—————

ESPN Bill Connelly SP+

Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 17

Nebraska - 77%

—————

Bleacher Report

Nebraska 31 - Northwestern 24

—————

Big Red Wrap-Up

Mike’l Severe: Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 20

Damon Benning: Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 17

—————

More to come...

 
Can we actually put up 30 points in a conference game? Feels kind of like we can't.

Fortunately our defense is playing well enough and is talented enough that it might not matter in this one. But holy crap do we need to start blocking way better than we have been. It's ridiculous.

 
I took the Huskers to win and cover. Probably just wishful thinking since we're making the trip up for the game, and I'm hoping my kids get to see a dub.

 
Hedley Lamarr said:
We should easily win, however we havent shown we can do that against P5 football teams during the Frost tenure so we shall wait and see. 
Click to expand...


There's that "should win" curse again.  Cream puffs out side the B1G excepted, we most certainly do seem to be cursed with "should win therefor we will not win."  Of course it's different this time.. blah.. because Frost talked to the O-Line and Special Teams during practices and even "experimented" etc.

*sigh*

 
Last edited by a moderator:
We win. We cover. But we don’t score 30. We score in the 50s. I feel it. The defense is going to score.a couple times. AM to ST a couple times. AM on a run play. A couple RB TDS. Maybe AM to Austin Allen for six. 
 

This is our get right game. This is where it begins to turn 

We broke a tendency when we expanded that 14-3 lead against Buffalo. We broke a tendency when we came out and competed well in the second half against OU. We had Michigan State on the ropes. More evidence of the change that’s coming. 
 

We didn’t finish. I get it. Until we do, the movie stays the same. Why not now? This is our time. We are going to win the first of a four game streak to clinch bowl eligibility and set up great games against solid opponents in the last three games. 
 

I was stunned last week. Devastated really. And then I realized that we are standing  in front of a major opportunity here , not just for this year but for the seasons to come. 
 

Maybe  it’s wishful thinking. But I have seen enough to believe we can do it. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
tmfr15 said:
We win. We cover. But we don’t score 30. We score in the 50s. I feel it. The defense is going to score.a couple times. AM to ST a couple times. AM on a run play. A couple RB TDS. Maybe AM to Austin Allen for six. 
 

This is our get right game. This is where it begins to turn 

We broke a tendency when we expanded that 14-3 lead against Buffalo. We broke a tendency when we came out and competed well in the second half against OU. We had Michigan State on the ropes. More evidence of the change that’s coming. 
 

We didn’t finish. I get it. Until we do, the movie stays the same. Why not now? This is our time. We are going to win the first of a four game streak to clinch bowl eligibility and set up great games against solid opponents in the last three games. 
 

I was stunned last week. Devastated really. And then I realized that we are standing  in front of a major opportunity here , not just for this year but for the seasons to come. 
 

Maybe  it’s wishful thinking. But I have seen enough to believe we can do it. 
Click to expand...
What were you drinking when you posted this? I need some beverage ideas for the game on Saturday. 

 
tmfr15 said:
We win. We cover. But we don’t score 30. We score in the 50s. I feel it. The defense is going to score.a couple times. AM to ST a couple times. AM on a run play. A couple RB TDS. Maybe AM to Austin Allen for six. 
 

This is our get right game. This is where it begins to turn 

We broke a tendency when we expanded that 14-3 lead against Buffalo. We broke a tendency when we came out and competed well in the second half against OU. We had Michigan State on the ropes. More evidence of the change that’s coming. 
 

We didn’t finish. I get it. Until we do, the movie stays the same. Why not now? This is our time. We are going to win the first of a four game streak to clinch bowl eligibility and set up great games against solid opponents in the last three games. 
 

I was stunned last week. Devastated really. And then I realized that we are standing  in front of a major opportunity here , not just for this year but for the seasons to come. 
 

Maybe  it’s wishful thinking. But I have seen enough to believe we can do it. 
Click to expand...
The eternal optimist inside me wants to believe you are right. 

Bear with me- I recently got some tough medical news regarding my youngest.  To take my mind off things, I re-watched all of our games this year.  We are better, no doubt.  Our defense is making significant strides, no doubt.  The coaches have taught all the skills, game planned well, etc... The problem is we seem to be a team waiting for something to go wrong.  The players know what to do and when to do it- they just don't believe so nervous errors show up.  Especially regarding offense and ST, there is a serious lack of confidence.  Maybe this is a reach but I think that is a result of the coaching staff's mental state.  Scott and company really believed they would have Nebraska competing for championships by now.  They really believed they had it all figured out.  A lot has gone wrong out of their control but I think their confidence, or lack of, has been passed down to the players.  Until we fix that, we will likely continue to make the nervous mistakes.  The "no fear of failure" statement is great but it has to start with coaching.  Scott had fear of failure at the end of regulation against Michigan State.  It was obvious in his demeanor and in the plays called that lead to us losing.  Hopefully he can self examine and figure out how to fix it.  Maybe Trev can help?

In any event, a good win against an weaker NW would really help.  A win at home against a solid Michigan team would help even more.  Maybe then the staff will get a bit of their swagger back.  GBR 

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top