Saunders

Lol. Technically SP+ gives us a 0.2 edge too!

Only one that the consensus got wrong was Illinois.

2021 Game 8 “Expert” Picks: Nebraska (-3) @ Minnesota ————— CollegeFootballNews.com Why Nebraska Will Win Now what do the Gophers do? Mohamed Ibrahim was one of the Big Ten’s best backs, but he went down in the Ohio State game with an Achilles tendon injury. In came Trey Potts, he ran for 552 yards and six touchdowns in five games, and now he’s out for the year. Minnesota doesn’t have the passing game to make up the running game if the freshman backs aren’t able to fill the void, and it doesn’t have the explosion to keep up if and when the Huskers start hitting the home runs with the passing game and when QB Adrian Martinez gets free in the second left. The offense is working, and the team has been really, really close to a wonderful season, but … Why Nebraska Will Win Forgive the complete lack of substantive research and analysis on this, but … Nebraska just doesn’t seem to know how to win when it has the chance. You could see it on head coach Scott Frost’s face right as the Michigan game was ending. His team had the monster W right there for the taking, and once again, it couldn’t get it done. It’s good enough to roll in a few blowouts here and there, but it screwed up just enough to matter against Illinois. It couldn’t quite rise up when the chances were there against Oklahoma, the Michigan State game came down to who blinked first late, and it was all there for the taking against Michigan, and … Loss, loss, loss, loss. There are a whole lot of strong parts to the improving Huskers, but the special teams are just okay – to be kind – the O doesn’t move well enough when Martinez isn’t doing something amazing, and there isn’t enough of a pass rush to get through the giant Minnesota offensive front. However … What’s Going To Happen YOU try to guess which Minnesota team shows up. Is it the one that fought through its worst day of the season running the ball to beat Purdue, or is it the one that didn’t get off the bus in a stunning loss to Bowling Green, or is it the one that totally stoned Colorado on the road? The Gopher defensive stats are great, but it also helps that there weren’t any teams on the slate after Ohio State that could run the ball. There won’t be anything spectacular about it, but Nebraska will come up with a very good, very measured, and very business-like performance. It will get two big pass plays to open things up a bit, the run defense will be just fine, and the season that desperately needs a win at this point to keep bowl hopes alive will march on. Nebraska will have the chance in a close game, and finally, it will win. Nebraska 23 - Minnesota 17 ————— ESPN FPI Nebraska 59.7% ————— DRatings Nebraska 27 - Minnesota 24 Nebraska 57% ————— ESPN Bill Connelly SP+ Nebraska 27 - Minnesota 27 (wat?) Nebraska 51% ————— Big Red Wrap-Up Mike’l Severe: Nebraska 28 - Minnesota 21 Jay Moore: Nebraska 21 - Minnesota 13 ————— AP - Ralph D Russo Gophers have lost their top two tailbacks to injury. Nebraska 21 - Minnesota 14 ————— Athlon Sports Steven Lassan : N Mark Ross: N Ben Weinrib: N ————— Bleacher Report - Kerry Miller Minnesota 24 - Nebraska 21 ————— More to come…

I started my draft, I’ll post it in the morning!

Added a few more...

No punt, only score. This is the way.

Added a bunch more picks.

It started at -1, then was up to -3 at some places. I normally just grab it from whatever preview I start with first.

2021 Game 7 “Expert” Picks: Michigan (-3) @ Nebraska ————— CollegeFootballNews.com Why Michigan Will Win It’s a rock-solid team that maintains a nice even keel. If that sounds boring, it’s because it’s been very, very business-like to the point of the Michigan faithful not believing that it could all look this easy. There was a little bit of sweating in the second half of the 20-13 win over Rutgers, but not really. And why? The lines are rock solid and the team isn’t screwing up. The offensive front has been a rock for a running game that predictably struggled against the Scarlet Knights and Wisconsin, but has been solid overall. There aren’t any plays allowed in the backfield – Michigan leads the nation in fewest tackles for loss allowed, and it’s second in sacks given up – and everything else flows from there. There’s no real pressure on QB Cade McNamara and the backfield, there hasn’t been any need to force anything, and because of it, there’s been just one turnover in the first five games. Nebraska doesn’t do enough to force takeaways. On the flip side of the Michigan line, the Husker front five has allowed the most sacks per game of anyone in the Big Ten. But … Why Nebraska Will Win The sack thing is a bit of a technicality because of Adrian Martinez’s mobility. He’s been brilliant so far – he’ll throw something different at the Michigan D. The Wolverines haven’t faced any dangerous dual-threat playmaking quarterbacks, and now they have to deal with a veteran who looks settled into the gig. He’s hitting 67% of his passes with over 200 yards in every game – averaging close to ten yards per throw – to go along with five rushing scores in his last two games. Thanks to Martinez, the Huskers are great on third downs, they’re dominating the time of possession battle, and the offense is averaging over 500 yards per game. It might have taken a while, but the O is starting to work. However … What’s Going To Happen It takes 500 yards for the Huskers to win. The Huskers aren’t getting 500 yards against Michigan. Nebraska is 7-1 over the last three seasons when it comes up with 500 yards, and it’s 4-14 – including 0-3 this year – when it doesn’t get there. Michigan is allowing fewer than 300 yards per game and hasn’t allowed 500 to anyone but Ohio State since 2015. It won’t be anything spectacular, but again, that’s Michigan. It’ll be efficient, it won’t screw up, and the steady drip will soon add up to 200 yards passing and rushing – and a 6-0 start. Michigan 26 - Nebraska 20 ————— ESPN FPI Michigan - 63% ————— DRatings Michigan 28 - Nebraska 24 Michigan - 63% ————— ESPN Bill Connelly SP+ Michigan 27 - Nebraska 24 Michigan - 58% ————— Sporting News This is a trap game for the Wolverines. Michigan hasn't visited Memorial Stadium since a loss in 2012, and the Huskers have dominated in their home games. These are the two best rushing offenses in the Big Ten, too. There will be some anxious moments for Michigan, but they come through in the second half. Michigan 31 - Nebraska 24 ————— Big Red Wrap-Up Mike’l Severe: Michigan 24 - Nebraska 20 Jay Moore: Nebraska 24 - Michigan 20 ————— CBS Sports Dennis Dodd: N Tom Fornelli: N Chip Patterson: N Barrett Sallee: M David Cobb: M Shehan Jeyarajah: M ————— The Athletic Dan Santaromita: M Jason Starrett: M Chris Vannini: M Ari Wasserman: M ————— Dallas Morning News Scott Bell: M Chuck Carlton: N Corby Davidson: M Josephy Hoyt: M Ric Renner: M Selby Lopez: M Kevin Sherrington: M Brett Vito: M Newy Scruggs: M ————— 247 Sports Hummer: Michigan -3; I just think Michigan is better. The Huskers have quietly played excellent football since their loss to Illinois. But Nebraska is a run-first offense, and Michigan has defended the run as well as anyone early this year. I also just trust the Wolverine offense a bit more right now. This is a close game, but I like Michigan to cover. … Michigan 27 - Nebraska 21. Crawford: Michigan -3; It would not surprise me at all if the Huskers hand the Wolverines their first loss on Saturday night in a sold-out setting. However, Michigan is the better team at the line of scrimmage and I do think Jim Harbaugh's group will be able to control that aspect of the matchup enough to prevail. ... Michigan 20 - Nebraska 16. ————— AP - Ralph D Russo Cornhuskers might be sneaky good, though they have lost 14 straight against ranked teams dating to 2016. Nebraska 24 - Michigan 21, Upset Special ————— Wolverines Wire Trent Knoop: I think this game ultimately comes down to the Nebraska offense against the Michigan defense. Adrian Martinez does a great job with the read-option attack, but if the Michigan edge defenders can stop him, then the Wolverines should win this game fairly easy. Cade McNamara has done a great job managing the the Michigan offense, he has yet to throw an interception, and he will need to continue doing just that in a hostile environment at night. I’ll take the Wolverines to win their first game ever in Lincoln. Michigan 31 - Nebraska 17 Isaiah Hole: Nebraska is much better than its record, having lost all three games by just one score. The offense is high-powered and the defense is stellar. The biggest issue for the Huskers is that they make mistakes and are undisciplined, essentially beating themselves. This is a home game, at night. All these things favor Nebraska. Except, it hasn’t (theoretically) seen a defense like Michigan’s and they have the worst offensive line in the country. For me, the big question is how the Wolverine defense will handle Adrian Martinez, as I think the offense will be able to score, given what it was able to do vs. Wisconsin. I think this will be a tough game, but Michigan pulls away on the road. Michigan 42 - Nebraska 24 ————— OWH - Sam McKewon Saturday Night Special. Unless Nebraska is playing Ohio State inside Memorial Stadium, it’s pretty tough in that environment with big wins over Michigan State, Miami and, yes, Michigan in 2012. That Wolverine team isn’t as good as this one, but this Husker D is much stingier. Scott Frost nabs the big one. Nebraska 24 - Michigan 21 ————— The Athletic - Stewart Mandel Nebraska is 3-3, but we know its defense is very good. And with a few personnel changes last week, the offense exploded last week against Northwestern. The time is ripe for Scott Frost to finally win a big game … I just don’t trust that the Huskers can beat a top-10 team with their penchant for self-inflicted wounds. Michigan 27 - Nebraska 23 ————— CBS Sports Six Pack Picks I'm not sold on Michigan yet. The unbeaten Wolverines climbed into the AP Top 10 after starting the season unranked, but they're simply too one-dimensional on offense. And that dimension has faded in recent weeks. The Wolverines rushed for 1,051 yards at 7.15 yards per carry in their first three games, but that average dropped to only 2.73 yards per carry against Rutgers and Wisconsin. Now, they're going on the road for a second consecutive week to face Nebraska. The Cornhuskers might not be Wisconsin defensively, but they profile similarly to Rutgers. Plus, with Michigan presenting little threat in the passing game, the Huskers can load the box. Maybe Nebraska doesn't pull off the upset, but I have this one being close, so I'll gladly take the 3.5 points. Nebraska 24 - Michigan 23 ————— More to come...

Won't need the hoodies now!

They told me at least half a dozen times that they had so much fun. Great weekend.

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.

Lol, that triggers Northwestern fans so much. They totally don't get it.