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2024 Game 5 “Expert” Picks: Nebraska @ Purdue ————— CollegeFootballNews.com Purdue is having a rough time. It got obliterated by Notre Dame, pounded on by Oregon State, and it’s going to be tough finding a win the rest of the way - the team will almost certainly be the underdog in the last nine games. Purdue has to figure out how to jump all over Nebraska right away. This is the first road game of the season for the Huskers, but they have to get over yet another close loss - this time to Illinois - that’s slowed the roll of the jacked up Nebraska fans. Why Nebraska Will Win There was a time not all that terribly long ago when Nebraska had the most fearsome rushing attack in all of college football. The Big Red Machine steamrolled over everything in its path, Husker running backs were superstars, and the brutally methodical way it all worked made the program a superpower among superpowers. If Nebraska decides to give that a try, it’ll look like that this week. It’s hard to keep running when you have a quarterback like Dylan Raiola under center, but the Huskers pounded away 47 times in the opener over UTEP. It got away from the ground game, only ran for 48 yards against Illinois in last week’s loss, and … Purdue has allowed 703 rushing yards over the last two weeks to Notre Dame and Oregon State. Give 15 the day off by letting him hand off. Why Purdue Will Win For all of the issues and concerns with the Boilermakers, the plays in the backfield are there. They have a decent pass rush, and they come up with tackles for loss - they just can’t hold up against the run on a consistent basis. But with the Huskers it’s more than that. It’s the first Nebraska road game of the season. As much as they all like to say the past is the past, what did the team do last week? It dropped a close game. The first three - including the win over Colorado - were breathers. If Purdue can get a little bit of the time of possession back on its side, keep this close, the later it gets that Husker collar will get … Nebraska vs Purdue: Who Will Win There won’t be any problems for Nebraska. It’ll run, but it’ll come up with a good offensive mix to offset a few Purdue first half scoring drives. There will be moments when Purdue will have a shot to take over in the second half and make this a game, but will stall. The Nebraska running game will take over from there. Nebraska 34 - Purdue 17 ————— CFN Experts Big Game Ben, CFN: Nebraska E, CFN: Nebraska Jackson Caudell: Nebraska Nathan Erbach, ND on SI: Nebraska Pete Fiutak, CFN: Nebraska John Kennedy, ND on SI: Nebraska Andrew Margolick, CFN: Nebraska Jeremy Mauss: Nebraska Doug Millen, CFN: Nebraska Johnny Rosenstein: Nebraska* Nick Shepkowski: Nebraska Joe Vitale: Nebraska CONSENSUS PICK: Nebraska ————— ESPN FPI Nebraska - 79.6% Win ————— DRatings Nebraska 25 - Purdue 16 Nebraska - 77.6% Win ————— ESPN Bill Connelly SP+ Nebraska 31 - Purdue 17 Nebraska - 81% Win ————— More to come!!!

2024 Game 4 “Expert” Picks: #24 Illinois @ #22 Nebraska ————— CollegeFootballNews.com It’s been a lot of fun to be a fan of these two teams so far. Nebraska is 3-0 for the first time since 2016, but it’s been an easy run - and yes, that includes the victory over Colorado. The team is playing well, the defense has been fantastic, and Dylan Raiola is a great young quarterback to build around. Sometimes as a sports fan, it’s a ton of fun when your team is just getting good. Illinois is also 3-0, easing by Central Michigan last week and with a strong home win over Kansas to get the season going. With a trip to Penn State up next, and with Michigan and at Oregon on the horizon before November, this is a big moment for the Illini. Why Illinois Will Win Nebraska has yet to face a team that can run the ball. It’s not that Northern Iowa didn’t give it a shot, but that’s an FCS team - the Panthers only averaged 3.6 yards per carry. Colorado can’t run and UTEP is UTEP. Illinois has been decent throwing it, and it got stuffed a bit too easily by Kansas, but it’ll start bashing away on the Husker front from the start. Last year the coaching staff screwed up and only ran a season-low 19 times against Nebraska in the 20-7 loss. This time, the idea will be to keep bashing until something starts to break. But there’s one other key here - the turnover monster hasn’t hit the Huskers yet. They’ve been far more careful with the ball, partly because they haven’t needed to take any chances. Meanwhile, Illinois is +8 in turnover margin over the first three games. Why Nebraska Will Win Yeah, about that running the ball for Illinois - there’s a shot it can’t do it. It’s been too easy to let veteran Luke Altmyer throw and take over the offense in key situations, and it’ll likely stick with the plan to mix it up a bit. He’ll have to keep up with the kid on the other side. Raiola has been brilliant. It’s asking WAY too much for a freshman to rise up and carry an entire program, but that’s what he’s been doing. He’s hitting 74% of his passes with five scores and just one pick. It also helps that the Huskers are protecting their star. Nebraska has allowed just one sack and 12 tackles for loss so far. Illinois has yet to show enough push into the backfield to matter - the tackles for loss aren’t there on a consistent basis. Illinois vs Nebraska: Who Will Win There’s a major Prove It factor for Nebraska, and Illinois will provide it. This is the first time all season the Huskers will have to get physical. It’s also the first time they’ll have to handle a nasty secondary. Illinois is great at bringing a big-time attitude on the road, especially when it’s not expected to do much. It’ll push the Huskers for a full four quarters helped by two takeaways - just wait; the Illini will dial up the pressure on Raiola. But unlike past Husker teams, this one won’t turtle when it counts. Nebraska 23 - Illinois 20 ————— CFN Experts Big Game Ben, CFN: Nebraska* E, CFN: Nebraska Jackson Caudell: Nebraska* Nathan Erbach, ND on SI: Nebraska* Pete Fiutak, CFN: Nebraska* John Kennedy, ND on SI: Nebraska* Andrew Margolick, CFN: Illinois Jeremy Mauss: Nebraska Doug Millen, CFN: Nebraska* Johnny Rosenstein: Nebraska* Nick Shepkowski:Nebraska* Joe Vitale: Nebraska CONSENSUS PICK: Nebraska* ————— ESPN FPI Nebraska - 69.3% Win ————— DRatings Nebraska 24 - Illinois 17 Nebraska - 71.3% Win ————— ESPN Bill Connelly SP+ Nebraska 24 - Illinois 16 Nebraska - 71% Win ————— 247 Sports Hummer - I think there's good value with Illinois here. The Illini have owned this series of late, winning three of the last four games. We're also seeing a renewed Illinois offense with Luke Altmyer looking much more comfortable as the team's starter in Year 2. So, give me the Illini to cover. Nebraska wins the game, though. Illinois has been a middling run defense this year (78th nationally in yards allowed per rush) and that could be a problem against a Husker offensive front that's moving people. Nebraska 24 - Illinois 20 Crawford — Illinois has the strength at the line of scrimmage to make this one interesting on Friday and I would not be surprised if the line closes closer to a touchdown than its current mark. That said, Nebraska is on a mission in hopes of continuing to impress poll voters before the season really kicks into high gear in a few weeks. I projected the Huskers to cruise through the first month of the season with Dylan Raiola leading the charge, so I'm not backing off that prediction now. Nebraska 31 - Illinois 20 ————— Sporting News Nebraska beat Illinois 20-7 on the road last season. The Illini had just 21 rushing yards in that loss. Illinois has a +8 turnover margin, but Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola (73.8% completion percentage) has just one INT in three starts. If Nebraska does not turn the ball over, it should pull away. Illinois is 9-3 ATS as a road underdog under Bret Bielema, so this requires betting through the trend. Nebraska 28 - Illinois 17 ————— More to come!!!

2024 Game 3 “Expert” Picks: Northern Iowa @ Nebraska ————— CollegeFootballNews.com It’s great to be a Nebraska Cornhusker. The team easily blew past Colorado last week, and now there’s a shot at the program’s first 3-0 start to the season. Northern Iowa won’t be a layup, though. It’s 2-0 with strong wins over Valparaiso and St. Thomas, and … it’s great to be a UNI Panther. And why? After this the team goes to Honolulu to play Hawaii. Why Northern Iowa Will Win The lines have been wonderful so far. The offensive front isn’t allowing sacks for an attack averaging 300 yards per game on the ground, the pass rush has been strong, and the defense is getting to the quarterback enough to matter. There haven’t been any takeaways, but there’s been just one turnover so far. Play clean, hold up on the lines, at least provide a little pressure to Dylan Raiola, and … Why Nebraska Will Win He’s still just a freshman. The hype and expectations and pressure on Raiola couldn’t have been bigger - hey kid, just save an entire university and football program. He’s hitting 74% of his throws, he has yet to throw a pick, he’s poised, mature, and he’s doing everything the team needed. Combine the strong quarterback play with a defense that’s crushing so far up front - that’s what happens when you play Colorado - and there’s a good mix to keep all the success going. Nebraska vs Northern Iowa: Who Will Win Northern Iowa won’t be a total pushover, but the Nebraska offense will be balanced and solid, it’ll get up quickly, and will roll from there. Don’t expect a blasting - the score will be worse than the game. The Panthers won’t let this get totally out of hand, but they won’t capitalize on their opportunities, either. Nebraska 41 - Northern Iowa 10 ————— ESPN FPI Nebraska - 95.0% Win ————— DRatings Nebraska 34 - Northern Iowa 10 Nebraska - 95.8% Win ————— ESPN Bill Connelly SP+ Nebraska 27 - Northern Iowa 5 Nebraska - 92% Win ————— Big Red Wrap Up Mike'l Severe: Nebraska 45 - Northern Iowa - 7 Jay Moore: Nebraska 48- Northern Iowa - 10 Damon Benning: Nebraska 40 - Northern Iowa - 7 ————— More to come!!!

2024 Game 2 “Expert” Picks: Colorado @ Nebraska ————— CollegeFootballNews.com If Colorado’s win over TCU last season made a splash, the 36-14 victory over Nebraska created a tidal wave. The sports world went Coach Prime crazy, and it’s all still going. The Buffaloes started the season with a win over North Dakota State, Nebraska roared past UTEP, and now this meeting means something more. This time around, both teams are expected to be good. Why Colorado Will Win The passing game continues to be amazing. Don’t let the 31-26 victory over an FCS team fool you - North Dakota State is good enough to win the FCS national title, and Shedeur Sanders ripped it apart. Okay, so there’s no running game, but that’s because the offense is put in the hands of 2. Sanders completed 26-of-34 passes for 445 yards and four scores with a pick, Travis Hunter played like the best all-around player in college football, and Nebraska has to be ready to handle all of it. It’s a better Husker team than the won that got rocked in Boulder, but the defense is still untested, and the offense has to prove it can keep up the pace without a slew of turnovers, and … Why Nebraska Will Win Colorado didn’t fix the glitches that turned last season so sour. How did it beat Nebraska last season? Yeah, Sanders was wonderful - he threw for almost 400 yards - but the Huskers gave the ball away four times. That’s still a concern with a freshman quarterback in his second game, but Dylan Raiola isn’t just an average newbie. Raiola was terrific and poised against UTEP last week, the running game was good, the team played with more confidence than it showed in years, and … Colorado vs Nebraska: Who Will Win Oh yeah, that whole Colorado not fixing the glitch thing. The defensive line was meh against North Dakota State, the offensive line continues to play like it’s designed to get Sanders hit as many times as humanly possible, and there’s going to be a HUGE time of possession disparity. Nebraska had the ball for almost 39 minutes against UTEP. Colorado had the ball for 23 minutes against NDSU. Sanders will come up with his yards and moments, but there won’t be enough of them to overcome the lack of any ground game and a porous defense. Nebraska 38 - Colorado 23 ————— ESPN FPI Nebraska - 60.4% Win ————— DRatings Nebraska 26 - Colorado 19 Nebraska - 73.2% Win ————— ESPN Bill Connelly SP+ Nebraska 30 - Colorado 20 Nebraska - 74% Win ————— Pat Forde - Sports Illustrated Realignment long ago took away this matchup of underrated vehemence between old conference rivals, but some juice has returned with the Buffaloes beating the Cornhuskers three straight times since 2018. Last season felt very much like the bitter old days, when Colorado fans stormed the field after a 36–14 win that helped turn September into the Month of Deion in the sport. Expect Nebraska fans to be extremely motivated to create a significant home-field advantage for their (perhaps) reviving program. The quarterback matchup here is enticing, with Shedeur Sanders the established commodity and freshman Dylan Raiola the emerging talent looking to prove himself. (Perhaps by boldly throwing at Colorado star defensive back Travis Hunter.) The Buffaloes defense was strafed in the first half of the opener against the North Dakota State Bison but tightened up thereafter. Colorado had two extra days to prepare after playing Thursday night. Colorado 31 - Nebraska 30 ————— 247 Sports - Chris Hummer & Brad Crawford Hummer - Colorado embarrassed Nebraska last year in Week 2 with a 22-point victory. But I'd expect things to look a lot different this season. Nebraska, thanks to a big upgrade at quarterback, is much improved and has some of the same advantages along the lines of scrimmage that North Dakota State had last week against the Buffaloes. The big question here is will Nebraska hold down what is a frankly elite group of Buffaloes wide receivers? The Huskers have the athletes in the secondary to keep up and one of the best coordinators in the country calling plays. Give me Nebraska to cover and home. Nebraska 24 - Colorado 16 Crawford — This Nebraska defense should be one of the best Colorado faces this season. That said, Travis Hunter can take the top off any secondary he comes in contact with, so the Buffaloes are going to score points. The middle of the defense is my worry with Colorado and the overall strength of this team in the trenches. Nebraska's a very different foe than North Dakota State when you compare the sheer bulk at the line of scrimmage. Give me Nebraska. Nebraska 31 - Colorado 20 ————— Athlon Sports Steven Lassan: Nebraska Dan Lyons: Nebraska Thomas Neumann: Colorado ————— AP - Ralph Russo Colorado-Nebraska was once a Big Eight rivalry that evolved into a Big 12 rivalry. The Buffaloes and Cornhuskers took a break when it would have been a Big 12-Big Ten game and then reconnected as a Pac-12-Big Ten matchup. Now, that the Buffs are back in the Big 12, the rivalry has circled back to check that Big 12-Big Ten box. Year 2 for both coach Deion Sanders at Colorado and Matt Rhule at Nebraska. These are two very different rebuilds, one portal-centric (Buffs led by transfer QB Shedeur Sanders), one more focused on high-school recruiting (five-star freshman QB Dylan Raiola leads the Huskers). This feels like a game that could launch the winner toward a good season and send the loser into questions about where they are heading. Nebraska 34 - Colorado 21 —————

2024 Game 1 “Expert” Picks: UTEP @ Nebraska (-27.5) ————— CollegeFootballNews.com It’s the first game of the rest of Nebraska’s life. It has a quarterback, it has the coaching in place, it has the team that’s been building enough to start making some noise. UTEP has a new head man in Scotty Walden who’s going to crank up the tempo of the offense with a new group of players in a fun style that might be sneaky-good in Conference USA play. Why UTEP Will Win The new offense will keep on pushing. At Austin Peay, Walden’s offense was ultra-efficient, had a ground game, and found ways to keep everything moving. The receiving corps coming in from the transfer portal is strong, the O line is okay, and it’s all around a defense that was the best in Conference USA last season. Yeah, it’ll take something special to pull this off, but there might be just enough pieces in place to be pesky. Why Nebraska Will Win Let’s go, Dylan Raiola. All that’s expected out of the freshman quarterback is everything. The Nebraska offense should be far better behind an improved line that should give Raiola and company time to work. And even if this bunch struggles, it has the defense to pick up the slack. Yeah, the UTEP offense should be far better, but it’s going to take a little bit. The Husker front three should be a wall against the Miner ground game, and the deep linebacking corps should take over against the midrange throws. Nebraska vs UTEP: Who Will Win UTEP will be fun, and everyone will see what’s coming as the season goes on, but the excitement and the energy from the Nebraska crowd will come through in a strong all-around performance. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll be a win on Opening Day for the first time since 2019. Nebraska 40 - UTEP 10 ————— ESPN FPI Nebraska - 86.3% Win ————— DRatings Nebraska 32 - UTEP 8 Nebraska - 94.0% Win ————— ESPN Bill Connelly SP+ Nebraska 34 - UTEP 6 ————— ESPN Radio- El Paso Despite the back-and-forth quarterback competition that has dominated most of the storylines this fall camp, I would be surprised if the team had a clear-cut answer. It doesn't appear to be far off to speculate that both quarterbacks could see playing time on Saturday, even with a starter named. With stout veteran running backs like Jevon Jackson and hybrid Kam Thomas, I expect this team to lean on the run. On defense, they will have to try and make the freshman look like a freshman. It's an uphill battle for UTEP in the trenches against Nebraska and that's where this one will be won. Let's see if the Miner offense can get some points on the board. Nebraska 42 - UTEP 13 ————— Big Red Wrap Up Damon Benning: Nebraska 38 - UTEP 10 Jay Moore: Nebraska 38 - UTEP 13 Mike'l Severe: Nebraska 38 - UTEP 10 ————— More to come!!!