Saunders
Heisman Trophy Winner
Game 7 “Expert” Picks: Nebraska @ Northwestern
—————
CollegeFootballNews.com
http://cfn.scout.com/2/1469794.html
Nebraska (5-1) at Northwestern (3-3) Oct. 18, 7:30, BTN
Here's The Deal: Northwestern was in the midst of a rough run last year, losing four straight games in the nosedive, but it appeared to have everything in hand late in Lincoln. One Hail Mary and a 27-24 Husker win later, and the season kept spiraling into the abyss. After a tough loss to Minnesota last week, can the Wildcats avoid another turn the other way? With a road game at Iowa up next to kick off a run of three road games in four weeks, there’s no time for a loss, even if it’s against a team that’s looking like the best in the West.
The Huskers got two weeks off to rest up and get over the 27-22 loss at Michigan State. While it might have been a stinger to lose, it sort of didn’t matter – run the table, get to 12-1, get into the playoff, maybe. But first, the offense has to gear it back up again after struggling to do anything on the ground against the Spartans. A win would be a really big deal with three of the next four games at home to go along with a road showdown at Wisconsin, and it would keep everything right on track to be the lead dog in the Big Ten West.
Why Nebraska Might Win: That’s the Northwestern offense everyone was used to. After running well and maintaining control against Wisconsin in the huge win in Evanston, the Wildcat ground game couldn’t get going against Minnesota, making the passing game do all the work. As soon as NU starts throwing a bit too much, there are problems, with the three games with the most attempts this year – Cal, NIU, Minnesota – all in the losses. The Husker run defense allowed a season-high 188 yards and two touchdowns against Michigan State, but it hasn’t allowed more than four yards per carry against anyone else. Northwestern isn’t going to be able to run the ball.
Why Northwestern Might Win: It hasn’t received enough credit, but the Wildcat defense has been nasty, allowing just 17.5 points per game. The front seven got ripped apart by Melvin Gordon and Wisconsin, but it only allowed 14 points because the secondary was so strong. Thanks to a defense that’s forced 13 takeaways, Northwestern is +6 so far this year losing the turnover battle just once against Northern Illinois. The Wildcats might not be explosive, and they might not be consistent offensively, but they don’t make a slew of big mistakes.
Who To Watch Out For: Nebraska star defensive end Randy Gregory has to turn it loose. Banged up a bit, he missed a game but still has 4.5 sacks on the year as a good presence into the backfield. It’ll be his job to bother NU QB Trevor Siemien all game long if the rest of the defense is doing its job against the Wildcat running game. Shut out in sacks against Michigan State, he came up with 2.5 against Illinois and two against Miami. Northwestern’s line has been good so far, but it’ll need to be great under the pressure.
What’s Going To Happen: With two weeks off to rest up, Nebraska will be ready to get the offense going again. It’s not going to be easy, but Abdullah will run for 200 yards and the defense will keep the Wildcats from getting into the end zone early on.
Prediction: Nebraska 34 - Northwestern 24
—————
BTN.com
http://btn.com/2014/10/15/week-8-see-our-predictions-for-all-five-big-ten-football-games/
Sean Merriman: Nebraska 38 - Northwestern 17
BrentYarina: Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 21
Tom Dienhart: Nebraska 23 - Northwestern 21
Brian Christopherson: Nebraska 31 - Northwestern 19
—————
ESPN Big Ten Blog
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/109176/big-ten-predictions-week-8-4
Ameer Abdullah and the Huskers have had a week to recharge the batteries after their late rally came up short against Michigan State, and they’ll be looking to send a message that the West Division still goes through them this season.
Nebraska 28 - Northwestern 20
—————
Athlon Sports
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/big-ten-2014-week-6-preview-and-predictions
Northwestern might not be the team Nebraska wants to see to re-start its bid for the Big Ten West. The Cornhuskers have won the last two meetings by a combined margin of four points, the most recent victory on a Hail Mary. Before that, the Huskers lost their first meeting with Northwestern as a member of the Big Ten. The off week was fortunately timed, though, as Nebraska could get several key players back from injury — linebacker David Santos, cornerback Daniel Davie, wide receiver Kenny Bell. The Cornhuskers also will look to regroup on the offensive line after Ameer Abdullah rushed for a season-low 45 rushing yards against Michigan State two weeks ago. Northwestern is an improved team but some of their offensive issues resurfaced against Minnesota as the Wildcats managed only one play longer than 20 yards in 84 snaps against the Gophers.
David Fox: Nebraska 35 - Northwestern 28
Braden Gall: Nebraska 34 - Northwestern 30
Steven Lassan: Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 24
Mitch Light: Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 23
—————
CBS Sports
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/features/writers/expert/picks/straight-up/6
Dennis Dodd - N*
Jeremy Fowler - N*
Jon Solomon - N
Jerry Palm - N
Tom Fornelli - N
Jerry Hinnen - N*
Chip Patterson - N*
*Not covering -7.5 spread
—————
Big Red Wrap-Up
http://netnebraska.org/media/media.php?bin=NET&vidgroup=40166949
Kevin Kugler: Nebraska 27 - Northwestern 24
Blake Lawrence: Nebraska 38 - Northwestern 24
Adrian Fiala: Nebraska 27 - Northwestern 17
—————
AP - Ralph D Russo
http://collegefootball.ap.org/article/bama-oklahoma-face-possible-playoff-elimination
Huskers beat Wildcats on last-play touchdown heave last season…
Nebraska 28 - Northwestern 23
—————
USA Today
http://q.usatoday.com/2014/10/16/usa-today-sports-college-football-staff-picks-for-week-8/
Nicol Auerbach - N
Paul Myerberg - N
George Schroeder - N
Erick Smith - N
Eddit Timanus - N
Dan Uthman - N
Dan Wolken - N
—————
SI.com
http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/10/16/college-football-picks-week-eight
Andy Staples - N
Pete Thamel - NW
Thayer Evans - N
Martin Rickman - N
Lindsay Schnell - NW
Brian Hamilton - N
Ben Glicksman - N
—————
—————
CollegeFootballNews.com
http://cfn.scout.com/2/1469794.html
Nebraska (5-1) at Northwestern (3-3) Oct. 18, 7:30, BTN
Here's The Deal: Northwestern was in the midst of a rough run last year, losing four straight games in the nosedive, but it appeared to have everything in hand late in Lincoln. One Hail Mary and a 27-24 Husker win later, and the season kept spiraling into the abyss. After a tough loss to Minnesota last week, can the Wildcats avoid another turn the other way? With a road game at Iowa up next to kick off a run of three road games in four weeks, there’s no time for a loss, even if it’s against a team that’s looking like the best in the West.
The Huskers got two weeks off to rest up and get over the 27-22 loss at Michigan State. While it might have been a stinger to lose, it sort of didn’t matter – run the table, get to 12-1, get into the playoff, maybe. But first, the offense has to gear it back up again after struggling to do anything on the ground against the Spartans. A win would be a really big deal with three of the next four games at home to go along with a road showdown at Wisconsin, and it would keep everything right on track to be the lead dog in the Big Ten West.
Why Nebraska Might Win: That’s the Northwestern offense everyone was used to. After running well and maintaining control against Wisconsin in the huge win in Evanston, the Wildcat ground game couldn’t get going against Minnesota, making the passing game do all the work. As soon as NU starts throwing a bit too much, there are problems, with the three games with the most attempts this year – Cal, NIU, Minnesota – all in the losses. The Husker run defense allowed a season-high 188 yards and two touchdowns against Michigan State, but it hasn’t allowed more than four yards per carry against anyone else. Northwestern isn’t going to be able to run the ball.
Why Northwestern Might Win: It hasn’t received enough credit, but the Wildcat defense has been nasty, allowing just 17.5 points per game. The front seven got ripped apart by Melvin Gordon and Wisconsin, but it only allowed 14 points because the secondary was so strong. Thanks to a defense that’s forced 13 takeaways, Northwestern is +6 so far this year losing the turnover battle just once against Northern Illinois. The Wildcats might not be explosive, and they might not be consistent offensively, but they don’t make a slew of big mistakes.
Who To Watch Out For: Nebraska star defensive end Randy Gregory has to turn it loose. Banged up a bit, he missed a game but still has 4.5 sacks on the year as a good presence into the backfield. It’ll be his job to bother NU QB Trevor Siemien all game long if the rest of the defense is doing its job against the Wildcat running game. Shut out in sacks against Michigan State, he came up with 2.5 against Illinois and two against Miami. Northwestern’s line has been good so far, but it’ll need to be great under the pressure.
What’s Going To Happen: With two weeks off to rest up, Nebraska will be ready to get the offense going again. It’s not going to be easy, but Abdullah will run for 200 yards and the defense will keep the Wildcats from getting into the end zone early on.
Prediction: Nebraska 34 - Northwestern 24
—————
BTN.com
http://btn.com/2014/10/15/week-8-see-our-predictions-for-all-five-big-ten-football-games/
Sean Merriman: Nebraska 38 - Northwestern 17
BrentYarina: Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 21
Tom Dienhart: Nebraska 23 - Northwestern 21
Brian Christopherson: Nebraska 31 - Northwestern 19
—————
ESPN Big Ten Blog
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/109176/big-ten-predictions-week-8-4
Ameer Abdullah and the Huskers have had a week to recharge the batteries after their late rally came up short against Michigan State, and they’ll be looking to send a message that the West Division still goes through them this season.
Nebraska 28 - Northwestern 20
—————
Athlon Sports
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/big-ten-2014-week-6-preview-and-predictions
Northwestern might not be the team Nebraska wants to see to re-start its bid for the Big Ten West. The Cornhuskers have won the last two meetings by a combined margin of four points, the most recent victory on a Hail Mary. Before that, the Huskers lost their first meeting with Northwestern as a member of the Big Ten. The off week was fortunately timed, though, as Nebraska could get several key players back from injury — linebacker David Santos, cornerback Daniel Davie, wide receiver Kenny Bell. The Cornhuskers also will look to regroup on the offensive line after Ameer Abdullah rushed for a season-low 45 rushing yards against Michigan State two weeks ago. Northwestern is an improved team but some of their offensive issues resurfaced against Minnesota as the Wildcats managed only one play longer than 20 yards in 84 snaps against the Gophers.
David Fox: Nebraska 35 - Northwestern 28
Braden Gall: Nebraska 34 - Northwestern 30
Steven Lassan: Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 24
Mitch Light: Nebraska 30 - Northwestern 23
—————
CBS Sports
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/features/writers/expert/picks/straight-up/6
Dennis Dodd - N*
Jeremy Fowler - N*
Jon Solomon - N
Jerry Palm - N
Tom Fornelli - N
Jerry Hinnen - N*
Chip Patterson - N*
*Not covering -7.5 spread
—————
Big Red Wrap-Up
http://netnebraska.org/media/media.php?bin=NET&vidgroup=40166949
Kevin Kugler: Nebraska 27 - Northwestern 24
Blake Lawrence: Nebraska 38 - Northwestern 24
Adrian Fiala: Nebraska 27 - Northwestern 17
—————
AP - Ralph D Russo
http://collegefootball.ap.org/article/bama-oklahoma-face-possible-playoff-elimination
Huskers beat Wildcats on last-play touchdown heave last season…
Nebraska 28 - Northwestern 23
—————
USA Today
http://q.usatoday.com/2014/10/16/usa-today-sports-college-football-staff-picks-for-week-8/
Nicol Auerbach - N
Paul Myerberg - N
George Schroeder - N
Erick Smith - N
Eddit Timanus - N
Dan Uthman - N
Dan Wolken - N
—————
SI.com
http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/10/16/college-football-picks-week-eight
Andy Staples - N
Pete Thamel - NW
Thayer Evans - N
Martin Rickman - N
Lindsay Schnell - NW
Brian Hamilton - N
Ben Glicksman - N
—————
