The Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Cincinnati Bearcats meet Thursday in college football action from Arrowhead Stadium. Here’s a Cincinnati vs Nebraska prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Cincinnati vs Nebraska pick.
Nebraska Cornhuskers Betting Preview
The Big Ten is a tough conference, as evidenced by Nebraska’s performance among the standings in 2024. The Cornhuskers posted a respectable 7-6 overall record, but their 3-6 conference mark left the team far down the standings. Nebraska would finish behind Oregon, Penn State, Indiana, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, USC, Rutgers and Washington. Their worst stretch of the season came in October and November, as the Cornhuskers fell versus Indiana, Ohio Stater, UCLA and USC in succession. A 5-1 start helped propel Nebraska to the Pinstripe Bowl however, where they took out Boston College 20-15 to finish the 2024 campaign on a high note. Beating rival Wisconsin for the first time since 2012 (44-25 on November 23) was a nice touch as well.
This will be Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule’s third year at the helm. He’s got a couple of new faces at the offensive and defensive coordinator positions though, so we’ll get some fresh looks on both sides of the ball. The Cornhuskers got hit pretty hard by the transfer portal though, losing such names as RB Dante Dowdell, TE Arik Gilbert and edge rushers Princewill Umanmielen and James Williams. The incoming crop of transfers includes WRs Nyziah Hunter and Dane Key, safety Dasan McCullough and edge rusher Williams Nwaneri.
Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Preview
Over on the Cincinnati side, they didn’t have as great of a season in 2024. The Bearcats were looking pretty sharp through their first seven games though, posting a 5-2 overall run. The only losses in that frame were versus Pittsburgh and at Texas Tech. Following that stretch however, Cincinnati hit the skids with five straight losses to Colorado, West Virginia, Iowa State, Kansas State and TCU to finish off the season. That effort would leave the Bearcats at just 5-7 overall and out of a bowl game. The conference record of 3-6 put Cincinnati ahead of only Houston, Utah, UCF, Arizona and Oklahoma State among the Big 12 standings.
Cincinnati retains some consistency at their coaching positions this year—which can be seen as a good sign. Head coach Scott Satterfield is back for his third season at the helm, while offensive coordinator Brad Glenn (third season) and defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt (second season) return behind him. One intriguing name among a pretty well-rounded incoming transfer class is RB Tawee Walker, a redshirt senior from Wisconsin. Walker started nine games (and played 11) for the Badgers last year, collecting 190 attempts for 864 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Why the Cincinnati Bearcats will win
- Nebraska has lost four of its last five season openers.
- Cincinnati has won each of its last four Thursday games against non-conference opponents.
- Nebraska has failed to cover the spread in five of its last six season openers as a favorite.
- Cincinnati has covered the spread in four of its last five games against opponents from the Big Ten Conference.
- Cincinnati has won the first half in five of its last six games against non-conference opponents.
- Cincinnati has won the first quarter in each of its last six games against non-conference opponents.
Why the Nebraska Cornhuskers will win
- Nebraska has won each of its last six games against non-conference opponents.
- Cincinnati has lost each of its last five games.
- Cincinnati has failed to cover the spread in seven of its last eight games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Nebraska has covered the spread in each of its last four games against non-conference opponents.
- Nebraska has won the first half in each of its last four games against non-conference opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Seven of Nebraska’s last eight games against non-conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.
- Seven of Cincinnati’s last eight games against non-conference opponents at neutral venues have gone UNDER the total points line.
Cincinnati vs Nebraska Prediction
I’ll likely just stay with Nebraska here, though you could argue this one either way. The Cornhuskers are looking to continue their arc of improvement in 2025 following their first bowl game (and win) since 2016. On paper at least, the schedule is favorable. Nebraska doesn’t have a true road game until October 11 (at Maryland) following four straight home matchups after this Arrowhead Stadium battle. Even better, Oregon and Ohio State are both absent from the schedule. The offense should be pretty good, considering that QB Dylan Raiola has some experience in the system and a full offseason of development under his proverbial belt. The team is quite deep at wide receiver, a position that has been a spot of concern for Nebraska in recent years. If the Cornhuskers can take advantage of their talent pool and vary the play calling a bit in 2025, we should see some great things from the O unit.
As for the Bearcats, they’re returning seven starters this year and adding another nine via transfer. QB Brendan Sorsby should have quite a few solid options at his disposal as well. We likely won’t see another breakdown this season, but I don’t think they’ll quite match up in the opener.