Week 0: Northwestern vs Nebraska 8/27/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Northwestern Wildcats and Nebraska Cornhuskers square off Saturday afternoon in week 0 of college football action at Aviva Stadium. The Nebraska Cornhuskers won 3 games last year and enter year five under coach Scott Frost. The Northwestern Wildcats also won 3 games last year and enter year 17 under coach Pat Fitzgerald.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers averaged 27.9 points and 446.6 yards per game last season. Nebraska allowed an average of 22.7 points and 366 yards per game last season. Logan Smothers has a chance to replace Adrian Martinez at quarterback after 33 pass attempts last season. Omar Manning and Rahmir Johnson are a returning receiving duo that combined 500 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Johnson is the returning leading rusher for the Cornhuskers with almost 500 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. Defensively, Luke Reimer returns after leading Nebraska with 109 tackles, Garrett Nelson had 5 sacks and Myles Farmer had 1 interception. Nebraska has a lot of players to replace this season, especially at quarterback, the offensive skill positions and in the secondary. It’s also fair to question if Frost is the right coach for the job, as he’s been a serious underachiever since leaving UCF. Roster questions or not, the fan base has to be losing its patience with no bowl berth since 2016.

The Northwestern Wildcats averaged 16.6 points and 318.3 yards per game last season. Northwestern allowed an average of 29 points and 429.8 yards per game last season. Ryan Hilinski returns at quarterback after throwing for 978 yards, 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Malik Washington and Evan Hull are a returning receiving duo that combined 800 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Anthony Tyus III had 200 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Defensively, Bryce Gallagher returns after finishing second on Northwestern with 89 tackles, Adetomiwa Adebawore had 4.5 sacks and A.J. Hampton, Jr. had 12 pass deflections. Northwestern will be a lot more experienced offensively, especially at quarterback, and that should improve a unit that was 125th in scoring offense last season. Defensively, Northwestern has a lot of playmakers and experience coming back. Bottom line is, Fitzgerald is a quality head coach who usually has his guys ready. I wouldn’t expect these struggles to continue much longer.

The Wildcats are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 conference games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Cornhuskers are 14-5-2 ATS in their last 21 games on grass. The over is 5-2 in Cornhuskers last 7 games overall. The under is 4-1 in Wildcats last 5 games on grass. The Cornhuskers are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings. The favorite is 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings.

This line is a bit confusing to me as Nebraska has a lot of players to replace from last year and coach Frost has yet to replicate what he did at UCF. Northwestern is a lot more experienced than it was a season ago and has one of the better head coaches in the country in Fitzgerald, who almost always gets more out of less talented rosters. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have severely underachieved under Frost, and they’re also 5-10 against the spread in their last 15 games as a favorite. I just don’t get this line if we’re being honest. Give me Northwestern with the free points.