The Minnesota Golden Gophers and Nebraska Cornhuskers face off on Saturday in a college football showdown at Memorial Stadium. The Gophers have won the last three games played against the Cornhuskers.
Minnesota comes into this game with a 5-3 record overall and they are coming off a big victory in the last game. Minnesota rushed all over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and were able to secure a 31-0 victory. Mohamed Ibrahim had another huge game rushing 36 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Minnesota is averaging 31.8 points while their defense is giving up 14.4 points per game. In the two previous games before the Rutgers game, the defense wasn’t good enough, and they need a good defense to show up in this game.
On the other side of this matchup is the Nebraska Cornhuskers who sit with a 3-5 record overall and to say this season has been disappointing might be an understatement. In the last game against Illinois, the offense only managed nine points, and that led to another defeat. Casey Thompson completed 7 of his 15 passes for 172 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He did have to exit that game with an elbow injury and it’s unclear if he will be able to go in this game. If he can't go it will be Chubby Purdy that gets the start. Nebraska is averaging 27.1 points while their defense is giving up 30.6 points per game.
The under is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings in Nebraska between these two teams. The home team is 4-1-1 against the spread in the last six meetings. The under is 4-1-1 in Minnesota’s last six conference games. The under is 4-1 in Nebraska’s last five conference games.
Points are going to be very hard to come by in this game. Minnesota is going to keep the ball on the ground here and really try to burn the clock. I also expect their defense is going to be strong, and Nebraska is going to really struggle to move the ball. This is going to be a low scoring game that will stay under the total.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
