The Nebraska Cornhuskers (2–0) return to Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning for a nononference matchup against Houston Christian (1–1). While the SMQ team is ambivalent about the decision to schedule an FCS football team in Week 3, it does represent a nice payday for the Huskies.
Nebraska’s Start
Through two games, the question remains – just who is this Nebraska team? Are they the narrow, one-score victory over Cincinnati (who actually turned in a good performance against Bowling Green) or the dominant offensive (and defensive) power that defeated the Akron Zipless? Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has gotten off to a great start, vaulting up to 10th on the all-time Husker passing yards list. Raiola should handily pass Tommie Frazier for ninth place in only his 16th college game. His 68.7% completion rate is #1 on the all-time list for a starting quarterback.
On defense, we saw better pressure against the Zipless, including the Huskers’ first sack of the season. Have we also seen the potential emergence of true freshman Kade Pietrzak, last year’s number one player from South Dakota? Defensive line play is critical in the Big Ten – who else might make their case for more playing time this week?
Houston Christian’s Challenges
Houston Christian arrives in Lincoln after splitting its first two games. The Huskies ran roughshod over an NAIA opponent but dropped their next game when the quality of the opponent improved. This week’s step up to Nebraska will be a major, major, major, major, major challenge – that’s too many majors to overcome.
Key Storylines
Last week, 108 players got into the game for the Cornhuskers, most of whom appeared in the fourth quarter. Here’s hoping for a repeat! While it looks like a glorified scrimmage on paper, the games aren’t played on paper!
Nebraska enters as a massive favorite – so massive that there isn’t even a line for the game! The Cornhuskers are deeper, faster, and more talented across the board. Expect Raiola and the offense to put up points early, while the defense sets the tone. Once the lead is secure, look for Rhule to cycle in reserves. Last week’s prediction of 56-7 was a good one, so we’re sticking with what works!
Prediction
Nebraska 56, Houston Christian 7
Watch the full episode below, and please subscribe to SMQ on Spotify, iTunes and YouTube.
Next. More predictions. More predictions. dark
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
Source link
