Nebraska Football: Huskers seek first win against Northwestern

Nebraska football is still searching for their first win under new head coach Scott Frost. Can they survive the trip to Evanston and beat Northwestern?

Scott Frost’s return to his alma mater has been anything but an enjoyable return home so far. A far cry from his final season as the Cornhuskers quarterback, the 1997 campaign that ended in a share of the national title. Nearly halfway through their 2018 schedule, Nebraska is still winless and already in danger of falling completely out of bowl eligibility.

While Frost’s former UCF team has continued their unbeaten streak, the Cornhuskers are ranked 114th in scoring with only 21.8 points per game. The defense, far from the vaunted Blackshirts of Nebraska lore, are 120th nationally as they give up nearly 40 points per game. Adrian Martinez has not been Frost’s new McKenzie Milton by any stretch of the imagination.

In Week 7, Frost takes his Nebraska squad east to Evanston to face a Northwestern side coming off the high of a road win over Michigan State. Pat Fitzgerald, another coach at the helm of his alma mater, continues to do more with less than any other coach at a traditional afterthought in the Big Ten.

The Wildcats are still under .500 in the overall standings after a trio of losses to Duke, Akron, and Michigan preceded their victory over the Spartans. But they are trending upward thanks to the veteran efforts of quarterback Clayton Thorson on offense and defensive end Joe Gaziano on defense.

While the Wildcats don’t necessarily look impressive on the stats sheet, they are just a few turns of better luck away from 4-1. Can Nebraska finally discover itself away from home and finally get Frost his first win as the Huskers head coach? Here’s how you can watch the Week 7 game between Nebraska and Northwestern:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 13
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Evanston, Ill.
Venue: Ryan Field
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Nebraska needs to get Northwestern off their game. The Wildcats are the top-ranked team in the entire FBS in penalties amassed, receiving only 16 yellow flags through their first five games of 2018. Northwestern doesn’t beat themselves, but if the Huskers can get them off their game plan it could result in more mistakes.

Aside from avoiding those penalties, Northwestern needs to find their ground game finally against the nation’s 109th-ranked rushing defense. The Wildcats have averaged only 77.4 yards per game out of the backfield, and they need to do far better to get to .500 in the standings.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Northwestern -3
Over/Under: 59.5

Prediction

Last year’s game went to overtime between these two teams. This year, however, Northwestern is simply the better of the two teams. Pat Fitzgerald has his system in place, and the talent that knows exactly what they are doing to run that system. Frost’s charges are still adjusting to life under an alumnus, and they won’t come through today. A defensive battle will result in a push as Northwestern wins by a field goal and the two teams finish way under the total points line.

Final Score: Northwestern 23, Nebraska 21