The Cornhuskers went wild in this game last year, but this is a much different scenario. The Wildcats are better on both lines of scrimmage, the Cornhuskers' switch from Adrian Martinez to Casey Thompson is still hard to gauge and traveling across the pond isn't easy on the body. This game has all the makings of an old-school, somewhat sloppy slugfest.

I can see this game going a few different ways, but none of them will be high-scoring. Nebraska has a lot of new parts on offense, so it's not crazy to expect the offense won't be firing on all cylinders out the gate. Meanwhile, Northwestern's defense can't be any worse than it was last season, but even if it is, and Nebraska dominates this game, Northwestern's offense won't contribute nearly enough to push us past this total.

Eight of Nebraska’s nine losses in 2021 were within one score, which – I guess – is why the Cornhuskers are big favorites against the Wildcats. Last time I checked, though, it is 2022 … not 2021. The pressure on Scott Frost is immense and it’s hard to imagine the offense clicking under Casey Thompson considering it didn’t under Frost’s hand-picked centerpiece Adrian Martinez. Northwestern has a healthy quarterback situation with Ryan Hilinski and upstart Brendan Sullivan fighting for the job, and the offensive line should be a force. This will be a one score game with a turnover in the fourth quarter deciding the outcome.

Both teams come off disappointing 3-9 seasons, and while Nebraska won last year’s meeting 56-7, that winning QB has transferred to Kansas State. The Cornhuskers also lost their final six games. Both teams have new QBs, but the returning players stand out to me. Four of Northwestern's five starting offensive linemen are back, along with its top two tight ends. I expect that O-line to protect the QB and run-block well enough for the Wildcats to possibly even win the game outright. Take Northwestern and the points.

This game is in Ireland. I don't think Nebraska is 12.5 points better than anyone in the Big Ten except maybe Rutgers and then only in Lincoln. The Huskers will be breaking in a new QB (probably Texas transfer Casey Thompson) as well and NW brings back QB Ryan Hilinski among 12 starters. The Huskers (who this summer lost a starting offensive lineman for the season) ALWAYS play close games it seems, although yes they did spank Northwestern last year. This is a different season with different teams and the Cats are well-coached and fundamentally sound (how can we pick against a team coached by a Fitzgerald in Ireland?). The Huskers probably will win but barring something weird not by more than 10 -- this opened at -9.5.