Kansas at Nebraska

Written by Jack Jones

The Nebraska Cornhuskers host the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday in a battle between border rivals in Big 12 North action. The ninth-ranked Cornhuskers are looking to finish the season without another loss, which would mean they’d play in the Big 12 title game. According to odds makers, they won’t have any problem knocking off the Jayhawks this weekend. College football odds show us a line of Nebraska -35 over Kansas with a total set of 61 points.

The Cornhuskers (8-1, 4-1) escaped last week without QB Taylor Martinez, but he is expected to return this weekend to face the Jayhawks. Nebraska will be aiming for their 21st straight home win over Kansas on Saturday. The Huskers are in great position to win the North after their 31-30 overtime win at Iowa State last Saturday. Eric Hagg intercepted a two-point conversion attempt on a faked extra point to seal the victory.

Martinez was out due to a sprained right ankle suffered in the team’s previous game, a win over Missouri. Obviously, this team is certainly a lot more explosive with Martinez at the helm. He ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 866 rushing yards and third in the conference with 12 rushing touchdowns. He also has 9 touchdown passes to his credit, including six over his last two games as he continues to improve in the passing game. All Nebraska has to do is win two of their next three games to win the North, because Missouri now has two conference losses after falling to Texas Tech last week.

Kansas (3-6, 1-4) last won in Lincoln back in 1968, and they have lost seven straight on the road coming in. Turner Gill has had some growing pains in his first season with the Jayhawks, and more headaches are likely as he faces his former team. Gill was Nebraska’s starting quarterback back in the early 1980’s and went 28-2 as a starter. He was also a Husker assistant coach from 1992-2004.

Gill certainly got a vote of confidence after an improbable comeback victory last weekend against Colorado. Trailing 17-45, Kansas went on to score 35 unanswered points in the final 11:05 of regulation. A big reason was the improved play of running back James Sims, who rushed for a career-high 123 yards and four touchdowns. Another was QB Quinn Mecham, who replaced Jordan Webb as the team’s starting quarterback over the last two games. Meacham threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the comeback.

This contest between Nebraska and Kansas will be the 105th consecutive meeting in this rivalry. With the Huskers moving to the Big Ten next season, it will end the nation’s longest uninterrupted streak of meetings.

BetUS Projected Score: Nebraska 48 – Kansas 13

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