Nebraska at Iowa State

Written by Jack Jones

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1, 3-1) travel to face the Iowa State Cyclones (5-4, 3-2) in what has turned out to be a key Big 12 North match-up Saturday. This will be a rematch from one of the biggest upsets of the season last year where Iowa State won in Lincoln 9-7 in a game that saw the Huskers turn the ball over eight times. ISU doesn’t have the element of surprise any more, and the Huskers will be looking for a little payback this time around. College football odds show us a line of Nebraska -18 over Iowa State with a total set of 58 points.

After falling in an upset three weeks ago to Texas 20-13 in Lincoln, the Huskers have reeled off back-to-back wins over Top 25 opponents to regain their mojo. Nebraska had won 5 straight games to open the season thanks to 337.6 rushing yards per game and 41.6 points per game, but were held to just 202 total yards and didn’t score an offensive touchdown in their loss to the Longhorns.

The Huskers have gotten back to their ground game over their past two weeks. Taylor Martinez went for 435 total yards while throwing 5 touchdowns passes in their 51-41 win over then-No. 17 Oklahoma State on October 23. Roy Helu Jr. was the story last week, rushing for a school-record 307 yards in a 31-17 win over then-unbeaten Missouri. The only concern in the victory was freshman QB Martinez, who left in the second quarter with a sprained ankle. He is expected to go this week, though he’s not 100% healthy.

In the Cylcones’ 9-7 win at Nebraska last year, they recovered a fumble from Helu Jr. on the first play from scrimmage and went on to take advantage of seven more turnovers. Four occurred inside the Iowa State red zone as they continued coming up with big play after big play. If Martinez can’t play or gets injured, then it will be up to Zac Lee who threw three interceptions against the Cyclones last season. Iowa State ranks 99th in the nation against the run at 194.3 rushing yards per game allowed, so Martinez and Helu Jr. could prove to be a handful again.

Concerning for Iowa State is the fact that they are 0-3 against top ten opponents already, getting outscored 155-34 in the process while allowing 581.3 yards per game. ISU is 0-16 all-time in conference games against Big 12 foes ranked in the top 10 nationally. The ninth-ranked Cornhuskers are likely licking their chops, though the Cyclones find themselves right in the thick of the Big 12 North hunt even with those terrible stats against top competition. Up next is Colorado and Missouri, so if ISU wins out they would win the North. The Cyclones have surprisingly put themselves in this spot thanks to back-to-back wins over Texas and Kansas.

BetUS Projected Score: Nebraska 38 – Iowa State 20

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