Michigan at Nebraska

The No. 20 Michigan Wolverines travel to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a crucial Big Ten showdown on Saturday, October 27th. Michigan beat Nebraska 45-17 at home in 2011 in their first season as Big Ten opponents. Denard Robinson threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 83 yards and two scores. Fitzgerald Toussaint rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense limited the Huskers to 260 total yards while forcing three turnovers.

Taking a look at the odds for Week 9 college football, I find Nebraska as a 2.5-point favorite over Michigan with a total set of 57.5 points.

Nebraska

The Cornhuskers (5-2, 2-1 Big Ten) could easily be winless in conference play at this point. They have had two comeback victories over Wisconsin and Northwestern thus far, coming up big down the stretch. They beat the Wildcats 29-28 on the road this past Saturday.

Trailing 16-28 with 5:55 to play, Nebraska got an 8-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Martinez to Taariq Allen that cut the deficit to five. It would get the ball back, and Martinez found Ben Cotton on a game-winning 7-yard touchdown pass with 2:08 remaining. The defense would hold from there.

They outgained Northwestern 543-301 for the game. Martinez finished 27 of 39 passing for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Ameer Abdullah rushed 19 times for 101 yards, while Martinez added 65 yards and a score. Quincy Enunwa caught six balls for a game-high 110 yards in the win.

Nebraska ranks 12th in the country in total offense (512.4 yards/game), including 6th in rushing offense (279.0 yards/game). They are 42nd in total defense (357.6 yards/game), ranking 87th against the run (187.9 yards/game) and 10th against the pass (169.7 yards/game).

Michigan

The Wolverines (5-2, 3-0 Big Ten) have suffered their only two losses against two unbeaten teams in Alabama and Notre Dame. They have pretty much taken care of business against everyone else, though they did have to fight for a 12-10 home victory over instate rival Michigan State on Saturday.

The Spartans took the lead on a Dan Conroy 19-yard field goal with 5:48 to play. Michigan would drive down to set up Brendan Gibbons’ game-winning 38-yard field goal with only 5 seconds remaining. It was the Wolverines’ fourth field goal of the day as they simply could not punch it in.

Denard Robinson finished 14 of 29 passing for 163 yards with an interception, while also rushing for 96 yards on 20 carries. Fitzgerald Toussaint rushed 10 times for 52 yards. Drew Dileo caught four balls for a game-high 92 yards in the win.

Michigan ranks 61st in the country in total offense (405.3 yards/game). Its strength is a rushing attack (222.6 yards/game) that ranks 17th in the land. The Wolverines are a solid 9th in total defense (285.3 yards/game), yielding 143.0 yards on the ground and 142.3 through the air.

Betting Trends

The Wolverines are 3-9-1 ATS in their last 13 road games. The Cornhuskers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games, but 0-5 ATS in their last 5 vs. a team with a winning record.

The Under is 5-1 in Wolverines last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Under is 19-7 in Cornhuskers last 26 games in October.

About the Author: Jack Jones has been ranked in the Top-5 on the Overall Leaderboard for almost all of 2012 here at Betfirms. He has climbed as high as No. 2 while competing against roughly 80 of the best handicappers in the world. He finished as the No. 6 Ranked Basketball Handicapper from 2011-12, which combines pro and college hoops. His $1,000/game basketball players cashed in $22,310 last season. Head on over to Jack's premium pick page to see what he has in store for tonight!