Nebraska vs Baylor Odds

Written by Hector Garza

Nebraska (4-3) has lost their last two conference games and is looking to bounce back against the team with the worst conference record in the Big 12 South. Baylor is playing at home and is the underdog by 13 according to the latest NCAA football lines. The Bears have lost 3 straight, and the team has suffered since losing their star QB Robert Griffin III for the year to a torn ACL. The total is set at 45 and kickoff is 12:30 p.m. ET this Saturday.

After losing convincingly at home to Texas Tech, Nebraska is coming off a stunning home loss to Iowa State last week, 9-7. The Huskers, ranked in the top 25 for a few weeks this year, have had an anemic offense of late. Although they’ve averaged 381.4 ypg, in the latest two losses they’ve scored 17 points and have turned the ball over 10 times with 8 of those coming last week. The ground game has been above average with 146.3 ypg, and QB Zac Lee has been decent throwing for just under 210 ypg with 10 td’s and 6 int’s. For some reason the team has had trouble putting it all together, and needs to put up points this week to stay in contention for the Big 12 North.

The defense was given back their vaunted ‘Black shirts’ against Texas Tech, and then proceeded to lay an egg allowing 31 points. However, for the most part the stop unit has done its part. Last week against Iowa State they yielded 239 yards of total offense and kept them in the game. Head Coach Bo Pelini was defensive coordinator for National Champions LSU a few years ago, and the numbers show it as the Huskers are allowing 11.4 ppg and 266.4 total ypg for the year. Ndamukong Suh is the heart and soul of this defense, tallying 44 tackles, 10 TFL’s and 4 sacks at the DT position.

Baylor and Nebraska are similar in that both offenses seem to be struggling. In their 3 game losing skid, the Bears are averaging 8 ppg. Last week the team rushed for 43 yards and gained a total of 284 yards in a loss to ranked OSU. Head Coach Art Briles has two QB’s splitting time, Nick Florence and the often injured Blake Szymanski. The two have combined for 262 passing ypg, but struggle with decision making as they’ve thrown 3 td’s to 6 int’s. No doubt they’ll be looking to the ground game for success, as they’ve grinded out 131.9 ypg thus far in the season.

Baylor has allowed over 400 yards to opponents this year, never a good sign when winning ball games is the goal. They’ve been susceptible to the run and pass, giving up 184 and 216 ypg respectively. Through 7 games they’ve recorded 12 takeaways, a number they’re looking to improve on against the turnover prone Big Red.

With both offenses struggling, we look to the defense, where the Huskers have the distinct advantage. However, if they continue their current trend, turnovers could be the deciding factor. Baylor has home field advantage but that’s about all they have going for them. Nebraska figures it out this week and rolls to their 2nd conference victory, and you can roll too by checking out other expert football predictions.

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