Northwestern visits Nebraska for a meeting of teams looking to continue their improvement

2023-10-20 01:48

Northwestern visits Nebraska on Saturday for a meeting of teams looking to continue their improvement

LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) — Northwestern (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) at Nebraska (3-3, 1-2), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)

Line: Nebraska by 12 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Series record: Nebraska leads 9-7.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Northwestern has proved to be plucky under interim coach David Braun. Nebraska has won three of its last four games. The winner of this game will sit no lower than third place in the wide-open Big Ten West. For the Wildcats, a fourth victory would be their most wins in a season since 2020. For the Cornhuskers, a fourth victory would be one more than they had last season.

KEY MATCHUP

Nebraska run offense vs. Northwestern run defense. The Huskers are averaging a Big Ten-best 5.01 yards per carry while leaning hard on the ground game to compensate for their limited passing game. The Wildcats are last in the conference against the run and gave up 177 yards to Eden James of FCS Howard in their last game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Northwestern: Veteran WRs Bryce Kirtz and Cam Johnson are the Wildcats' top playmakers and have combined for 50 catches for 639 yards and four touchdowns. Kirtz is a deep threat, and Johnson has been clutch with 19 of his 26 catches going for first downs.

Nebraska: LB Luke Reimer, the Huskers' top tackler the past two seasons, missed the last two games because of illness. His return helps every aspect of the defense but especially a pass rush that has just two sacks over the last three games.

FACTS & FIGURES

Since 2011, seven of the 12 meetings between Nebraska and Northwestern have been decided by three or fewer points, with an additional game decided in overtime by seven. ... Braun did not name a starting quarterback. Brendan Sullivan got the start in place of Ben Bryant for the Wildcats' win over Howard. Bryant started the first five games but was injured early against Penn State on Sept. 30. Braun said Monday he wasn't certain of Bryant's status. ... The teams won't meet next year in the Big Ten’s new non-divisional scheduling format. The schools meet again in 2025. ... Nebraska will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football