Nebraska is 5-3 and has been waiting too long for its sixth win to get into a bowl game. That win might need to come here.
A week after being beaten badly by Indiana, the Huskers gave Ohio State a huge push. Things could get very dangerous very quickly if they mess up this at home against USC, Wisconsin, and Iowa to close.
UCLA beat Rutgers 35–32, which was their first win since the first game against Hawaii.
It is getting better—last week, it pushed Minnesota—and there is still time to make more noise and finish strong. For now, a win in Lincoln would be enough to finish the season.
Nebraska vs UCLA Preview
Nebraska vs UCLA How to Watch
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024
Game Time: 3:30 pm ET
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
How to Watch: Big Ten Network
Nebraska (5-3), UCLA (2-5)
Why UCLA Will Win
What did UCLA do right to beat Rutgers? It was a great passing game.
It is not possible to run an attack. The line does not make any push, so do not even try to get this going. But Ethan Garbers went off and completed 84% of his passes, gaining 383 yards and four touchdowns.
There were no interceptions, there were a lot of big plays, and the offense kept going. Four times, Nebraska has let passes go for 215 yards or more. It happened four times: once in the win over Colorado, once in each of the losses to Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio State.
Every game, UCLA gets 238 yards, but…
Why Nebraska Will Win
Everyone… It is not a crime.
Everyone seems to have forgotten for a moment that Nebraska lost to Ohio State last week against the No. 2 defense in the country.
In the second half, Ohio State’s best players showed up, and the Huskers were shut down a week after Indiana rolled them over and two weeks after only getting 261 yards in a win over Rutgers. But really, the offense is fine…
Okay. The line is not doing enough to help the running game, and there are rumors of scoring in the red zone, but the team is making plays on third down.
Dylan Raiola is still a star, even though he makes some rookie mistakes now and then. There is no need to press this point.
The defense at UCLA is fine. Do not get upset if the Huskers do not score 50 points, but the UCLA offense is so bad right now (except for last week) that this should not be too hard to win. So…
Nebraska vs UCLA: Who Will Win
Everything will be fine as long as Nebraska’s pass defense stays strong. Four of the last five offenses completed at least 72% of their passes, which means it lets up a lot of midrange throws. However, against the best teams, it does not happen very often.
The UCLA fans will stick around for a while, and the Nebraska offense may even get booed a bit too much by the Husker fans. But everything will be fine in the second half when Raiola starts to play and the defense tightens up.
Nebraska vs UCLA Prediction, Betting Lines
Nebraska 27, UCLA 13
Line: Nebraska -6.5, o/u: 40.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 4
Nebraska vs UCLA Must See Rating: 3
Leave a Reply