Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Game Preview and Prediction - 10/16/2021

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 16, 2021

Venue:  Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

Where to Watch:  ESPN2

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Nebraska -2, Minnesota +2; Over/Under:  48 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Nebraska -2.5, Minnesota +2.5; Over/Under:  48 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Nebraska -2.5, Minnesota +2.5; Over/Under:  48 points

 

Nebraska Cornhuskers:  3-4 (5th place, Big Ten West)

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  3-2 (2nd place, Big Ten West)

 

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Nebraska Cornhuskers:  lost at home on Oct. 9 to the Michigan Wolverines 32-29.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  won on the road on Oct. 2 against the Purdue Boilermakers 20-13.

 

 

 

Nebraska is coming into this game with a 3-4 record overall and they are 0-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 5th conference matchup of the year and they have already fallen really behind with a 1-3 record in their conference games this season. Their 1 win came against the Northwestern Wildcats while their 3 losses came against the Illinois Fighting Illini, the Michigan State Spartans, and against Michigan in their last game. Their chances of winning their conference this year are pretty much shot. They lost a really close game at home to Michigan in their last one losing that game 32-29 as the lead changed throughout the entire game. Adrian Martinez played well in that game for the most part as he completed 18/28 passes for 291 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Rahmir Johnson led the team in rushing with 67 yards on 17 carries but they did not really get much of a run game going in that one. Johnson also led the team in receiving with 105 yards and 1 touchdown on 6 receptions while Austin Allen had 59 receiving yards and 1 TD on 2 receptions. Luke Reimer led the defense with 6 solo tackles and 6 assisted ones while Quinton Newsome was right behind him with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Ty Robinson recorded the only sack while Deontai Williams came away with the only interception for the defense in that game. They have scored 223 points in their 7 games this season averaging 31.9 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 125 points against them allowing 17.9 PPG. Their offense is averaging 493.3 YPG while their defense is allowing 341.7 YPG.

 

 

Minnesota is coming into this game with a 3-2 record overall and they are 1-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 3rd conference matchup on their schedule and they are currently 1-1 in their conference games this season. Their 1 loss came against the Ohio State Buckeyes in their season opener while their 1 win came against Purdue in their last game. They won that game 20-13 in a game that was a tight battle for most of the game with them really pulling ahead in the 2nd half after trailing 13-10 at halftime. Tanner Morgan played alright in that game but nothing great as he completed 9/18 passes for 169 yards and 1 touchdown. Treyson Potts led the team in rushing with 78 yards and 1 touchdown on 15 carries but he was their entire running game basically. Mike Brown-Stephens had a nice day as he led the team in receiving with 105 yards on 2 receptions. Chris Autman-Bell had 40 receiving yards on 2 receptions and the 1 TD. Jack Gibbens led the defense with 5 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones while Justus Harris and Terell Smith were both right behind him with 5 solo tackles each. Boye Mafe and Jaqwondis Burns both led the defense in sacks with 1 each while Coney Durr, Thomas Rush, Nyles Pinckney, and Micah Dew-Treadway all combined for 2 sacks. It was Tyler Nubin who came away with the only interception for the defense in that game. They have scored 122 points in their first 5 games averaging 24.4 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 98 points against them allowing 19.6 PPG. Their offense is averaging 335.4 YPG while their defense is allowing 307.8 YPG.

 

Both of these teams have strong players in their running game so both will be trying to control the ground game in this one. This will be a very physical game with longer running drives that eat a lot of clock. The defenses have been pretty good for both sides as well. They are still allowing quite a few yards on defense but both teams are not allowing a lot of points to be scored against them. With the way the defenses are playing and the way the offenses are centered around running, the best bet to make in this game is on the under.

 

Nebraska Minnesota Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 16, 2021 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Nebraska 20 Minnesota 17.

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Nebraska Cornhuskers: 22-28 O/U when the line is +3 to -3. 32-38 O/U when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 88-96 O/U as a favorite.

Minnesota Golden Gophers: 174-159 ATS in all games. 104-92 ATS as an underdog. 119-114 ATS against conference opponents.

 

 

Nebraska Cornhuskers:  J. Wright (S) out for season - Illness. G. Ervin Jr. (RB) out for season - Knee injury. T. Fidone II (TE) Out indefinitely - Knee injury. W. Honas (LB) out for season - Knee injury.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  D. Wright (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. T. Potts (RB) Out Sat - Undisclosed injury. M. Ibrahim (RB) out for season - Leg injury.

 

 

Nebraska Cornhuskers: Adrian Martinez is one player to watch in this contest. He leads his team in passing, rushing, and in touchdowns scored this season. He is coming off of a very close loss to Michigan and he thinks he needs to play better than the way he did in that game. Look for him to keep improving and put on a much better performance in this game.

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers: Tanner Morgan is one player to watch here. He leads his team in passing and will need to step up in this game. Their running back Trey Potts has been ruled out for this game so they will need to rely on him to make more plays himself as that loss is a huge blow to their team. Look for Morgan to step up in this game and carry the team in this one.

 

 

"I'm not going to stand up here and make excuses for myself. I thought the play was over. I was standing like I am now and thought the play was over. I've got to take care of the ball. That hurt our team." - Adrian Martinez on his performance in their close game with Michigan that they went on to lose by 3.

 

 

 

"That was a very difficult week — mentally, physically, emotionally. To come out here and beat a really good Purdue team on the road, was great." - P.J. Fleck after his team beat Purdue on the road in their last game.

 

 

WR Toure, Samori 

WR Martin, Oliver 

WR Manning, Omar 

TE Allen, Austin 

QB Martinez, Adrian 

RB Johnson, Rahmir  

 

WR Autman-Bell, Chris 

WR Jackson, Daniel 

WR Brown-Stephens, Mike 

TE Kieft, Ko 

QB Morgan, Tanner 

RB Potts, Trey 

 

Passing: A. Martinez (1758)

Rushing: A. Martinez (437)

Receiving: S. Toure (518)

Touchdowns: A. Martinez (10)

Sacks: G. Nelson (2.5)

Tackles: L. Reimer (30)

 

Passing: T. Morgan (709)

Rushing: T. Potts (552)

Receiving: D. Wright (169)

Touchdowns: T. Potts (6)

Sacks: B. Mafe (5)

Tackles: J. Gibbens (17)

 

Coaches:

Nebraska Cornhuskers: Scott Frost (4th season)

Minnesota Golden Gophers: P.J. Fleck (5th season)

 

56 degrees F mostly sunny, 58% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 12 mph wind speeds W.