Nebraska vs. Northwestern Odds, Picks, & Predictions: Will Big Ten Opener be a Classic Big Ten Under?

The first Big Ten game of the 2022 college football season is going to be a bit different, at least based on the setting alone. Nebraska and Northwestern are set to battle it on the gridiron in…Dublin, Ireland.

College football is back! Week Zero is one of the best things to happen in the college football world in recent years. It used to be maybe one FCS game, but now we have a slate of games all afternoon and into the night.

The Huskers and Wildcats are definitely the highest profile game of the day, and have the added intrigue of playing overseas. From a football perspective, neither team is expected to contend on a national level this season.

However, it’s the first matchup of the year between two big-name schools so it’s sure to draw a lot of viewers from those of us desperate for college football.

Northwestern is coming off a 3-9 season in 2021, and notably was also just 3-9 against the spread. Both the offense and the defense was objectively bad, so the Wildcats will have had to make significant improvements to keep it close against Nebraska.

Speaking of the Huskers, they were also just 3-9 in 2021, but 7-5 against the spread. Scott Frost’s team came up just short over and over again. Just one loss (26-17 to Ohio State) was decided by multiple possessions.

Despite using a strong defense to hang in there with tough competition, the Huskers only scored 30 or more points twice in Big Ten conference games.

Nebraska’s defense won’t allow Northwestern to consistently move the ball, but the offense isn’t spectacular enough to make me confident in laying the 12 points.

When you add in the dynamic of the game being played in Ireland with travel and other potential factors like field surface and atmosphere creating a bit of unpredictability, I love the under.

Nebraska vs. Northwestern Pick: Under 50.5 | -110 at Caesars