College football season is about three months away! The Spring Games are over and the teams are beginning to form. With that in mind, check out our college football odds series where we give out a prediction and pick for Nebraska Football over/under total wins.
Nebraska has had a terrible 2022 season, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The Cornhuskers ditched Scott Frost and signed Matt Rhule to a long and expensive contract. Nebraska has a lot to look forward to as we try to put 2022 on the back burner. Without further ado, here’s the prediction and tip for Nebraska’s overall win.
Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
Nebraska Over/Under Win Total Odds
Over: 6.5 (+116)
Below: 6.5 (-142)
Why Nebraska Can Reach the Over
There’s a lot of hype surrounding Matt Rhule. After a pretty bad streak with the Carolina Panthers of the NFL, he’s back in college. Rhule has been a collegiate coach for seven years and has a 47-43 record. One of the most impressive achievements of this period was Temple University’s national recognition. Nebraska hopes he can have the same success at Memorial Stadium, but he’s not going away empty-handed.
Former Syracuse defensive coordinator Tony White has joined the staff to lead the Cornhusker defense. He had much success at Syracuse as he led the Orange to a top 25 finish in total defense and a top 15 finish in pass defense in 2022. During his tenure there, White ensured several players were thrust into the national spotlight with awards. Rhule also signed South Carolina offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield. Satterfield has worked under Rhule before, so there is a lot of trust between the two. Satterfield led South Carolina to a bowl game in both South Carolina seasons. With the addition of these two coaches, this should be a new and improved Nebraska team on both sides of the ball.
The Cornhuskers have lost some talent, there’s no denying that. However, Rhule has made some great additions to the transfer portal. Nebraska’s new starting quarterback Jeff Sims is a transfer from Georgia Tech. He played in seven games for the Yellow Jackets and led the team in passing yards by a wide margin. He finished the season with 159.3 passing yards per game, five touchdowns and three interceptions. His five touchdowns need improvement, but he cares about the ball. Sims was also third overall in rush yards at Georgia Tech last season. He fits in with what Rhule wants to do offensively, so the addition of Sims should be a big help for Nebraska. Winning games in the Big 10 is tough, but having a good quarterback makes all the difference.
Why Nebraska will sink
In short, Nebraska has lost some talent. 2022 Quarterback of the Year Casey Thompson has moved to Florida Atlantic and leading receiver Trey Palmer is now in the NFL. We’ve talked about adding Sims, but Nebraska hasn’t done much to improve its reception core. Palmer had nine touchdowns and 1,000 yards in 2022. The second highest total was Marcus Washington with 471 yards. Nebraska will need some of their other pass catchers to step up, but losing Palmer will really hurt this team. They added an undersized receiver in Billy Kemp, but he only had 16 catches in Virginia in 2022. A good player for sure, but there isn’t much evidence that he can make the difference on offense.
Looking at the schedule, Nebraska has avoided Ohio State, but they’re still playing a tough schedule. Nebraska has two “guaranteed” wins in Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech. That’s in quotes because the Cornhuskers lost at home to Georgia Southern and gave Northwestern their only win of the season early in 2022. This is an all new team from Nebraska, but if you look at Rhules first year at Temple and Baylor, he’s a 3-21 combined. Rhule is unsuccessful in his freshman year at school and the Blackshirts face a tough year as they attend a difficult conference.
Final Nebraska Over/Under Win Total Prediction and Selection
As previously mentioned, Rhule is unsuccessful in his first year at a new school. Nebraska should be a decent team, but there’s a reason that’s over plus money. Seven games is a challenge for the Cornhuskers this season and too much talent is being lost. If Nebraska can make a bowl game this year, it’s because they finish 6-6. Expect five to seven wins from them this year, but be careful and expect more like five wins.
Nebraska Final Over/Under Overall Prediction & Pick: Under 6.5 (-142)
