The Northwestern Wildcats took a second consecutive mighty tumble last week, and they've now officially dropped into Big Ten obscurity now that they've fallen out of the Top 25. The Nebraska Cornhuskers know the feeling of losing their way with four losses already in their first seven games, but they'll have a shot to right the ship on Saturday.
WHEN THE NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS HAVE THE BALL
Justin Jackson is about the only name you need to remember for Northwestern. The super sophomore topped 100 yards in four of his first five games, and not surprisingly, the Wildcats were a perfect 5-0 SU and a near-perfect 4-1 ATS.
In each of those games, Jackson carried the ball at least 20 times, and as a result, all five games stayed under the total.
But now, things have changed for Northwestern, and live bettors need to be aware of it. In these last couple games, Jackson has only totaled 22 carries for 55 yards. The Wildcats have averaged 5.0 points per game, and the fact that their defense has had to spend more time on the field has seen them concede 40 and 38 points after giving up a total of 35 in five games prior to that.
Not only is Northwestern 0-2 SU and ATS against Iowa and Michigan, but the over is 2-0 as well.
The moral of the story is simple: If Jackson gets the ball in his hands 20 times, the under and Northwestern are probably the way to go. If Jackson can't get anything going, live bettors should have a field day picking off all of the Nebraska money they can.
WHEN THE NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS HAVE THE BALL
Tommy Armstrong Jr., for our money, needs to get off-script at some point. He's an elusive runner, but thanks to this new Mike Riley offense, he's basically stuck in the pocket trying to get the ball downfield to his receivers.
Jordan Westerkamp is a big play threat, and he's the biggest problem live bettors of Northwestern will face. He's got 35 catches for 443 yards and four scores, and he's Armstrong's favorite target.
That said, Armstrong is still only completing 54.2 percent of his passes, and there are far too many instances in which he leads this team on three-and-outs instead of longer, time-consuming drives.
Nebraska has suddenly stopped committing to Terrell Newby on the ground as well. He had 28 carries against South Alabama back in Week 2 and 14 carries for 82 yards in a game which could've been won against Miami. Since then, Newby has totaled just 33 carries in three games, and if not for a 69-yard touchdown run last week against Minnesota, he'd largely be nowhere to be found on the stat sheet of any note.
Unless all of a sudden the Nebraska offense decides to go back to pounding Newby and letting Armstrong run around, we're not sure this is a team worth live betting on when it has the ball.
TREND TO TRACK
History suggests this is going to end up being a close game. Since Nebraska came to the Big Ten, three of the four games between these clubs have been decided by three points or fewer. Last year's game was the exception to the rule. It was also the only game of the four to go past the total, as well as it being the only game of the four the favored team covered.
BookMaker opened the college football spread for this Saturday game before anyone else on the internet. The Nebraska Cornhuskers opened at -8 along with a total of 47. In-game spreads, totals, moneylines and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone or tablet with BookMaker's new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! The battle between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Nebraska Cornhuskers will kick off Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. ET at Lincoln Memorial Stadium. The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
