3 reasons Nebraska football will beat Rutgers

It’s hard to believe because the Nebraska football season just started but after Saturday’s home game against Rutgers, the Huskers only have two more games at Lincoln Memorial Stadium.

That’s kind of crazy, considering it’s the first week of October. Four of the last six games are on the road and not a single one is going to be easy. The home games aren’t a walk in the park either, even though UCLA doesn’t look too great.

Things can change in a month.

Hell, they can change week to week in college football. The Huskers are feeling good about themselves after a 28-10 win over Purdue. They closed strong and even though the score didn’t reflect a close game, Matt Rhule says Nebraska won a close game and that’s a step in the right direction. 

Beating Rutgers would be another step. The 4-0 Scarlet Knights are no joke. This program won seven games a season ago and added former Minnesota starting QB Athan Kaliakmanis.

The veteran isn’t a superstar but he knows how to win and has been effective for Rutgers with seven touchdown passes compared to just one interception. Greg Schiano is a quality head coach and the Huskers will have to earn this win on Saturday but here are three reasons why they will.

The better QB

Having the better quarterback matters. Most of the time, the team with the best quarterback and the best head coach wins. That’s a nice advantage if you can get it.

The Huskers at least have that advantage at quarterback. Dylan Raiola has nine touchdowns this season and just two interceptions, although neither was his fault. He came through when Nebraska football really needed him last week against Purdue. 

Rutgers will be a challenge, especially if the Huskers can’t run the ball effectively. The Scarlet Knights have one of the best red-zone defenses in the country but did allow over 300 yards passing to Washington last week.

I expect another 200-some passing yards from Raiola and if he can play a clean game, Nebraska will have a great chance to win.

A better matchup for the Blackshirts

It makes sense to compare this game to Illinois. Both teams are undefeated and coached by experienced winners in the Big Ten. But this is different for one very big reason — it’s a different matchup.

Nebraska lost to Illinois because it couldn’t stop Luke Altmyer. He completed 21-of-27 passes and threw four touchdowns. If things had gone a little differently Nebraska could still have won that game, but Atlmyer was able to take advantage of a weakness at cornerback, especially with Tommi Hill out of the game.

Hill is expected to play on Saturday and Ceyair Wright has been playing well too. However, the strength of Rutgers is the running game, at least one offense.

Kyle Monangai is the guy who makes it go. Nebraska allowed over 100 yards to Northern Iowa and Illinois, but teams are getting just 2.8 per carry against them (85 yards total per game) and I don’t think it will be smooth sailing for Rutgers in the run game on Saturday.

Nebraska football placekicking can’t get worse

Maybe that’s not true. But going 0-for-3 on field goal attempts and missing the last four is pretty bad. Rutgers did benefit from Washington going 1-for-4 in the Scarlet Knights three-point win, but can that continue?

The Huskers had two kicks blocked last week. Schiano teams have always had a knack for special teams so that’s a little concerning but the Nebraska kicking operation seemed better in the second half against Purdue. Rhule said he feels good about the operation on Thursday and I think John Hohl will deliver.

Nebraska will likely be more aggressive going for it on fourth down, but I’m going to say the field-goal drought ends, and Hohl ends his skid.

I mean it can’t get any worse, right?

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. You can also find our podcast on Apple or Spotify.