Everything you need to know for Nebraska football vs. Houston Christian: odds, how to watch, and a prediction

If you’re a Nebraska football fan who doesn’t know much about Houston Christian, you aren’t alone. The Huskies are 1-1. They are part of the Southland Conference of the FCS.

The odds haven’t even been set, which is typical for FBS-FCS matchups. Nebraska football just trounced Akron 68-0 as a 34.5-point favorite, so it’s going to be a huge line, maybe higher than 40 points.

For Nebraska, the objective is simple: Do the same as you did last week.

The Huskers took a step forward against Akron. They didn’t just show up and go through the motions. Matt Rhule prodded the team along at halftime, making the second half even better than the first.

Will that carry over to this week? If the Huskers are going to get where they want to go — it needs to — then it needs to carry over to every other week. That’s the standard Matt Rhule is setting, and I love it.

Getting to know Houston Christian

As far as Houston Christian, the team coached by Jason Bachtel lost 20-10 last week to Eastern Kentucky, managing just 259 yards of total offense. Their defense allowed just 173 yards and also shut out Arkansas Baptist in Week 1. Offensively, the Huskies had over 500 yards of total offense in that first game. Running back Xai’Shaun Edwards, a redshirt freshman, had 175 yards on 17 carries in the first game as HCU rushed for over 400 yards.

That jives with what Matt Rhule said on Monday about Houston Christian, which is “they have excellent players.”

Edwards had just 25 yards rushing last week. Quarterback Jake Weir, who was sacked four times, passed for 217 yards and a touchdown. He’s thrown one interception this season.

As a team, the Huskies are averaging 396 yards per game. Opponents have managed just 139 yards per game. Maybe the most impressive thing, outside of three interceptions, is that offenses are just 1-of-39 on third downs against Houston Christian.

That percentage will be tested by Dylan Raiola this week. The Nebraska football quarterack is passing for 303 yards per game, completing 78 percent of his passes, along with five touchdown passes. He also set the school record last week for consecutive completions with 20.

That will be the first of many records broken by Raiola.

How to watch Nebraska football vs. Houston Christian

Nebraska will play Houston Christian on Fox Sports 1 at 11 AM CST. Huskers.com will also have the game on the radio, along with local affiliates.

Nebraska football vs. Houston Christian Prediction

Houston Christian is a solid FCS team. They are better than some Nebraska fans are giving them credit for. Yet, I doubt Rhule will allow any let-up. Not with Michigan coming to Lincoln in 10 days.

Every day is massive. Each team only gets 12 guaranteed games. Nebraska is playing with that sort of urgency, and we’ll get a similar result, although the Huskers are held under 60 this week.

Nebraska 55, Houston Christian 6

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