Nebraska (-7.5) at Iowa State
As anyone that knows me will tell you, I NEVER bet on Nebraska. Ever. However, besides my gig on the corner of 16th and Farnam this afternoon, I think I feel like making money this weekend. Here are three reasons you should want to make money as well.
#1 - Iowa State Defense. Believe me when I tell you that this is not what Gene Chizek had in mind. The Cyclones' defense is giving up 170 yards/game rushing and over 28 points/game. This couldn't be better news for Nebraska. Last week vs. a top ten team in Texas Tech, the Huskers garnered only 114 rushing yards but held the ball for over 40 minutes. Given the opportunity to run, expect Lucky, Helu, and Castille to combine for easily the best rushing outing for the Nebraska this year.
#2 - Schedules. Neither team has won a game in over a month. Nebraska has lost to #17 Virginia Tech, #11 Missouri, and #7 Texas Tech. Arguably, they should have won 2 of those 3. Iowa State has lost to Iowa, UNLV, #16 Kansas, and Baylor (by 28 points). If you are adding, Nebraska has the #11 toughest schedule and Iowa State has the #72 toughest schedule. Besides the schizophrenic 1st half of the game with Kansas, Iowa State was dominated in every game. Despite losing last week, I still maintain that was the best loss/win Nebraska has had in the past 4 years. Shawn Watson has come out of his shell.
#3 - Phillip Bates. Who is Phillip Bates? He went to high school in Nebraska at Omaha North with Husker WR Niles Paul. He was highly recruited and was the co-number one quarterback at Iowa State with Austen Arnaud, who went to Ames High (one mile from campus) and is the same age as Bates. Phil quit the team this week and has ended the dual-threat QB system of the Cyclones where both QBs had roughly the same rating. Without the competition for the starting QB role, Austen Arnaud has no worries about his playing time anymore. Pressure can sometimes be a good thing. Karma is always a bitch.
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