Coming off their first victory in seven weeks, the Wildcats head west for their first-ever Big Ten matchup with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who joined the conference this summer. Having played each other only four times in history and just once since 1974, the two teams aren’t exactly well acquainted. Here are ten things you need to know about a No. 10-ranked Nebraska team that will henceforth be one of Northwestern’s annual Big Ten foes.
1) The Cornhuskers have played a weak schedule…
Nebraska has played just two ranked opponents (Wisconsin and Michigan State) this season, while taking on three small school programs in Chattanooga, Fresno State and Wyoming. They’ve also had the luxury of playing 2-6 Minnesota, who was destroyed 58-0 by Michigan and 45-17 by Purdue. Nebraska split with Wisconsin and Michigan State, falling to the Badgers in Madison but dominating the Spartans this past weekend in Lincoln.
2) But they have dominated their weaker opponents.
The Cornhuskers have absolutely blown away their unranked opponents, beating all but Ohio State by at least 13 points and three different teams by at least 24. They have scored at least 34 points in all six games against unranked opponents and more than 40 in four of them.
3) They’ve been both horrendous and terrific against ranked teams.
In its first game featuring a ranked opponent, Nebraska was trounced 48-17 in Wisconsin on Oct. 1. The ‘Huskers allowed five consecutive touchdowns to the Badgers during the second and third quarters and the game got out of hand quickly. But Nebraska put its name back on the map last weekend against then-ranked No.11 Michigan State, just a game removed from the Spartans’ Hail Mary victory over then-No. 6 Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers dominated MSU on defense and cruised to a 24-3 victory.
4) They don’t have much of a passing game…
Quarterback Taylor Martinez has averaged just 157 passing yards per game and has thrown five interceptions in four Big Ten games. Accordingly, Nebraska’s passing offense ranks 106th out of 120 teams in the FBS and third to last in the Big Ten.
5) But they sure can run the ball.
Despite being a cellar-dwelling passing team, Nebraska ranks ninth in the nation in rushing yards per game with more than 250. What Martinez lacks with his arm he makes up for and more with his legs, amassing over 650 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns so far this season. And he is not even the ‘Huskers’ top rusher. That honor belongs to Rex Burkhead, who has had five 100-yard games en route to 882 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns of his own.
6) They haven’t forced or given away many turnovers…
With seven interceptions and four lost fumbles, Nebraska has been fairly safe with the football this season. Still, their defense has not been remarkably opportunistic, forcing six interceptions and five lost fumbles for an even turnover differential on the season.
7) But they still haven’t protected the ball well.
The Cornhuskers’ four lost fumbles belies the fact that Nebraska ball carriers have actually been quite loose with the football, fumbling a whopping 22 times in eight games. In what can only be considered an anomaly, they’ve been fortunate enough to recover 18 of the 22, but such a trend cannot last forever. Additionally, while Martinez has thrown a respectable seven interceptions in eight games, his low number of pass attempts (20 per game) has helped limit that total.
8) They face a challenging remaining schedule…
After they play a Northwestern team this weekend that has lost just one game by double digits, Nebraska will to Penn State and then to Michigan for two critical road tests against ranked conference foes before finishing at home against 5-3 Iowa. Penn State and Michigan are a combined 8-1 against Big Ten opponents and 15-2 overall, with both losses coming against ranked opponents, including the Nittany Lions’ loss to No. 2 ranked Alabama in early September.
9) But they control their destiny in the Big Ten…
Despite trailing Penn State by a game in the overall conference standings, Nebraska is the only Legends Division team without a divisional loss yet. They hold the tiebreaker against Michigan State and can distance themselves from Michigan with a victory over the Wolverines on Nov. 19. Though one loss could put them permanently behind Michigan State, they Cornhuskers can ensure themselves a spot in the Big Ten title game if they can win their final four conference games. If they fail, the Legends Division representative will likely be Michigan or Michigan State.
10) And in the race for the Rose Bowl.
As this is its first season in the Big Ten Conference, Nebraska not has had many opportunities to play in the Rose Bowl. The ‘Huskers have played in just two in their storied history, in 1941 and 2002, with the latter being the first time since 1946 the game did not feature a Big Ten vs. Pac-10 matchup (the 2002 game served as the 2001 National Championship game against Miami). Now, the Huskers control their own destiny to the Rose Bowl. Reaching Pasadena would be quite a statement in the Cornhuskers’ first year in the Big Ten.