Western Michigan Nebraska Predictions

In the past, the Nebraska Cornhuskers would have ran all over the Western Michigan Broncos on their way to a blowout victory. The college football odds makers would have easily installed the Huskers as five touchdown favorites instead of the two touchdown favorites they are at JustBet Sportsbook for the season opener. Nebraska’s recent downward spiral from perennial powerhouse to middle-of-the-road status may have some sports bettors wondering which way to go with this game. Jimmy Boyd’s Western Michigan/Nebraska college football betting preview will help you better handicap this Saturday, August 30th contest.

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Bill Callahan was fired after a 5-7 season in favor of Bo Pelini, who served as defensive coordinator for the Huskers, Oklahoma Sooners, and LSU Tigers. Nebraska is looking for some good vibes to kick off the new regime, and they are hoping that playing their first five games at home will provide just that. Nebraska will have to take advantage of its early home slate as it plays four teams which finished in the top ten a season ago and will be on the road often down the stretch.

Pelini will not make any major changes to an offense which averaged 33.4 ppg and scored 73 against Kansas State. Pelini is expected to turn to the running game a little more often – something which Callahan was criticized for abandoning. That makes perfect sense as Nebraska boasts the Big 12′s leading returning rusher, running back Marlon Lucky, who raced for 1,019 yards last season. Lucky was also greatly utilized in the passing game, catching a school-record 75 passes for 705 yards. It would appear that the Huskers have not had an all-purpose back of Lucky’s caliber since Ahman Green back in 1997, and you can bet that Pelini will take full advantage of his talents.

QB Jose Gantz was brilliant after stepping in for Sam Keller. He dropped 410 yards on Kansas and broke a school mark with 510 yards and seven touchdowns against Kansas State. Then, he threw for 484 yards and five more scores against Colorado. With an experienced offensive line returning, we expect Big Red to score the football again. Winning will fall on the defense which allowed 37.9 ppg last season. There’s no doubt they’ll be better on this side of the ball under Pelini, but the question is how much better? You can bet the Nebraska Corn Huskers to beat the spread at The Pig Sportsbook.

Western Michigan head man Bill Cubit knows his team needs to get off to a better start. The Broncos are coming off a disappointing 5-7 season, but they started the year 0-3. This team showed what it was capable of when it beat the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road to keep Iowa from making a trip to a bowl game. With 16 starters returning, there is reason for optimism.

The offensive is led by QB Tim Hiller, who completed 63.4 percent of his passes for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. First Team All-MAC wide receiver Jamarko Simmons is Hiller’s main target. He caught 84 passes and had four 100-yard receiving games and four multi-touchdown games last season.

Like Nebraska, WMU knows it needs to be better defensively. Its defense allowed 179.1 yards per game on the ground last season. With ten starters returning with starting experience, Cubit is confident this unit can do better. If you think the Broncos are poised to cover the number against Nebraska, bet them at +14.5 at Bookmaker Sportsbook.

Predicted Score:

Nebraska 38
Western Michigan 24

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