College football week 4 and the Miami Hurricanes will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN 2. Current Vegas odds have the Huskers listed as 7.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 55.5.
Analysis: The Miami Hurricanes were rolling along with a 7-0 record last year, but then the injury bug hit and they finished the year on a 2-4 slide, including a 36-9 blowout loss to Louisville in the bowl game. This year the Canes have 14 starters back and are primed to make a run at the Coastal Division in the ACC. The Canes started out the year the same way they ended last year, with a loss to the Louisville Cardinals. Since then the Canes have bounced back to win their last 2 games by a combined 82-27, but that was vs FAMU and Arkansas State. Now they step up in competition. QB Brad Kayaa has done a nice job at QB for the Canes, as he has passed for 683 yards and 7 TDs thus far, but has made some mistakes with 5 INTs. The Canes ground attack is led by Duke Johnson, who has 277 yards and 2 TDs so far this year. Overall Miami is ranked 89th in total offense (382.7 ypg) and 67th in scoring (31.7 ppg), while on defense they rank 8th in yards allowed (259.7 ypg) and 35th in points allowed (19.3 ppg).
Despite some off the field distractions last year, the Nebraska Cornhuskers managed a 9-4 season and a Gator Bowl victory of the Georgia Bulldogs. This year they have just 11 starters back and lose QB Martinez, so duplicating last year’s 9 wins may be a bit difficult. Interesting start for the Cornhuskers this year as the have CRUSHED the two FBS teams they have faced, but they were in a life and death struggle vs FCS foe McNeese State two weeks ago. Still the Huskers are 3-0 on the year and have outgained their 3 foes by 300 ypg so far and have outscored them 47-17 ppg on the year. In their last game they beat Fresno State by a 55-19 score, piling up 562 yards with a very balanced attack that saw them run for 280 yards and pass for 282. Tommy Armstrong was just 12-21 in the game, but for 260 yards with 3 TDs and he also chipped in with 65 yards on the ground. The ground game ranks 9th in the nation and is led by Ameer Abdullah, who has run for 396 yards and 3 TDs this year. The defense for the Huskers has been very good, as they rank 18th in yards allowed (294.7 ypg) and 20th in points allowed (16.7 ppg).
Pick: I like the Under in this game. This OU line really seems too high for a couple of teams that have solid defenses and run the ball a bit more than they throw it. The Cans will look to pound the ball with Duke Johnson, while the Cornhuskers will turn to Ameer Abdullah to lead their ground attack that has put up 324 ypg so far this year. The Miami defense has been very good in the early going, as they have allowed just 259.7 ypg thus far, including 82.7 ypg on the ground. The Nebraska defense has also been very tough this year as they come in allowing just 294.7 ypg and just 4.1 yards per play so far. Both of these defenses are very solid and that along with plenty of rushing should keep this game in the mid 40’s at best.
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