Nebraska vs. Penn State: Week 13 Predictions

Husker Mike: Rather than games, maybe we should try to predict the number of turnovers Nebraska will have this week…  (grumble grumble)

Aaron: I’m actually interested in the Axe game this year. Too bad it’s on at the same time as the Penn State game. At least I get a chance to see either Michigan or Iowa lose. Kinda hoping the Wolverines get run out of Iowa City.

Ty: I… Ugh.  I’m not actually sure any more.  Up is down, black is white, right is wrong…  Wait.  No.  It’s still football season.  Life is good.

Brian: College Football is College Football, folks. You may not like it sometimes, but you’d rather have it than not. In about 6 weeks time, we’ll all be done with it for the season.

Michigan (+6.5) at Iowa

Aaron: Chaos in Ann Arbor is fun. I like the line. I’ll go with Iowa 24, Michigan 17.

Jon: The Wolverines appear to be in disarray. They can’t run the ball well against anyone with a defensive pulse, and while Iowa isn’t a juggernaut, they’re not an awful team. Add to that a home game for the Hawks, and you have it. Iowa 28, Michigan 17

Husker Mike: The Weasels offense is stuck in neutral, but the defense is playing pretty well. This looks like a low scoring game.  Iowa 20, Michigan 10

Ty: I think both of these teams are indicative the B1G this year.  Save Ohio State, every other team has looked like both the class of the conference, and the bottom.  Give me… Iowa by a field goal.

Brian: Michigan is a trainwreck, especially on the road. Iowa wins, setting up a pretty good Heroes Game.

Michigan State (-7.5) at Northwestern

Jon: On the road at Evanston. Gee, that’s scary, huh? Northwestern is hurting more than anyone in the conference. So many expectations and such a lost season. Sparty 31, ‘Cat 21

Husker Mike: Eventually Northwestern is going to break out of their offensive funk.  Not this week, though.  Sparty 28, NW 17

Aaron: I would see this as a let down game for Michigan State if Northwestern was even a bit better than they were last weekend against Michigan. The Wildcats need this one to go bowling so maybe they will just let it all loose and thrown the kitchen sink at MSU. Doubt it, though. MSU 24, NU 6

Ty: I had Michigan State as my sleeper this season.  Then I backed off.  I shoulda stuck to my guns.  Northwestern won’t turn it over like we did, so MSU can’t score a ton of points.  MSU 17, NW 6

Brian: Sparty punches their ticket to Indy here. NW is just too mediocre right now, especially when Trevor Siemian sees the field.

Texas A&M (+4) at LSU

Jon: Johnny Manziel at Death Valley. Doesn’t seem to a whole lot from stopping the Aggies from scoring heavily on LSU this year. Interesting how Manziel is having such a great year while at the same time seems to be left out when it comes to "the guy" that will win the Heisman. All about getting really bad press. Ah, well. Aggies 42, Tigers 31

Husker Mike: JFF is leaving college football on a nice run.  Death Valley goes down next. Aggies 38, Tigers 31

Aaron: Now is the time for Kevin Suliman to get out of Dodge. After Manzel declares early the Aggies will be a middle of the pack SEC west team. This year? I think LSU can get the points they need to take down A&M. LSU 38, A&M 32

Ty: I’ll make it short.  Manziel’s hype machine needs a boost.  TAMU 41, LSU 24

Brian: LSU’s defense is good, but not that good this year. And Zach Mettenberger against Manziel? LULZ. Aggies here.

Baylor (-9) at Oklahoma State

Husker Mike: This is the time of year when the BCS starts to implode.  Okie State has been playing better and better ever since somehow losing to West Virginia.  Baylor isn’t ready for this.  Oklahoma State 49, Baylor 45

Jon: I realize this is that time of the year when things come apart, but I don’t see that as being Baylor. I see that as being Ohio State, because the Big Ten is awful, and having OSU lose the B1G title game would be just about as bad a PR thing to happen to B1G football, so you know it’s going to. Baylor 54, Oklahoma State 35

Aaron: I’m picking the upset here as well. A lot of points should be scored, but Baylor is bound to lose at least once before the end of the year. This weekend looks as good as any.

Ty:  This’ll be fun to watch.  This is the defacto Big XII title game.  Can OkSt step up?  I doubt it.  Baylor wants to pad their BCS resume.  Baylor 59, OkSt 28

Brian: The last 2 games that Baylor has played, they’ve spotted the opponent a double digit, 2 score lead before they blow em out of the building. I really think that the Big 12 needs a undefeated team to make it interesting (wink wink), so I can’t see Baylor losing this game and heading to Fort Worth next week versus TCU undefeated.

Nebraska (+2) at Penn State

Jon: This one will be about containing Allen Robinson and getting pressure on quarterback Christian Hackenberg. I trust our defensive backs to do that and Randy Gregory to keep the motor up early and force a turnover or two. I still have a fair amount of faith in our offense to score, and our defense to keep them from scoring. Pretty boring prediction segment from me, huh? Nebraska 31, Penn State 24

Husker Mike: I think this is all about Nebraska not shooting themselves in the foot. I suspect that Bo Pelini will be faster with the hook this week if Tommy Armstrong keeps on turning the ball over.  Pelini defenses handle quarterbacks like Hackenberg just fine.  Nebraska 28, Penn State 13

Aaron: Game of the week. Mistakes will be made by both teams, but Nebraska pulls out a wind on a bad call near the end of the game. Nebraska 30, Penn State 28.

Ty:  It’s too important now for the Huskers.  They’ll learn from last week.  It’d be nice if our punting game would be anything other than a cardiac situation.  I see us making fewer turnovers (than five?  I must be crazy!) and creating one or two (Jean-Baptiste and Evans).  I don’t think it’ll be close.  Huskers 35, Penn State 24

Brian: Said it before all week, and I say it now… what you do when no one is watching is what you truly are. For Nebraska, it’s now, as the attention goes to MSU’s clinching of the division and just fan bases watching this one.

The PSU folks think the D Line can’t be ran on. Well, we found out that Ameer Abdullah can do a fairly good job on that. Tommy will have to throw to win, however. On D, it shouldn’t even be close. Hackenberg and this offense is what Nebraska is designed to mangle. Easy enough it seems to shut down Robinson, and make Hackenberg throw to his TE’s and run the ball to win.

Are they playing for Bo’s job? Maybe so, in which I expect the team to be motivated enough to win. GBR.