Huskers vs. Iowa: CornNation Predictions

Patrick G: “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” - Grateful Dead

Paul: I’ve been playing with a new predictive model form. Let’s see how well it works.

Mike: Some people are still going to suggest that it wasn’t long enough...but three years is more than long enough, when two of the three are sub-.500.

Andy: One day was too long. Perlman’s solo, non-vetted hire of Eichorst. Eichorst’s solo hire of Mike Riley’s proven mediocrity that he really hoped had just been misplaced for 14 years. Riley’s friendly pressers and not much else. The last of this goofy trinity will be leaving us shortly.
“The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope.” - Sarah Connor

Alabama (-4.5) at Auburn

Patrick G: “There is no other world. Nor even this one. What, then, is there? The inner smile provoked in us by the patent nonexistence of both.” - Emile M. Cioran - Auburn University 27 University of Alabama 21

Paul: Bama by 9

Mike: I think Paul’s got a better read on this one. Just don’t see anybody in the SEC knocking Saban out of the playoff this year. Tide 34, War Eagle 27

Andy: So pundits have railed against Wisconsin’s schedule as too weak while already making excuses why Alabama should be in the CFP if they lose to Auburn or Georgia. One small problem - Wisconsin’s schedule difficulty is currently ranked 55th and Alabama’s 63rd. Bama looked less than dominant against LSU and Miss. St. while Auburn has quietly been rolling the last few weeks. The Iron Bowl is about to cause some suicides, stabbings and DUI’s in Tuscaloosa. Auburn 31 Bama 30

Iowa State (+3) at Kansas State

Patrick G: “Anyone can achieve their fullest potential, who we are might be predetermined, but the path we follow is always of our own choosing. We should never allow our fears or the expectations of others to set the frontiers of our destiny. Your destiny can't be changed but, it can be challenged. Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one.” - Martin Heidegger - Iowa State University 28 Kansas State University 12

Paul: ISU by 1

Mike: Could the Cyclones really end up in the Big XII title game at JerryWorld??? They’ll need help from Baylor, but it’s not completely out of the realm of possibilities. It starts with winning Farmageddon. Clones 27, Kitties 23

Andy: This is a damn coin toss. The Cyclones haven’t looked like ranked spoilers for over three weeks, but Kansas St. has looked more bipolar than the typical Wildcat faan trying to decide between a Big Mac and Quarter Pounder. They are simply impossible to figure out from week to week. Let’s just take current momentum and say Wildcats 26 Cyclones 20

Ohio State (-12) at Michigan

Patrick G: “This is the mistake which I seem to make eternally, that I imagine the sufferings of others as far greater than they really are. Ever since my childhood, the proposition ‘my greatest dangers lie in pity’ has been confirmed again and again. ” - Friedrich Nietzsche - Ohio State University 23 University of Michigan 17

Paul: OSU by 11

Mike: Soooooo, the Weasels are thinking about giving Jim Harbaugh a lifetime contract. This isn’t going to end well at all. Bucknuts 37, Weasels 20

Andy: Ohio St. won’t run up & down the field on a solid Michigan defense, however the Wolverine offense has been MIA against every decent team they’ve faced. Urban Meyer may be an incredibe tool of a human being, but he can coach. Jim Harbaugh has the press eating out of his hand, but Michigan won’t make a leap until he starts acting more like a coach and less like the star of his own reality show. Buckeyes 34 Weasels 13

South Florida (+11) at Central Florida

Patrick G: “Men do not accept their prophets and slay them, but they love their martyrs and worship those whom they have tortured to death.”- Fyodor Dostoevsky - University of Central Florida 36 University of South Florida 23

Paul: UCF by 5

Mike: Husker fans are going to have to wait another week to make a hire, as the Knights advance to the American’s championship game undefeated. Fighting Frosties 37, USF 21

Andy: UCF’s defense has allowed points all year but McKenzie Milton and company will score more. Frost’s Knights make the most of getting ABC’s prime time afternoon game on Black Friday and take one step closer to a major bowl. UCF 41 S Florida 33

Iowa (-3.5) at Nebraska

Patrick G: “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” - Friedrich Nietzsche - University of Nebraska 17 University of Iowa 15

Paul: Iowa by 18

Mike: We know what Nebraska is; they can’t run the ball and can’t stop the run. They can’t block and can’t tackle. But Iowa is on a pendulum; one week, they look like they belong in the college football playoff, then the next, they make Nebraska look like a playoff team. Iowa could very well bounce back and take the Huskers behind the woodshed, but somehow, I suspect that’s not happening this week. In fact, I think Nebraska bounces back and sends Mike Riley home a winner. The last time Nebraska beat Iowa, the Huskers head coach was fired. Huskers 24, Squawkeyes 21.

Andy: The Huskers this year have generally looked unprepared at the start of games, lost on defense and plagued by poor line play on both sides of the ball. For the two weeks following the Ohio St massacre, Iowa has looked like a team that would struggle to beat Omaha North.

However, this week Kirk Ferentz is convincing his squad that they better be as physical as they can and initiate and win those battles, while Mike Riley is plodding ahead with the belief that this season has just gone great except for, you know, THE GAMES. The game might be competitive for a bit but when push comes to shove, the Hawkeyes will move the ball on the ground at will. Keep the bar tab running during this one. Iowa 37 Huskers 20