Nebraska vs. Northwestern: How to watch Week 0 matchup

The long offseason is finally coming to an end. The start of the 2022 Nebraska Cornhuskers football season kicks off Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CST. Oh yeah, the location of the game will be 5:30 p.m. local time, however, because you obviously know it is being played in Dublin, Ireland.

For just the second time in Husker history out of 1,358 games, Nebraska is playing in a foreign country. That matchup will also be against a conference opponent, but on the other side of a different ocean. This will also be against a Big Ten conference opponent, the Northwestern Wildcats, as opposed to last time when it was a Big 8 matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats.

Nebraska enters the matchup coming off a depressing 3-9 season (1-8 Big Ten) in 2021. Scott Frost returns as head coach for his fifth season with a 2-2 career mark against Northwestern. Meanwhile, Pat Fitzgerald remains the longtime leader of the Wildcats as he begins his 18th season coaching his alma mater with a 109-90 mark and a 5-6 record against Nebraska. The game will mark his 200th as head coach of the Wildcats and will be one he hopes marks a turn around from an equally depressing 3-9 record in his team’s 2021 campaign (1-8 Big Ten).

The Huskers defeated the Wildcats last season 56-7 on Oct. 2 in Lincoln. The win was Nebraska’s lone conference victory and its last of the 2021 season. Despite the lopsided nature of last season’s win, six of the first 11 Big Ten Conference matchups between these programs have been decided by three or fewer points (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019).

Date/Time: August 27, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. CST (12:30 p.m. EST, 5:30 p.m. IST)

Location: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland Capacity: 47,500

Surface: SISGrass (a 95% natural turf field with synthetic fibers inserted into the turf to help provide more playing hours and faster pitch recovery.)

Opposition Blog: Check out Inside NU for everything Wildcat

Series Record: Nebraska leads the all-time series with Northwestern 9-6, but is just 6-5 against the Wildcats since joining the Big Ten. Huskers are 1-0 at neutral site matchups.

TV: The game will be televised on FOX with play-by-play by Jason Benetti and analyst Brock Huard. It can be streamed on the Fox Sports App with a login from your service provider.

Radio: Huskers sports radio network. The audio can also be streamed live for free at huskers.com. The crew will be: Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, and Jessica Coody. Pre- and post-game shows will be hosted by Matt Coatney.

More streaming options: The official Huskers app is available on iTunes and Google Play.

Weather: At kickoff, the temperature is forecast for 65 degrees (18 C, game is in Ireland after all). There is a 12 percent chance of rain at kickoff, though that drops down to just 7 percent late in the game. Wind should be light around 5 mph (8 km/h, because Ireland).

Odds: According to DraftKings Sports Book, Nebraska is heavily favored as a 13-point favorite over the Wildcats. The Over/Under is seemingly based off of last year’s final score as it is set at 49.5.

Trivia

Saturday’s game marks the earliest matchup between Big Ten teams in conference history, besting Nebraska at Illinois played Aug. 28, 2021. It also marks just the second international matchup between two Big Ten teams. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Michigan State Spartans 41-20 in the Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo, Japan on Dec. 5, 1993.

That MSU-UW matchup came a year after Nebraska defeated Kansas State in the same overseas event 38-24.

The Huskers have also found success in August with a 14-1 record all-time. The lone loss in August was last season’s at Illinois.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.