North Dakota vs. Nebraska: Keys to victory, HuskerOnline score predictions for Saturday

Can Nebraska (0-1) get things back on track today in their home opener at Memorial Stadium? The Huskers suffered a major setback to their 2022 season by losing last week to Northwestern as a two-touchdown favorite.

Today the Big Red will take on North Dakota, who finished the 2021 season 5-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

As things get closer to kickoff, here are today’s keys to victory and HuskerOnline expert score predictions for Nebraska over the Fighting Hawks. NU enters today’s game as a 21.5-point favorite over UND.

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KEYS TO VICTORY: North Dakota at Nebraska

KEY 1: Line of scrimmage play

Maybe the most eye-opening thing from last Saturday’s loss to Northwestern was how poorly Nebraska looked at times on the line of scrimmage – both sides of the ball. That has to change today. The Huskers need to establish their will upfront.

KEY 2: Establish proper rhythm on offense

Mark Whipple and Scott Frost know how to put up yards on offense. However, there is a difference between just putting up a lot of yards vs. having a proper flow to the offense. Last week in Ireland NU did not have a great flow with their offense, especially in the second half. The Big Red has to find a happy median between the run and the pass, and as Frost said be more “creative” with their run game.

KEY 3: Limit assignment busts on defense

I expect North Dakota to do their best to try to cross up Nebraska’s back seven with different shifts and play fakes. The Huskers need to play with discipline today and not allow the Fighting Hawks to get easy touchdowns off assignment busts.

KEY 4: Tackling in space

I don’t expect to see linebacker Nick Henrich in today’s game. That means the Huskers are already a key man down on defense. Last week NU missed 14 tackles against Northwestern. They have to do a better job with their fundamentals and tackling on Saturday.

KEY 5: Get the crowd engaged right away

Finally, this has been a brutal week across the entire state. I met with several different fan groups and saw several more on my way back from Ireland. Husker Nation is on edge. We are not even at Labor Day yet and last week’s game sent shockwaves across the fan base. Nebraska must calm the waters and come out of the gates with a good start.

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EXPERT TAKE: North Dakota at Nebraska

Sean Callahan – HuskerOnline Pubisher

Will Nebraska come out with a hangover from Dublin? I expect the Fighting Hawks to put up a fight for about a quarter and a half, but the Huskers will pull away by the late second quarter. Casey Thompson will throw for over 300 yards.

Nebraska 41, North Dakota 17

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Steven Sipple – HuskerOnline columnist

The Ireland hangover is real for Nebraska plus North Dakota comes into Lincoln with zero pressure. The home team, though, simply has too much of a talent edge to lose this one. Casey Thompson exhibits poise and finds Trey Palmer and Omar Manning for some big plays in the second half to ease tension in the stadium.

Nebraska 34, North Dakota 21

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Robin Washut – HuskerOnline senior writer

Nebraska has a lot on its plate after last week’s massive letdown in Ireland. North Dakota saw what everyone else did from that game and will try to replicate the same plan as Northwestern – pound the football and wait for the Huskers to make mistakes. If NU can play a clean game and stop the run, this one shouldn’t be close. If they can’t, though, things could be uncomfortably close.

Nebraska 38, North Dakota 17

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Andy Kendeigh – KETV ABC-Omaha

We should know what to expect in the first 15 minutes after kickoff.   The Huskers must get off to a good start, get the crowd into it and knock out North Dakota early.  I think Nebraska “gets creative” with the run game, multiple backs score touchdowns, Casey Thompson throws multiple TD passes and for one day folks can exhale.  

Nebraska 38, North Dakota 14

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Jim Rose – 1110 KFAB Radio-Omaha

Suddenly, no game is safe for Nebraska.  Every opponent is a toss-up. But at home against an albeit quality opponent, the Nebraska offense will be too much to handle. Expect the running game to get lots of work, which hopefully foretells of more to come. With temps in the 90’s, the Fight’N Hawks will run out of gas. 

Nebraska 42, North Dakota 20

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Mike’l Severe – Big Red Wrap-Up

This is one of those games where I think you would traditionally worry about the Huskers overlooking North Dakota but coming off the loss to Northwestern you would think the team would be hyped to play the next game. The Fighting Hawks are inexperienced on defense with only five returning starters. Nebraska should be able to own the LOS and NU skill players should have a big day. At the same time, the jetlag might make for a slow start for Nebraska.

Nebraska 37, North Dakota 14

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HuskerOnline Week 1 Score Predictions

Week 1	Sean Callahan	Steven Sipple	Robin Washut	Andy Kendeigh	Jim Rose	Mike’l Severe
North Dakota at Nebraska	41-17 Nebraska	34-21 Nebraska	38-17 Nebraska	38-14 Nebraska	42-20 Nebraska	37-14 Nebraska
Rutgers at Boston College	27-13 Boston College	31-21 Boston College	28-20 Rutgers	21-17 Boston College	24-14 Boston College	28-20 Boston College
Notre Dame at Ohio State	41-20 Ohio State	38-24 Ohio State	41-27 Ohio State	31-17 Ohio State	24-14 Ohio State	38-17 Ohio State
Oregon vs. Georgia	38-24 Georgia	38-13 Georgia	34-14 Georgia	38-21 Georgia	28-17 Georgia	27-7 Georgia
Cincinnati at Arkansas	31-27 Cincinnati	34-24 Arkansas	24-21 Cincinnati	27-20 Arkansas	34-24 Arkansas	30-23 Arkansas
Utah at Florida	23-17 Utah	27-20 Utah	20-14 Florida	28-21 Utah	31-27 Florida	27-21 Utah

HuskerOnline Score Prediction Standings

Expert Picker	Straight Up	vs. the Spread	Cumulative Total
Sean Callahan HuskerOnline	0-1	1-0	1
Andy Kendeigh KETV ABC-Omaha	0-1	1-0	1
Steven Sipple HuskerOnline	0-1	0-1	0
Mike’l Severe Big Red Wrap-Up	0-1	0-1	0
Jim Rose KFAB Radio	0-1	0-1	0
Robin Washut HuskerOnline	0-1	0-1	0