Northern Illinois vs. Nebraska: Keys to victory, HuskerOnline score predictions for Saturday

Nebraska will officially open things up at home on Saturday against Northern Illinois in Lincoln. NU is the only Power Five school that hasn’t played a home game in 2023. This is the latest home opener since the 1994 and 1995 seasons when NU opened up twice away from home to start the season.

As things get closer to kickoff, here are today’s keys to victory for the Huskers over the Huskies.

Nebraska enters tonight’s game as an 11-point favorite against NIU. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on FS1.

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KEYS TO VICTORY: Northern Illinois at Nebraska

KEY 1: Ball security

In this game, goal No. 1 for Nebraska should be hanging onto the football. That is the single most significant factor why this team is not 1-1 or 2-0. We need to see improvement in this area today.

KEY 2: Handling NIU’s defensive line movement

Northern Illinois will load the box and force Nebraska’s quarterbacks to throw downfield. NU’s offensive line needs to handle the numbers and different movements NIU will throw at them.

KEY 3: Win on third down

Nebraska’s defense has been outstanding on first and second down. The problem has been third down. We’ve seen way too many third-and-longs converted in the last two weeks. The Huskers need to get off the field today on defense.

KEY 4: Force at least two turnovers

Tony White’s defense has played at a high level over the first two weeks, as the Huskers lead the country in sacks right now. The one area they haven’t been great in is forcing turnovers. We needs to see the Blackshirts come up with at least two forced turnovers today.

KEY 5: Finish in the red zone

The Husker offense has struggled in the red zone. Between turnovers, a missed field goal and penalties, NU has found several ways to come up empty-handed in the red zone. We need to see Nebraska finish drives today.

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— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) September 14, 2023

EXPERT TAKE

Sean Callahan – HuskerOnline Pubisher

This should be a physical four-quarter game, but Nebraska is battle-tested playing on the road at places like Minnesota and Colorado. The Huskers will pull away in the second half in a lower-scoring game.

Nebraska 27, Northern Illinois 13

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Steven Sipple – HuskerOnline columnist

Eighteen for the visitors actually might be a little high. I like this Nebraska defense’s potential, especially if it can finally get in a game where Husker turnovers aren’t such a major factor. Let’s see Nebraska’s offense play a cleaner game. If it does, this should be a relatively easy win.

Nebraska 31, Northern Illinois 18

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Robin Washut – HuskerOnline senior writer

Nebraska’s quarterback situation doesn’t inspire much confidence right now, but its defense does. The Huskers do enough to stay out of their own way with the ball and the Blackshirts set the tone from start to finish. As a result, Matt Rhule earns his first win at NU in his home debut. 

Nebraska 27, Northern Illinois 14

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Andy Kendeigh – KETV ABC-Omaha

It doesn’t matter who plays quarterback if you turn the ball over.  Matt Rhule calls himself an incrementalist and we will see some improvement in the home opener.  The Blackshirts steady play continues on defense and the home team flips the script on the turnover margin.  Northern Illinois will hang around but Matt Rhule earns his first win in Lincoln.

Nebraska 21, Nothern Illinois 13

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Jim Rose – 1110 KFAB Radio-Omaha

The Huskers get win No. 1 for Coach Rhule by not turning it over.  We might see a little of Heinrich Haarberg at QB and the continued improvement of a very underrated defense.

Nebraska 28, Northern Illinois 7

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Mike’l Severe – Big Red Wrap-Up

It’s never as simple as saying, don’t turn the ball over, but in this case, so far the turnover margin has been the biggest reason for an 0-2 start. If Jeff Sims plays it would be great to get him some confidence vs. a defense that allowed 5.2 yards a rush to Boston College. NU played vs. Rocky Lombardi back in 2018 with Michigan State and he continues to be turnover-prone after three interceptions vs. Southern Illinois last week. I think the Huskers will wear down NIU and pull away late.

Nebraska 30, Northern Illinois 14

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HuskerOnline Week 3 Score Predictions

Week 3	Sean Callahan	Steven Sipple	Robin Washut	Andy Kendeigh	Jim Rose	Mike’l Severe
N. Illinois at Nebraska	27-13 Nebraska	31-18 Nebraska	27-14 Nebraska	21-13 Nebraska	28-7 Nebraska	30-14 Nebraska
Syracuse at Purdue	27-23 Syracuse	31-28 Purdue	21-17 Syracuse	24-21 Purdue	24-21 Purdue	31-27 Syracuse
Washington at Mich. State	41-17 Washington	34-17 Washington	35-14 Washington	31-7 Washington	35-14 Washington	37-23 Washington
Virginia Tech at Rutgers	17-13 Rutgers	24-21 Virginia Tech	28-24 Rutgers	22-10 Rutgers	28-21 Rutgers	30-20 Rutgers
Minnesota at North Carolina	27-17 North Carolina	38-14 North Carolina	31-21 North Carolina	37-17 North Carolina	31-14 North Carolina	38-23 North Carolina
Penn State at Illinois	38-17 Penn State	42-13 Penn State	34-13 Penn State	34-14 Penn State	35-17 Penn State	41-27 Penn State

HuskerOnline pick standings

Picker	Straight Up	Vs. Spread	Cumulative
Sean Callahan	8-4	7-5	15
Robin Washut	8-4	6-6	14
Steven Sipple	7-5	7-5	14
Andy Kendeigh	7-5	6-6	13
Mike’l Severe	7-5	6-6	13
Jim Rose	6-6	6-6	12

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Sean Callahan can be reached at [email protected] and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.

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