With many things on this team actually trending well or at least improving - but crippling issues in one other crucial area - these two weeks are suddenly critical for a Huskers squad which has Michigan looming on the other side.

THE BETTING BASICS

Current Line: Nebraska -11
Moneyline: Nebraska -440/Northern Illinois +340
Over/Under: 43 (-110 each way)
ESPN Analytics Matchup Predictor: Huskers 75.8%/Colorado 24.2%

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

HOW SHOULD YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY

Many people consider the Jackass TV show/movies far, far beneath themselves. I do not. And neither does my father as I discovered one Xmas when I unwrapped the original Jackass movie DVD, only to have dad pull me aside and whisper, “Your mom’s going out of town in a couple of weeks. Bring that over one of those nights so I can watch it. I’ll make chili dogs.”

Done and done. Wonderful bonding evening.

So why do I bring it up? Simple. One of the Jackass cast members is a jovial dude named Ehren McGhehey who continually subjects himself to the most harrowing stunts and abuses the show has to offer. In the recent Jackass Forever, his schtick was wearing a cup repeatedly having his crotch subjected to trauma through bits such as The Bear Prank, The Dum Dum Game, and The Hockey Test.

None chilled me harder than The Cup Test featuring Ehren, clad only in said jockstrap, agreeing to take a punch to the groin from former UFC Heavyweight Champ, Francis Ngannou, a gentlemen known for his punching power. To make matters worse, Johnny Knoxville had promised the blow would be coming from a lightweight.

“THAT’S NOT A F***IN LIGHTWEIGHT!!!!” Ehren screamed as Francis turned the corner. Nope. Anyway, CLICK HERE & ENJOY:

Why, you may ask yourself, would Ehren subject himself to this abuse over and over? Well, maybe we should ask ourselves the same question after two more right hooks to our psychological junk to open the season, eh? I think for both of us, maybe we walk a little taller knowing we can take the pain and keep bouncing back.

Also, Ehren gets paid to do this and so should you.

Now I understand sports betting, but as stated previously, I’m not very good at it, or else I’d be doing that and not this. However, my good friend Mark who hasn’t yet met a sport on which he can’t wager has agreed to provide some weekly help to Husker fans who deserve some cash in lieu of actual W’s. Here are his thoughts this week:

The wager: Northern Illinois Over/Under: 15 ¹⁄₂

“I think the best bet is Northern Illinois UNDER 15 ¹⁄₂ . Our defense is still stout. Plus the new play clock rules (basically for more TV timeouts) give them plenty of rest even on three and outs.

Also, if there’s a turnover Over/Under, take the over.”

GAME THOUGHTS

Hey, we didn’t get off to the start we wanted, but now we get lower end non-conference games like Northern Illinois so -

Ah, shit snacks.

On the upside, this is not perennial MAC contender NIU, rather one coming off a 3-9 season who coach is feeling the fire (see below). Currently 1-1 with a win over Boston college (yay) and a loss to FCS/1-AA Southern Illinois (ouch). They have struggled offensively averaging 2.9 YPC rushing while 6th year QB and former Michigan St. transfer Rocky Lombardi is sporting a stat line of 36-66 54.5% 1 TD and 3 INT’s - which is bad but still exceeds our efforts.

There isn’t currently much to worry about in the way of big plays there and the Blackshirts should not have much trouble holding them to 12-13 points or less - if the offense can finally get something going. Which honestly may not be as easy as people are thinking or hoping it will.

Defensively, the Huskies have actually been pretty stout thus far only allowing 266 YDS and 20.5 PPG. Our talent advantage and the way we’ve been running the ball the first two games should allow for some longer drives. However, if Sims’ issues continue, we could be eyeballing something along the lines of the 13-10 Minnesota score and champagne tub baths for everyone who’s betting the mortgage on the unders weekly.

GAME DAY INFO

Date/Time: Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 6:00pm CDT

Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln NE

Surface: Field Turf (Crafted by The Bobfather himself in Husker Valhalla)

Opposition Blog: Check out Northern Illinois news at Hustle Belt, SBNation’s MAC site.

Series Record: Nebraska leads the all-time series 3-1. But, oh, that one.

TV: The game will be televised on FS1 with Play-by-Play: Jeff Levering; Analyst: Mark Helfrich. It can be streamed on the Fox Sports app with a login from your service provider.

Radio: Huskers Radio Network. The audio can also be streamed live for free at Huskers.com The crew will be: Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, and Jessica Coody. The pre- and post-game shows will be handled by Matt Coatney, Jessica Coody & Ben McLaughlin.

More streaming options: The official Huskers app is available on iTunes and Google Play. You can access the Spanish broadcast on Huskers.com the Huskers app with Kike Morales, Oscar Monterroso & Hannah Bassham.

Weather: On Saturday, the temperature in Lincoln is expected to be around 75 degrees and sunny around kickoff dropping to 64 or so by game’s end.

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

TRIVIA

When it comes to coaching hot seats, Nebraska has become synonymous with the term since 2002 or so. However, and despite some furor over Matt Rhule’s 0-2 start, the man on the hot seat in this matchup is Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock entering his 5th season with the Huskies. He has roller-coasted his way to an 18-28 record which does not meet standards for a historically successful program. A tie for a division title in 2021 was the apex before dropping to 3-9 last season.

Despite Nebraska’s 3-1 lead in the series, it is best remembered for the 2017 matchup in which Tanner Lee tossed two 1st quarter pick-6’s to set the stage for the 21-17 NIU upset over the Huskers. In the end, the loss proved worth it when Nebraska AD Shawn “The Invisible Man” Eichorst was finally fired.

The firing was his only punishment, however fan polls also called for “Public Beheading”, “Marathon Man Nazi Dentistry” (see below), and “60 Minutes In Polar Bear Enclosure After Being Slathered in Bacon Grease” respectively. All very reasonable but ignored.

Nebraska Cornhuskers