Northwestern vs. Nebraska

This Big 10 opener is in Dublin, Ireland, of all places. Both teams are rebuilding off of 3-9 seasons, but the similarities end there. Northwestern was terrible on both sides of the ball in 2021 and looks just as bad coming in. The defense was 101st nationally, surrendering 429.5 yards per game, and they lost star LB Chris Bergin, who led college football in tackles. The secondary doesn't return any players who had an interception. The offense returns QB Ryan Hilinski (three TDs, four INTs), lacks skill position talent, and it scored 14 or fewer points in seven of its final eight games. One of those games was a 56-7 loss to this Nebraska squad as the Huskers rolled up 657 yards (427 rushing). Nebraska was 20th in the nation offensively, averaging 447.6 yards per game and adds offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who comes from Pittsburgh. New QB Casey Thompson is aboard, and he was impressive with 24 TDs and nine picks last season at Texas. Four of the top five tacklers return on defense to a team that lost to six ranked teams by an average of six points. That includes a 23-16 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma, a 23-20 OT loss to No. 20 Michigan State, a 32-29 defeat to No. 9 Michigan, and a 26-17 loss to No. 5 Ohio State. Also, Nebraska is 14-5-2 ATS on natural grass. Make the play Nebraska.