Nebraska at Missouri Preview
Columbia, MO - Nebraska has had little trouble shutting down opponents, while Missouri has been scoring with ease. Those trends seem unlikely to continue as the teams begin Big 12 play.
With both squads coming off a bye, the No. 21 Cornhuskers and 24th-ranked Tigers open their conference schedules at Faurot Field on Thursday night.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sports Interaction have made Alabama -17 point spread favorites (View College Football odds) for Thursday’s game (Game Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 85% of bets for this game have been placed on Alabama -17 (View College Football bet percentages).
"Now the season starts. Right now. That's the way we look at it,'' Huskers coach Bo Pelini said after a 55-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 26. "Time to put the foot on the gas pedal and go. We have a long season and challenges in front of us.''
The Huskers (3-1) faced few challenges during nonconference play, defeating Sun Belt Conference foes Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State and Lafayette by a combined 142-12. Nebraska's loss came at then-No. 13 Virginia Tech on Sept. 19, when the Hokies scored with 21 seconds left for a 16-15 win.
The Huskers bounced back from that stunning loss with the lopsided victory over the Ragin' Cajuns, allowing a season-low 222 yards in their first shutout since 2006.
The offense had another solid performance with Zac Lee passing for 238 yards and a TD in just more than a half of work, while running back Roy Helu scored twice.
Nebraska is 19th in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 440.0 yards per game and ninth with 39.3 points a contest, but the defense has been even better.
The Huskers are first in FBS in scoring defense (7.0) and their 28 points allowed are their fewest yielded through four games since 1990.
"We've made progress but we're nowhere near where I believe we need to be,'' Pelini said. "We're in the right galaxy now. Last year we were a few solar systems away. We're playing well in some areas, we're playing inconsistent in some other areas. We'll find out."
In Pelini's first year as Huskers' coach last season, the defense allowed an average of 28.5 points.
Nebraska opened conference play with a 52-17 loss to then-No. 4 Missouri last Oct. 4 in its most lopsided defeat at Memorial Stadium since 1955. The teams went on to tie for first in the Big 12 North.
Missouri (4-0) was led by Heisman Trophy contender Chase Daniel last season, but Blaine Gabbert has prevented the Tigers from experiencing much of a drop off at quarterback this year.
Gabbert passed for 414 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-21 win at Nevada on Sept. 25. He has thrown for 1,161 yards and 11 TDs with no interceptions this season.
The sophomore directs an offense that ranks 15th in FBS in points per game (36.8) and 16th in yards per contest (453.0), although he has yet to face a defense that is nearly as talented as Nebraska's.
The combined record of Missouri's four opponents is 6-12, with Football Championship Subdivision team Furman accounting for three of those victories against its Southern Conference foes.
"Nebraska has a bunch of good playmakers, and they have a great scheme under coach Pelini, so we're just going to go out there and compete," Gabbert said.
The Tigers should have an advantage playing at Faurot Field. Missouri has won 23 of 27 home games and taken three straight over Nebraska at Faurot.
Nebraska has lost seven in a row and 14 of 15 road games against ranked opponents.
"This is it. This is the road to the Big 12 championship, and it starts with us and Nebraska on Thursday night," Missouri defensive lineman Jaron Baston said. "There's no better way to start it out than on a Thursday night in front of a national crowd to show people that we're still here to stay."
NCAA Football Odds & Trends: Nebraska at Missouri
The top 25 schedule for the sixth week of college football opens with a key battle in the Big XII North when No. 21 Nebraska travels to No. 24 Missouri on Friday for a 9PM ET kickoff from Memorial Stadium.
Missouri has had Nebraska’s number as of late, winning the last two meetings by 35 points each. Now, the Tigers are off to a 4-0 start behind new quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who has thrown for 1,161 yards with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions in four games. Danario Alexander and Jared Perry have each caught at least 25 passes for 380 yards and the two have nine combined touchdown receptions. The Tigers rank fourth in the Big XII in passing yards, but those numbers are skewed as the conference is very pass-happy. Defensively, the Tigers are near the top of the conference in fewest points allowed, but rank in the bottom half in yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and rushing yards allowed. Last week may have been the Tigers’ biggest win of the year, beating Nevada 31-21 on the road, but Missouri still allowed over 200 yards rushing to the Wolfpack in the win.
Nebraska’s road to 3-1 has been much more challenging that Missouri’s road to 4-0 thus far. The Huskers lone loss came in a disappointing 16-15 defeat to Virginia Tech on the road, where the Hokies scored the game-winning touchdown in the closing minutes of the game. Aside from the loss to Virginia Tech, Nebraska has rolled past its other non-conference foes by a combined score of 142-12, including a 55-0 shutout of Louisiana-Lafayette last weekend. Currently Nebraska ranks third in the conference in points scored per-game. Zac Lee has been solid for Nebraska at quarterback, completing 65 percent of his passes while throwing for 927 yards and seven touchdowns. Roy Helu has led the Nebraska offense though, with 464 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Defensively, the Huskers are first in the Big XII in fewest points allowed and are second in fewest passing yards allowed. Friday will be the biggest challenge yet for the Huskers’ secondary.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL have made Nebraska 3.5-point road favorites over Missouri on Friday night. The over/under total for this game has been established at 52.5.
College Football Week 6 Betting Trends
All games in this series since 1992
MISSOURI is 9-8 against the spread versus NEBRASKA since 1992
NEBRASKA is 13-4 straight up against MISSOURI since 1992
5 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL since 1992
Games over the last 3 seasons
MISSOURI is 2-0 against the spread versus NEBRASKA over the last 3 seasons
MISSOURI is 2-0 straight up against NEBRASKA over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
All games played at MISSOURI since 1992
MISSOURI is 5-3 against the spread versus NEBRASKA since 1992
NEBRASKA is 5-3 straight up against MISSOURI since 1992
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL since 1992
Games played at MISSOURI over the last 3 seasons.
MISSOURI is 1-0 against the spread versus NEBRASKA over the last 3 seasons
MISSOURI is 1-0 straight up against NEBRASKA over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
NEBRASKA: 12-30 ATS Away off home win by 17+ pts
MISSOURI: 10-3 ATS 1st month of season
Nebraska is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Nebraska is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Missouri is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Nebraska
Missouri is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Nebraska
Week 6 College Football Injury Report
NEBRASKA
[RB] 09/06/2009 - Quentin Castille has been dismissed from the team ( Dismissed )
S 09/28/2009 - Larry Asante is upgraded to probable Thursday vs Missouri ( Ankle )
S 09/28/2009 - Rickey Thenarse injured last game, doubtful Thursday vs Missouri ( Knee )
[CB] 09/28/2009 - Prince Amukamara is upgraded to probable Thursday vs Missouri ( Leg )
MISSOURI
[QB] 09/04/2009 - Blaine Dalton has left team ( Dismissed )
[LB] 09/25/2009 - Josh Tatum missed last game, "?" Thursday 10/8 vs Nebraska ( Back )
Nebraska at Missouri Current Odds
Nebraska Cornhuskers -3.5 Over 52.5 (-175)
Missouri Tigers +3.5 Under 52.5 (+155)