Nebraska vs. Rutgers: Keys to victory, HuskerOnline score predictions for Friday
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Nebraska (2-3, 1-1) will try to win their second Big Ten Conference game in a row for the first time since 2018. The Huskers travel to Rutgers (3-2, 0-2) to take on the Scarlet Knights in a nationally televised Friday night game.
As things get closer to kickoff, here are today’s keys to victory for Nebraska over Rutgers.
NU is a 3-point favorite for tonight’s game at SHI Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CST, and the game can be seen on FS1.
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KEYS TO VICTORY: Nebraska vs. Rutgers
KEY 1: Protect Casey Thompson
Rutgers is going to bring the heat on defense. Indiana blitzed Casey Thompson 17 times on 32 dropbacks a week ago. How will the Huskers’ offensive line handle the movement and pressure looks Greg Schiano is going to bring at Thompson? This is the biggest key of the game.
KEY 2: Stand up to Rutgers’ run game
NU head coach Mickey Joseph said this game will be a nine-on-seven drill in practice. The Scarlet Knights will want to run it and limit the overall possessions. Can the Huskers win on early run-downs?
KEY 3: Don’t get beat on special teams
Schiano is a known for having great special teams play. They are going to try to create a play on special teams in some way. NU can’t get beat in this area of the game.
KEY 4: Be ready for a trick play
The Scarlet Knights are also known for drawing up good trick plays. NU has to expect Rutgers to come at them with a few gadget/trick plays.
KEY 5: Finish
This will be a game that comes down to the fourth quarter. We saw the Huskers finish a week ago. They will need to be able to finish for the second week in a row.
EXPERT TAKE: Nebraska vs. Rutgers
Sean Callahan – HuskerOnline Pubisher
This is a good match-up for Nebraska in a lot of ways. Rutgers does not have a dynamic or explosive offense. They struggle on the offensive line. The Blackshirts should have another solid outing. Mark Whipple and the offense will put together some solid drives of their own and take advantage of the Scarlet Knights’ aggressiveness on defense. NU will close the game out in the fourth quarter.
Nebraska 31, Rutgers 24
Steven Sipple – HuskerOnline columnist
This feels like a classic toss-up game. Rutgers’ hard-nosed defense likely will blitz early and often. Nebraska fans should thank heavens that quarterback Casey Thompson is tough enough to keep pulling himself from the turf after big hits. He’ll make just enough big plays in the passing game for his team to prevail, including a couple by Marcus Washington. Look for Washington to re-emerge as a major weapon.
Nebraska 24, Rutgers 20
Robin Washut – HuskerOnline senior writer
Nebraska is trying to accomplish a feat it hasn’t done since 2018 by winning back-to-back Big Ten games. On paper, this looks like another favorable matchup for the Huskers, especially with how they looked in last week’s victory over Indiana. A big part of me still wants to stick with the “prove it” approach before trusting NU to pull this one off. But I’m going with Nebraska anyway.
Nebraska 28, Rutgers 20
Andy Kendeigh – KETV ABC-Omaha
Two quotes stand out this week. Mickey Joseph on Tuesday, “The most physical team will win the game.” Bill Busch on Tuesday, “It’s going to be a grown-man’s fight.” The Huskers took a step forward against Indiana playing physical football, but can they do it on the road against a team known for physicality? Nebraska’s never lost to Rutgers and that trend continues.
Nebraska 27, Rutgers 20
Jim Rose – 1110 KFAB Radio-Omaha
Husker fans need to come down off the Indiana high pronto. Rutgers is a lot better on defense than the Hoosiers. That said, football is a game of momentum. Nebraska has a little of it right now. This week will be another chance to show improvement on defense against one of the lessor offenses in the B1G. This is it for the softies. Starting NEXT week, the chores get a lot tougher.
Nebraska 31, Rutgers 21
Mike’l Severe – Big Red Wrap-Up
The Rutgers defense can be pretty physical especially when it comes to stopping the run. Even after the huge run production they gave up to Ohio State they still are allowing less than 100 yards a game. I think NU has some big success with TEs and RBs out of the backfield and eventually wears down the Scarlet Knights. RU’s OL will struggle in pass pro.
Nebraska 27, Rutgers 17
HuskerOnline Week 6 Score Predictions
| Week 6 | Sean Callahan | Steven Sipple | Robin Washut | Andy Kendeigh | Jim Rose | Mike’l Severe |
| Nebraska at Rutgers | 31-24 Nebraska | 24-20 Nebraska | 28-20 Nebraska | 27-20 Nebraska | 31-21 Nebraska | 27-17 Nebraska |
| Purdue at Maryland | 31-30 Purdue | 28-21 Maryland | 31-21 Maryland | 31-28 Purdue | 42-35 Purdue | 34-23 Maryland |
| Wisconsin at Northwestern | 27-19 Wisconsin | 24-20 Wisconsin | 21-10 Wisconsin | 24-21 Wisconsin | 24-13 Wisconsin | 21-13 Wisconsin |
| Iowa at Illinois | 13-7 Illinois | 21-16 Illinois | 14-13 Iowa | 9-2 Illinois | 21-10 Illinois | 20-17 Illinois |
| TCU at Kansas | 34-24 TCU | 38-24 TCU | 35-30 TCU | 38-31 TCU | 35-24 TCU | 35-30 TCU |
| BYU at Notre Dame | 34-27 Notre Dame | 24-12 BYU | 27-22 Notre Dame | 28-24 Notre Dame | 28-17 Notre Dame | 27-23 BYU |
HuskerOnline Score Prediction Standings
| Expert picker | Straight Up | vs. the Spread | Cumulative Total |
| Mike’l Severe Big Red Wrap-Up | 18-7 | 12-13 | 30 |
| Jim Rose KFAB/iHeart Radio | 13-12 | 14-11 | 27 |
| Steven Sipple HuskerOnline | 12-13 | 13-12 | 25 |
| Robin Washut HuskerOnline | 12-13 | 11-14 | 23 |
| Sean Callahan HuskerOnline | 13-12 | 9-16 | 22 |
| Andy Kendeigh KETV ABC-Omaha | 13-12 | 9-16 | 22 |
