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

Nebraska (5-2, 2-2) will try to get back on track this week at home when Northwestern (5-2, 3-1) comes to Memorial Stadium. The Wildcats have won four straight, including three consecutive games in conference play.

As things get closer to kickoff, here are today’s keys to victory for the Huskers over the Cats. NU enters today’s game as a 7-point favorite.

Saturday’s game is set for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff on FS1.

Sign up to get your first week of HuskerOnline for $1!

---

KEYS TO VICTORY: Northwestern vs. Nebraska

KEY 1: Get the ball out of Raiola’s hand quickly

One of the biggest keys after last week’s nine-sack game at Minnesota is to have a better plan on offense. Dana Holgorsen needs to get the ball out of Dylan Raiola’s hand quicker and move the pocket better on offense.

KEY 2: Limit Northwestern’s rushing yards after contact

We know what Northwestern wants to do in this football game. The Wildcats want to run the football 40+ times for 200+ yards. They want to grind this game out and limit the possessions. They come into Saturday’s game averaging over 4 yards after first contact. The tackling has to be there on Saturday.

KEY 3: Emmett Johnson needs 20+ carries

The times we’ve seen Nebraska’s offense look its best in 2025, there has been great balance in the run game with running back Emmett Johnson. For some reason, his touches last week at Minnesota went away in the second half. Johnson needs 20+ carries in this game to give the offense proper balance.

KEY 4: Run fits and angles

Another thing you can expect in this game is Northwestern trying to put Nebraska’s defense in compromised positions to force bad run fits and angles and create big plays. NU must be buttoned up in this area and not allow explosive runs.

KEY 5: Bring the 11 a.m. energy

11 a.m. games can be a crap shoot, especially on a cold October morning following a rough loss. Nebraska must bring the juice early and get this crowd going. You cannot afford a poor start and make the crowd a non-factor.

---

Expert takes

Sean Callahan – HuskerOnline Publisher

This game will be ugly at times, but Nebraska’s offense will adjust after a disastrous week at Minnesota and put together enough offense to pull out the win against a scrappy Northwestern team. The Wildcat ground game will give NU some problems early, but the Big Red will adjust to force some key second-half stops to earn the win. Emmett Johnson will have 20+ carries for 100+ rushing yards.

Nebraska 27, Northwestern 23

---

Steven Sipple – HuskerOnline columnist

Matt Rhule is paid handsomely to understand the proverbial big picture. My guess is his memorable Monday press conference was orchestrated – in large part — with this game in mind. He knows Northwestern will be a difficult bear to wrestle down. He knows Northwestern can be easy to overlook. If Nebraska puts forth an effort that resembles last week’s performance and comes up short, well, it will get ugly in the fan base. Or shall I say, uglier.

Nebraska 28, Northwestern 24

---

Robin Washut – HuskerOnline senior writer

It’s still only October, but today is officially must-win territory for Nebraska. The Huskers need to bounce back from their worst performance of the season at Minnesota. Given what lies ahead on the November schedule, today also might be their best remaining chance at a victory. This one will come down to the wire, as the battle of the NU’s usually does. Nebraska finds a way in the end.

Nebraska 28, Northwestern 24

---

Andy Kendeigh – KETV ABC-Omaha

Friday was a clunker.  No way around it.  How does Matt Rhule’s team respond after clunkers??   Pretty well, actually.  In 2023, after getting blown out 45-7 to eventual national champion Michigan, Nebraska responded on a short week to win 20-7 at Illinois.  Last year, after getting destroyed 56-7 at Indiana, Nebraska played one of its best games of the season in a 21-17 loss at Ohio State.  A week later, the Huskers played uninspired football in a 27-20 home loss to UCLA and played well in their next game, albeit in a 28-20 loss to USC.  If history teaches us anything, the Huskers will be ready.  Northwestern covers late, but this game is in hand early.

Nebraska 24, Northwestern 21

---

Jim Rose – 1110 KFAB Radio-Omaha

Picking Nebraska is risky business this year.  Proceed with caution.   Seems unfathomable that the Huskers would be checked out mentally in back-to-back weeks.  The players-only meeting Sunday night will either help a lot or hurt a lot.  For once this season, let’s not worry about Dylan Raiola highlights and think about the win.   Which I think comes from committing to the run game.   Power run game.  Draws, sweeps, jet sweeps, misdirection, anything that keeps the ball out of the air.   NW will try to do the same.   Low-scoring affair.  But a MUST win for the Big Red.             

Nebraska 24, Northwestern 17

---

Mike’l Severe – Big Red Wrap-Up

This one comes down to Nebraska deciding they are going to be the ones who punch. Northwestern has a nice bend but don’t break defense, but they are susceptible to speed. Barney, Key, and Hunter can get open if Raiola has time. Also, when Preston Stone throws you an INT, catch it. 

Nebraska 27, Northwestern 17

---

HuskerOnline Week 9 Score Predictions

Week 9	Sean Callahan	Steven Sipple	Robin Washut	Andy Kendeigh	Jim Rose	Mike’l Severe
Northwestern at Nebraska (-7)	27-23 Nebraska	28-24 Nebraska	28-24 Nebraska	24-21 Nebraska	24-17 Nebraska	27-17 Nebraska
Illinois at Washington (-4.5)	34-27 Washington	35-20 Washington	27-21 Illinois	24-17 Illinois	27-24 Washington	30-27 Washington
Minnesota at Iowa (-8.5)	23-17 Iowa	21-17 Iowa	12-11 Iowa	12-6 Iowa	27-17 Iowa	26-13 Iowa
Missouri at Vanderbilt (-3)	28-27 Vandy	37-27 Vandy	20-16 Vandy	30-24 Vandy	31-27 Vandy	30-28 Vandy
Ole Miss at Oklahoma (-4.5)	34-27 Oklahoma	31-27 Oklahoma	33-31 Ole Miss	37-30 Ole Miss	35-31 Oklahoma	28-24 Oklahoma
BYU at Iowa State (-2.5)	31-30 BYU	28-21 BYU	24-23 BYU	27-24 ISU	31-24 BYU	24-17 ISU

Overall standings

Picker	Straight Up	Vs. Spread	Cumulative
Robin Washut	36-13	28-20	64
Sean Callahan	31-18	23-25	54
Jim Rose	28-20	25-23	53
Mike’l Severe	28-20	25-23	53
Andy Kendeigh	29-19	23-25	52
Steven Sipple	30-18	21-27	51

---

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.

---

Never miss breaking news or another HuskerOnline article again. Click HERE to sign up for HuskerOnline’s Daily and Breaking News Newsletters.