We’ve made it folks, in less than 24 hours the college football season will be upon us. Getting things kicked off is a little appetizer of week zero action featuring three Big Ten squads and one match up is a league game. All times are central but I have a feeling the dueling NU teams will have some jet leg playing in Ireland. Let’s roll!
Game of the Week:
Nebraska vs Northwestern
Two hungry programs square off in Dublin, Ireland looking to kick off a new year right. Nebraska has the honorific of “greatest 3-9 team of all time” after winning three games by blowouts and narrowly losing nine games. Northwestern had all sorts of issues under center and also limped to a 3-9 mark. For the Cornhuskers they cleaned house with tons of new transfers and new coaches to hopefully get this thing sorted out under Scott Frost. Texas transfer Casey Thompson has much more passing acumen than the departed (to Kansas State) Adrian Martinez. For Northwestern they feel like the right QB has been on the roster the whole time, just needed to get right health wise. With a healthy off season for Ryan Hilinski, the Northwestern faithful are hoping even year magic comes through and Northwestern makes some waves, maybe even their third straight divisional title on an even year.
- Saturday, 11:30 am, Fox
Sleeper:
- Wyoming at Illinois
Wyoming went 6-6 and then won a bowl last year. Illinois wants to do at least that in 2022. Problem is, the Illini schedule has some pesky crossover dates (at Michigan and Michigan State) so they need to take advantage of their manageable home games and the Cowboys out of the Mountain West present a winnable home game. Look for Illinois to try and get new QB Tommy DeVito (Syracuse) plenty of reps so he can help this squad win some league games. The ground and pound that Bielema loves to run will be full go and the defense looks strong. All in all, more than enough talent for UI to hold home serve against the legendary Craig Bohl and his boys from out west.
- Saturday, 3:00 pm, BTN
Week Zero Gambling Guide:
Illinois vs Wyoming
- UI -14, Over / Under 43
Well considering I literally just posted Illinois’s preview and had them winning 31-14 I would be pretty dumb not to take them. Picking point totals before a down has been played scares me though. What if the Illini D is for real and posts a shutout? No thank you, not risking it.
Nebraska vs Northwestern
- Neb -11.0, O/U 51.5
In my preview I have Nebraska winning comfortably 38-21. I’ll the Nebraska to cover. I will also completely ignore my own thoughts on the Illinois game and proceed to take the over. I don’t love how Northwestern’s D is shaping up to be and I really like how Nebraska’s O has the chance to generate points.
Lightning Round for Non Readers:
Illinois/Wyoming – UI
Nebraska/Northwestern – Neb, Over
Random Musing:
Who has a longer flight back home? Nebraska from Ireland or Vanderbilt from Hawai’i. Let’s see what the ‘ol google-machine has to say. According to travelmath.com, the ‘Dores are looking at a 9 hour, 11 minute direct flight, assuming they can fly direct. Meanwhile Nebraska’s is “just” 8 hours, 37 minutes. Again, making the same assumptions about the ability to fly directly. Asked and answered.
Big Ten and Counting 