{"id":214549,"date":"2025-10-10T15:18:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T15:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/214549\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T15:18:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T15:18:08","slug":"three-reasons-nebraska-will-win-three-reasons-nebraska-will-lose-vs-maryland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/214549\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Reasons Nebraska Will Win; Three Reasons Nebraska Will Lose vs. Maryland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in August, we wrote that the success of Nebraska\u2019s season could come down to four games against the \u201cM\u201d schools: <\/a>Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland and Minnesota. The suggestion was that a positive result \u2014 say 3-1 \u2014 through these four games <\/a>could set up Nebraska for its best season in a decade.<\/p>\n

We still believe that to be true.<\/p>\n

The Huskers are 1-1 in the first two \u201cM\u201d games and face a critical game Saturday at Maryland, Nebraska\u2019s first true road game of the season. Huskers coach Matt Rhule is only 2-8 in Big Ten road games.<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s game (2:30 CT) presents an interesting dichotomy. You have long-time traditional powerhouse Nebraska going against a Maryland team new to national consideration for its football program.<\/p>\n

Both teams are 4-1. The Huskers are 6.5-point favorites <\/a>at most sportsbooks.<\/p>\n

For every game, we will give you three reasons the Huskers will win and three reasons they won\u2019t. Unlike previous years, perhaps, we won\u2019t see Maryland swooning at the sight of the Huskers.<\/p>\n

Offense<\/p>\n

The Huskers have the 11th-ranked scoring offense<\/a> in college football, averaging 42.4 points per game. If you take away the Akron and Houston Christian games, the Huskers have averaged 28.3 points per game against three FBS opponents. That would rank the Huskers 70th.<\/p>\n

Still, Nebraska can find the end zone and its offense might be enough to carry the Huskers to victory.<\/p>\n

Nebraska\u2019s offense heavily leans on Dylan Raiola<\/a> and the passing game. The Huskers, 30th in the national in total offense, are eighth in passing offense (320.2 yards per game), and 101st in running offense (129.2 yards per game).<\/p>\n

Maryland\u2019s total defense ranks 41st (318.4 yards per game). Offense wins.<\/p>\n

Defense<\/p>\n

The Huskers have the nation\u2019s No. 1 passing defense and the 11th-best overall defense. Maryland\u2019s offense is ranked 97th. This looks like a clear advantage for the Huskers.<\/p>\n

Nebraska\u2019s pass defense might be a handful for Maryland true freshman quarterback Malik Washington. Washington is talented and has tasted success this season.<\/p>\n

\"Nebraska<\/p>\n

Nebraska defensive back Marques Buford Jr. tackles Cincinnati running back Tawee Walker in the season opener. \/ Frank Bowen IV\/The Enquirer \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

An overwhelming feeling says savvy Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler will cook up schemes to control Washington and pressure him up the middle and contain him on the edges.<\/p>\n

Tradition<\/p>\n

Maryland has had three winning seasons in the last 10 years. The Terps haven\u2019t won nine games since 2010.<\/p>\n

Tradition isn\u2019t something you dial up in a week or two, or even in a season or two. When current Nebraska players talk, they often talk about the legacy of the uniform they\u2019re wearing and restoring the five-time national champion Huskers back to elite status.<\/p>\n

Tradition can be a powerful force to overcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Malik Washington<\/p>\n

The talented freshman quarterback is the best dropback passer the Huskers have faced this season. He\u2019s young, he\u2019s inexperienced but he\u2019s fearless, too.<\/a> He\u2019s got a strong arm, he delivers the\u00a0ball on target and he makes good decisions.<\/p>\n

His stats are excellent: 110-of-183 passes (60.1 percent) for 1,257 yards, nine touchdowns and only two interceptions. His 183 pass attempts lead the Big Ten.<\/p>\n

\"Maryland<\/p>\n

Maryland freshman quarterback Malik Washington leads the Big Ten with 183 pass attempts. \/ Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

How Washington plays is how the Terps\u2019 offense plays. If he finds his rhythm and connects with his talented tight end Dorian Fleming, the Terps won\u2019t go away. Fleming has 21 receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Washington also has several wideouts who have enjoyed success this season.<\/p>\n

Bounce-back game<\/p>\n

Maryland was 4-0 going into last Saturday\u2019s game against Washington. The Terps led 20-0, and 20-3 going into the fourth quarter. And lost to the Huskies, 24-20.<\/p>\n

Was that a traditional football powerhouse overcoming a program not quite sure how to win a big game? Yeah, maybe.<\/p>\n

What Maryland does starting Saturday could determine whether the Terps will be a .500-ish team or something greater. If Maryland is for real \u2014 or hopes to be \u2014 expect a big performance Saturday against Nebraska, an opponent that represents a big-time trophy for the mantel.<\/p>\n

\"Maryland<\/p>\n

Maryland coach Michael Locksley saw his team lose to Washington after leading, 20-3, in the fourth quarter. \/ Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Terps are at an interesting crossroads. Beat Nebraska and keep the magic alive. Lose to Nebraska and, maybe, the rest of the season is a struggle \u2014 a feeling with which the Terps are familiar.<\/p>\n

Run offense<\/p>\n

Since Nebraska\u2019s pass defense is all but impenetrable, Maryland has to look elsewhere. That will be Nebraska\u2019s run defense, ranked a mediocre 88th in the country. Nebraska allows 115.6 yards per game.<\/p>\n

But Maryland\u2019s rushing offense averages only 93.2 yards per game, 128th in the nation. Maryland coach Michael Locksley said during the week that running the ball might be the Terps\u2019 best strategy given the strength of Nebraska\u2019s pass defense.<\/p>\n

Nebraska\u2019s season goals still are out there. Nebraska caught a break in that Michigan\u2019s Bryce Underwood and Washington are going to be a terrific quarterbacks, but maybe not now as true freshmen. Both will be awesome as sophomores and even better as juniors. Nebraska contained Underwood but even though Washington is more developed, the Huskers should prevail. <\/p>\n

Nebraska 31, Maryland 17. <\/p>\n

Season record: 5-0.<\/p>\n

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/p>\n

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking\u00a0Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI<\/a>,\u00a0subscribing to\u00a0HuskerMax on YouTube<\/a>, and visiting\u00a0HuskerMax.com<\/a>\u00a0daily. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Back in August, we wrote that the success of Nebraska\u2019s season could come down to four games against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-214549","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}