Iowa vs Maryland
Saturday, September 5
Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA
Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: It’s the third ever meeting between the two teams with Iowa up 2-1 with wins in the last two games.
And this is when it tries to put a rocky offseason in the rearview mirror with a rock-solid performance against a Maryland team that’s still trying to put everything together.
The Terps will just enough offensive firepower and speed to come up with a few good scoring drives, but defensive line is going to get hammered on, and the secondary will give up two deep balls as Iowa opens it up.
First Thought Prediction: Iowa 45, Maryland 14
First Thought Line Guess: Iowa -20
Nebraska vs Rutgers
Saturday, September 5
SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ
Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: Out of all the Week 1 matchups, even though it’s a few weeks from right now, this is the one most in peril after an outbreak at Rutgers.
Let’s assume that all is fine by September 5th.
The two first met in 1920 with Nebraska winning 28-0, and the three games as Big Ten brothers haven’t gone a whole lot better for the Scarlet Knights, who lost all three.
In the first game under Greg Schiano, Rutgers will get out to a hot start with surprising offensive pop and balance on the way to an early lead. Nebraska’s attack will eventually start to get the passing game going enough to take over.
There won’t be any Rutgers answers in the fourth.
First Thought Prediction: Nebraska 34, Rutgers 17
First Thought Line Guess: Nebraska -24
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