Josh Kelly, Senior Sports Editor – Minnesota 27, Nebraska 23

Heading into the season, no one would’ve been able to guess that a 2-4 Nebraska team would be visiting a 4-2 Minnesota team. No one would’ve guessed that the Gophers would be tied for third in the Big Ten West with Wisconsin and Illinois, either. But that’s just how this season has gone so far.

Nebraska has lost by a combined 11 points in its four losses, and Minnesota hasn’t lived up to expectations at all. The Gophers’ largest margin of victory this season came on Saturday when they defeated Purdue 41-13. The next closest is a three-way tie among their wins against Colorado State, Kent State and Ohio, which were won by a field goal. So, neither have done anything special this season.

It’s tough to tell whether the worst is behind Nebraska. Each week, you think they’ll bounce back and yell the “Hip-Hip-Hooray” chant along with Mike Riley. But each week, they’ve manage to let the game slip away at the last second.

This week, Nebraska and Minnesota will exchange leads plenty of times. Minnesota will be the last to get the ball, though. The Gophers will win their third game in a row against the Huskers.

Brett Nierengarten, Online Sports Editor – Nebraska 17, Minnesota 13

In my season preview for the Huskers, I had them dropping this game to Minnesota, but as bad as things have looked for Nebraska, this season things may be worse at Minnesota.

The Gophers are 4-2 and have also won a conference game, but those numbers are not indicative for how bad Minnesota has been this season.

The Gophers four wins have come against Colorado State, Ohio, Kent State and Purdue. The first three were by a combined nine points.

This is going to be one of those cringe-worthy games for Big Ten offenses.

Minnesota’s offense had struggled moving the ball until Saturday’s 41-13 win against Purdue. And they moved the ball on the ground, rushing for 326 yards as a team. Even with 41 points last week, the Gophers still have the worst scoring offense in the Big Ten.

Mitch Leidner has struggled this season. He has thrown only six touchdown passes and has completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,009 yards, with only 59 against Purdue.

Minnesota does most of its damage in the run game, Nebraska has the third best run defense in the league.

I expect a good game from the Husker defense, and think, Nebraska gets just enough done on offense to win.

Nick Wilkinson, Print Sports Editor – Minnesota 27, Nebraska 17

Jerry Kill and his Golden Gophers are working on their third straight win against Nebraska. With the way Nebraska’s season is going, things are looking great for kill this weekend.

I’ve heard countless times this season that Nebraska is so many seconds from being undefeated. Why is that relevant? The Huskers made mistakes late in the game, and they lost. Mark Banker’s defense gave up more than 60 yards in less than a minute to Wisconsin last Saturday. Those final minutes that have kept Nebraska from a 6-0 record are there for a reason.

Besides an embarrassing loss to Northwestern in Evanston two weeks ago, the Gophers are hoping a win against Nebraska will vault them into leading the Big Ten West. I’ll bet you they want this win more than the Huskers do.

But who needs it more? There are a handful of Huskers dying for a consistent leap into the rest of the season, one of which is junior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. To me, Armstrong looks like a completely different player than last year and has what it takes to lead his team to victories.

All that’s stopping Armstrong is the defensive secondary playing musical chairs. They can’t find the right pieces to complete their deep pass protection. Again, they let a quarterback pass for more than 320 yards.

When that stops, they will win.

Vanessa Daves, Football Beat Writer – Nebraska 20 – Minnesota 17

Minnesota’s 4-2, and Nebraska’s record is the opposite of that. The last two meetings have resulted in a Minnesota win, but this time, it’ll be different. Minnesota was defeated by Northwestern last weekend, and Nebraska almost won against Wisconsin. Nebraska will win, but it won’t be a very high-scoring game.

The Huskers have a hard time delivering on third down and especially in the red zone. Kicker Drew Brown tied an NCAA record this season; a few field goals against Minnesota are inevitable. And the Husker defense? It looked good against Wisconsin. Joshua Kalu, Chris Weber, Jonathan Rose and Marcus Newby really stepped it up on Saturday, and Wisconsin suffered because of it. Still, the defense will most likely give up some points to the Golden Gophers. And there’s something to say for the fact that it’s a road game, too.

On top of that, we can’t forget the fact that Minnesota is 4-2. Its record is better than Nebraska, and maybe it’s because the team’s schedule has been easier, but that also means its confidence is higher. Regardless, it’ll be another close game. But at this point, are we even surprised?

Michael Dixon, Football Beat Writer – Nebraska 20, Minnesota 10

Can it get any worse?

The answer’s yes, and a loss in Minneapolis could be the darkest moment in the program’s history.

For all intents and purposes, Nebraska is three first downs away from being 5-1. But the revered Bill Parcells used to say, “You are what you are.”

I tend to believe that to be true, and for that reason, look for Nebraska to finally turn this disastrous season around with a win. The Huskers are better than Minnesota, but they badly need to play like it. While a run to Indianapolis is all-but-farce, bowl eligibility isn’t out of the question.

Nebraska’s pass defense, outside of Wisconsin’s final two drives, has improved significantly, and next up is Mitch Leidner, who was benched against Northwestern and wasn’t too far away from losing his job completely against Purdue.

In general, with the Gophers’ 41-point breakout against Purdue an outlier, Minnesota won’t move the ball easily. Nebraska’s defense is stout enough to keep UM at bay long enough for quarterback Tommy Armstrong to regain his footing and lead Nebraska to victory.

It’ll be close, but Nebraska will finally break this nasty curse of losing on the final play — if not, 3-9 or 4-8 becomes a haunting reality.

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