For the second straight year, Nebraska is in a bowl game. Unlike last year, however, the Huskers find themselves facing down No. 15 Utah in Las Vegas in what is now a toss-up game since the regular season concluded. Numerous changes to both the coaching staff and the depth chart make this matchup more likely for Nebraska, despite the odds not being in its favor.
Utah’s former head coach, Kyle Whittingham, took the Michigan position weeks after announcing this game would be his last. Now, the Utes enter Wednesday with defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley making his head coaching debut.
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These bombshells could shake up Utah’s overall mentality heading into the matchup, going from a send-off game for Whittingham to the start of a new era in Salt Lake City. However, the Utes still hold their offensive and defensive coordinators for the New Year’s Eve clash.
Alongside Scalley, Jason Beck remains at Utah for now and is likely to continue coordinating one of the top offenses in the nation. On the season, the Utes averaged just under 270 rushing yards, just under 209 passing yards and over 41 points per game.
This already spells trouble for Nebraska’s defense, which allowed over 193 rushing yards and just under 30 points across the last six games. Though the Huskers do come in with a new defensive coordinator, Rob Aurich, who helped San Diego State to three shutouts and held eight of its 12 opponents to 10 or fewer points. The Aztecs also held foes to under 266 total yards and under 13 points per game.
Nebraska also made an offensive coaching change, bringing in Georgia Tech offensive line coach Geep Wade to help the pipeline. The Huskers struggled this season in protection, surrendering 30 sacks, which limited their offense, especially after Dylan Raiola’s injury.
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TJ Lateef remains the starter for Nebraska, but the run game is now without Emmett Johnson, who declared for the NFL Draft following a historic season. This, along with Utah’s defense holding foes to under 18 points, does give the Huskers a steeper hill to climb.
The Utes, however, also come into the matchup missing some star power. Utah is without two key linemen, both of whom declared for the NFL draft, which could cause a leak in the pipeline that the Blackshirts could exploit.
Defensive end Logan Fano also declared for the draft, leaving the Utes without their top two sack leaders. John Henry Daley, who led the team with 11.5 sacks, suffered an injury in the final regular-season game. This could allow Nebraska’s offense to open up the playbook.
Also, this Big Ten/Big 12 matchup is not without some key losses. Nebraska’s previous two losses hit hard, being blown out by Iowa and Penn State. Those came due to a lack of fight in the trenches, which may or may not be affected now with the new defensive coordinator. Utah’s losses came at the hands of the top teams in the Big 12. The Utes fell big to Texas Tech, 34-10, and came up short against BYU, 24-21.
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Utah steamrolled the rest of its schedule, winning all but one game by double digits. The Utes also blew out Cincinnati 45-14, while Nebraska barely survived a 20-17 victory.
However, Utah’s final three games resulted in more unbalanced wins. Despite blowing out Baylor 55-28 and rushing for 380 yards, the Utes still surrendered 430 passing yards. Utah also found itself in a 51-47 shootout win over Kansas State, where it allowed 472 rushing yards. Then, the Utes trailed 14-10 to Kansas heading into the fourth, but took off and won 31-21, despite coughing up nearly 300 rushing yards.
These late outings, on top of Utah’s loss of stars in the front lines and head coach, provide Nebraska with an opportunity to make this game closer than previously expected. However, Utah’s offense is still likely going to find ways to break down the Huskers’ defense and do just enough to put the game out of reach.
Score Prediction: Utah 27, Nebraska 20
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Expert score prediction: Nebraska vs. Utah
