Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 08/31/2023

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Thursday, August 31, 2023

Venue:  Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN 

Where to Watch:  FOX

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Nebraska +7.5, Minnesota -7.5; Over/Under:  44.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Nebraska +7.5, Minnesota -7.5; Over/Under:  44.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Nebraska +7.5, Minnesota -7.5; Over/Under:  45.5 points

Nebraska Cornhuskers:  0-0 (Big Ten West)

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  0-0 (Big Ten West)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Kyle Hunter is coming off a GREAT YEAR in NCAAF going 70% in CFB Last Season (57-24)! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Nebraska Cornhuskers:  N/A

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  N/A

Nebraska finished last season with a 4-8 record overall and they had a 3-6 record in their conference games too.  They were 2-5 in their home games, 2-2 in their road games, and they were also 0-1 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be on the road for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 22.6 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 27.6 points per game. Their offense also averaged 344.2 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 414.4 yards per game. Casey Thompson led the team in passing yards with 2407, Anthony Grant led the team in rushing yards with 915, and Trey Palmer led the team in receiving yards with 1043.

 

 

 

Minnesota finished last season with a 9-4 record overall and they had a 5-4 record in their conference games too.  They were 5-2 in their home games, 3-2 in their road games, and they were also 1-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be at home for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 28.2 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 13.8 points per game. Their offense also averaged 389.5 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 294.7 yards per game. Tanner Morgan led the team in passing yards with 1382, Mohamed Ibrahim led the team in rushing yards with 1665, and Daniel Jackson led the team in receiving yards with 557.

The current betting odds have Minnesota listed as a 7.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Minnesota had a pretty good season last year, they were only 5-4 in their conference games as they ended up coming up short in their division of the Big Ten but they were still a really good team with a 9-4 record overall. They were also really good in their home games with a 5-2 record there and they had a really good defense that was one of the best in the country as they were giving up very few points in their games. Nebraska was a disaster last season as they were 3-6 in their conference games and finished with a 4-8 record overall. Nebraska was supposed to be an improved team last season but ended up having to fire their head coach which really set them back for that season. Now they have a new head coach with Matt Rhule running the show and once again this Nebraska team should be better this season, but Rhule is not going to have this team ready right away in his 1st game with them and Minnesota still has a really good team with a great defense that will make scoring very difficult for Nebraska in this entire game. The best way to place a bet here is on Minnesota to cover the spread in this game. 

Nebraska Minnesota Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Thursday, August 31, 2023 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Minnesota 21 Nebraska 10.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Nebraska Cornhuskers Minnesota Golden Gophers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

Nebraska Cornhuskers: 8-4 ATS as an underdog. 8-4 ATS as a road underdog of 7.5 to 14 points. 7-1 ATS in a road game where the total is between 42.5 and 45. 8-4 UNDER as an underdog. 6-3 UNDER in a road game where the total is between 42.5 and 45.

Minnesota Golden Gophers: 4-8 ATS as a home favorite of 7.5 to 10 points. 6-11 ATS in a home game where the total is between 42.5 and 45. 11-6 UNDER as a favorite. 9-5 UNDER in home games. 

Nebraska Cornhuskers:  R. Johnson (RB) Ques Aug 31 - Hamstring. M. Noonan (LB) out for season - Knee. M. Washington (WR) Ques Aug 31 - Hand. B. Tagaloa (DL) out for season - Knee. A. Grant (RB) Out indefinitely - Suspension.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  J. Geers (TE) Out indefinitely - Leg.

“I’m confident we’re going to play hard. I’m confident we’re going to be a physical team. I’m confident that if things don’t go well early, that we’re not going to panic. I’m confident that if things do go well early, we’re not going to celebrate. And I’m confident we’ll have fun together.” - Matt Rhule on his team coming into this new college football season.

"We're preparing for ghosts. We have no idea what we're going to face." - P.J. Fleck on his team preparing for this 1st game of the season against Nebraska and their new coaching staff.

WR Washington, Marcus 

WR Betts, Zavier 

WR Kemp IV, Billy 

TE Boerkircher, Nate 

QB Sims, Jeff 

RB Ervin Jr., Gabe 

FB Bonner, Janiran 

WR Jackson, Daniel 

WR Autman-Bell, Chris 

WR Crooms Jr., Corey 

TE Spann-Ford, Brevyn 

QB Kaliakmanis, Athan 

RB Tyler, Sean 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

Nebraska Cornhuskers: Matt Rhule (1st season)

Minnesota Golden Gophers: P.J. Fleck (7th season)