Nebraska football remains a betting favorite despite a lackluster performance in its Friday night showdown at Minnesota.
For the third time in as many weeks, the Huskers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) entered as favorites for their home matchup with Northwestern (5-2, 3-1) in the early betting lines. Nebraska started as an 8 1/2-point favorite, as the consensus line adjusted to eight points Sunday morning.
DraftKings placed the Nebraska line as an 8 1/2-point favorite, while FanDuel placed the Huskers as a 7 1/2-point favorite, resetting the consensus average to eight points. The Huskers will play as favorites for the seventh time this season, returning as home favorites since their last home game on Oct. 4 in a 38-27 win over Michigan State. NU has played the role of road favorite in back-to-back contests at Maryland and Minnesota.
Nebraska has only been listed as an underdog once this season, falling to Michigan 30-27 at Memorial Stadium on September 20. The Huskers have been favored in all other contests, including its neutral-site matchup with Cincinnati in the season opener Aug. 28 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
The over/under total for Nebraska and Northwestern was set at 42 1/2 total points and remained at that line Sunday morning. The total is Nebraska’s lowest this season, as the Huskers’ lowest point total last month was 47 1/2 points. The over/under is also Northwestern’s lowest total, nearly matching the 43 1/2 points over/under in its Oct. 4 home game against ULM.
Nebraska is 2-5 this season against the spread in 2025, going 2-2 at Memorial Stadium, 0-3 away at Lincoln and 1-4 as a favorite. The Huskers won the season opener against Cincinnati 20-17, but fell short as a six-point favorite, but bounced back with blowout wins over Akron (68-0) and Houston Christian (59-7) as 34½-point favorites against the Zips and 48½-point favorites against the Huskies. Nebraska’s 30-27 loss to Michigan failed to cover Nebraska’s 1½-point underdog line, as the Huskers then failed to cover the final 13-point spread in a 38-27 home win over Michigan State.
The Huskers failed to cover back-to-back road lines as seven-point favorites at Maryland on Oct. 11, then lost Friday night to Minnesota 24-6, failing to cover the 6 1/2-point spread.
The Huskers are 5-2 this season in their over/under history, with a perfect 4-0 record at home in total points. However, Nebraska failed to cover the point total in its season opener at Arrowhead Stadium against Cincinnati, but came up big against Akron (47½ points), Houston Christian (59½ points), Michigan (47½ points) and Michigan State (48½ points). Nebraska is now 1-1 in road over/unders, scoring 65 total points in the Huskers’ road win at Maryland and covering 47½ total points, but couldn’t muster enough points to match Minnesota’s 47½ point total.
Northwestern is 5-2 against the spread this season, going an impressive 4-1 at home while being 1-1 on the road. The Wildcats are 3-1 in 2025 ATS as a favorite and 2-1 as an underdog. In its last five matchups, Northwestern is 4-1 ATS, covering wins against ULM, Penn State and Purdue. The Wildcats also recorded a home loss to Oregon, with the only ATS loss coming in a 17-14 win over UCLA on September 27.
The Wildcats are 1-5-1 in total plus/minus this season, going 1-3-1 at home, 0-2 on the road, 1-2-1 as a favorite and 0-3 as an underdog. In Northwestern’s last five games, the Wildcats have reached their point total only once in a 42-7 home win over ULM on Oct. 4. Northwestern failed to score against Oregon (50 ½ points), UCLA (46 ½ points), Penn State (46 ½ points) and Purdue (47 ½ points).
Northwestern is tied for fourth in the Big Ten Conference standings after four conference games with a 3-1 Big Ten record. The Wildcats sit behind Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon and are tied with USC, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota after conference wins over UCLA, Penn State and Purdue. The Wildcats’ only conference loss was a 34-14 home loss to Oregon on September 13 to open Big Ten play. Northwestern will arrive in Lincoln on Saturday riding a three-game winning streak following its 19-0 home win over Purdue.
“[I am] Really excited about how our defense was able to close with the shutout. It’s a big deal,” Northwestern coach David Braun said after the Wildcats’ win over Purdue. “At the end of the day, we just said it in the locker room, it’s a team shutout. When you win the battle on the ground like we did today, and when you win the battle for possession like we did today, that’s great football.”
Nebraska is tied for ninth in the Big Ten Conference with a 2-2 conference record and a 5-2 overall mark. The Huskers tie Illinois and Washington’s records after conference wins over Michigan State and Maryland and losses to Michigan and Minnesota. The Huskers’ two-game winning streak was snapped Friday in a 24-6 road loss to Minnesota.
“Obviously, it’s very disappointing. Credit to them. They were the most physical team,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said Friday night after the Huskers’ loss to Minnesota. “They made the plays they needed to make and they beat us pretty convincingly. Hats off and obviously disappointed for our guys.”
“On offense…there were missed assignments, there were mental errors. It was really, really disappointing…On defense, it was just like penalties and things like that. I thought we had a really good week of practice, we traveled really well. Nothing led me to think it was going to happen like that,” Rhule said.
Nebraska returns home to Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium to host Northwestern on Saturday. Kick-off time and TV broadcast information have not yet been announced. The contest can be heard on Husker Radio Network affiliate stations.
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