Blowout or Embarrassment for Nebraska?

Say a prayer for Houston Christian!Nebraska will dominate despite 1000 rosaries from Houston Christian players.The Nebraska Cornhuskers (2–0) return to Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning for a non-conference matchup against Houston Christian (1–1). While the SMQ team is ambivalent about the decision to schedule an FCS team in Week 3, it does represent a nice payday fo the Huskies. Nebraska’s Start: Through two games, the question remains - just who is this Nebraska team? Are they the narrow, one-score victory over Cincinnati (who actually turned in a good performance against Bowling Green) or the dominant offensive (and defensive) power that defeated the Akron Zipless? Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has gotten off to a great start, vaulting up to 10th on the all-time Husker passing yards list. Raiola should handily pass Tommie Frazier for ninth place in only his 16th college game. His 68.7% completion rate is #1 on the all-time list for a starting quarterback. On defense, we saw better pressure against the Zipless, including the firstt sack of the season. Have we also seen the potential emergence of true freshman Kate Pietrzak, last year’s number one player from South Dakota? Defensive line play is critical in the Big 10 - who else might make their case for more playing time this week? Houston Christian’s Challenges: Houston Christian arrives in Lincoln after splitting its first two games. The Huskies ran roughshod over an NAIA opponent but dropped their next game when the quality of the opponent improved. This week’s step up to Nebraska will be a major, major, major, major, major challenge - that’s too many majors to overcome.Key Storylines:Last week 108 players got into the game for the Cornhuskers, most of whom appeared in the 4th quarter. Here’s hoping for a repeat! While it looks like a glorified scrimmage on paper, the games aren’t played on paper!Nebraska enters as a massive favorite - so massive that there isn’t even a line for the game! The Cornhuskers are deeper, faster, and more talented across the board. Expect Raiola and the offense to put up points early, while the defense sets the tone. Once the lead is secure, look for Rhule to cycle in reserves. Last week’s prediction of 56-7 was a good one, so we’re sticking with what works!Prediction: Nebraska 56, Houston Christian 7.Please subscribe to SMQ on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.