Fearless Forecast: Northwestern vs. Nebraska

Northwestern will start the second half of its season with a trip to Nebraska in a game that is shaping up to be a tipping point for both teams.

The series, since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011, is dead even at 6-6. Northwestern got the last laugh with a 31-28 win in Ireland over a dysfunctional Nebraska squad that fired its head coach, Scott Frost, two games later.

Now, Matt Rhule has taken the helm, and the Huskers have mirrored Northwestern with a 3-3 start and 1-2 Big Ten record. Despite the identical records, and opposite results against Minnesota matchups -- Northwestern beat the Gophers, 37-34 in overtime, Nebraska lost 13-10 in their season opener -- Nebraska stands as a 12-point favorite.

Other factors will be Nebraska's vaunted home-field advantage for their 100th anniversary celebration of Memorial Stadium, and doubt surrounding the availability of Northwestern's starting quarterback Ben Bryant.

Can the Wildcats pull off their second win as double-digit underdogs? Will Rhule or Northwestern interim head coach David Braun get his team closer to bowl eligibility?

Our staff weighs in with their predictions.

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I went out on a limb for the Wildcats as double-digit dogs to Minnesota. I'm going to do it again against Nebraska.

It's hard to extrapolate the Huskers' past four games under quarterback Heinrich Haarberg. They took care of two non-conference games against Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois, survived a turnover-ridden game against Illinois and got curb stomped by a seemingly omniscient Michigan.

So while they have won three of their last four games and enjoy home field advantage, I still think they're ripe for an upset. Northwestern showed against Penn State that they can hamstring a formidable rushing attack, and Haarberg isn't near the talent of Drew Allar as a passer. The Wildcats defense will force the Huskers to beat them over the top, and Haarberg's arm isn't there yet to make them pay.

Part of what makes the Huskers so one-dimensional is that injuries have ravaged their wide receivers room. Even if Bryant is sidelined, Northwestern's is back to full strength with the return of AJ Henning. Expect the wide receivers to steal the game with a big play or two.

Fearless forecast: Northwestern 20, Nebraska 17

This is close to a must-win game for the Wildcats if they want to make a bowl. The problem is, this doesn't look like a good matchup for the visitors, especially if Bryant can't play.

Northwestern isn't going to have much success running the ball against the No. 3 rushing defense in the nation. So I thought the Wildcats' game plan would have been to let Bryant air it out to a very dangerous group of receivers, just like he did in the fourth quarter and in overtime in Northwestern's stunning comeback win over Minnesota. But without Bryant pulling the trigger, I don't think Brendan Sullivan, who had a shaky outing as the starter against Howard, can be productive enough in the passing game. (I wonder if we might see Ryan Hilinski take the reins if Sullivan falters.)

The Wildcat defense, though, should be up for the challenge. They showed against Penn State that they can limit a strong running game -- and the Nittany Lions are the one Big Ten team ranked ahead of the Huskers in the Big Ten. The Cats' goal will be to contain Haarberg and make him beat them by throwing from the pocket. I think the Cats' defense will keep it close, but with the offense unable to sustain drives, they will wear down late.

The other thing here is that Northwestern has only played on the road twice this season, and they got drilled both times, at Rutgers and Duke. The environment in Lincoln is like nothing they've experienced so far.

The one wildcard here is turnovers. Nebraska is -7 on the season and ranks 130th in the nation in turnover margin. If they give the ball up a few times -- as they've done many times over the years -- the Wildcats may be able to steal the last West division matchup between these two teams that have produced seven games decided by a field goal or less in 12 years.

Fearless forecast: Nebraska 23, Northwestern 17