HuskerMax Predictions: Nebraska Football vs. Maryland

The Why

Kaleb Henry: What gives me pause is the athleticism of Malik Washington, another quarterback who can give Nebraska fits with his legs, not only running for yardage but by extending plays and giving his receivers time to find space. This is also Nebraska's first true road game of the season, so nobody knows for sure which aspects of their game will travel after spending the last four games at home and only leaving Lincoln for a neutral-site contest just down the road in Kansas City.

Josh Peterson: It’s not the prettiest game of the season, but Nebraska gets it done. The pass defense against flummoxes an opposing quarterback, and Nebraska’s special teams makes a couple of big plays.

Spencer Schubert: The Terps suffered a collapse last week after leading 20-3 entering the fourth. Some of that "stink" still rides with them into this week, causing a slow start. One of Nebraska's top weaknesses (defensive front) will be met by a much-improved Maryland rushing attack. Currently, the Terrapins are 16th nationally in rushing and second nationally in sacks allowed. However, Nebraska's early lead gets Maryland into a passing mindset, which plays into Nebraska's strength as one of the best passing defenses in the nation. The game will stay close for 3 1/2 quarters before Nebraska punches in its final touchdown to ice the game away.

Jeremy Pernell: Nebraska is facing a Maryland offense that struggles to run the ball. The Terps are dead-last in the Big Ten in attempts (28.6 per game), yards (93.2), and are averaging 3.26 ypc, which is 123rd out of 136 FBS teams. With how well the Blackshirts have clamped down on every passing attack they've faced, you have to like their chances against a one-dimensional Maryland offense. The Terps' defense could cause the Husker offense some headaches, however. They're 4th nationally in sacks, averaging 3.8 per contest, while the Huskers are allowing 6 per game during Big Ten play. The Huskers match up well overall against Maryland, and if they can avoid a sluggish start in their first true road game of the season, they should find a way to win.

ThotDoc: The first true road game for the Huskers. College Park is not exactly a hostile environment, and there will be plenty of Husker fans in the stands. Maryland has a stout run defense, but the Huskers do make some plays through the air, hopefully cutting down on the sack situation. Every B1G game is a battle, but the Huskers beat the spread and win by 10.

Mike Cavallo: This matchup previews two 4-1 teams looking to capture their fifth win. Expect a tight game, but Nebraska’s defensive discipline and quarterback Dylan Raiola’s efficiency give the Cornhuskers the edge.

Tad Stryker: It'll be enough to win on the road, but just barely. The Huskers will get off to a 14-point lead, then give most of it up in the second half. Dylan Raiola carves up the Terps with a couple of touchdown passes, and Emmett Johnson adds a rushing touchdown, but the Huskers' mediocre run blocking and lack of a dependable backup to EJ will cost them in the second half and allow Maryland to stage a belated comeback.

Eric Hess: The Huskers avoid mistakes against a defense that thrives on them, while the defense puts together a good outing against the run and the pass.

Cole Stukenholtz: Huskers win their first true road game. This one will be tight throughout, but special teams will prove to be the difference maker on Saturday.

Jan Mudder: Nebraska plays better than last week, but Maryland is a better team. Questions still linger at O-line and D-line, but Special Teams and turnovers are the difference.

Jay Stockwell: The Terrapins will crawl out of their shell and feature a ferocious pass rush, but Dylan Raiola will be ready with a phalanx of bubble screens and quick slants in between a steady dose of the law firm of Johnson, Nelson, and Ives. Huskers will prevail in a hard-fought win in College Park, improving to 5-1 before visiting the hometown of SMQ in Minneapolis the following week. The road will be good to the Big Red!

Bob Frady: I see a great week for the Huskers where both the offense (who won't have to deal with the wind) and defense shine over an overrated Maryland team.

David Max: First road test in the Big Ten against a team on the upswing in spite of blowing the big fourth-quarter lead against Washington. I think Nebraska will do a better job on both sides of the line and cover the spread comfortably.

Chris Fort: The Big Ten's top pass-rushing unit will surely cause havoc for Dylan Raiola and the Husker offense. But here's betting that the Blackshirts do the same to Malik Washington and co. The Huskers scrape and claw for another tough win.

Jared Hall: The thoughts in my head right now are that Maryland is going to pressure Dylan a little bit, right? There’s going to be moments where, like, we’ve seen it already. And I think it’s just safe to assume that teams are going to game plan. It’s a copycat game. What did Michigan State do? Let’s just do what they did, because it gave them fits for two whole quarters. Blitz. Maryland is going to get their pressures. Even if they don’t get the sacks, they’ll still get the pressures. Maryland cannot run the ball. I’m sorry. If they run the ball 20 times, it’s not cool because they don’t commit to the run. They can’t do it. So, I think we make them one-dimensional in that way.

Mike Delaware: I think this team is resilient. I think there’s going to be some moments in that game where things aren’t going their way, but I think there’s something different about this team. Maybe the year three Matt Rhule thing isn’t double-digit wins or anything like that at this stop. Maybe it’s just building mental toughness, and teams are more resilient in year three Matt Rhule at Nebraska. And I think a road test, it’s going to be slow to start. Nebraska has not been on the road yet. They went to Arrowhead, but it was a home game.

Kyle Byers: I think Nebraska’s got a good blueprint right now. I think there’s been a lot of testing the waters a little bit with dual-threat quarterbacks, Cincinnati, Michigan, and then kind of what accumulated from what they’ve learned from those two games is what you saw against Michigan State and Chiles.