Nebraska Football Opens as One-Score Road Favorites for Friday Night Minnesota Matchup

The opening over/under total for Nebraska and Minnesota was set at 47 1/2 total points and remained at that line entering Sunday morning. The total is slightly lower than the Huskers' previous road matchup, as Nebraska and Maryland's total was originally listed at 50 1/2 points.

Nebraska is 2-4 this season against the spread in 2025, going 2-2 at Memorial Stadium, 0-2 on the road, and 1-3 as a favorite. The Huskers won the season opener over Cincinnati 20-17 but failed to cover as six-point favorites, but rebounded 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 the Nebraska 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 and the seven-point spread in the 34-31 road victory at Maryland Saturday.

The Huskers are 5-1 on the season in their over/under history, going a perfect 4-0 at home in point totals. However, Nebraska failed to cover the point total in its season opener at Arrowhead Stadium against Cincinnati, but did hit the over against Akron (47½ points), Houston Christian (59½ points), Michigan (47½ points), and Michigan State (48 1/2 points). Nebraska is now 1-0 in road over/unders, notching 65 total points in the Huskers' road win Saturday and covering the 47 1/2 total points.

Minnesota (4-2, 2-1 B1G) is 1-4-1 against the spread this season, going 1-2-1 at home, 0-2 on the road, 0-3-1 as a favorite, and 0-1 as an underdog. In its last five matchups, Minnesota covered against the spread once, winning 66-0 over Northwestern State as a 43-point favorite. The Gophers had lost three straight against the spread, failing to cover in road losses to California 27-14 as a 2 1/2-point favorite and at 42-3 at Ohio State as a 23 1/2-point underdog. The Gophers have split their covers in Big Ten play, as Minnesota failed to cover a 3 1/2-point spread in their 31-28 win over Rutgers but met the seven-point spread in Saturday's 27-20 home win over Purdue.

The Golden Gophers are 3-3 in over/under totals this season, going 2-2 at home, 1-1 on the road, and 1-3 as an over/under favorite. In Minnesota's last five games, the Gophers are 2-3, hitting the over against Northwestern State (50 1/2 total points), Rutgers (51 1/2 points), and Ohio State (42 1/2 points). Minnesota has been close in its two over/under losses, totaling 41 points, but failing to cover the 41 1/2 total points in the 27-14 road loss at California, while coming up three points shy (49 1/2 points) from Saturday's win over Purdue.

Nebraska and Minnesota are both 2-1 in Big Ten Conference play through three games this season, as both are coming off Saturday wins. The Huskers rallied to outscore Maryland 10-0 in the fourth quarter of their 34-31 road win, while Minnesota played a strong final 15 minutes to overcome Purdue 27-20 while outscoring the Boilermakers 14-0 in the final frame.

"The goal was to be 1-0. Especially coming off that hard loss against Ohio State. Those are really tough, tough losses, and the way a team responds to that says a lot about the character of a football team. I was so proud of our preparation," Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said in his postgame thoughts from Saturday. "Again, tonight was not perfect. I do not live in a perfect or idealistic world. I live in a realistic world. I know we're dealing with young people and dealing with a lot of people that are young at a lot of major positions, and we grew tonight, and we will be better."

Nebraska's players and coaching staff are also looking to next week, and not focused on looking too far ahead in conference play.

"It's just about playing the next game, playing the next play ... as corny as that sounds," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said during his Maryland postgame press conference. "I can tell just tell you my nerves inside are going 100 miles a minute, and I just go, 'Play the next play.'"

Nebraska faces Minnesota on a quick turnaround from Saturday's East Coast trip to take on the Golden Gophers on Friday night in Minneapolis. The game will be televised on FOX with kickoff set for 7 p.m. CDT. The contest can also be heard across the Husker Radio Network's affiliate stations.

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