The Nebraska Cornhuskers can officially clinch the Big 12 North Division title this weekend, while the Texas A&M Aggies can maintain its hopes for a nine-win season.

NCAA football betting: Nebraska Cornhuskers @ Texas A&M Aggies
Online Betting Odds: Nebraska -3

Why To Bet On Nebraska
The Cornhuskers come into this game with injury concerns, but they did a lot of things to minimize those concerns this past weekend in a not-very-alarming 20-3 win over the Kansas Jayhawks. Yes, it’s true that Kansas is a horrible team, which means that winning by only 17 points against the Jayhawks could be seen as a worrisome sign. However, that’s probably not a good read of the situation facing the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini made a very concerted and intentional effort on Saturday to give his team as much rest as possible. The Huskers shut down their playbook, ran the ball almost exclusively, and did as little as they possibly could. Nebraska purposefully tried to avoid overextending itself; the team aimed to protect the physical health and well-being of quarterback Taylor Martinez, who has been banged up for the past several weeks. In a truly stunning development – Nebraska’s win over Kansas lasted just two hours and 37 minutes. Over the past 25 years of college football history, it’s hard to ever recall a game with a full complement of television timeouts finishing in such a short period of time. Naturally, the Navy Midshipmen and other service-academy teams will play games that approach 2:37, but with Nebraska, that’s a little surprising, since the Big 12 usually requires its teams to mix in some passing along with power running. At any rate, you can see what Nebraska did against Kansas. The Huskers tried to win that game with as little fuss as possible, and now the Huskers will open up their playbook for Texas A&M. It’s a really good strategy by Pelini and his staff, and it gives this team a better chance to win on the road.

Why To Bet On Texas A&M
The Aggies have very simply yet profoundly unearthed their answer at quarterback: Ryan Tannehill. After struggling so markedly under Jerrod Johnson, A&M has turned the corner with Tannehill, a signal caller who understands the game a lot better than the interception-prone Johnson ever did. Tannehill protects the ball but still moves his offense down the field. A&M just buried the Baylor Bears on the road, going into a hostile environment and producing a 42-30 victory that was bolstered by Tannehill’s superb numbers. The savior of the Aggies’ season completed 71 percent of his passes for 280 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. In his four games as the Aggies’ starting quarterback, Tannehill has thrown 10 touchdown passes against just three picks. He’s completing 69 percent of his passes and his giving ballast to everything head coach Mike Sherman wants to do on the offensive side of the ball. If Tannehill plays another solid, low-mistake game against Nebraska’s defense, the Aggies will have the advantage on Saturday.

How The Game Will Play Out
There’s a sense that Nebraska is physically frail entering this contest, and that Martinez – even if he starts (which is likely) – won’t be fast enough to spring home-run plays against A&M’s defense. Ryan Tannehill is in such a zone right now that it’s hard to see the Aggies faltering on their home field. Nebraska has looked very mortal in recent weeks; therefore, in a tough game, the transformed nature of the Aggies – whose season looked to be over and done with after September – stands out as the difference maker. Nebraska is a good team, but A&M is now confident enough to take this game away from the Huskers. The pros at BetOnline like Texas A&M to win outright, but I am deviating and saying take Nebraska. And to avoide any last second score and covers, I am taking the Moneyline.

Nebraska Texas A&M Betting Pick: Nebraska on MoneyLine. Currently (as of 1:00pm EST Friday) It is only -130.

Written with pros from BetOnline