by BetOnline – Saturday, September 17, 2011

The essence of MLB baseball betting is found in the ability to trust the people who are given the most responsibility in a given game: the pitchers. In football, the players with the most to account for are the quarterbacks. With this in mind, Washington might not be in bad shape this weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska. The fact of the matter is that the Cornhuskers do not yet own a proven quarterback. Will Saturday night’s performance against Fresno State become a genuine aberration for Taylor Martinez and his teammates, or will aspects of a decidedly uneven 42-29 win over Fresno become imprinted upon the minds of the Huskers? One doesn’t yet know how Nebraska is going to respond to a rocky beginning of its 2011 campaign.

It’s worth emphasizing the point that this is not likely to be the Nebraska team that will exist for the next three months. However, if it is, there’s reason for concern in Big Red Country. The version of Nebraska that held off a Western Athletic Conference foe is a team that will get plowed by upper-tier opponents in the Big Ten Conference.
The Cornhuskers used a fourth-quarter surge to win a wildly entertaining Saturday night battle in Lincoln against the Fresno State Bulldogs. Martinez was inconsistent, but still racked up 385 yards of total offense. He ran 15 times for 166 yards and a touchdown, and completed 10 of 21 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted twice. Martinez exhibited the Jekyll-and-Hyde traits that plagued his profile and hijacked his attitude for much of his 2010 season, which means that Nebraska is an uncertain entity, an unknown quantity, after two weeks of competition. If Washington and quarterback Keith Price are on their game, just as they were this past weekend against Hawaii, the Huskies could definitely make this game interesting.

Why Nebraska Will Win

When you think about a sports bet in this game, just realize the trajectory of events that has enfolded these two programs over the past 12 months. In September of last year, Nebraska traveled to Seattle and eviscerated Washington with clinical and consistent skill. However, after Nebraska failed to land a better bowl bid, the Huskers came to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl. Guess who was Nebraska’s opponent? Washington. Nebraska, having already played the Huskies during the regular season, was very disinterested in the outcome of the game, and Washington snuck away with a huge upset triumph. Now that these teams are returning to the gridiron on the back end of a home-and-home series, Nebraska should be fresh, mentally even more than physically. The Huskers should be eager and prepared to tear apart Washington thanks to a much more robust defense. Nebraska will win because it has better athletes, period.

Who Will Win

Plainly put, Washington is not experienced enough or wise enough to go into Lincoln and master its emotions. The Huskers should thrive early and then zoom past Washington in the second half of a game that won’t be close.

College Football Betting Pick: Nebraska -16.5