Rivalry Basics
- TeamRivalry.com – 2022 Minnesota v Nebraska
- Rivalry Game – $5 Bits of Broken Chair (In 2014 it was created by a Twitter exchange between the Gopher mascot account and a fake Bo Pelini account – the bet was if Minnesota wins Pelini gives them $5 and if Nebraska wins, Goldy the Gopher gets to break a chair over Pelini’s back. So, it was a stupid joke, that became a trophy. In 2016 the teams disavowed the trophy was real, but I think it’s taken on a life of its own. We’ll find out Saturday if they’re still talking about it.)
- 63rd Meeting
- Minnesota leads the series 35-25-2
- Minnesota holds the record for longest winning streak: 16 straight games from 1963 to 2012, so not consecutive years, but still.
- Minnesota is favored by 16
Cliff on Minnesota
Minnesota, who we thought would take the West division originally, until the lost 3 in a row. They could conceivably win out and have a 9-3 season. Which means Illinois and Purdue can not afford to lose a game. I don’t see Minnesota having a problem with Nebraska this weekend, but they were also heavily favored against Purdue and they lost that game 20-10. Mac, what do you think?
Mac on Minnesota
I think Minnesota’s season is just about written in stone at this point. They’ll need purdue to take two more losses and Illinois to take three just to have a shot at the title game but that’s obviously not likely. That being said, I think Minnesota’s long term prospects are…fine. They’ve kind of replaced Wisconsin as will they/won’t they team. They’ll get bowl elligible and they might even win out at this point since Iowa and Wisconsin aren’t so good. Next year, they’re bringing in a class full of three stars and that was really good when Fleck was at Western Michigan but the problem is now, he’s gotta start figuring out a way to build a team that can eventually beat Ohio State or at least make it to the big ten title game. As long as you miss Ohio State and Michigan, going undefeated in the west division should not be this hard. It’s never been anywhere near as competitve as the east Flecks gotta get this team in a place where they stop losing silly games like Purdue this year and bowling green last year.
Cliff on Nebraska
Nebraska allows more yards than they gain on average. I think Coach Joseph has to be looking at the rest of their season as an extended practice session. Which he’ll need because they won’t get the extra bowl practice. I imagine Joseph is going to try everything, get as many players on the field as possible, get them some experience and start seeing what he can do next year. Provided they hire him permanently. Mac, what do you think?
Mac on Nebraska
Where do you even begin with the problems at Nebraska right now. They’re basically on just get through the rest of the season mode right now and worry about rebuilding the program next year. I don’t know if the interim coach right now will be the guy who can do that job but that’ll depend on how many wins he can pull out in the remaining few. With Minnesota and Michigan up next for them, bowl eligibility is off the table barring a miracle so, it might be a rough end of the season for them.
Game Predictions
Cliff’s prediction (via the Team Rivalry Top Secret Score Predictor): Minnesota 42 / Nebraska 3
Mac’s prediction: Minnesota 42 / Nebraska 24