Roundtable predictions week 9: Rutgers v. Nebraska

Last week didn't quite go as planned, but the Scarlet Knights have another chance in Lincoln. It's not the same stage as an ABC broadcast at 3:30 PM, but it's a national game on the Worldwide Leader nonetheless. A win would be a landmark victory for the program, a close loss would show the rest of the conference that Rutgers is capable of winning against top teams, and another lopsided loss would open up an opportunity for legitimate questions regarding the current regime. Here are the staff predictions:

Kevin Recio: Stopping Ameer Abdullah is much harder than it looks, and I'm not sure the Knights are up to the task after the tackling I saw last Saturday against Ohio State. Nebraska looks like a better team than your typical Pelini four-loss team, and Memorial Stadium is tough on opposing teams. I think Rutgers can keep it close at half, but the Cornhuskers run away with it in the fourth. Nebraska 41, Rutgers 27

Bob Cancro:  Can I just pull out last week's comments?  To wit: If the defense can put pressure on and contain Barrett Armstrong....if the running game can generate somewhere around 150 yards....if the secondary can keep things short....if Gary Nova can play and manage an error free game....then anything is possible.  And I'll add, if we can keep get them to be one-dimensional and keep Ameer Abdullah to no more than 175 yards, we can make it a game.  Ultimately, as with tOSU, talent wins out.  Nebraska 31, Rutgers 17

Garrett Stepien:

Ray Ransom: Like I said when I joined the site, this place has too much reasonable discourse and well-measured objectivity. I say Rutgers gets back to its 2010's roots vs. Nebroski; we stop the run and we run the ball. That athletic front seven flies through the Cornie's spread offense to set a new RU mark for TFLs against a non-option team. Nova's deep ball makes the Black Shirts play deep cover all day, while Peoples and Goodwin follow devastating lead blocks from Burton and Kroft for a 5+ ypc average. RU jumps out to fast start, surprising the cocky Corn People and holds onto the lead for the win. Rutgers 21, Nebraska 17