Opportunity Knocks for Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl

If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade.
Tom Peters

Las Vegas Bowl History

The LV Bowl is older than it might seem. The first game was played on Dec. 18, 1992, when Bowling Green downed Nevada 35-34.

Note: Utah is no stranger to the bowl, going 4-2 in its six previous appearances.

Some of the other teams that have played in the bowl include USC, Texas A&M, Oregon, UCLA and Wisconsin. Wednesday will be Nebraska's first time there.

The bowl's all-time attendance record is 44,615 set in 2006 when BYU snuffed Oregon 38-8.

The Match-up

On paper, Wednesday's match-up with the University of Utah doesn't look too good for Nebraska.

Utah is averaging 41.1 ppg on offense while allowing just 18.7 ppg on defense. NU is 29.3 and 23.0 respectively in those categories.

The 10--2 Utes and the 7-5 Huskers share two common opponents this season: UCLA and Cincinnati. Both were wins for Utah and Nebraska.

Utah has a big advantage in scoring offense: Utah is #5 nationally while NU ranks #53. When it comes to rushing offense, the Utes are ranked #2 to NU's #81.

NU has an edge in kickoff returns (#6) to #130). NU also has an advantage in pass defense (#2 to #17).

Wednesday's game is a huge opportunity for Nebraska. Can NU pull off the upset?

I have no doubt the Huskers will play at their best. Bowl games are won usually by teams that want to be there more. Upsets are one of the exciting things about postseason bowl games.

Case in point: Just a few days ago, 13.5 underdog East Carolina upset Pittsburg 23-17 in the Military Bowl. Nebraska is about a 14 point dog in the LV bowl.

NU will need to play its best game to have a chance to win. Nebraska will need to get some help. Maybe a punt return, a pick-six or even a kickoff return.

NU needs to find a way to keep Utah's offense off the field. On offense, NU needs to move the chains and run as much clock as it can.

Eight wins would give NU and Matt Rhule another step forward in the rebuild of the Husker football program.

Just remember to keep all the windows open.

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