NEBRASKA (5-1) vs. #25 Oregon (3-2) – No Time To Dwell on Indiana: HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
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With no offense intended to UCLA and Southern Cal – LA absolutely has its charms – nothing has beaten my journeys to Seattle and Eugene for the pure joy of the two-day drives which have included the Badlands, the Black Hills, the set of Yellowstone through Montana, the spires approaching Seattle, Mt. Ranier, Mt. St. Helens, the socked-in fog of south central and southwestern Wyoming’s hills, northern Utah’s jagged peaks, the badlands scrub of southeastern Oregon and her western mountains approaching Eugene and…
Well, you get the idea.
After two days in the car (which I also love – tip: if you finally splurge on a new vehicle, go the extra mile for the top of the line sound system), I am ready to find a trail in the area – should NOT be hard – and walk it all off Friday while taking in the PNW.
Football? Oh, we have that as well and we also have two teams which are in desperation mode on a late, late Saturday game which, if we’re honest, neither team can be too thrilled about. Of course, Oregon loves night games, but they probably prefer the 6:30-7pm local variety, not one which goes until midnight. Now, myself, I have always loved college football after dark, both the old Pac 12 and the newer Big 10 versions.
But the mostly empty barstools as those enter the 2nd half suggest I am not in the majority when it comes to that appreciation.
But play late they will and even here on the west coast, that post-game recap will take me well into Friday morning.
But desperation.
Nebraska now has to win in a stadium known for its noise whose fans will certainly be well-oiled or drop their second straight winnable game against a team which began the season ranked in the Top 6. If it’s another close one, does even a more experienced group of Huskers begin to wonder if powers beyond their control are intervening?
Oregon? This squad was thought by many to be the team which would finally get over the top and bring Oregon their first national title in football. Instead, they are facing what’s likely a CFP elimination game. Lose to Nebraska and they will not only find themselves unranked, but likely out of the 2026-7 College Football Playoff field as well with a third loss.
Quarterback is the story. Anthony Colandrea shined for most of the day against Indiana, but outside of his 39-yard TD run, the Hoosiers adjusted and contained him in the second half and tallied five sacks – did Oregon learn from Indiana’s success?
On the Oregon side, things are a mess. Dante Moore is out. Backup Dylan Raiola threw up a performance against UCLA which was worse than anything he unleashed at Nebraska. 3rd-stringer Brock Thomas came on and played well. But things are so desperate that Dan Lanning is trying to sell legacy QB Akili Smith III as a possibility on Saturday. Waving your 4th-stringer around as a threat is a sign that room is a bit of a mess.
So pour those Irish coffees and settle in, skippers. It’s gonna be a late one, but suddenly Nebraska looks like they more than match up against the Ducks. Can they beat the Autzen crowd instead of themselves for change?
HOW TO WATCH
Time: 10:00pm CST
Location: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR
Surface: FieldTurf
Wagering Info: Huskers +6 1⁄2 . O/U – 49 1⁄2. Moneyline: Nebraska +333, Oregon +140 ($100 wager) (FanDuel)
Series Record: Nebraska is 6-2 vs. Oregon all-time; this is their first meeting with both as Big 10 members. In 2016, Nebraska defeated #22 Oregon 35-32 in the last win against a “ranked” team. It is a dubious claim at best after Oregon finished the season with a 4-8 record.
TV: The game can be viewed on Fox. Play-by-Play: Tim Brando. Analyst: Devin Gardner. Sidelines: Josh Sims. It is also streaming on the Fox Sports app.
Radio: The audio can be streamed live for free at Huskers.com or the Huskers App. The crew will be: Play-by-Play: Kyle Crooks. Analysis: Jay Moore. Sidelines: Jessica Coody. Pre/Post-Game: Matt Coatney, Jessica Coody, Ben McLaughlin & Jeremiah Sirles.
Weather: After possibly some morning showers, it will be a beautiful fall Saturday in Oregon, with mostly clear skies and temps around 55 for the 8pm Pacific kickoff, and only dropping slightly to around 52 by games end. There will be only slight breezes 0f 3-5mph.
HUSKERS HAPPY HOUR
Hey, did you know we have Corn Nation podcasts every Monday, Tuesday & Thursday? Mine is every Tuesday night at 8pm CST and is called the Huskers Happy Hour…although it often goes over an hour. Or two on occasion – stay as long as you like. You can watch on Corn Nation’s You Tube Live Channel or Corn Nation Facebook or Twitter/X. It also streams on my own page on Facebook Live.
Next Tuesday’s show will be Season 3, Episode 7 and we will hopefully be celebrating a big road victory after taking down Oregon in the loud and rowdy Autsen Stadium!
The watchers and listeners are encouraged to chime into the comments as they are happily a big part of the show. Pour your own cold one – or spiked coffee, we don’t judge – and hop aboards!
CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO CHECK OUT THE MOST RECENT EPISODE!
FACTS & FIGURES
- Nebraska continues to be one of the nation’s best teams on third downs. The Huskers lead the nation in third-down defense (19.7 percent) and are ninth in third-down offense (52.4%). NU is the only team in the country in the top 10 in both categories.
- The Nebraska defense has held each of its first six opponents to 23 or fewer points. This is the first time the Blackshirts have held their first six opponents to 23 or fewer points since 2010.
- Husker quarterback Anthony Colandrea has topped 250 yards in total offense in five of six games this season, including 311 yards against Indiana last week. Colandrea is third in the Big Ten averaging 283.7 yards of total offense yards per game.
- One of the teams has been ranked in the AP poll in five of the previous eight all-time meetings. Oregon is ranked in the coaches poll this week, while Nebraska is receiving votes in both polls.
- This marks the first time Nebraska has faced ranked opponents in consecutive games since matchups at No. 16 Indiana and at No. 4 Ohio State in October of 2024.
- In addition to Saturday’s game at Oregon, Nebraska has two remaining games against ranked opponents, hosting No. 4 Ohio State and travleing to No. 17 Iowa.
- Nebraska stands 5-1 through six games for the third consecutive year after previously not reaching that mark since 2016.
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