Week 1 of the college football season kicks off for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Cincinnati Bearcats on Thursday night. This neutral site game takes place in Kansas City, Missouri at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium with kickoff set for 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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Nebraska vs. Cincinnati Prediction, CFB Picks: Thursday, August 28
The Cornhuskers finished the regular season at 6-6 and won the Pinstripe Bowl over Boston College. The Bearcats started the 2024 campaign at 5-2, but lost the final five games to close at 5-7.
Nebraska
The Cornhuskers last played the Bearcats in 1906, so it’s been a minute or two since these teams hooked up on the gridiron.
Nebraska won all four games against non-Big 10 opponents last season as quarterback Dylan Raiola returns for his sophomore season.
The Huskers return 10 starters on offense in 2025, as Nebraska tries to improve on its inconsistent scoring. In five of the seven wins, Nebraska scored 28 points or more. In five of six defeats, Matt Rhule’s squad was limited to 20 points or less.
Cincinnati
The Bearcats jumped out to an impressive 4-0 record in the Big 12 last season before the wheels came off. Five consecutive losses to finish the season prevented UC from even qualifying for a bowl game.
Since Scott Satterfield left Louisville to take over as head coach of Cincinnati, the Bearcats own a dreadful 8-16 record.
Nebraska vs. Cincinnati Picks & CFB DFS
Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola vs. Cincinnati Projection: 250.5 Passing Yards
The early season success for the Huskers paralleled the strong play of their freshman signal-caller. Raiola threw 5 touchdown passes and 1 interception during their 3-0 start, while averaging 223.3 yards per game.
Once Nebraska got into the bulk of Big Ten play, Raiola was limited to fewer than 200 yards in five games (1-4 record). The Hawaii native finished with less than 250 yards in ten of 13 starts in his debut season, including in all four non-conference games.
Cincinnati’s defense yielded over 250 passing yards in four games last season, as the Bearcats return eight starters on that side of the ball.
Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby vs. Nebraska Projection: 215.5 Passing Yards
Sorsby spent his first two seasons at Indiana before transferring to Cincinnati for the 2024 campaign.
The junior posted a career-high 2,813 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, although 383 yards came in the opener against FCS.
In seven of 12 games, Sorsby compiled fewer than 215 passing yards. His top performance came against Texas Tech with 426 yards in a 44-41 defeat. However, the Red Raiders owned the worst pass defense in the Big 12 last season.
Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson vs. Cincinnati Projection: 73.5 Rushing Yards
Johnson rushed for 598 yards in his sophomore season, a nice bump from his 411 yards on the ground during his freshman campaign.
The junior from Minneapolis posted one game of more than 70 yards rushing in his first nine games last season, a 71-yard performance in the season-opening victory over UTEP.
Johnson performed better down the stretch, including career-best 113 yards in a home victory over Wisconsin. In the Pinstripe Bowl, Johnson racked up 75 yards against Boston College, but he closed the season with a total of one rushing touchdown.
Last season, Cincinnati ranked 13th in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed at 162.1 per contest. The Bearcats yielded at least 75 yards rushing to eight different players last season.
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Will Nebraska jump out to a fast start to the season or will Cincinnati pull the neutral-site upset in Kansas City?
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Check out the Playbook throughout the remainder of the CFB season for more analysis for your PrizePicks and CFB DFS Lineups.
