Northwestern at Nebraska

Posted November 04, 2011 12:00 am

Northwestern (3-5, 1-4) at Nebraska (7-1, 3-1)

When: 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium

TV: BTN

Radio: WGN 720-AM, WNUR 89.3-FM.

Series: Nebraska leads 3-1 and won last meeting 66-17 at 2000 Alamo Bowl.

Coaches: Pat Fitzgerald (37-34, sixth year at NU); Bo Pelini (37-13, fourth year at Nebraska).

Players to watch: Nebraska junior RB Rex Burkhead carried the ball 35 times, the third highest total in school history, but gained a modest 130 yards against Michigan State last week. Burkhead and QB Taylor Martinez rank third and sixth, respectively, among Big Ten rushing leaders. ... Behind a successful quarterback platoon of Dan Persa and Kain Colter, the Wildcats lead the Big Ten in passing yards with 288.8 per conference game.

The skinny: Nebraska shut down Michigan State in a 24-3 win last week at Lincoln, so this figures to be an interesting test for the high-powered Northwestern offense, which rolled up 59 points against Indiana. On the other hand, the Cornhuskers rank just seventh in the Big Ten in total defense and lost their best defensive player, DT Jared Crick, to a torn pectoral muscle on Oct. 8. The Wildcats need to finish 3-1 to become bowl eligible, a task that requires either a win over Nebraska today or Michigan State on Nov. 26.

Fast fact: Northwestern’s only win over Nebraska happened in 1931, a 19-7 victory in Evanston.

— Mike McGraw

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