The day is here. The Nebraska football team's final game of the regular season. The Black Friday game against hated rival Iowa. It all comes down to this.
Should the Huskers win, it will be a big sign that the program is moving forward under head coach Matt Rhule. Should they lose, there will be fresh questions about a coach who just got an extension this year. Changes could be afoot if NU falls short of the Hawkeyes yet again.
Nebraska vs Iowa final odds
It's pretty clear that Vegas oddsmakers are not particularly impressed by the way the Huskers have wrapped up the season. NU's run defense has especially sprung many leaks, especially down the stretch. With Iowa being one of the best rushing teams in the Big Ten, it's easy to figure out why Nebraska is facing the second-biggest underdog spread of the season.
Their biggest spread was against Penn State last weekend, and that certainly didn't turn out all that well. Now the Huskers will try to show that they're quite a bit better than they showed in Happy Valley.
Nebraska now sits at +6.5, just hours away from the contest. The only reason the spread is that close is because the game is at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The total for the game is a shockingly low 39.5, which means that most oddsmakers don't see the Cornhuskers scoring many points against a top-notch Iowa defense.
Nebraska football vs Iowa final prediction
A short turnaround has not been good news for the Cornhuskers this season. The other time they played a Friday game after a Saturday contest, they were beaten down by a very mediocre Minnesota squad.
There also appears to be few answers defensive coordinator John Butler has found in the season's 12 games this year. That's why, unfortunately, this regular season looks like it will end with a thud, rather than a bang.
Nebraska football loses to the Iowa Hawkeyes 24-10.