First reported on Saturday and then confirmed on Sunday, the Nebraska football team will head to Las Vegas to take on Utah on December 31 for its second straight bowl appearance. Unsurprisingly, the Huskers have a tough job ahead of them if they want to finish the 2025 campaign with a victory.
Utah was a playoff contender for most of the regular season, finishing No. 15 in the final College Football Playoff Rankings and with a 10-2 record. The Utes feature a challenging power running game and a dual-threat quarterback in Devon Dampier.
Now that most bowl game matchups have been set, so have opening lines for each game. Nebraska isn't just an underdog to Utah, but is almost a two-touchdown dog. That, in fact, is the largest spread the Huskers have been underdogs for all season.
Nebraska set for Las Vegas Bowl showdown with top-15 Utah as big underdogs
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Huskers open the week as 13.5-point underdogs. The total for the game is set at 49.5 for the Las Vegas Bowl.
When Nebraska takes the field against the Utes, it's not clear if true freshman quarterback TJ Lateef will be under center. The young quarterback took over as the starter when Dylan Raiola went down, but suffered an injury himself.
It's possible he'll be healed up enough over the next few weeks to return to the field on New Year's Eve. Of course, it's also possible the Cornhuskers will decide to let him sit out the rest of the season.
The Las Vegas Bowl will also be the first official game for new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, who was hired by Nebraska over the weekend to replace Jon Butler, who was fired last Monday.