Nebraska football Tailgate Talk: Who's your pick on Saturday?

The Nebraska football team travels to Bloomington, Indiana and play football at 11:00 am, televised on FOX. The Fox pregame show will even be there and it's homecoming for the Hoosiers. The weather forecast is sunny with a high of 68 degrees, coming up from a projected 46 degrees overnight. Finally, it won't be sweat-fest for our guys. Well, it will be a sweat-fest, but not because of temperature. Indiana comes into the game ranked No. 16 and undefeated. It will be a B1G test for the Huskers who are a 6.5 point underdog. I'm ok with it. Keep the pressure on Indiana. Let Big Red play loose.

The bye week was good to the Huskers. Unfortunately, Indiana also had a bye week to rest up. The conversations at the water cooler this week have centered around "is Indiana for real?" Who have they really played? An anemic UCLA, some lower-level teams, and Northwestern. Real or not, they are 6-0 and ranked. I do think they haven't played as physical team as Nebraska, yet.

What do you need to know about the high flying, former James Madison roster of 10-12 players that transferred to Bloomington along with Head Coach Curt Cignetti? Think of an offense like Colorado. Hoosiers are ranked 2nd nationally in offensive production (Miami is 1). They have scored 80 points in the 4th Q. Their star QB is Kurtis Rourke who loves to throw to a number of different receivers as they usually line up with 4 at a time, or what the hardcore call "10 personnel". Rourke has been in the red zone 37 times, and 30 of those times have produced touchdowns.

Nebraska football preparing for big game

Indiana also likes to start fast. They have an involved tight end in senior Zach Horton, #44. If he's on the field, he is running the ball 2/3rds of the time. They also have two good running backs with different skill sets. Gee, that sounds familiar. Their punt returner is good too. That doesn't sound too familiar. Where has IGC gone?

Indiana QB Rourke has a 74 percent completion rate with only 2 interceptions. He doesn't like to throw into man coverage. The stat was 160 throws when there was zone coverage compared to 20 throws versus man coverage (credit Mike'l Severe). Coincidentally, it's a great time for Huskers Defensive Back Tommie Hill to get back on the field. He's a man who the Huskers have missed. Coach Tony White talked a lot about dominant contact from the DBs for this game. Having newly minted Blackshirt Ceyair Wright on the field at the same time as Tommie Hill would be a plus. The Blackshirts need to get into Rourke's passing lanes and keep him uncomfortable. I also want to see the Huskers' pass rush to engulf Rourke. It's hard to complete throws when you don't have time to do it.

Another bright spot for the Blackshirt Machine is that the O-line for Indiana is average. I'm looking for some disruption from the usual suspects, Hutmacher and Robinson. The Blackshirts will need to "come with bad intentions" and steal a possession and limit Indiana to 3 point increments instead of 7 at a time. I wonder if Cornhusker Blackshirt Marques Buford will supplant Tommy Hartzog in the backfield or add to the mix. I wonder if James Williams will have more sacks than Ty Robinson after the game is over (they are tied at 4). For more on how Huskers defense is the key, click here.

Offensively for Big Red, I think it will be a little clearer who Coach Rhule and Satterfield feel like they can trust by the end of the game. The offense needs to control the game clock with some long drives on the ground. They simply must find a way to run the ball. Dylan Raiola needs to stay upright and make smart decisions. The outside routes for the receivers may be the key even though the Indiana linebackers may be their weakest link. I wonder if Jacory Barney or Emmett Johnson will have more yards and will either one of them have the "explosive" play that Coach Rhule has said is missing.

A big unknown in this game is whether Special Ed's part of the team will be better. It's reported that former Husker Coach George Darlington came to practice with a folder of notes on how to improve special teams. I'm pretty sure there could be a BOOK of things written on how to improve all the bad things going on in that department right now. Staying in your lane and not whiffing on blocks seems easy to the armchair QBs like me but it's not translated to the field. Props to Darlington. Call me, I'll buy dinner.

For a bowl eligible win on Saturday, the Huskers will need to protect Dylan Raiola, manage the clock, create scoring opportunities and play complimentary football for 4 quarters. The run game for Big Red has never been more important. It will open up the way for Dylan to let it fly. It's also critical that Special teams not be a liability.

If you're hosting that HomeGate, God love you! Whether attending or hosting, breakfast sliders are easy and tasty. I make a large pan of eggs in a sheet pan in the oven and cut them to fit the bun or roll. Top with ham and swiss cheese and you're good to go! Brush the tops with melted butter and a teaspoon of both onion and garlic powder. Perfect for a late-night snack as well when you're cleaning up after the victory party. To spice up the mimosa bar, add Apple Cider and Brandy to the mix.

I would love to be bowl eligible by the afternoon on Saturday. I'll be attending a Nebraska football HomeGate and screaming at the television because I know it helps. Send me your Gameday photos @ Kelian_NE on the twitter so I can share them too. As always, GO BIG RED!