Nico Iamaleava Emerging as Heisman Contender, is BetMGM’s Biggest Liability

No. 24 Illinois and No. 22 Nebraska kick off Big Ten play on Friday night under the lights in Lincoln, with the Huskers entering as 8.5-point favorites and the over/under set at 43.5. Both teams boast a 3-0 record heading into this matchup, but the line suggests that Nebraska is expected to control the game, especially on their home turf at Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska's freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has been a revelation through the first three games of his collegiate career. Despite his youth, Raiola has demonstrated poise beyond his years, completing 73.8% of his passes—good for ninth in the nation. He has thrown five touchdowns with just one interception, maintaining an efficient offense that ranks 12th nationally in first downs and has converted 50% of its third-down attempts. Raiola's accuracy also places him ninth in the country, underscoring Nebraska's offensive consistency.

Defensively, the Cornhuskers have been dominant, allowing only 6.6 points per game, which ranks in the top 10 nationally, and holding opponents to just 70.3 rushing yards per game, the best in the country. Their red zone defense has been especially stout, allowing just one touchdown on five opponent trips inside the 20. This could prove pivotal against an Illinois team that has a dominant red zone offense, with all 12 opportunities this season resulting in points.

With how dominant Nebraska has been on defense this year, coupled with Raiola running the offense, the Huskers have the edge on both sides of the ball. Despite Altmyer taking great care of the ball this season, I think this offense is going to struggle overall. Nebraska will force them to become one-dimensional and they won’t find the endzone quite as easily as they have in their three previous games. Give me the Huskers to cover -8.5 at home!

That said, regardless of who wins this game, winning the Big Ten is still going to be a tough task for either team. Heading into Week 4, Illinois is +25000 and Nebraska is +2000 at BetMGM.

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