UCLA vs. Nebraska Prediction: Is Dylan Raiola Too Much For the Bruins To Bear?

    The Bruins got their first-ever Big Ten win a week ago, but our UCLA vs. Nebraska prediction explains why a second might be hard to find.

    College football conference realignment thrusts two teams together who haven’t met in the regular season for over 10 years as the UCLA Bruins and Nebraska Cornhuskers clash in Week 10. Who will emerge victorious in the all-Big Ten battle?

    Our UCLA vs. Nebraska prediction dives into all the essential details, from the latest betting odds to each team’s outlook for the remainder of the 2024 college football season.

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    UCLA vs. Nebraska Betting Preview

    All UCLA vs. Nebraska odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. The CFN Spread comes from College Football Network’s Football Playoff Meter (FPM).

    • CFN FPM Spread
      Nebraska -13.5
    • Spread
      Nebraska -7.5
    • Moneyline
      Nebraska -325, UCLA +260
    • Over/Under
      41 points
    • Game time
      3:30 p.m. ET
    • Location
      Memorial Stadium | Lincoln, NE
    • Predicted Weather at Kick
      60 degrees, cloudy and breezy with showers, 16 mph
    • How to Watch
      Big Ten Network

    The last regular-season matchup between Nebraska and UCLA was early in the 2013 season when the Bruins came to Lincoln and crushed the Cornhuskers 41-21. They’ve had 13 back-and-forth battles over the years, with Nebraska holding the slightest of head-to-head advantages. After drastically different starts to the year, the ‘Huskers are favored heading into Saturday’s game.

    MORE: Simulate the College Football Season with CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor

    Nebraska is 5-1 when favored this fall, and aside from the defeat to Illinois (and a push against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights), they’ve done a good job covering the spread when expected to win. Meanwhile, UCLA is 4-2 covering the spread as an underdog following their win on the road at Rutgers in Week 9. The low points total is reflective of the low-scoring offenses on show.

    UCLA’s Winning Probability

    According to the CFN FPM, UCLA has just a 16.7% chance of beating Nebraska on Saturday afternoon. It’s been tough sledding for West Coast teams making the journey into traditional Big Ten territory.

    However, the Bruins beat Rutgers in the birthplace against the odds last time out, so they shouldn’t be completely ruled out of pulling off another shock. The remaining win probabilities for UCLA in 2024 are below:

    • at Nebraska: 16.7%
    • vs. Iowa: 24.7%
    • at Washington: 24.7%
    • vs. USC: 25.4%
    • vs. Fresno State: 46.2%

    If those win probabilities were to ring true, the Bruins would end the 2024 campaign with a 2-10 record. That would be the fewest single-season wins since the 1971 season when they also only achieved one conference win.

    Nebraska’s Winning Probability

    Conversely, Nebraska has an 83.3% chance of beating UCLA, as per the CFN FPM. Our metric has been in lockstep with the Cornhuskers for most of this season, projecting the defeats to the Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers but having the program as a narrow favorite in the Illinois Fighting Illini loss.

    The remaining win probabilities for Nebraska in the 2024 college football season are below:

    • vs. UCLA: 83.3%
    • at USC: 46.6%
    • vs. Wisconsin: 53.8%
    • at Iowa: 44.4%

    If those win probabilities were to hold true, the Cornhuskers would end the campaign with a 7-5 record. That would be the first winning campaign for the program since 2016 when they lost in the Music City Bowl.

    Prediction for UCLA vs. Nebraska

    UCLA heads to Lincoln off the back of their best result of the season. After weeks of lackluster offensive displays, the Bruins racked up over 30 points for the first time in the year. It’s been a tough start to the Deshaun Foster era, but has the program turned a corner with five games still to play? Can they build on the momentum of the Rutgers game?

    Nebraska has enjoyed a much different season to date, racing out to a 5-1 record in the second year under Matt Rhule before dropping the last two games to Indiana and Ohio State. Those were comfortably the most difficult games on the Cornhuskers schedule, so can they rebound against UCLA? Who has the edge, and where will the crucial battles unfold?

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    Having lost a ton of talent from both sides of the ball to the NFL this offseason, UCLA has had a difficult time rebuilding, even with the energy and enthusiasm that the hire of head coach Foster ignited around the program. The Bruins rank 127th in the country for scoring offense, having failed to score over 20 points in a single game until Week 9.

    Additionally, the defense — a strength of the program in 2023 — has had a torrid time keeping points off the board, averaging 29 points allowed per game, ranking 99th in the country compared to 14th last fall. They’ve been particularly poor against the passing game, allowing opposite quarterbacks to complete 69.0% of their passes while snagging just four interceptions.

    That is likely where this matchup swings towards the Cornhuskers’ favor. Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has been impressive in pushing the ball downfield, but he has had some interception issues, throwing seven picks in his debut season. The Bruins’ defense should allow him to operate efficiently and dangerously, with Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor WRs to watch.

    UCLA QB Ethan Garbers had a sensational performance against Rutgers, fuelling the best offensive showing of the year. While the Nebraska defense hasn’t exactly been a lockdown unit this year, they’re better placed to restrict the Bruins’ passing game than the Scarlet Knights were, especially with multiple impactful pass rushers and Malcolm Hartzog patrolling the secondary.

    Prediction: UCLA 14, Nebraska 24

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