Nebraska vs. Indiana football prediction: What the analysis says

Big Ten football returns to the field this weekend when Nebraska takes on No. 16 Indiana in Week 8 of college football on Saturday. Let’s take a look at the latest prediction for the game from an expert football model that will determine the winners.

Nebraska is on a two-game winning streak since losing to Illinois, the only blemish on its 5-1 record this season, including a 2-1 finish in Big Ten play, and hopes to win against the resurgent Hoosiers to be able to deliver a good performance in this crucial road duel.

Indiana is 6-0 for the second time ever thanks to a rejuvenated offense that ranks 2nd nationally in scoring at 47.5 points per game behind the play of quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who is averaging over 315 pass yards per game, good for 10th in FBS is quite a turnaround for head coach Curt Cignetti.

Looking ahead to this week’s matchup, let’s take a look at the latest college football predictions from computer prediction model Football Power Index.

The model simulates every NCAA college football game 20,000 times, utilizes key analytics from both teams and selects winners based on a projected point spread per game.

So far, the models give the Hoosiers a big advantage over the Cornhuskers.

Indiana is the heavy favorite on the index, giving the team a strong 76.4 percent chance of winning the game, according to its most recent predictions for the game.

That leaves Nebraska as the expected winner with the remaining 23.6 percent of Sims.

Overall, the Hoosiers led the index in 15,280 simulations of the game, while the Cornhuskers won in the other 4,720 predictions.

And the Index predicts a double-digit victory for the Hoosiers on the scoreboard.

According to the model’s latest projection, Indiana is projected to be 10.9 points better than Nebraska with the current makeup of both teams on the same field.

If so, that would be enough for the Hoosiers to cover the spread.

That’s because Indiana is the 6.5-point favorite against Nebraska, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

FanDuel gives the total score for the game at 50.5 points.

And the moneyline odds for the overall win were set at -240 for Indiana and +200 for Nebraska.

A variety of bettors are also expecting the Hoosiers to take care of business in this Big Ten trend, according to the latest spread consensus recommendations.

Indiana is getting 65 percent of bets on winning the game and covering the spread to win by at least a touchdown.

Nebraska gets the other 35 percent of the bets to either pull off an upset on the road or keep the game under 7 points.

Indiana ranks fourth among Big Ten teams with a 46.7 percent chance of qualifying for the College Football Playoff and will win 10.3 games this season, according to FPI data.

The model projects the Hoosiers to be 14.2 points better than an average neutral-court opponent, ranking 15th nationally in that category.

And the index gives Nebraska an overall win projection of 7.1 games and a 1.6 percent chance of making the 12-team playoffs.

The Cornhuskers are 6.4 points better than an average opponent, according to the model, good for 43rd among 134 FBS teams.

The college football rankings Football Power Index (FPI) and computer prediction model is a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.

Rankings and score predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season and games and use a combination of key analytics including past results, quality of opponents, team talent, recruiting and a team’s schedule.

The teams are not ranked by talent as in other rankings, but by a expected points lead per game against an average team on a neutral field.

First place votes in parentheses

1. Texas (56)
2. Oregon (6)
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Miami
7. Alabama
8. LSU
9. Iowa State
10. Clemson
11. Tennessee
12. Notre Dame
13. BYU
14. Texas A&M
15. Boise State
16. Indiana
17. Kansas State
18. Ole Miss
19. Missouri
20. Pittsburgh
21. SMU
22. Illinois
23. army
24. Michigan
25. marine

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The game odds are updated regularly and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and needs help, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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