5 Keys to the Game

The 2022 college football season kickoff is just around the corner, and the season starts for the Nebraska Cornhuskers with a Big Ten Conference matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic from Dublin, Ireland. Last season the Huskers finished with a 3-9 record, losing every game by single digits and seven of their nine losses by one possession. Northwestern was also 3-9 last season and suffered their worst loss last October in Lincoln at the hands of the Cornhuskers by a final score of 56-7. Northwestern only beat one Power Five college football team in Rutgers, which was played the week after the Nebraska loss.

Below we have five keys to the game. Everyone should follow the five keys on Saturday, which will help decide if Nebraska starts off the season on the right foot or if Scott Frost’s seat is about to get hotter than he ever imagined. So take a look below and let us know what you think.

Quarterbacks

(AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

Both teams will have new men under center for the 2022 season. For Nebraska, out is for your starter Adrian Martinez who will be using his final year of eligibility at Kansas State, and will be quarterback Casey Thompson who comes to Lincoln via the Texas Longhorns.

Head coach Pat Fitzgerald has yet to name a starting quarterback for Northwestern. Much heralded transfer Hunter Johnson has gone back to Clemson after a less than stellar season in Evanston. Now former South Carolina starter Ryan Helsinki and freshman Brendan Sullivan are the two who will continue to make a play for the quarterback position.

Inconsistent quarterback play has been an issue for both teams the last several seasons. For Nebraska, Martinez never improved beyond his initial freshman campaign, while Northwestern has finished either first or last in the big 10 West, alternating each of the previous four seasons. Those two Big Ten west division titles came when the Wildcats…