The Nebraska Cornhuskers return to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln for the first time in weeks and have the seventh opportunity under Matt Rhule to slay the postseason demons and lock up a bowl berth for the first time in eight seasons.

With their backs against the wall following a blowout loss against No. 13 Indiana, the Huskers fought valiantly against No. 4 Ohio State in Columbus, nearly pulling off the program’s first top-five win since 2001 in a 21-17 defeat that created headlines around the college football world. It’s exactly what head coach Matt Rhule and NU needed going into the final four-game stretch that will define its season and narrative around the second-year coach. Coming into town is a 2-5 UCLA team under first-year head coach and alum DeShaun Foster as the Bruins picked up a 35-32 win over Rutgers to claim its second victory of the season.

The HuskerMax and Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI crew make their predictions for Saturday’s afternoon contest. The average score is 28-13 Nebraska.

Last week’s closest prediction belongs to Redcast Boomer with a 31-14 Ohio State victory. That was 13 points off the actual 21-17 Buckeye win.

*Indicates closest in previous week’s prediction and how many “wins” over the season. Ties will result in wins for all parties.

The Why

Austin Jacobsen: I have faith Nebraska has turned the corner on the season and will use the momentum built (especially defensively) against Ohio State into a bowl-eligibility win over the Bruins. With a pass-happy offense arriving in Lincoln, I’ll inflate Nebraska’s score with a defensive score.

Eric Hess: The passing game looks the best it has all season and the Blackshirts force a few turnovers. UCLA gets a late touchdown to prevent a shutout.

Josh Peterson: Nebraska picks up an easy win on their way to bowl eligibility and the scribes spend most of the fourth quarter spending time in the press box debating which locale would be most fun to make a trip to.

ThotDoc: Don’t be fooled by the UCLA 2-5 record. They are coming off a bye and in their last game flew cross-country to beat Rutgers 35-32 in Piscataway. The week before, Nebraska survived 14-7 against the Scarlet Knights. The Bruins have been somewhat anemic on offense and I don’t think they will improve much against the Blackshirts. It may well be a one-score game into the 4th quarter but the Huskers put it away with a late score.

Cole Stukenholtz: Yes, Nebraska will be bowling for the first time in eight years. The Blackshirts dominate a one-dimensional UCLA offense, while the Husker ground game finds its footing and leads the way to victory.

Jay Stockwell: Dylan Raiola has discovered his legs which helps both the run and pass games. The defense will stand tall. Marcus Satterfield use his imagination after a week of criticism from all directions. The kicking game will shine and the crowd will propel the Huskers to a bowl game for the first time since I can’t remember when!

Middle-Aged Ball Coach: Nebraska will likely struggle to run the ball, but the defense should shut down the Bruins’ offense for the most part. I think that one of the UCLA scores will come late in the game when it’s meaningless.

Tad Stryker: This is a consistency and physicality test. Will Nebraska play up to Ohio State, then turn right around and play down to UCLA? You’ve gotta think the Blackshirts can hold the Bruins to fewer points than they did the Buckeyes, and it’s high time for Dylan Raiola to end what hopefully is the only three-game streak of his career without a touchdown pass.

Bob Frady: Nebraska has put up 40 points exactly once in the last 2 seasons, so we’ll have to yet again rely on the defense to eke out a victory over UCLA and lock down bowl eligibility!

Chris Fort: The Huskers make fans hold their collective breath but ultimately squeak out a bowl-game-sealing win versus the Bruins.

Jeremy Pernell: Nebraska gets bowl eligible this weekend. The Bruins are surprisingly stout against the run but have one of the worst pass defenses in the country (268.7 ypg) and are giving up 29 ppg. This could be a good game for Raiola to get back in the groove.

Find more predictions at HuskerMax.com.

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