Final predictions ahead of Nebraska football’s season-opener vs. UTEP

It’s finally gameday, Huskers fans. After 281 days of waiting, the second year of the Matt Rhule era is set to kick off in less than an hour.

There is plenty of optimism and excitement surrounding this year’s Nebraska football team thanks to Rhule’s track record of improvement, the experienced defense, added weapons on offense and, of course, freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola.

The game against UTEP will be Nebraska’s first season-opener at Memorial Stadium since 2019 when the Huskers beat South Alabama 35-21.

While the Huskers certainly are favored on Saturday, they aren’t overlooking the Miners, who Rhule praised earlier this week.

Related: Rhule roundup, Week 1: Not easing Raiola in or overlooking UTEP

With that said, here are five last-minute predictions for the Cornhuskers against UTEP.

Offense has ups and downs but scores 30+

Nebraska’s offense struggled last season, particularly in the passing game, averaging just under 136 yards through the air per game while scoring 18 points per contest.

With Raiola taking the reins this season and the addition of several players on offense, including senior transfers Isaiah Neyor and Jahmal Banks at wide receiver, this year’s group should be much better. However, there will also be bumps as everyone jells and Raiola adjusts to the college level.

The Miners will challenge Raiola and the offense with some pressure and different looks, and will force some ugly plays. However, Nebraska will be buoyed early by the run game and will find their groove, generating several explosive plays and at least 30 points.

Heinrich Haarberg has a run, pass and catch

The junior who started eight games for the Huskers last season, including all five wins, may not have won the starting quarterback job going into this season but he’ll still have a role on offense.

Rhule and the Huskers have been tight-lipped about how exactly they’ll use Haarberg but offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said, “we’re gonna find ways to get him in the game and be creative,” adding that the Kearney native is too athletic to be standing over there on the sideline holding clipboard, so we can be creative and do a bunch of things.”

The Huskers may not want to give too much away if the game is out of reach early but still expect Haarberg to line up at multiple spots on Saturday and end up with at least one run, pass and catch each.

Huskers win the turnover battle

Taking care of the football has been an emphasis for the Huskers all year after committing 31 turnovers last season while only forcing 14 themselves. That gave them the second-worst turnover margin in the country (-17) in 2023.

Expect it to be a constant focus this season, especially early on, while the defense and special teams units get more aggressive in trying to generate takeaways.

On Saturday, expect the Huskers to win the turnover battle vs. the Miners by forcing multiple takeaways and protecting the ball better than last year.

Related: 'I think it's gonna be electric' — Huskers ready to get new season started in front of home fans

Offense has at least 5 explosive plays

Part of the hope with Raiola is that his ability to extend plays combined with his arm talent, which coaches and teammates have called “elite,” will lead to more explosive plays (those of 15+ yards) for the Huskers this season. Expect to see several of those chunk plays on Saturday.

“I think that’s gotta be one of the big parts of our offense,” Satterfield said this week of explosive plays.

With a strong running game — Nebraska averaged 176.8 yards on the ground per game in 2023, 39th in the nation despite teams loading up on them — the Huskers will be set up for more big plays down the field. Not only that, but they’ll connect on some of them vs. UTEP.

Defense holds UTEP under 24 points

Despite losing the last four games of the 2023 season, Nebraska’s defense was strong overall.

Nebraska allowed a season-high 45 points against Michigan on Sept. 30, 2023, but from that point on, allowed only an average of 14.3 points per game the rest of the season, including a high of 24 in an overtime loss at Wisconsin.

The Huskers return a lot of experience on defense this season and have a chance to be even better in the second year under defensive coordinator Tony White.

The Miners may find ways to generate some big plays and catch Nebraska off guard, but expect the Blackshirts to hold UTEP to under 24 points on Saturday.

Get ready, Huskers fans. It’s almost game time.

Related: 5 things to watch for in Nebraska's season opener vs. UTEP