Published Aug 28, 2023
A Numbers Game: What to know about the Nebraska Cornhuskers
Dylan Callaghan-Croley  •  Gophers Nation
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@RivalsDylanCC

Minnesota's season opener against Nebraska is just days away. Below, Gohpers Nation takes a look at some notable numbers to know about the Nebraska Cornhuskers entering this season.

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.385: Is the winning percentage that Nebraska has throughout its football program's history when they start the season on the road. The Cornhuskers are also 6-6 in their 12 Big Ten openers but have lost each of their last three, including last year to Northwestern 31-28 in Ireland.

3: Wins against Minnesota since the Cornhuskers entered the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers have won each of the last four matchups, including three straight by seven points.

9: Tackles for loss, Nebraska linebacker Garrett Nelson had last season for the Cornhuskers; he has 20.5 over the last two seasons combined and also has totaled 10.5 sacks during the same time span.

13: Players that Nebraska brought into their program this offseason from the transfer portal, including WR Billy Kemp, TE Arik Gilbert, DB Corey Gollier, OL Jacob Hood, OL Ben Scott, and LB MJ Sherman.

23.1: Is the average amount of points that Tony White's defense at Syracuse allowed last season. After taking over in 2020, the Orange's defense improved from 32.7 points per game to 26.3 and then down to 23.1 last season.

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22.6: Points per game is what Nebraska averaged in 2022 under head coach Scott Frost and interim head coach Mickey Joseph. The Cornhuskers hit the transfer portal hard in hopes of changing their offensive fortunes this fall. The Golden Gophers allowed just 13.8 points per game last season.

33. Sacks allowed last season for the Cornhuskers offensive line, which ranked 90th in the nation. Matt Rhule has tried to improve the offensive line as much as he could this offseason. That 33 total sacks come out to 2.7 sacks per game.

47: The amount of career wins for Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule as he went 28-23 at Temple from 2013 through 2016 before going 19-20 at Baylor from 2017 through 2019. Rhule won the Big 12 Coach of the Year Award in 2019 for leading Baylor to an 11-3 record two years after going 1-11 with the Bears.

224: Average amount of total yards projected Nebraska starting quarterback Jeff Sims has averaged in his 25 career games at Georgia Tech. He totaled over 200 passing yards nine times and over 50 rushing yards 11 times in his career as well.

267: Total yards Nebraska had on Minnesota's defense last year as the Gohpers used a fourth-quarter Mohamed Ibrahim touchdown to seal what would be a 20-13 victory.

344.2: Total yards the Cornhuskers averaged offensively in 2022, with 220.8 passing yards and 123.3 rushing yards per contest.

389: Straight sellouts for Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. While Thursday's game is a home game for the Gophers, the sellout streak is impressive nonetheless.