Minnesota vs. Nebraska Same-Game Parlay: Will the Running Game Dominate On Thursday Night?

Minnesota vs. Nebraska Same-Game Parlay: Will the Running Game Dominate On Thursday Night?

The Big Ten kicks off its season opening matchup on Thursday night between two Big Ten West rivals, featuring the Minnesota Golden Gophers hosting the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nebraska garnered quite a bit of attention this offseason, firing Scott Frost and replacing him with head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule had a great collegiate resumé as a head coach in previous places like Temple and Baylor, before a brief stint in the NFL as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

Along with Rhule's arrival as the latest head coach of the Cornhuskers, the offense also has several new players, featuring junior transfer quarterback Jeff Sims from Georgia Tech. Billy Kemp IV is the other notable transfer as a slot receiver in Rhule's spread option scheme, which will be interesting to watch against the stout defense of the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck returns for his seventh season as head coach, leading the Golden Gophers to consecutive 9-4 seasons, including two bowl game wins. Tanner Morgan is no longer QB1, but Athan Kaliakmanis earned enough reps in 2022, although his stats were far from desirable. Mo Ibrahim, the physical running back who churned out production as the RB1 over the past few seasons, is now gone, replaced by senior transfer Sean Tyler, who joins wideout Corey Crooms Jr. as a pair of Western Michigan transfers.

Oddsmakers have Minnesota valued as a seven-point favorite on the spread with -114 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook while receiving -295 moneyline odds. In classic Big Ten fashion, the point total is set extremely low at 42.5, with -115 odds on the over and -105 odds for the under. We'll find out whether Rhule's arrival and his new quarterback will be enough to will the Cornhuskers to victory in a hostile road environment under the lights.

Here is a same-game parlay for tonight's game between the Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Minnesota vs. Nebraska Start Time, Where to Watch, And Odds

• Date: Thursday, August 31, 2023
• Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
• Where to Watch: FOX

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers Same-Game Parlay Picks

Sean Tyler Anytime TD Scorer (-210)

Western Michigan's former running back, Sean Tyler, will be tasked with handling a big workload in Fleck's run-centric, pro-style offense. He racked up 16 rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns across 2021 and 2022 for the Broncos. Now, Tyler finds himself the focal point of the offense with an underwhelming quarterback prospect. Nebraska's defense ranked 77th in points allowed per game in 2022, surrendering 27.6 points on average, so Tyler should handle a number of valuable touches inside of the red zone en route to scoring his first touchdown as a Minnesota Golden Gopher.

Jeff Sims Anytime TD Scorer (+195)

Jeff Sims transferred from the run-centric, triple-option offense at Georgia Tech this offseason, but that doesn't mean Rhule won't utilize his skillset to move the chains and create explosive plays against a disciplined, hard-nosed Minnesota defense. Sims started seven games for the Yellow Jackets in 2022 but only wound up with one rushing touchdown. Despite the lack of visits to the end zone, Sims finds himself in a completely different offense, tailored to his dual-threat ability within Rhule's spread option scheme. It's not going to be easy against Minnesota's defense, which ranked top five in points allowed per game in 2022, but Sims has the talent and will get the usage as a ball carrier to score a rushing touchdown.

Athan Kaliakmanis Under 177.5 Passing Yards (-114)

We saw Athan Kaliakmanis take over for Tanner Morgan at times in 2022, but he only had one quality outing, where he threw for over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns against a porous Wisconsin secondary. The Gophers' QB1 didn't come close to this number in any of his other starts, including a 6-12-137 stat line against the Cornhuskers last year. Fleck will feed his new running back and rely on a committee backfield to rack up yards, taking the pressure off of Kaliakmanis in his first start of the season.

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers Same-Game Parlay Picks

3-LEG SAME-GAME PARLAY ODDS (+878)

• Sean Tyler Anytime TD Scorer (-210)
• Jeff Sims Anytime TD Scorer (+195)
• Athan Kaliakmanis Under 177.5 Passing Yards (-114)