Nebraska vs. Utah
The 2025 Las Vegas Bowl will feature the Nebraska Cornhuskers taking on the Utah Utes in Allegiant Stadium on Wednesday, December 31. Utah just lost head coach Kyle Whittingham, who is leaving for the Michigan Wolverines job. However, defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley has been the “coach-in-waiting” for the Utes, and he was set to take over next season anyway. So, he’ll simply step in a game early. Nothing should change too much there. But the Cornhuskers actually have a significant loss to deal with, as quarterback Dylan Raiola (aka Temu Patrick Mahomes) is out for the year with an injury — and looking to transfer. Will Nebraska be able to overcome that? Keep reading for our Nebraska vs. Utah betting preview.
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook as of December 28, 12:00 pm ET; check out our DraftKings Betting Splits and Circa Betting Splits.
Las Vegas Bowl: Nebraska vs. Utah (-14, 50.5)
Wednesday, Dec. 31, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN)
Raiola probably didn’t live up to the massive expectations he had when he arrived in Lincoln, but he completed 72.4% of his passes for 18 touchdowns and only six picks this year. He was a pretty reliable quarterback for Matt Rhule’s team, so his presence will be missed in a postseason setting. Freshman TJ Lateef does have an intriguing dual-threat skill set, and he had a great game in a win over UCLA earlier in the year — throwing for 205 yards and three scores, while rushing for 31 yards. However, he’s definitely more of a runner than a thrower right now, and he is coming off a hamstring injury. Will he be able to stay healthy here?
Utah also happens to have an elite defense. The Utes finished the regular season 24th in EPA per play allowed (-0.107), and their secondary is absolutely fantastic. That said, Utah could have some confusing looks for Lateef.
The matchup between the Utah running game and the Nebraska rushing defense is also going to be very interesting to watch. Rhule fired defensive coordinator Jon Butler after a disappointing season, and an unacceptable rushing defense was part of what went into that. The Cornhuskers were outside the top-100 in Rush EPA per play allowed (0.066), and that was a big part of the reason they were 89th in Early Downs EPA per play allowed (0.015). Well, the Utes were fifth in the nation in Rush EPA per play (0.180) to end the year. They were also 18th in Early Downs EPA per play (0.135). There’s a real chance they absolutely gash Nebraska with the running game — whether it’s with dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier or a good group of running backs.
The Cornhuskers have also been awful against good competition under Rhule. They’re 5-11 straight-up and 3-11-2 against the spread when taking on teams with winning records in that time, and they’re also 1-6-1 ATS when facing opponents with winning percentages of 75% or higher. Meanwhile, over the last three seasons, the Utes are 4-1 ATS when playing with two or more weeks of rest.
Nebraska vs. Utah Las Vegas Bowl Prediction
It might feel like laying 14 points is a lot when talking about a team that just lost its head coach, but Utah should be able to roll in this game. The Utes are one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country, and the Huskers are a disaster on the defensive side of the ball. Nebraska is also missing its starting quarterback. On top of all of that, Utah’s fans will likely show up Nebraska’s fans when talking about attendance in Vegas. This game has blowout written all over it.
Pick: Utah -14 (-110 – 1.5 units)
Check out picks from VSiN hosts and guests on this game and all of the college football games on our Pro Picks Page.
See our Bowl Game Betting Hub for more previews and predictions.
