No. 15 Utah will face the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Las Vegas Bowl this afternoon with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. The Utes went 10-2 in the Big 12 this season, while the Cornhuskers finished off a 7-5 campaign, in the Big Ten.
The Utes opened up as a 14-point favorite, with the over/under opening at 49.5 total points. However, as we get closer to kick off, the Utes have moved up to a 14.5-point favorite, with the point total bumping up to 50.5 or 51 total points in some sportsbooks.
Here are two key players to watch in this game, followed by the top storylines for each team, and a prediction from Heartland College Sports.
Related: Big 12 Bowl Games 2025–26: Schedule, Spreads, Results & Scores
Two Key Players to Watch
Devon Dampier, Utah QB
While the Utes have a variety of players that we could spotlight, for good measure, the safe pick is Dampier. The former New Mexico signal caller departed the Mountain West for the Big 12 and hit the ground running out of the gates. He posted 2,180 yards through the air with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 22-5. He also had the ninth-best quarterback rating in the country, and nearly 700 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground.
On the opposite side of the defense, Nebraska’s defense is about as different as it gets. They were dominant against the pass in 2025, surrendering the second-fewest passing yards per game in the Big Ten (141.1), only trailing Ohio State. On the ground, they were awful. They finished 14th in the league, allowing 171.3 rushing yards per game to opponents, and they’re about to face one of the most electric dual-threat quarterbacks in the country.
TJ Lateef, Nebraska QB
Opt-Outs and transfer portal departures are the name of the game in bowl season, and unfortunately for Nebraska, they’re right in the thick of it. For starters, their star running back Emmett Johnson has elected to sit out, and he was responsible for more than 1,450 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
Perhaps the most significant departure for this game is star quarterback Dylan Raiola, who announced his intentions to depart the program and head into the transfer portal. Raiola is one of the portal’s most coveted players, but for Nebraska, the next man up is true freshman TJ Lateef. The freshman from Compton, California, was solid in relief of Raiola, who was hurt earlier in the year, posting 722 yards and four scores through the air, with no turnovers and a completion percentage just north of 62%.
Top Storylines
Let’s See the Morgan Scalley Era!
Heading into bowl season, the Las Vegas Bowl was chalked up as the last game of the Kyle Whittingham era as the program looked to transition to Morgan Scalley. Interestingly enough, Whittingham is now Michigan’s head coach, and Scalley is on his own for his big debut. He’s been in Salt Lake City for nearly two decades as an assistant coach, and in his 10th season as Utah’s defensive coordinator. It was announced on July 1, 2024, that he had been designated as Utah’s head coach in waiting, and while there was some gray area as to when he would take the reins from Whittingham, that day is here!
Can Nebraska Carry On?
Matt Rhule and Nebraska have been a solid pairing when you consider the fact that the team failed to reach a bowl game for seven consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2024. Now, they’ve reached back-to-back bowl games, and things are generally looking up. The issue is, Rhule had built his roster around Dylan Raiola the past two seasons, and now, Raiola is headed elsewhere. With a roster depleted by the transfer portal and opt-outs, how will they handle one of the Big 12’s best?
Prediction: Utah 47, Nebraska 24
No matter how you look at this game, Utah is the clear favorite. If a 14-point spread didn’t tell you that, I’m not sure what would. The Utes were top two in both offensive and defensive production in the Big 12 in 2025, averaging 478.6 yards of total offense per game and just 18.7 points per game allowed.
Nebraska was quite the opposite. They recorded seven wins against the likes of UCLA, Northwestern, Maryland, Michigan State, HCU, Akron, and Cincinnati. Outside of Cincinnati, that’s not a lot of great wins. Excluding the Bearcats, the rest of the group went a combined 25-48. Most of their wins came from dominant offensive showings, and now, without their two best players on that side of the ball, Utah should win this one relatively easily.
