It’s been nearly eight months since Georgia defeated Alabama in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, but the sport will return to the gridiron on Saturday when the Northwestern Wildcats take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 2022 Aer Lingus College Football Series in Dublin, Ireland.
The game will be just the second Big Ten contest to take place outside of the United States, and will mark the first regular-season college game to be played outside of the U.S. in five years.
Here are some fun facts and information about this weekend’s game:
Start Time, Betting Odds, TV Info
Kickoff is currently set for 10:30 a.m., and the game will air on Fox.
Nebraska is currently a 13-point favorite according to Caesar's Sportsbook, and the over/under on the game is 49.5
A First for the Wildcats
Sports
Northwestern has never played a game outside of the United States, according to College Football Ireland, but the same cannot be said for Nebraska, as the Huskers played against the Kansas State Wildcats in the Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo in 1992.
The Huskers won that game by a score of 38-24.
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The Wildcats Will Have Special Helmets for the Occasion
The purple and white will still be in full effect for the Wildcats on Saturday, but they’ll also have some Irish flair to their uniforms, sporting the nation’s flag within the “N” on their helmets:
Another Big Ten Matchup Was Originally Set for Dublin
The Huskers were originally slated to play in Ireland in 2021, but instead of Northwestern, they had been slated to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in Dublin.
That game was ultimately moved to Champaign due to COVID concerns.
The Big Ten Takes Its Act Overseas
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time that the Big Ten has contested a conference game overseas. In the Dec. 1993 edition of the Coca-Cola Classic in Tokyo, Wisconsin took down Michigan State by a score of 41-20.
Saturday’s game will be just the second game between Big Ten opponents to take place outside of the United States.
This will also mark the first regular season Division I game to be played outside of the United States since 2017, when Stanford defeated Rice 62-7 in Sydney, Australia.
College Football’s History in Ireland is Truly Unique
College football first came to the shores of the Emerald Isle back in 1988, when Boston College beat Army in the Emerald Isle Classic.
A lot of different teams have headed to Ireland in the 34 years since that game, but only one, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, has gone over more than once. The Irish beat Navy in a 1996 showdown in Dublin, and did so again in 2012.
The two teams will do battle again in the Aer Lingus College Football Series in Dublin next August.
