Why are Nebraska and Northwestern playing Dublin, Ireland?

The Nebraska Cornhuskers and Northwest Wildcats are set to open the season against each other on Saturday at 12:30 p.m ET on Fox and they will play in unfamiliar territory. The two Big Ten foes will face each other at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, as part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

It was announced in May of last year that the two division opponents would head overseas to open the 2022 college football season with this Week 0 showdown. Nebraska was originally supposed to head to Ireland to play Illinois last season, but that was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the game was played in Champaign, IL, where the Huskers bumbled their way to a 30-22 loss.

This will mark the seventh college football game to be played in Ireland, the most recent one featuring Georgia Tech beating Boston College 17-14 back in 2016. Next year’s game will feature Notre Dame taking on Navy.

Right now at DraftKings Sportsbook, Nebraska is an 11-point favorite, with the total set at 51.5.