The Huskers head to East Lansing for their Big Ten opener Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network. Weather looks like it might hold with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60s with light winds. Perfect football weather for a road conference opener.

Nebraska brings the 10th-ranked offense in total yards into the game while Michigan State sits 108th. The Huskers are top-50 in both passing and rushing; the Spartans are outside both. Nebraska is averaging 46 points a game to Michigan State’s 25, though the Spartans just played a much tougher game last week at Notre Dame.

Defensively, Michigan State ranks 47th overall while the Huskers sit 11th.

Their pass and run defenses hover near 50th; Nebraska has a top-10 ranked pass defense and a 45th-ranked run defense.

The strength of Michigan State appears to be on that defensive side of the ball. On offense, Cam Edwards is the clear one to watch—he’s averaging nearly 100 yards a game on the ground.

Here are the 3 things I am watching for:

1. Who is this team, really?

We’ve only seen them against lesser opponents so far, and by game three that was starting to get a little tiresome. I need to know who this team really is, and finally we can answer some of those questions this weekend. Can they travel? Can they handle a physical Big Ten environment on the road? Does the explosiveness and balance we saw in the non-conference slate show up when the competition levels up? This is the first real measuring stick.

2. Can Colandrea shine in the Big Ten?

He shined in the Mountain West. He struggled previously in the ACC. So far at Nebraska, he’s only played lesser-quality teams. Can he be a star in conference play? This is the stage where Dylan Raiola was taking a step back at times. Colandrea has the tools and the early results, but Big Ten defenses are a different animal. I want to see him stay decisive, protect the ball, and make plays when the windows tighten.

3. Can we win by 10-plus?

Head Coach Matt Rhule said this would be a four-quarter brawl type of game. Maybe. I’d like Nebraska to take a leap forward in year four under Rhule and win comfortably against a mid-to-bottom-tier Big Ten team. It’s time to take that step. Controlling the line of scrimmage, limiting Edwards, and putting this thing away instead of grinding it out would say a lot about where the program is headed.