It boils down to whether Nebraska gets better as the season goes on. They really have not done that in recent years. In fact, most of the past 8 seasons, NU has limped to the finish line - never having developed or improved along the way. With a new coaching staff, we can hope NU will get better in October and November - at least until proven otherwise.
Friday's game certainly could shape the rest of the season. Win that, and NU gets a bye week, followed by the probably the softest stretch of conference games we've seen in a long time. I'm not including Maryland in that stretch. But a win at Illinois could certainly propel NU to a 6-3 record heading into the last 3 weeks of the season.
It's a great opportunity for NU...please, please, please take advantage.