Link: Full Game Notes (Huskers.com)
Nebraska (2-1, 0-0) at Illinois (2-1, 0-0)
When: Saturday, September 21, 2019 | 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Where: Memorial Stadium | Champaign, Illinois
TV: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Matt Millen, Rick Pizzo)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin)
Satellite Radio: Sirius (Ch. 83) | XM (Ch. 83)
Internet Radio: Huskers.com | TuneIn.com
This Week's Numbers
900 - Nebraska will be looking to become the fifth college football program to win 900 games on Saturday night. Nebraska owns an all-time record of 899-389-40. The Huskers will look to join Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, and Alabama in the exclusive club.
30 - Nebraska has topped 30 points in each of its first three games. A fourth 30-point outing to open the season would mark the first time the Huskers have scored better than 30 points in the first four games since 2014.
9 - Nebraska opponents have totaled just nine rushes of 10 yards or more through three games. The Blackshirt defense is allowing just 2.2 yards per rush and 82.0 rushing yards per game.
Nebraska opens Big Ten Conference play on Saturday night with the Huskers traveling to Champaign to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini. The prime-time tilt at Illinois' Memorial Stadium is set to kick off shortly after 7 p.m. CT, with national television coverage on BTN and radio coverage available on the Husker Sports Network from Learfield-IMG.
Nebraska heads into Big Ten action with a 2-1 record, following an impressive 44-8 victory over Northern Illinois last Saturday in Lincoln. Nebraska opened a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back as the Blackshirt defense held NIU out of the end zone. The Huskers rolled up 525 yards of total offense, including better than 235 yards both rushing and passing.
Illinois will enter Saturday's contest with a 2-1 record, following a 34-31 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday in Champaign. Illinois had opened the year with victories over Akron and at Connecticut before the setback this past weekend. Coach Lovie Smith's team has been strong on defense this season, allowing less than 320 yards per game, including just 79.3 rushing yards per game.
Series History
Nebraska and Illinois have a history of opening league play against each other. Since their first meeting as Big Ten opponents in 2013, the Huskers have opened conference play against Illinois four times in seven seasons. Nebraska is 5-1 against the Illini since joining the Big Ten Conference.
Nebraska holds a 12-3-1 all-time edge in the series, including 3-2-1 record in games played at Illinois
- Nebraska is 5-1 against the Fighting Illini since joining the Big Ten, with the lone setback a 14-13 loss in 2015. Nebraska's five wins have come by an average of 21.4 points.
- One of Nebraska's memorable victories in the series occurred on Oct. 3, 1925, a 14-0 Nebraska win in Champaign. It was the only time in Red Grange's Illinois career that he was held scoreless in a home game.
Nebraska Set to Open Big Ten Conference Action
Nebraska begins its ninth season of Big Ten Conference action on Saturday night in Champaign. The game marks the fourth time Nebraska has opened Big Ten play against Illinois.
• The Huskers are 5-3 in Big Ten openers since joining the league in 2011.
• Nebraska has won 39 of its past 44 conference openers overall, with four of those losses against top-20 teams.
• Overall, Nebraska is 91-22-2 all-time in conference openers (.800 winning percentage).
• Saturday's game is the first of four Big Ten road games for Nebraska in 2019. The Huskers are 3-5 in their first conference road game since joining the Big Ten.
Nebraska Big Ten Openers
2011 - Wisconsin 48, Nebraska 17 (Madison)
2012 - Nebraska 30, Wisconsin 27 (Lincoln)
2013 - Nebraska 39, Illinois 19 (Lincoln)
2014 - Nebraska 45, Illinois 14 (Lincoln)
2015 - Illinois 14, Nebraska 13 (Champaign)
2016 - Nebraska 24, Northwestern 13 (Evanston)
2017 - Nebraska 27, Rutgers 17 (Lincoln)
2018 - Michigan 56, Nebraska 10 (Ann Arbor)
Huskers Looking for Win No. 900
Nebraska will be looking to reach a major milestone on Saturday night at Illinois. A victory over the Fighting Illini would be win No. 900 in program history.
• The Huskers would join just four other programs in the 900-win club. The other current members of that club include Michigan (955), Ohio State (914), Texas (911), Alabama (908). Notre Dame and Oklahoma also sit at 899 victories. Notre Dame plays at Georgia this Saturday, while Oklahoma does not play this week.
Nebraska has reached its last two milestone victories on the road with win No. 800 coming at Kansas State in 2006 (21-3) and win No. 700 also in Manhattan in 1996 (39-3).
About Illinois Football
Illinois has fielded a football team since 1890 and owns an overall record of 608-594-51. A member of the Big Ten Conference since the 1896 season, the Fighting Illini have a Big Ten record of 343-433.32 and have made five Rose Bowl appearances, most recently in 2008. The program claims five national titles, the most recent one in 1951. Illinois has won 15 Big Ten titles. The most recent conference title came in 2001. The Illini hold an 8-10 record in bowl games and their last bowl appearance was in 2014.
First Season: 1890
All-Time Record: 608-594-51
Big Ten Titles: 15
National Titles: 5
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Location: Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
Enrollment: 49,339
Conference: Big Ten
Colors: Orange & Blue
About 2019 Illinois
Schedule
Akron (W 42-3)
at Connecticut (W 31-23)
Eastern Michigan (L 31-34)
Nebraska
at Minnesota
Michigan
Wisconsin
at Purdue
at Rutgers
at Michigan State
at Iowa
Northwestern
Illinois suffered its first loss of the season last week, falling to Eastern Michigan, 34-31.
The Fighting Illini got off to a fast start with 17 first-quarter points but with under two minutes left, the game was tied at 31 and Eastern Michigan pulled off the win with a last-second field goal.
This season, Brandon Peters is 60-for-95 with two interceptions and nine passing touchdowns. Reggie Corbin is Illinois’ leading rusher with 180 yards and two touchdowns. Ricky Smalling leads the receivers with 159 yards and one touchdown. As a team, Illinois is outscoring its opponents 104-60 through three games this season.
On defense, Dele Harding leads the team with 30 total tackles. He also has one interception on the season. Oluwole Betiku Jr. leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and half of the team’s 12.0 total sacks this season.
About Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith is in his fourth season as head coach at Illinois and sports an overall record of 11-28. The 61-year-old Smith is a graduate of Tulsa, where he was an All-American linebacker. Smith spent the early part of his coaching career in the college level with stops at Tulsa, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio State, but in the 1990s, Smith made the move to the NFL ranks where he ultimately became head coach of the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Smith led the Bears to Super Bowl XLI in 2006.
Last Meeting: November 10, 2018
Nebraska 54, Illinois 35 (Lincoln)
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska's high-powered offense made Illinois pay for its many mistakes Saturday.
The Cornhuskers converted four of the Illini's five turnovers into 24 points while pulling away for a 54-35 win, their third in four games after an 0-6 start.
The Huskers (3-7, 2-5 Big Ten) did plenty right. Wearing alternate uniforms to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, the Huskers rolled up 606 total yards on a raw afternoon when the wind chill dipped to 13 degrees. Illinois amassed 509 yards in the meeting of the Big Ten's worst defenses.
Adrian Martinez threw for 290 yards and accounted for four touchdowns and Devine Ozigbo ran for 162 yards and three scores.
Illinois (4-6, 2-5) had three turnovers in the first half -- two muffed punts and a fumble by quarterback AJ Bush. Those led to 17 points for Nebraska, which led 38-21 at half.
Bush moved the Illini into Nebraska territory on the opening series of the second half but was intercepted when his pass went through Dominic Stampley's hands into safety Aaron Williams'. The Huskers embarked on a 17-play, 82-yard drive that chewed nearly 8 minutes off the clock, with Ozigbo scoring his second touchdown for a 24-point lead.
Martinez was 24 of 34 and threw for three touchdowns, and he ran 13 times for 55 yards and a TD. His 345 yards of total offense pushed his season total to a school freshman-record 2,747.
Ozigbo broke a career-long 66-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and went 60 yards for another TD in the fourth.
Bush, playing against the school where he spent the first two years of his college career, threw for 126 yards but was intercepted twice. Nebraska couldn't stop Bush as a runner, though. He rushed for a school quarterback-record 187 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.
Nebraska (2-1, 0-0) at Illinois (2-1, 0-0)
When: Saturday, September 21, 2019 | 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Where: Memorial Stadium | Champaign, Illinois
TV: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Matt Millen, Rick Pizzo)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin)
Satellite Radio: Sirius (Ch. 83) | XM (Ch. 83)
Internet Radio: Huskers.com | TuneIn.com
This Week's Numbers
900 - Nebraska will be looking to become the fifth college football program to win 900 games on Saturday night. Nebraska owns an all-time record of 899-389-40. The Huskers will look to join Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, and Alabama in the exclusive club.
30 - Nebraska has topped 30 points in each of its first three games. A fourth 30-point outing to open the season would mark the first time the Huskers have scored better than 30 points in the first four games since 2014.
9 - Nebraska opponents have totaled just nine rushes of 10 yards or more through three games. The Blackshirt defense is allowing just 2.2 yards per rush and 82.0 rushing yards per game.
Nebraska opens Big Ten Conference play on Saturday night with the Huskers traveling to Champaign to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini. The prime-time tilt at Illinois' Memorial Stadium is set to kick off shortly after 7 p.m. CT, with national television coverage on BTN and radio coverage available on the Husker Sports Network from Learfield-IMG.
Nebraska heads into Big Ten action with a 2-1 record, following an impressive 44-8 victory over Northern Illinois last Saturday in Lincoln. Nebraska opened a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back as the Blackshirt defense held NIU out of the end zone. The Huskers rolled up 525 yards of total offense, including better than 235 yards both rushing and passing.
Illinois will enter Saturday's contest with a 2-1 record, following a 34-31 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday in Champaign. Illinois had opened the year with victories over Akron and at Connecticut before the setback this past weekend. Coach Lovie Smith's team has been strong on defense this season, allowing less than 320 yards per game, including just 79.3 rushing yards per game.
Series History
Nebraska and Illinois have a history of opening league play against each other. Since their first meeting as Big Ten opponents in 2013, the Huskers have opened conference play against Illinois four times in seven seasons. Nebraska is 5-1 against the Illini since joining the Big Ten Conference.
Nebraska holds a 12-3-1 all-time edge in the series, including 3-2-1 record in games played at Illinois
- Nebraska is 5-1 against the Fighting Illini since joining the Big Ten, with the lone setback a 14-13 loss in 2015. Nebraska's five wins have come by an average of 21.4 points.
- One of Nebraska's memorable victories in the series occurred on Oct. 3, 1925, a 14-0 Nebraska win in Champaign. It was the only time in Red Grange's Illinois career that he was held scoreless in a home game.
Nebraska Set to Open Big Ten Conference Action
Nebraska begins its ninth season of Big Ten Conference action on Saturday night in Champaign. The game marks the fourth time Nebraska has opened Big Ten play against Illinois.
• The Huskers are 5-3 in Big Ten openers since joining the league in 2011.
• Nebraska has won 39 of its past 44 conference openers overall, with four of those losses against top-20 teams.
• Overall, Nebraska is 91-22-2 all-time in conference openers (.800 winning percentage).
• Saturday's game is the first of four Big Ten road games for Nebraska in 2019. The Huskers are 3-5 in their first conference road game since joining the Big Ten.
Nebraska Big Ten Openers
2011 - Wisconsin 48, Nebraska 17 (Madison)
2012 - Nebraska 30, Wisconsin 27 (Lincoln)
2013 - Nebraska 39, Illinois 19 (Lincoln)
2014 - Nebraska 45, Illinois 14 (Lincoln)
2015 - Illinois 14, Nebraska 13 (Champaign)
2016 - Nebraska 24, Northwestern 13 (Evanston)
2017 - Nebraska 27, Rutgers 17 (Lincoln)
2018 - Michigan 56, Nebraska 10 (Ann Arbor)
Huskers Looking for Win No. 900
Nebraska will be looking to reach a major milestone on Saturday night at Illinois. A victory over the Fighting Illini would be win No. 900 in program history.
• The Huskers would join just four other programs in the 900-win club. The other current members of that club include Michigan (955), Ohio State (914), Texas (911), Alabama (908). Notre Dame and Oklahoma also sit at 899 victories. Notre Dame plays at Georgia this Saturday, while Oklahoma does not play this week.
Nebraska has reached its last two milestone victories on the road with win No. 800 coming at Kansas State in 2006 (21-3) and win No. 700 also in Manhattan in 1996 (39-3).
About Illinois Football
Illinois has fielded a football team since 1890 and owns an overall record of 608-594-51. A member of the Big Ten Conference since the 1896 season, the Fighting Illini have a Big Ten record of 343-433.32 and have made five Rose Bowl appearances, most recently in 2008. The program claims five national titles, the most recent one in 1951. Illinois has won 15 Big Ten titles. The most recent conference title came in 2001. The Illini hold an 8-10 record in bowl games and their last bowl appearance was in 2014.
First Season: 1890
All-Time Record: 608-594-51
Big Ten Titles: 15
National Titles: 5
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Location: Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
Enrollment: 49,339
Conference: Big Ten
Colors: Orange & Blue
About 2019 Illinois
Schedule
Akron (W 42-3)
at Connecticut (W 31-23)
Eastern Michigan (L 31-34)
Nebraska
at Minnesota
Michigan
Wisconsin
at Purdue
at Rutgers
at Michigan State
at Iowa
Northwestern
Illinois suffered its first loss of the season last week, falling to Eastern Michigan, 34-31.
The Fighting Illini got off to a fast start with 17 first-quarter points but with under two minutes left, the game was tied at 31 and Eastern Michigan pulled off the win with a last-second field goal.
This season, Brandon Peters is 60-for-95 with two interceptions and nine passing touchdowns. Reggie Corbin is Illinois’ leading rusher with 180 yards and two touchdowns. Ricky Smalling leads the receivers with 159 yards and one touchdown. As a team, Illinois is outscoring its opponents 104-60 through three games this season.
On defense, Dele Harding leads the team with 30 total tackles. He also has one interception on the season. Oluwole Betiku Jr. leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and half of the team’s 12.0 total sacks this season.
About Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith is in his fourth season as head coach at Illinois and sports an overall record of 11-28. The 61-year-old Smith is a graduate of Tulsa, where he was an All-American linebacker. Smith spent the early part of his coaching career in the college level with stops at Tulsa, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio State, but in the 1990s, Smith made the move to the NFL ranks where he ultimately became head coach of the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Smith led the Bears to Super Bowl XLI in 2006.
Last Meeting: November 10, 2018
Nebraska 54, Illinois 35 (Lincoln)
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska's high-powered offense made Illinois pay for its many mistakes Saturday.
The Cornhuskers converted four of the Illini's five turnovers into 24 points while pulling away for a 54-35 win, their third in four games after an 0-6 start.
The Huskers (3-7, 2-5 Big Ten) did plenty right. Wearing alternate uniforms to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, the Huskers rolled up 606 total yards on a raw afternoon when the wind chill dipped to 13 degrees. Illinois amassed 509 yards in the meeting of the Big Ten's worst defenses.
Adrian Martinez threw for 290 yards and accounted for four touchdowns and Devine Ozigbo ran for 162 yards and three scores.
Illinois (4-6, 2-5) had three turnovers in the first half -- two muffed punts and a fumble by quarterback AJ Bush. Those led to 17 points for Nebraska, which led 38-21 at half.
Bush moved the Illini into Nebraska territory on the opening series of the second half but was intercepted when his pass went through Dominic Stampley's hands into safety Aaron Williams'. The Huskers embarked on a 17-play, 82-yard drive that chewed nearly 8 minutes off the clock, with Ozigbo scoring his second touchdown for a 24-point lead.
Martinez was 24 of 34 and threw for three touchdowns, and he ran 13 times for 55 yards and a TD. His 345 yards of total offense pushed his season total to a school freshman-record 2,747.
Ozigbo broke a career-long 66-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and went 60 yards for another TD in the fourth.
Bush, playing against the school where he spent the first two years of his college career, threw for 126 yards but was intercepted twice. Nebraska couldn't stop Bush as a runner, though. He rushed for a school quarterback-record 187 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.
