Link: Full Game Notes (Huskers.com)
NEBRASKA (2-2, 1-0) at ILLINOIS (2-1, 0-0)
When: Friday, September 29 | 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Where: Memorial Stadium (60,760) | Champaign, Illinois
TV: FOX Sports 1 (Justin Kutcher, Mark Helfrich, Petros Papadakis, Jen Hale)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin)
Satellite Radio: Sirius (Ch. 83) | XM (Ch. 83)
Internet: Huskers.com
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Nebraska hits the road for the first time in Big Ten Conference play taking on Illinois on Friday night in Champaign. Game time at Illinois' Memorial Stadium is set for shortly after 7 p.m. CT, with national television coverage on FS1 and radio coverage on the IMG Husker Sports Network.
The Huskers enter the matchup with Illinois with a 2-2 record, and a 1-0 mark in conference play following a 27-17 victory over Rutgers on Saturday. Nebraska relied on a strong running game and tough defense to control the second half of the game against Rutgers. The Huskers rushed for nearly 200 yards, while allowing less than 200 yards of total offense to the Scarlet Knights.
Illinois comes into Friday's matchup with a 2-1 record, including a 2-0 mark at home in 2017. The Fighting Illini last played at South Florida on Friday, Sept. 15, when they lost 47-23. Illinois will have a 14-day break before Friday's contest with the Huskers. Illinois opened the season with non-conference victories over Ball State and Western Kentucky.
The 2017 season marks the fifth consecutive year the Nebraska-Illinois contest has been one of the Huskers' first two conference games. Aside from its traditional post-Thanksgiving game, Friday's game will mark the first time Nebraska has played a weekday regular-season game since 2010.
Numbers to Know
194 - Nebraska allowed just 194 yards of total offense against Rutgers. The yardage total was the lowest for an NU opponent in 47 games, dating back to a win at Michigan in November of 2013.
14 - Nebraska has won 14 consecutive games when out-rushing the opposition. Overall, Nebraska is 16-3 under Mike Riley when it outgains the opponent on the ground.
33 - Nebraska averages more than 33 minutes per game in time of possession (33:23). The Huskers rank fourth in the Big Ten and 15th nationally in that category. In the second-half against Rutgers, Nebraska held the ball for nearly 23 minutes.
Series History
The Friday matchup between Nebraska and Illinois will be the fifth between the schools as Big Ten opponents. The schools now meet each year as members of the Big Ten West Division. Nebraska leads the overall series 10-3-1, though the series is tied in games played in Champaign at 2-2-1. As Big Ten opponents, Nebraska leads the series 3-1. The two teams met seven times between 1892 and 1925, but played just three times between 1926 and 2013.
The Huskers have limited Illinois to 19 or fewer points in all four Big Ten meetings between the teams. NU has scored at least 31 points in three of the four meetings.
1892 - Nebraska 6, Illinois 0 (Lincoln)
1903 - Nebraska 16, Illinois 0 (Lincoln)
1904 - Nebraska 16, Illinois 10 (Lincoln)
1905 - Nebraska 24, Illinois 6 (Lincoln)
1923 - Illinois 24, Nebraska 7 (Champaign)
1924 - Illinois 9, Nebraska 6 (Lincoln)
1925 - Nebraska 14, Illinois 0 (Champaign)
1953 - Nebraska 21, Illinois 21 (Champaign)
1985 - #18 Nebraska 52, Illinois 25 (Lincoln)
1986 - #6 Nebraska 59, Illinois 14 (Champaign)
2013 - Nebraska 39, Illinois 19 (Lincoln)
2014 - #21 Nebraska 45, Illinois 14 (Lincoln)
2015 - Illinois 14, Nebraska 13 (Champaign)
2016 - #15 Nebraska 31, Illinois 16 (Lincoln)
Huskers Prepare for Big Ten Conference Road Opener
Nebraska will play the first if four Big Ten Conference road games at Illinois. In the Big Ten schedule rotation, all West Division teams play five home games and four road contests in 2017.
Nebraska is 2-4 in Big Ten road openers since joining the conference, including a 24-13 win at Northwestern last season.
Nebraska Big Ten Road Openers
2011 - at #7 Wisconsin (L 17-48)
2012 - at #12 Ohio State (L 38-68)
2013 - at Purdue (W 44-7)
2014 - at #10 Michigan State (L 22-27)
2015 - at Illinois (L 13-14)
2016 - at Northwestern (W 24-13)
Nebraska to Play Rare Weeknight Regular Season Game
Nebraska is a regular on Friday at season's end, playing on the Friday after Thanksgiving each of the past 27 seasons. However, the Huskers have made rare weeknight appearances during the middle of the season.
The Big Ten Conference added Friday night games to its schedule this season, including a conference tilt between the Huskers and Fighting Illini.
Nebraska played Thursday night road contests at Kansas State (2010), Missouri (2009), Southern Mississippi (2003), Oklahoma State (1995), Texas Tech (1994) and Oklahoma State (1993).
Nebraska also played a Thursday night home contest against Rice in 2001. That game was originally scheduled for Sept. 15, but was postponed following the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
Nebraska is a perfect 7-0 in its non-Black Friday weekday games since 1993.
Huskers Look for Continued Success Against Illini
Nebraska has been victorious in three of four games against Illinois since joining the Big Ten. The Huskers have won three games by 15 or more points, while its lone setback was a last-second, one-point loss in 2015.
NU has outscored Illinois by an average of 32.0 to 15.6 in the four meetings since 2013.
The Husker offense has been productive against Illinois, gaining better than 500 yards twice, and averaging 465.0 yards per game in the past four meetings. Illinois has averaged only 340.7 yards per game in the matchups.
The NU offense has been particularly effective on the ground against Illinois, rushing for 295.8 yards per game over the past four seasons.
About Illinois Football
Like Nebraska, Illinois is a five-time national champion, although the Fighting Illini's last time came in 1951. Illinois has claimed 15 Big Ten titles in its history, most recently in 2001. The Illini's last Big Ten Conference victory -- a 31-27 win over Michigan State last November -- marked the 600th all-time win in program history. Illinois has appeared in 18 bowl games, most recently a 20-14 win over UCLA in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
First Season: 1890
Conference Titles: 15
Bowl Record: 8-10
All-Time Record: 602-576-51
National Titles: 5 (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927, 1951)
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
About 2017 Illinois Football
Illinois is just one victory away from matching last year's win total, as the Fighting Illini are 2-1 in Lovie Smith's second season. Illinois was off last week and has not played since a 47-23 road loss at No. 22 South Florida on Sept. 15. The Fighting Illini are opening their Big Ten schedule with Nebraska for the fifth straight season. Illinois features one of the youngest teams in the country, as the Illini had started more true freshmen (9) than any team in the nation and played more true freshmen (17) than any team except LSU through the first three weeks of the season.
Illinois is last in the Big Ten and 119th nationally in total offense (290 yards per game), including 110 rushing yards per game (110th nationally) and 180 passing yards per game (102nd). Defensively, Illinois is allowing 433 yards of total offense per game to rank last in the Big Ten and 100th nationally. The Illini have forced five turnovers and rank 38th nationally with an average of nearly three sacks per game.
Mike Epstein is the Illini's leading rusher with 221 yards, including a 111-yard effort against Western Kentucky in his last home game. Quarterback Chayce Crouch is the Illini's second-leading rusher with 56 yards through three games. Through the air, Crouch is completing 51.6 percent of his passes and has thrown for 328 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Mike Dudek leads Illinois with 14 catches and 158 receiving yards.
Defensively, Del'Shawn Phillips leads Illinois with 32 tackles, and his 10.7 tackles per game are second in the Big Ten and 16th nationally. Bobby Roundtree has recorded 3.0 sacks in three games, ranking 12th nationally in sacks per game.
2017 Illinois Football Schedule (2-1, 0-0)
Ball State (W 24-21)
Western Kentucky (W 20-7)
at South Florida (L 23-47)
Nebraska
at Iowa
Rutgers
at Minnesota
Wisconsin
at Purdue
Indiana
at Ohio State
Northwestern
About Illinois Coach Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith is in his second year as head coach at Illinois and his second year overall as a collegiate head coach, and sports a 5-10 record. Smith is 0-1 all-time against Nebraska. A 1979 graduate of Tulsa, where Smith played linebacker, Smith coached high school football in the early 1980s then became linebackers coach at Tulsa from 1983 to 1986. In 1987 Smith was linebackers coach at Wisconsin, then spent three years (1988-91) as the linebackers coach at Arizona State. Lovie Smith followed that up with a one-year stint (1992) as the linebackers coach at Kentucky and then took over as defensive backs coach at Tennessee from 1993 to 1994, before his final collegiate assistant coaching stop as the defensive backs coach at Ohio State in 1995. He spent the next several years as an assistant coach in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2000) and the St. Louis Rams (2001-2003), serving as the defensive coordinator with the Rams. Lovie Smith was named head coach of the Chicago Bears in 2004 and served in that capacity through 2012, and then coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons (2014-15). Smith compiled an NFL head coaching record of 89-87. In 2016 he was named head coach at the University of Illinois.
Last Meeting: Nebraska 31, Illinois 16 (Oct. 1, 2016)
Nebraska's fourth-quarter dominance showed up again Saturday, this time with Terrell Newby leading the way. The senior ran for 113 of his 140 yards and scored two touchdowns in the game's final 15 minutes, just in time for the 15th-ranked Cornhuskers to turn back Illinois' upset-bid and win 31-16.
Newby touched the ball on 18 of Nebraska's last 21 plays from scrimmage and won the game going away (improving to 5-0, 2-0) after trailing 16-10. The win also avenged a 14-13 loss to the Illini a year ago. So far on the 2016 season, Nebraska has outscored their opponents 78-6 in the fourth quarter. After taking a 16-10 lead with 7:40 left in the third quarter, Illinois only ran 10 more offensive plays in the contest.
The Huskers turned the ball over three times, including on back-to-back possessions, but Illinois had to settle for field goals on each takeaway.
Nebraska ended the game with 423 total yards (220 pass, 203 rush) while holding Illinois to 270 total yards (146 pass, 124 rush). Nebraska held a commanding 38:01 to 21:59 advantage in time of possession.
Tommy Armstrong was 16-of-23 for 220 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT in the win and also added 12 yards rushing on eight carries with a touchdown. Terrell Newby was the leading rusher with 27 carries for 140 yards and two TDs. Devine Ozigbo had 10 carries for 35 yards before leaving the game with injury. Jordan Westerkamp was the top receiver with four catches for 65 yards. Trey Foster caught the lone touchdown pass from six yards out.
For Illinois, Wes Lunt was 13-of-22 for 133 yards. Reggie Corbin was the top rusher with 9 carries for 72 yards and Malik Turner was the top Illini receiver with five catches for 57 yards.
NEBRASKA (2-2, 1-0) at ILLINOIS (2-1, 0-0)
When: Friday, September 29 | 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Where: Memorial Stadium (60,760) | Champaign, Illinois
TV: FOX Sports 1 (Justin Kutcher, Mark Helfrich, Petros Papadakis, Jen Hale)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin)
Satellite Radio: Sirius (Ch. 83) | XM (Ch. 83)
Internet: Huskers.com
===========================
Nebraska hits the road for the first time in Big Ten Conference play taking on Illinois on Friday night in Champaign. Game time at Illinois' Memorial Stadium is set for shortly after 7 p.m. CT, with national television coverage on FS1 and radio coverage on the IMG Husker Sports Network.
The Huskers enter the matchup with Illinois with a 2-2 record, and a 1-0 mark in conference play following a 27-17 victory over Rutgers on Saturday. Nebraska relied on a strong running game and tough defense to control the second half of the game against Rutgers. The Huskers rushed for nearly 200 yards, while allowing less than 200 yards of total offense to the Scarlet Knights.
Illinois comes into Friday's matchup with a 2-1 record, including a 2-0 mark at home in 2017. The Fighting Illini last played at South Florida on Friday, Sept. 15, when they lost 47-23. Illinois will have a 14-day break before Friday's contest with the Huskers. Illinois opened the season with non-conference victories over Ball State and Western Kentucky.
The 2017 season marks the fifth consecutive year the Nebraska-Illinois contest has been one of the Huskers' first two conference games. Aside from its traditional post-Thanksgiving game, Friday's game will mark the first time Nebraska has played a weekday regular-season game since 2010.
Numbers to Know
194 - Nebraska allowed just 194 yards of total offense against Rutgers. The yardage total was the lowest for an NU opponent in 47 games, dating back to a win at Michigan in November of 2013.
14 - Nebraska has won 14 consecutive games when out-rushing the opposition. Overall, Nebraska is 16-3 under Mike Riley when it outgains the opponent on the ground.
33 - Nebraska averages more than 33 minutes per game in time of possession (33:23). The Huskers rank fourth in the Big Ten and 15th nationally in that category. In the second-half against Rutgers, Nebraska held the ball for nearly 23 minutes.
Series History
The Friday matchup between Nebraska and Illinois will be the fifth between the schools as Big Ten opponents. The schools now meet each year as members of the Big Ten West Division. Nebraska leads the overall series 10-3-1, though the series is tied in games played in Champaign at 2-2-1. As Big Ten opponents, Nebraska leads the series 3-1. The two teams met seven times between 1892 and 1925, but played just three times between 1926 and 2013.
The Huskers have limited Illinois to 19 or fewer points in all four Big Ten meetings between the teams. NU has scored at least 31 points in three of the four meetings.
1892 - Nebraska 6, Illinois 0 (Lincoln)
1903 - Nebraska 16, Illinois 0 (Lincoln)
1904 - Nebraska 16, Illinois 10 (Lincoln)
1905 - Nebraska 24, Illinois 6 (Lincoln)
1923 - Illinois 24, Nebraska 7 (Champaign)
1924 - Illinois 9, Nebraska 6 (Lincoln)
1925 - Nebraska 14, Illinois 0 (Champaign)
1953 - Nebraska 21, Illinois 21 (Champaign)
1985 - #18 Nebraska 52, Illinois 25 (Lincoln)
1986 - #6 Nebraska 59, Illinois 14 (Champaign)
2013 - Nebraska 39, Illinois 19 (Lincoln)
2014 - #21 Nebraska 45, Illinois 14 (Lincoln)
2015 - Illinois 14, Nebraska 13 (Champaign)
2016 - #15 Nebraska 31, Illinois 16 (Lincoln)
Huskers Prepare for Big Ten Conference Road Opener
Nebraska will play the first if four Big Ten Conference road games at Illinois. In the Big Ten schedule rotation, all West Division teams play five home games and four road contests in 2017.
Nebraska is 2-4 in Big Ten road openers since joining the conference, including a 24-13 win at Northwestern last season.
Nebraska Big Ten Road Openers
2011 - at #7 Wisconsin (L 17-48)
2012 - at #12 Ohio State (L 38-68)
2013 - at Purdue (W 44-7)
2014 - at #10 Michigan State (L 22-27)
2015 - at Illinois (L 13-14)
2016 - at Northwestern (W 24-13)
Nebraska to Play Rare Weeknight Regular Season Game
Nebraska is a regular on Friday at season's end, playing on the Friday after Thanksgiving each of the past 27 seasons. However, the Huskers have made rare weeknight appearances during the middle of the season.
The Big Ten Conference added Friday night games to its schedule this season, including a conference tilt between the Huskers and Fighting Illini.
Nebraska played Thursday night road contests at Kansas State (2010), Missouri (2009), Southern Mississippi (2003), Oklahoma State (1995), Texas Tech (1994) and Oklahoma State (1993).
Nebraska also played a Thursday night home contest against Rice in 2001. That game was originally scheduled for Sept. 15, but was postponed following the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
Nebraska is a perfect 7-0 in its non-Black Friday weekday games since 1993.
Huskers Look for Continued Success Against Illini
Nebraska has been victorious in three of four games against Illinois since joining the Big Ten. The Huskers have won three games by 15 or more points, while its lone setback was a last-second, one-point loss in 2015.
NU has outscored Illinois by an average of 32.0 to 15.6 in the four meetings since 2013.
The Husker offense has been productive against Illinois, gaining better than 500 yards twice, and averaging 465.0 yards per game in the past four meetings. Illinois has averaged only 340.7 yards per game in the matchups.
The NU offense has been particularly effective on the ground against Illinois, rushing for 295.8 yards per game over the past four seasons.
About Illinois Football
Like Nebraska, Illinois is a five-time national champion, although the Fighting Illini's last time came in 1951. Illinois has claimed 15 Big Ten titles in its history, most recently in 2001. The Illini's last Big Ten Conference victory -- a 31-27 win over Michigan State last November -- marked the 600th all-time win in program history. Illinois has appeared in 18 bowl games, most recently a 20-14 win over UCLA in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
First Season: 1890
Conference Titles: 15
Bowl Record: 8-10
All-Time Record: 602-576-51
National Titles: 5 (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927, 1951)
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
About 2017 Illinois Football
Illinois is just one victory away from matching last year's win total, as the Fighting Illini are 2-1 in Lovie Smith's second season. Illinois was off last week and has not played since a 47-23 road loss at No. 22 South Florida on Sept. 15. The Fighting Illini are opening their Big Ten schedule with Nebraska for the fifth straight season. Illinois features one of the youngest teams in the country, as the Illini had started more true freshmen (9) than any team in the nation and played more true freshmen (17) than any team except LSU through the first three weeks of the season.
Illinois is last in the Big Ten and 119th nationally in total offense (290 yards per game), including 110 rushing yards per game (110th nationally) and 180 passing yards per game (102nd). Defensively, Illinois is allowing 433 yards of total offense per game to rank last in the Big Ten and 100th nationally. The Illini have forced five turnovers and rank 38th nationally with an average of nearly three sacks per game.
Mike Epstein is the Illini's leading rusher with 221 yards, including a 111-yard effort against Western Kentucky in his last home game. Quarterback Chayce Crouch is the Illini's second-leading rusher with 56 yards through three games. Through the air, Crouch is completing 51.6 percent of his passes and has thrown for 328 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Mike Dudek leads Illinois with 14 catches and 158 receiving yards.
Defensively, Del'Shawn Phillips leads Illinois with 32 tackles, and his 10.7 tackles per game are second in the Big Ten and 16th nationally. Bobby Roundtree has recorded 3.0 sacks in three games, ranking 12th nationally in sacks per game.
2017 Illinois Football Schedule (2-1, 0-0)
Ball State (W 24-21)
Western Kentucky (W 20-7)
at South Florida (L 23-47)
Nebraska
at Iowa
Rutgers
at Minnesota
Wisconsin
at Purdue
Indiana
at Ohio State
Northwestern
About Illinois Coach Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith is in his second year as head coach at Illinois and his second year overall as a collegiate head coach, and sports a 5-10 record. Smith is 0-1 all-time against Nebraska. A 1979 graduate of Tulsa, where Smith played linebacker, Smith coached high school football in the early 1980s then became linebackers coach at Tulsa from 1983 to 1986. In 1987 Smith was linebackers coach at Wisconsin, then spent three years (1988-91) as the linebackers coach at Arizona State. Lovie Smith followed that up with a one-year stint (1992) as the linebackers coach at Kentucky and then took over as defensive backs coach at Tennessee from 1993 to 1994, before his final collegiate assistant coaching stop as the defensive backs coach at Ohio State in 1995. He spent the next several years as an assistant coach in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2000) and the St. Louis Rams (2001-2003), serving as the defensive coordinator with the Rams. Lovie Smith was named head coach of the Chicago Bears in 2004 and served in that capacity through 2012, and then coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons (2014-15). Smith compiled an NFL head coaching record of 89-87. In 2016 he was named head coach at the University of Illinois.
Last Meeting: Nebraska 31, Illinois 16 (Oct. 1, 2016)
Nebraska's fourth-quarter dominance showed up again Saturday, this time with Terrell Newby leading the way. The senior ran for 113 of his 140 yards and scored two touchdowns in the game's final 15 minutes, just in time for the 15th-ranked Cornhuskers to turn back Illinois' upset-bid and win 31-16.
Newby touched the ball on 18 of Nebraska's last 21 plays from scrimmage and won the game going away (improving to 5-0, 2-0) after trailing 16-10. The win also avenged a 14-13 loss to the Illini a year ago. So far on the 2016 season, Nebraska has outscored their opponents 78-6 in the fourth quarter. After taking a 16-10 lead with 7:40 left in the third quarter, Illinois only ran 10 more offensive plays in the contest.
The Huskers turned the ball over three times, including on back-to-back possessions, but Illinois had to settle for field goals on each takeaway.
Nebraska ended the game with 423 total yards (220 pass, 203 rush) while holding Illinois to 270 total yards (146 pass, 124 rush). Nebraska held a commanding 38:01 to 21:59 advantage in time of possession.
Tommy Armstrong was 16-of-23 for 220 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT in the win and also added 12 yards rushing on eight carries with a touchdown. Terrell Newby was the leading rusher with 27 carries for 140 yards and two TDs. Devine Ozigbo had 10 carries for 35 yards before leaving the game with injury. Jordan Westerkamp was the top receiver with four catches for 65 yards. Trey Foster caught the lone touchdown pass from six yards out.
For Illinois, Wes Lunt was 13-of-22 for 133 yards. Reggie Corbin was the top rusher with 9 carries for 72 yards and Malik Turner was the top Illini receiver with five catches for 57 yards.
