The upstart Fighting Illini from Illinois hit the road and head to Nebraska in a Big Ten battle on Saturday. The Illini are 6-1 on the season and have won five straight games after a 26-14 win over Minnesota last week. Nebraska, 2-2 since firing head coach Scott Frost this season, come in following a 43-37 loss at Purdue two weeks ago. Game time is set for 3:30pm EST.
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The Fighting Illini improved to 6-1 two weeks ago with a win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 26-14. The victory was Illinois' fifth straight overall win and the team's sixth straight win at home. They are now in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten West.
“Excited to get another one for us. The guys prepared really well all week,” said head coach Bret Bielema after the game. “Today didn't happen because of this week. It happened because of the way we've done things since January. “The last time we beat Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota was 1983. I was 13. We keep chipping away at these numbers, and I am really excited where we are at.”
Illinois was efficient both throwing and running the football. They finished with 472 yards of total offense, 252 through the air and 220 on the ground. Running back Chase Brown had a big day with 180 yards rushing. It marked the 8th straig ht game that Brown has rushed for over 100 yards. The Illini went 6-0f-17 on third down conversions but an even more impressive 4-of-4 on fourth down. They didn't commit a turnover in the game.
The dominant Illinois defense stepped up yet again in victory. The Fighting Illini allowed just 180 yards of total offense including just 12 first downs. They held Minnesota's offense to just 38 net yards passing on the day as well. Illinois had three tackles for loss, two sacks, five quarterback hits and three interceptions against the Golden Gophers.
???????? the 10th team in the nation to reach bowl eligibility.#Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy pic.twitter.com/s8xAPDzDWX
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) October 15, 2022
Now bowl eligible, the Fighting Illini will be looking to improve their bowl options with a strong finish. The team has been getting things down with one of the nation's top defenses. On the offensive side of the ball, Illinois ranks 80th in scoring offense. They are 19th on the ground thanks to Brown's exploits but just 98th through the air. They protect the ball extremely well with the nation's 28th ranked turnover differential. In the red zone, the Illini do settle for too many field goals, ranking just 98th in red zone touchdown efficiency. On the defensive side of the ball, however, the Fighting Illini have been dominant. They have the nation's #1 scoring defense heading into this matchup. They are second in the country against the run and fifth in the country against the pass. While they have struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone, they have been absolutely stingy against teams trying to score touchdown in the red zone, ranking first in red zone defense.
Key Injuries: The Illini come into this matchup off of a bye and relatively healthy with only two backup running backs listed a questionable.