Going all the way back to 2011, the Ron Zook era of Illinois football, the Fighting Illini have only been able to manage two wins (or more) against three non-Rutgers Big Ten opponents. (And Rutgers still doesn’t even feel like a Big Ten program anyway)
The trio is Purdue (who they beat thrice), Michigan State and Nebraska, so this is actually a decent opponent with which to commence the Bret Bielema era. It’s also the very first college football game of the season, and the only matchup in week 0 (I guess that’s a thing now) of two power five programs.
Illinois vs Nebraska Cornhuskers FYIs
For bookmaker purposes, check out tha and if you want to do some college football betting you’ll see the Nebraska Cornhuskers favored -7 and this game. The over/under is set at 55 points. If you want to register at a bookmaker in order to do some sports betting, check out W88 dang ky. The point spread has already diminished by three since the open, so this could be a wild one. It will be televised on FOX, with a noon central time kickoff on Saturday Aug 28.
For the Illini Player to watch feature, on WR Isaiah Williams go here. For the Illini Season Preview column go here.
Flashback: the strangest game ever played between these two teams
It was 2015, and on the morning of gameday, the betting line inexplicably shifted several points. Nebraska came to Champaign and entered the fourth quarter leading 13-0. Illini QB Wes Lunt would soon lead his team down the field to make it a game, but his Husker counterpart Tommy Armstrong had a chance to close the deal, but instead had a major brain fart at the worst time.
In a final Huskers drive that had a lot of weirdness, he inexplicably scrambled out of bounds and gave the Illini time, instead of just sliding in bounds and killing the clock.
Lunt led the orange and blue back down the field where the drive culminated in his throwing to the right lower corner of the end zone six straight times. Literally, the same play six times in a row.
Everybody watching knew what Lunt/Illinois was going to do, but Nebraska still couldn’t stop it, because they were flagged twice for pass interference to keep the drive and game going. Finally, the Illini connected and you had the biggest win of the one season that was the Bill Cubit era.
2001 Big Ten Championship Reunion Weekend
This season marks the 20th anniversary of the 2001 Illinois football Big Ten Championship run, which saw head coach Ron Turner’s squad make a 10-1 regular season run and earn a trip to the BCS in the Sugar Bowl. Despite what a total disaster that Sugar Bowl appearance was, any Iowa Hawkeyes fans reading this need to remember this stat:
BCS Bowl appearances- Illinois 2, Iowa 1.
Members of the ’01 team will be back on campus to celebrate that season and honored during the opener against the Cornhuskers. Former players will also be signing autographs in Grange Grove after Illini Walk.
Nebraska Cornhuskers What to Watch
This game was originally scheduled to be in Dublin, Ireland, but got canceled a second time due to covid. So that’s why it’s in week zero, and it would have been genius to stage this in Dublin, Ohio as a marketing stunt.
Credit my Twitter bff @darth_stout for that joke. Frost has not been winning ballgames or press conferences lately, with most people way more concerned about the former than the latter. Still, Frostie and Husker nation in general, have been on the wrong side a bit too many times with the covid discussion.
When you haven’t had a winning season since 2016, not being engaging or interesting with the media (most coaches are, but Frost still stands out as being a little more blah and uninformative) is magnified; ditto for not getting it right in the midst of a global pandemic.
“We have had too many self-inflicted wounds, too many errors, turnovers, penalties, those types of things that have kept us from winning some close football games — special teams is another one,” Frost said at Big Ten Media Day.
“And our players are really mindful of that and dedicated to that and have been through spring ball and summer and I think they know the little things that we all need to do to get better that will help us win more football games.”
This figures to be a game where both sides believe their OL is the overall strength of the team.
“Nebraska’s always been known for Husker power and the offensive line,” Frost continued.
“We have recruited well on the offensive line, but it’s hard in this league to come in as a 18, 19-year-old and be dominant as physical as the Big Ten is.
“The group that we have there right now is I think a group that we can build on, Coach Austin’s done a great job with them.
“Zach Duval’s done a great job with them. I expect that to be one of our strengths this year and looking forward to those guys playing on the field.
Illinois Fighting Illini What to Watch
It’s a Bielema team, and one where offensive line is the strongest position group, so they will have a consistent, solid rushing attack.
The defense is very suspect though, so the O will have to do the best they can to keep the D off the field. Isaiah Williams played receiver for the first time in the 2019 Redbox Bowl loss to California.
“I think what we’re getting here is really a five star wide receiver that instantly brings great ball skills,” said Bielema.
Leading receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe (Jacksonville Jaguars) is gone, as his brother, tight end Daniel Imatorbhebehe (Kansas State) and Ricky Smalling, but fourth-leading receiver Casey Washington returns, as does Miami transfer Brian Hightower and Donny Navarro.
Notre Dame transfer Jafar Armstrong will prove a boost as well. Unless Nebraska has a DB named Aladdin, because he know that Aladdin gets the best of Jafar in the end. The running game will see a bevy of backs carrying the load
“Feel really good about four or five of our running backs that I’m excited to see,” said Bielema.
“We had 15 practices with them in the spring, but this type of offense that we’re running and the variety that we can bring, I think they will fit into that well. I have a couple tight ends that I feel are very, very good Big Ten-type players, so they could transition to possibly something later in their life in the NFL.
“I’ve been blessed with two edge tackles in Vederian Lowe and Palco that have started 30 games each apiece and many more and to have two guys like that with Doug Kramer in the middle and a couple guys fighting if out at the guard position I’m really excited where our offense is.”
Prediction: Nebraska Cornhuskers 33, Illinois Fighting Illini 31
Expect a week zero (in the words of Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins “I’m your lover, I’m your zero, I’m the face in your dreams of glass”) of kind of game- lots of penalties (some of which will be really dumb) and extra stoppages.
There will be sloppy play here and there, with the offenses maybe ahead of the defenses at this point. Bielema will come close, but end up just short.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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