This Friday evening, the prime time matchup between two top 25 teams in Nebraska and Illinois will kick off.
The No. 22 Huskers, led by star quarterback Dylan Raiola, will face the No. 24 Fighting Illini in what should be a wild matchup at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers lead the standings 14-6 and are looking to win their second straight game against Illinois.
Last season, the Huskers defeated the Fighting Illini 20-7 in Champaign. After that game, Nebraska was 3-3 and had just won its first conference game. Illinois fell to 2-4 and 0-3 in conference play. This season, both teams are 3-0 heading into Friday night’s game.
The Huskers won that 2023 game by 13 points, but for a while it was closer. One of the key sequences of the game was when Illinois was stopped twice inside the 1-yard line as they failed to get into the end zone on two consecutive plays on their opening drive. The Huskers took advantage by marching down the field and kicking a 31-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
The turning point of the game came in the second quarter. After Anthony Grant scored a one-yard touchdown for the Huskers, Illinois dropped a short kickoff and Nebraska scored again. The score was 17-0 and the game was as good as over. Nebraska did not score any more points for the rest of the game and Illinois managed just one more touchdown shortly before halftime. Another Huskers field goal was all that was scored in the second half.
Tonight’s game will likely be much different than the one in 2023. The Huskers now have Raiola at quarterback instead of Heinrich Haarberg, who was a capable runner but not as dynamic a passer. Illinois has also improved significantly from last season’s 5-7 team.
One thing that might be true from last year to tonight is how quickly the game can turn on its head. Those two touchdowns in 10 seconds of game time made the difference in the end. The Huskers need to be ready to capitalize on mistakes this year like they did last season.
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