Corn Flakes: Nebraska Baseball Faces Illinois - What Are Erstad's Boys Made Of?

Today marks the start of the last Nebraska baseball series of the 2015 season.

Nebraska needs a win against Illinois to seal their bid to the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis... OR... Minnesota and Penn State need to lose a game. There's a pretty good probability both those teams will lose at least one game (check schedule below), but backing into the tournament isn't exactly confidence-inspring.

Illinois' win streak is at 24. If they sweep Nebraska, they will overtake Nebraska's win streak of 26 back which occurred back in 1983. The Huskers have won each of the first three series between the two teams, including a 2-1 series win in Champaign in 2013.

Illinois is in the Top Five in every poll this week; No. 3 by Perfect Game, No. 4 by Baseball America and No. 5 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, on D1Baseball.com, and by the NCBWA.

Illinois will win the Big Ten regular season with two wins over Nebraska, a win over Nebraska and a loss by Iowa, or two losses by Iowa.

And because you need a reason to feel even better about Nebraska's chances, from the Illinois' notes comes these bits of interest:

• UI sits in the Top 5 in the nation in four pitching categories: No. 3 in walks allowed per nine innings (2.03) and WHIP (1.10) and No. 5 in ERA (2.48) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.67).
• The Illini also rank fourth in the country with 3.2 runs allowed per game and a +3.7 scoring margin.

Thursday Starters

• ILL:Jr. LHP Kevin Duchene (9-1, 0.95 ERA)
• NEB: Sr. RHP Chance Sinclair (6-6, 2.78 ERA)

Friday Starters

• ILL: r-Sr. RHP Drasen Johnson (8-2, 2.20 ERA)
• NEB: Sr. LHP Kyle Kubat (4-4, 2.62 ERA)

Saturday Starters

• ILL: Sr. RHP John Kravetz (4-0, 3.76 ERA)
• NEB: So. RHP Derek Burkamper (5-3, 3.84 ERA)
• Big Ten Schedule

All times (Eastern) and dates subject to change

Thursday, May 14

• Iowa at Rutgers - 3 p.m.
• Maryland at Northwestern - 4 p.m.
• Penn State at Purdue - 5 p.m.
• Oklahoma State at Michigan - 6 p.m.
• Nebraska at Illinois - 7:05 p.m.
• Michigan State at Minnesota - 7:35 p.m.
• Ohio State at Indiana - 8 p.m.

Friday, May 15

• Iowa at Rutgers - 1 p.m.
• Maryland at Northwestern - 4 p.m.
• Oklahoma State at Michigan - 6 p.m.
• Penn State at Purdue - 6:30 p.m.
• Ohio State at Indiana - 6:35 p.m.
• Michigan State at Minnesota - 7:05 p.m.
• Nebraska at Illinois - 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, May 16

• Iowa at Rutgers - 11 a.m.
• Oklahoma State at Michigan - 12 p.m.
• Penn State at Purdue - 1 p.m.
• Ohio State at Indiana - 1:05 p.m.
• Maryland at Northwestern - 2 p.m.
• Michigan State at Minnesota - 2:05 p.m.
• Nebraska at Illinois - 2:05 p.m.

Crimson Query baseball style with Land-Grant Holy Land - The Crimson Quarry
Hoosier baseball is hot. Buckeye baseball is not. As the two squads prepare for a big showdown this weekend, I got in touch with Ben Martens from Land-Grant Holy Land and conducted a Crimson Query...

Tennessee and Iowa fans drank every drop of whiskey at the Jaguars’ stadium - SBNation.com
A commendable feat from two fanbases well-schooled in the drinking arts.

How to get taxpayer money for your favorite college football team - SBNation.com
Uncertainty surrounding enhanced benefits for athletes enabled one politician to land public money for his school's team.

NCAA prohibits promotion of satellite camps via social media
The NCAA has ruled that coaches should not play any role in developing promotional materials or promoting non-institutional camps or clinics online or via social media.

Colorado State to pay cost of attendance stipends with Florida's Jim McElwain buyout money - Alligator Army
Never let it be said that the University of Florida isn't committed to student-athlete welfare.

THE COACHES KIRK FERENTZ HAS LOST TO - Every Day Should Be Saturday
A QUIZ, AND ALSO AN EXERCISE IN SADNESS

Tim Beckman and Illinois Football draw new accusations of mistreatment - The Champaign Room
Two articles by the Chicago Tribune have raised more questions.

U-M director of football operations suspended, per Harbaugh statement - Maize n Brew
Jim Minick, Harbaugh's right hand man, was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of DUI.

Jalen Rose breaks silence on Chris Webber, calls him "delusional" and "still in denial" - Maize n Brew
Jalen Rose has broken his silence on Chris Webber's comments on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday.

Minnesota Football Facilities: Sid "Reports" & Some Legitimate Concerns - The Daily Gopher
We probably can't trust Sid and if he's wrong again there are some legitimate reasons to worry about the practice facilities.

A lay of the land

"One by one and we scheduled them in, 15 minute slots, and it takes a whole week to get those guys in," Riley said. "Because I didn’t get to recruit them and we’re new to them and they’re new to us. I wasn’t in the home with their families and I don’t know the backgrounds, so I asked them to give me a brief history of who they are and talk about their families."