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This week Nebraska heads to Champaign to take on Illinois and open up BIg Ten play.
Saturday the Huskers had a solid 44-8 win over Northern Illinois. The Nebraska offense looked better this week. Dedrick Mills rushed for 116 yards and Adrian Martinez passed for 257. The defense did not allow the Huskies offense to score a touchdown and held them to just 74 yards rushing.
They face a 2-1 Illinois team that is coming off a loss last week to Eastern Michigan. Coach Lovie Smith and the Illini bring in a stout defense allowing an average of just 79 yards rushing per game. They are led by quarter back Brandon Peters and leading rusher, Reggie Corbin.
For more on the Fighting Illini, check out Husker Mike’s Illinois Preview.
Date/Time: September 21, 2019 7pm
Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL, Capacity 60,760
Surface: Field turf
Opposition Blog: Check out The Champaign Room
Series Record: Nebraska leads the series 12-3-1. In Champaign, Nebraska leads 3-2-1. The current win streak is Nebraska 3-0. At the last meeting on November 10, 2018 Nebraska won 54-35.
TV: The game will be televised on The Big Ten Network. Play-by-Play announcer will be Kevin Kugler, analyst, Matt Millen, and sidelines Rick Pizzo. It can be streamed through the Fox Sports Go App with a login from your cable/satellite/streaming provider.
Radio: Huskers sports radio network. The audio can also be streamed live for free at huskers.com. The crew will be: Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, and Ben McLaughlin. Satellite radio options include: XM Simulcast 83; Sirius Simulcast 83
More streaming options: The official Huskers app is available on iTunes and for Android users. Another option is the TuneIn app for game audio.
Weather: Partly cloudy skies with a high of 81. There is also about a 20 percent chance of scattered storms.
Odds: Nebraska is favored by 13.
Trivia
A win on Saturday will mark Nebraska’s 900 win. Only Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama and Notre Dame have over 900 wins.
Northern Illinois only amassed 74 yards rushing on Saturday. This makes for the third straight opponent that the Huskers have held under 100 yards rushing.
Quotables
Defensive Coordinator Erik Chinander on the Huskers being ranked 5th nationally in takeaways with nine:
“I think the guys are embracing the fact that it is important to our staff. It’s important to the defensive staff and it’s also important to the offensive staff. Coach Frost talks about taking care of the football. We talk about getting turnovers a lot, and we drill it. I think guys are embracing that. I’m happy that it’s happening, and I hope it keeps happening.”
On JoJo Domann:
“You can call him the nickel, call him whatever you want, I don’t know to call him most of the time. When he’s in the game, it’s no holds barred.”
Offensive Coordinator Troy Walters on the Illinois pass rush:
“It’s going to be a big challenge. They want to cause disruption. They get after it upfront. They don’t do a whole lot in the back end, but they’re really disruptive, they twist, they move a lot upfront. So we’ve got our hands full. I think if we do a good job of protecting Adrian [Martinez] and giving him a clean pocket, there are throws to be made but they present a challenge in terms of protecting and keeping him clean.”
On the offense not getting a penalty against Northern Illinois:
“Great pride. Tremendous pride. This offense, if we execute and guys are on the same page and we’re playing fast with fundamentals and details, not beating ourselves, then we’re pretty good. That’s a good sign with no penalties, and we have to continue on the road. We’ve had a great week of practice and penalties are big on the road. If you get behind the chains on the road it’s tough to win so we have to continue that momentum. Be a disciplined team and not create those penalties and also not turn the ball over.”
Isaiah Stallbird on being a Nebraska kid and walk on:
“In Nebraska I was recognized as a better player, and then you come here and see all the talent from all over the U.S., and you’re like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m not as good as I thought.’ That just makes you want to work harder to be able to compete ... and outwork them.”