Keys to Victory: Nebraska vs. Illinois

Nebraska opens up conference play on Friday night with a matchup against Illinois under the lights at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers come in ranked #22 in both major college football polls, while the Illini are #24 in the AP poll. Friday’s game will feature the first contest between two ranked teams in Memorial Stadium in roughly a decade. 

On behalf of the Common Fan podcast, here are three keys to victory for the Huskers, and three keys to victory for all the fellow Common Fans. 

Nebraska’s Keys to Victory

Take Care of the Ball. Illinois boasts a +8 turnover margin (good for #2 in the country in that category), having intercepted their opponents six times in the first three games of the year. The defense overall has been very strong for the Illini, coming in at #33 in Total Defense, #31 in Passing Defense, and #13 in Scoring Defense. This will be the stiffest test yet for Dylan Raiola and the revamped Nebraska offense. Illinois’ strength on defense is in its outside linebackers and secondary; Coach Rhule said this week he was impressed by how the Illini defense disguises coverages, leading to confusion for opposing quarterbacks. The Huskers have to take care of the football in what could be an old fashioned Big Ten slobber knocker. Ideally, the Nebraska offense will be able to lean on its veteran offensive line to win at the line of scrimmage and run the ball at will. That will open up the passing game and allow offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield to dial up some high percentage throws for the young Raiola. 

Interestingly, Nebraska is at +3 in turnover margin, an area that has absolutely haunted the Big Red seemingly since Tom Osborne retired. Let’s hope they can keep up the positive momentum on that front as we move into conference play. 

Get to the Quarterback. We’ve become accustomed to Bret Beliema-led offenses excelling at running the football. This year’s Illinois team has taken a more balanced approach, coming in at #73 in the country in Rushing Offense and #73 in the country in Passing Offense. Quarterback Luke Altmyer has been good, throwing for 647 yards and six touchdowns while completing nearly 70% of his passes. He’s helped by two NFL-caliber receivers in Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin.

I like Nebraska’s chances to…

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