Two teams seeking their first conference victories of the season clash on Friday as the Illinois Fighting Illini host the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a Big Ten Conference showdown. The clubs have identical 2-3 overall records and fell to 0-2 in conference play last weekend, with Illinois suffering a 44-19 setback at Purdue and Nebraska getting trounced 45-7 by Michigan. The Fighting Illini have won three straight meetings with the Cornhuskers to improve to 6-13-1 in the all-time series.
Kickoff at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill., is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. The Fighting Illini are 3-point favorites in the latest Illinois vs. Nebraska odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 42. Before making any Nebraska vs. Illinois picks, you need to see the college football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer model.
Illinois didn’t know it then, but it’d be a long, long time before the Illini found themselves in a similar position again.
Instead, a stellar first half for the Nebraska offense began at its 1-yard line. Dropping back from his own goal line, quarterback Heinrich Haarberg connected with wide receiver Marcus Washington for a big 39-yard gain down the sideline. Washington appeared to suffer a knee injury on the ensuing play and did not return to the game afterward.
Nebraska turned the goal-line stop into points, putting together an 11-play drive that ended short of the end zone. Kicker Tristan Alvano had missed his three previous field-goal attempts this season, but his 31-yard attempt split the uprights to put Nebraska in front.
Anthony Grant and Heinrich Haarberg each scored a rushing touchdown—ten seconds apart— in the second quarter to increase the Huskers' lead to 17.
Illinois responded near the end of the first half when Luke Altmyer found Pat Bryant for a 46-yard touchdown, decreasing the deficit to 17-7.
Nebraska got some insurance in the third with another Tristan Alvano field goal.
After winning his first two career starts, quarterback Heinrich Haarberg set a career high last week as he threw for 199 yards against the Wolverines. The sophomore has averaged 239 yards of total offense in his first three starts, passing for 464 while running for 253. Haarberg has thrown three touchdown passes and just one interception in those contests while also rushing for a pair of scores.
Billy Kemp IV is Nebraska's top receiver with 17 catches for 193 yards and a TD in his first season with the Cornhuskers after four at Virginia. Kemp needs 33 receiving yards to reach 2,000 for his career. On the other side of the ball, Nebraska has been strong against the run, allowing an average of 86.8 yards on the ground to rank third in the Big Ten and 14th in the nation.
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