The No. 24 Illini (3-0) are preparing to take on their first conference competitor Friday night. They take the field at 7 p.m. in Lincoln to battle the Cornhuskers on another warm, Midwest evening.
There’s lots of pressure going into this game for a variety of reasons. For one, it’s the team’s first away game of the season. Second, they’re taking on another undefeated Big Ten team. Finally, the Illini are once again going to be playing in front of a massive, sold-out crowd.
There are expected to be over 80,000 fans packing into Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium on Friday evening. According to the Associated Press, this is the 400th consecutive sold-out game for Nebraska.
Despite the satisfaction of starting off unbeaten, there are still areas of improvement that the Illini intend to focus on. This past weekend against Central Michigan, there were many slip-ups on the offensive end. Penalties pushed the team back numerous yards as the Illini ended the contest with a season-high 10 accepted infractions. Also, a lack of aggression led to junior quarterback Luke Altmyer getting sacked three times early in the game.
Fortunately for the Illini, their defense continues to impress with show-stopping plays. Head coach Bret Bielema described the defense as having an “edge” to this season.
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“The defensive edge is, no doubt in my mind, being able to play the next snap,” Bielema noted in a recent press conference. “I told them yesterday one of our keys for the entire team was to play complementary TSD — tough, smart, dependable edge … we commonly talk about, it’s not what happens, it’s how you react to what happens.”
Bouncing back from errors and minimizing sloppiness is a key element to the Illini’s success.
Last year against Nebraska, Illinois failed to bounce back from mistakes and lost 20-7. However, this Friday’s game may demonstrate a more competitive and physical matchup. Altmyer and Nebraska’s quarterback, Dylan Raiola, have posted eerily similar passing yardage stats in the three weeks they’ve played. Altmyer has proven to be more effective with his legs thus far, but in a ranked conference matchup, anything can happen.
Current spreads have Nebraska favored to win by more than a touchdown. The home-field advantage and dominant offense account for Nebraska’s upper hand going into this week’s game.
Nonetheless, it’s important to emphasize the bits of success from the Illini thus far. Senior wide receiver Pat Bryant totaled 102 yards on seven catches against Central Michigan and sits third in the Big Ten for total receiving yards.
Additionally, freshman running back Ca’Lil Valentine, sophomore running back Kaden Feagin and junior running back Josh McCray all picked up positive yards against Central Michigan. Sophomore kickers David Olano and Ethan Moczulski also made their marks with long field goals, with Moczulski’s 59-yarder at the end of the first half setting an Illinois program record.
The Illini’s edge rushers have looked more aggressive and more eager every game. If all positions can maximize their efforts tomorrow, they just might be able to pull off a win against the team ranked just two spots above them.
@tess_eken
