One night left. Nebraska (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten) plays at Illinois (5-3, 3-2) Friday at 7 p.m. CT at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign, with FOX and the Husker Sports Network carrying it. The Huskers have lost three straight and are still one win from bowl eligibility.
Rhule’s message for his quarterback
Matt Rhule told Jessica Coody of the Husker Radio Network on Wednesday that Nebraska got full-pads work in Monday and Tuesday, 247Sports reported. He called the Washington game a learning moment for Anthony Colandrea, and his ask for Friday was simple.
“When you’re the quarterback, everyone’s looking to you. So we don’t want him to be too much. But we do want him to be Ant,” Rhule said. “Ant’s a dynamic player. I want him to run around and make plays. Be in the quarterback run game. I don’t want him to listen to, ‘Don’t run it. Be in the pocket.’ When you’re in the pocket, be great in the pocket. When you’re outside the pocket, go be you.”
Rhule has also preached calm all week. “Just steady in the boat, man. Steady in the boat,” he said, per CBS Sports. “Your focus should be on being steady in the boat, going back to work this week and understanding this game against Illinois, if we play well, we’ll come down to the end and you have to make one more play than the other team.”
An Illinois team that keeps winning close
The Illini have won three straight Big Ten games, over Michigan State in overtime, Oregon at home and Maryland on the road, by a combined 15 points. Last week Ethan Moczulski hit a 26-yard field goal as time expired to win 20-17 at Maryland, and the Illinois defense allowed three points and 99 yards over the final 26:10 of that game, according to CBS Sports. Illinois is 15-4 at home over the past three seasons.
Jeremy Werner of the Illini Inquirer told 247Sports the turnaround started on defense. Bret Bielema parted ways with first-year coordinator Bobby Hauck and promoted linebackers coach Roger Cooper, and Illinois has allowed 27 points over the last two weeks. Werner counted 5.0 sacks and four takeaways for Illinois in its last three games.
The run game on both sides
- Illinois ran for 407 yards over its last two games after reshuffling its offensive line, per Werner.
- Aidan Laughery averages 70.0 rushing yards per game, with 100-yard games against Ohio State (113) and Oregon (123). Freshman Javari Barnett broke a 64-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter at Maryland.
- Nebraska ranks third in the Big Ten at 186.6 rushing yards per game. Jamal Rule averages 66.1 yards per game, one spot behind Laughery in the conference.
- Nebraska’s defense is fifth in the Big Ten, allowing 15.6 points per game.
- Illinois quarterback Katin Houser, back from a broken hand, has 1,663 passing yards and carried no injury designation on Tuesday’s report.
Friday nights and this series
This is the 23rd meeting between the schools, and Nebraska leads the series 14-7-1, per Cornhuskers Wire. It is also the third straight Friday-night meeting: Nebraska won in Champaign in 2023, and Illinois won in overtime in Lincoln in 2024.
Nebraska will have Dana Holgorsen and offensive line coach Geep Wade in the press box and John Hohl kicking. Jamir Conn and Gunnar Gottula were upgraded to probable earlier this week. The final availability report comes before kickoff.
Featured image: Photo: I am One of Many. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tommy_Armstrong_Jr._rolls_out_to_pass_(Nebraska_vs._Rutgers,_2014).jpg.
