Nebraska football falls to Illinois in overtime

On a night when Nebraska celebrated its past, honoring the program’s historic 400-game sellout streak that dates back to 1962, the Huskers couldn’t mark the occasion with a win. Despite another strong showing from quarterback Dylan Raiola, No. 22 Nebraska crumbled late and fell 31-24 to No. 24 Illinois in overtime on Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

The loss marked the Huskers’ 24th straight to a ranked opponent, a streak which dates back to the 2016 season — and Friday’s defeat was just as painful as the 23 that came before it.

A 60-minute battle gave way to an overtime period in which Nebraska (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) never looked comfortable in. It took Illinois (4-0, 1-0) all of two plays to find its way into the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Luke Altmyer.

Needing a touchdown of its own, Nebraska only went one way: backward. A false start was immediately followed by an Illinois sack, then when Raiola attempted to escape pressure by scrambling backward, he was called for intentional grounding.

The result was a whopping third-and-42 which Nebraska had little chance of converting. After a short pass, its final chance at the end zone ended with Raiola laying on the turf and Illinois players flexing and celebrating on the Nebraska logo at midfield.

“We were going to take a shot the first play and then we false-started. Even on the last one, we missed a blitz pickup,” head coach Matt Rhule said. “The moment showed up and we didn’t make the plays you have to make to win those games.”

It was a chilling end to an evening that had begun with a sunny optimism springing from Nebraska’s undefeated start to the season.

Illinois surged early with a long touchdown drive that ended in a 27-yard passing score to Pat Bryant, a play that put the Huskers behind for the first time all season.

Raiola led an 18-play march down the field, converting four third downs before kicker John Hohl’s 21-yard field goal got the Huskers on the board. Two players later, and the game’s momentum had completely flipped in Nebraska’s favor.

On a routine pass over the middle, Illinois’ Hank Beatty hauled in a catch and attempted to fight for extra yardage as defensive back Malcolm Hartzog grappled with him. Beatty never saw linebacker John Bullock, who rushed onto the scene and ripped the ball away, forcing a fumble which DeShon Singleton recovered.

Raiola quickly fired a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaiah Neyor, a play that put the Huskers ahead for the first time.

Neyor had a busy first half and narrowly missed out on catching three touchdowns in the first 30 minutes of the game alone. On a deep shot into the end zone where Neyor had to slow down, the senior wideout had the football slip out from between his fingers into the waiting hands of Illinois’ Torrie Cox.

A play that was ruled a touchdown on the field was reversed to an Illinois interception after a video review — but Neyor wouldn’t let the next opportunity escape him.

With Nebraska and Illinois knotted up at 10-10 late in the half, Raiola led the Husker offense on a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. The final play, an 11-yard connection between Raiola and Neyor, involved the wide receiver dragging his toes across the turf for a highlight catch in the corner of the end zone.

A win wouldn’t come easy for Nebraska, though. Illinois kept up the pressure in the second half, particularly on a long 11-play march down the field which included a pivotal fourth-and-1 conversion prior to a 3-yard passing touchdown from Altmyer.

The Illinois score tied the game at 17-17, but Nebraska had an ace up its sleeve — its quarterback.

On the go-ahead scoring drive, Raiola uncorked a 44-yard throw to Neyor down the sideline before connecting with tight end Thomas Fidone II for a 29-yard gain on a play where he threw off his back foot with pressure bearing down. A 1-yard touchdown pass from Raiola to Janiran Bonner followed to reclaim a seven-point Husker advantage.

Illinois clawed back yet again, again converting a fourth down in the red zone as Altmyer’s 6-yard touchdown pass produced a 24-24 game.

“We didn’t seem to be the more physical team. We did win the turnover battle today, the defense took the ball away twice but couldn’t get off the field,” Rhule said. “I thought we had a really hot offense there for a while and would’ve loved to have gotten them the ball a little bit more.”

The Nebraska offense had another answer, but it needed a game-changing play from its defense in order to provide it. With Illinois putting together what could have been a back-breaking touchdown drive, cornerback Ceyair Wright came flying off the edge to punch the football from Altmyer’s grasp.

Linebacker Mikai Gbayor jumped on the loose ball, setting up a potential game-winning drive, only for Hohl’s 39-yard attempt to fall wide left.

“That’s a makeable field goal; I felt like we would make that field goal,” Rhule said. “When I looked at it, the laces weren’t turned out, he had to kick the laces and it just wasn’t made.”

A heart-thumping end to the regulation saw Illinois move the ball past midfield nearing field goal range before the Huskers’ impactful pass rush came up with a third-down stop to help send the game to overtime.

Nebraska honored its 400th consecutive sellout with a special ceremony between the first and second quarters. Highlights from decades prior superimposed with commentary from legendary college football announcer Keith Jackson played on the stadium’s videoboards before fans took part in a card stunt.

Those sitting in East stadium held up cards that read “400th sellout 1962-2024” and when flipped, “No place like Nebraska.”

And when it was all said and done, the night ended with Nebraska still having won 324 of the games played during its 400-game sellout streak. Nebraska will now take a 3-1 record into next week’s road matchup at Purdue.

“The narrative has been, ‘Hey they’re going to win all these games,’ and my narrative’s just been to go 1-0 every week and lock in,” Rhule said. “We have a lot to learn from this game, but I’m sure our guys will bounce back.”