NEBRASKA at ILLINOIS
Oct. 6, 2023 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. | 7 PM CT
HUSKERS
Report: 2-3, 0-2 Huge Ten
Final Sport: vs. No. 2 Michigan, L, 45-7
Rankings: NR
Coach: Matt Rhule
Profession/NU Report: 49-46 (eighth Yr)/2-3 (1st Yr)
vs. Illinois: 0-0
FIGHTING ILLINI
Report: 2-3, 0-2 Huge Ten
Final Sport: at Purdue, L, 44-19
Rankings: NR
Coach: Bret Bielema
Profession/ILL Report: 112-73 (fifteenth Yr)/15-15 (third Yr)
vs. Nebraska: 4-1
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Sequence: Nebraska leads, 13-6-1
In Champaign: Nebraska leads, 4-3-1
Final Sport: Illinois, 26-9 (2022)
Win Streak: Illinois, 3 video games
BROADCAST INFO
TV – FS1 (Jeff Levering, Mark Helfrich)
RADIO NETWORK – Huskers Radio Community (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
INTERNET RADIO – Huskers.com
APP AUDIO – Official Huskers App
The Matchup
Nebraska returns to the street on Friday night time when the Huskers journey to Illinois for a Huge Ten West battle. The matchup between Nebraska and the Combating Illini will kick off at 7 p.m. at Illinois’ Memorial Stadium. Tv protection will probably be supplied by FS1 with the competition out there on the Huskers Radio Community, the official Huskers App and Huskers.com.
The Huskers full the primary half of their 2023 schedule at Illinois earlier than transferring right into a bye week after the competition. Nebraska takes a 2-3 report into the sport, together with an 0-2 mark in Huge Ten Convention play. The Huskers are coming off a house setback towards No. 2 Michigan on Saturday in Lincoln. The journey to Illinois is Nebraska’s solely street sport in a six-game stretch, following the Huskers’ latest three-game homestand and back-to-back dwelling contestsagainst Northwestern (Oct. 21) and Purdue (Oct. 28).
Illinois comes into the sport with the identical report as Nebraska at 2-3 general and 0-2 in Huge Ten play. Coach Bret Bielema’s squad will even be trying to rebound from a loss final week, struggling a 44-19 loss at Purdue. Illinois options one of many high passing offenses within the convention, averaging 242.6 yards per sport by way of the air.
Nebraska holds a robust 13-6-1 general lead within the collection heading into the sport, nevertheless Illinois has captured the previous three conferences between the 2 faculties. Nebraska and Illinois have a historical past of shut video games in Champaign. Three of the 4 contests at Illinois since Nebraska joined the Huge Ten have been one-score contests.
Sequence Historical past: Nebraska vs. Illinois
Saturday’s assembly between Nebraska and Illinois would be the twenty first all-time matchup between the faculties and the eleventh consecutive season the groups have met on the gridiron. Nebraska has a 13-6-1 edge within the all-time collection, together with a 6-4 benefit since Nebraska joined the Huge Ten.
• Nebraska gained six of the primary seven conferences as convention foes, however Illinois brings a three-game collection win streak into Friday’s matchup.
• Nebraska owns a 9-3 edge in video games performed in Lincoln, together with 5-3 at Memorial Stadium.
• The Huskers gained 54-35 in Lincoln in 2018, marking Nebraska’s first 50-point outburst in a Huge Ten Convention sport.
• The one conferences between 1953 and 2013 got here in 1985 and 1986 when Nebraska gained each ends of a home-and-home collection.
• Nebraska defeated Illinois and Crimson Grange, 14-0, in 1925, marking the one time in Grange’s profession he was held scoreless in a house sport.
Huge Ten Friday Night time Lights
Nebraska will probably be taking part in a street sport on the primary Friday night time in October for the second straight season, and a street Friday night time sport for the fourth time since 2017, together with two video games at Illinois.
• Nebraska additionally performed a Friday night time street sport at Illinois in 2017, profitable 28-6 in Champaign. Nebraska additionally gained Friday night time street video games at Rutgers in 2020 and 2022.
• The Huskers do have an extended historical past of taking part in on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Nebraska has performed on Black Friday yearly since 1990.
• Nebraska performs three whole video games on weekdays this 12 months, together with a Thursday night time season opener at Minnesota and the Black Friday sport towards Iowa (Nov. 24).
Kemp Ranks Amongst Lively Leaders in Profession Receptions
Virginia switch Billy Kemp IV is in his first season at Nebraska as some of the skilled and completed receivers within the nation. Kemp performed in 50 video games together with 25 begins in 5 years at Virginia. He’s eligible to play this fall after the NCAA granted all UVA gamers of their ultimate season of eligibility one further 12 months of eligibility after a capturing on the Charlottesville campus that killed three soccer gamers and led to the cancellation of the ultimate two video games of Virginia’s season.
• Kemp caught 192 passes for 1,774 yards and eight touchdowns in his Virginia profession. He ranked fourth all-time at Virginia in receptions and tenth in receiving yards.
• Kemp had three catches towards Northern Illinois, together with an 8-yard landing catch to push his profession receptions whole to 200. He has added 9 catches over the previous two video games and is tied for added a team-high 5 catches for 62 yards towards Louisiana Tech and is tied for seventh amongst all energetic FBS gamers along with his 209 profession receptions.
• Kemp has 1,967 receiving yards in his profession and is trying to be a part of the two,000-yard receiving membership on this week’s sport.
• Kemp added his second landing in as many weeks with a nine-yard TD run towards Louisiana Tech. It was his first profession collegiate landing run, and his tenth general landing.
This Week’s Numbers
3 – Nebraska’s Friday night time matchup at Illinois is one among three weekday video games on the Husker schedule. Nebraska opened on a Thursday night time at Minnesota and can play its regular-season finale towards Iowa on Black Friday.
35 – A complete of 35 Husker gamers have made a begin on offense or protection by way of 5 video games, together with 19 totally different offensive gamers and 16 on protection.
2,000 – Nebraska senior receiver Billy Kemp IV wants 33 yards to achieve 2,000 profession receiving yards. There are at the moment 22 energetic FBS gamers with 2,000 profession receiving yards heading into this week’s video games.