Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Illinois
Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Illinois
It’s Friday football for Nebraska. Can the Huskers get back to .500 on the season with a win over Illinois?
It’s Friday football for Nebraska. Bizarre, right?
The Huskers (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) are set to face the Illinois Fighting Illini (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. on a night that is typically reserved for high school football.
It was also an interesting week for the matchup, as there was brief concern about the location following a fire at Illinois’ Memorial Stadium. Firefighters were called to the stadium just before 8 p.m. on Tuesday, where heavy smoke was seen coming from the southwest corner of the stadium (just under the horseshoe section). The following morning on Wednesday, the stadium was evaluated to determine next steps. The Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics signed off on the game proceeding as scheduled without seating modifications at that time.
“I was hoping we could play (in Lincoln),” head coach Matt Rhule joked on Thursday. “No, but I’m glad everything is OK there.”
Yes, we are all glad that everything — and everyone — is OK at Illinois. But now it’s game day and it’s time to find out who Nebraska is.
Rhule said following the 45-7 loss to Michigan that everyone will find out exactly who Nebraska is against Illinois. He wants his team to play without the fear of losing, and he wants to see more players step up to bring the energy needed.
The Huskers bring that energy in practice, according to Rhule, but that’s not enough if it doesn’t translate to game day.
“We created a lot of energy on Sunday night and no one was watching,” Rhule said. “We created a lot of energy Tuesday morning. We’ll have to do that Friday night. It’ll be great to be on the road. I haven’t been to Illinois since I was a player but I’m sure they’ll have an excellent atmosphere. But on the road together, it’s all of us just kind of huddled on the sideline.
“That’s really where some of the growth for our team is in terms of that winning mindset.”
Before we get to the game information itself, we have one last thing to address: the quarterback situation.
Do we see the return of Jeff Sims as the starting quarterback, or does Heinrich Haarberg get the nod for a fourth week? Sources have indicated to Counter Read that Haarberg will start, but that Sims could make an appearance against the Illini too.
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema mentioned earlier this week that Nebraska has been a bit of a moving target in some regards. The uncertainty at quarterback each week certainly adds to that.
Nebraska versus Illinois: Everything you need to know for game day
TV Channel: FS1 (Jeff Levering, Mark Helfrich)
Date: Friday, Oct. 6
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Live Stream: FoxSports.com (with TV provider)
Radio: Nebraska fans can listen to the game on the Huskers Radio Network. Internet radio, as well as a Spanish broadcast, will be available at Huskers.com.
Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
Weather: Except for a few afternoon clouds, expect the day to be mainly sunny. High of 64 degrees, with temperatures dropping Friday night into Saturday around 42 degrees. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Line: Illinois -3.5
Over/Under: 43
Notable quotes
Coach Matt Rhule on key injuries for Nebraska:
“Just a couple of injury updates, DeShon (Singleton) hurt his knee, he will be out for an extended period of time. We expect to have him back at some point. I don't know when that will be, but DeShon will be out this Friday. Luke (Reimer) out of the hospital. A little bit of back and forth, but Luke won’t play this Friday but hopefully we'll have him back here and healthy with us soon.”
Illinois coach Bret Bielema on Nebraska’s offense, including the quarterback situation:
“I think they’ve been a moving target through five games. We’ll see where we defend them on Friday.”
Other games we’re watching (on Saturday specifically)
(All games in CT)
Erin
Morning - No. 12 Oklahoma at No. 3 Texas, 11 a.m., ABC
It’s the Red River Rivalry, folks! This is a bucket list game for me someday, so it was an obvious pick. I’m also hopeful that this particular matchup is a good one. We have two 5-0 teams and a lot to play for. Oklahoma has gotten a little early love on this one though, with a number of people pointing toward the Sooner offense as a key to this game. The Texas offense isn’t anything to brush by either though, and we’ll get a pretty good idea of just how good the Longhorn defense is in this one. I’m excited.
Afternoon - UCF at Kansas, 3 p.m., FOX
Random fact but this is the second time in three weeks that UCF has been in the state of Kansas. You’re welcome for that. Here are some other fun facts: This is the first meeting between the two programs and a win would mark UCF head coach Gus Malzahn’s 99th win as a head coach. Neat! Also, there will likely be a lot of offense in this game. Should be fun.
Evening - No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 25 Louisville, 6:30 p.m., ABC
This is the third-straight ranked opponent for Notre Dame, as well as another undefeated opponent. The Irish really aren’t catching a break, are they? Notre Dame is going to need its offense to really step up this week after a rough past two weeks. The Irish only scored 35 points combined against Ohio State and Duke after averaging 46 points per game through their first four matchups. Can Louisville keep the trend of the last two weeks going? We’ll see, but Notre Dame does seem to have the overall edge in this one.
Brandon
Morning - Maryland at No. 4 Ohio State, 11 a.m., FOX
Big stage for 5-0 Maryland with the Buckeyes coming off a bye week. Terps coach Mike Locksley said at Big Ten Media Days it was time for Maryland to start competing for conference titles, here’s his team’s chance to show their ready to do that. I know everyone will mostly be watching the game down in Texas, but keep an eye on this one. The Terrapins might trade punches for a bit.
Afternoon - No. 11 Alabama at Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m., CBS
After agony in Miami and tumult in Tuscaloosa in Week 2, Texas A&M and Alabama have bounced back from their first losses of the season with a series of easy-ish wins. That streak ends for one team Saturday. I get the sense Aggieland is optimistic going into this one––and it is playing at home against a Tide team that, gasp, ain’t even top 10––but believing and doing are different things. The A&M defense will present a challenge for Alabama’s beleaguered o-line, but I can’t shake the feeling that when the Aggies are feeling confident they usually end up sad.
Evening - No. 24 Fresno State at Wyoming, 7 p.m., FOX
Yes, I know this is the third time this season I’ve told you to tune in to a game at Wyoming. It’s my brand, yes, but this is also a really good game. (And, this week’s night viewing isn’t exactly aces.) Fresno State already has two P5 wins (Purdue, Arizona State), Wyoming one (Texas Tech) but the Cowboys’ only loss is to No. 3 Texas. This feels like the Mountain West championship game, two months early, though Air Force might have something to say about that. The Falcons are absolutely stomping teams so far (and hosts Wyoming next week).