Same lights, new night...same result?

Previewing Nebraska-Illinois, an even matchup that should be better than we typically get on a weeknight.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Bret Bielema has been to Lincoln a lot. It won’t sound like a lot—this week marks his fifth trip to Memorial Stadium as a college coach—but he made those first four trips with four different teams in nearly four different decades. Bielema first experienced a Tunnel Walk as Iowa’s linebackers coach in 2000¹ (42-13, NU) then he returned as Kansas State’s defensive coordinator in 2003 (38-9, KSU), Wisconsin’s head coach in 2012 (30-27, NU) and Illinois’ head coach in 2022 (26-9, UI).

Nebraska will play its 400th consecutive game in front of a home sellout crowd, and Bielema’s been there for 1.25% of those. Not bad for a coach who has only shared a conference with the Huskers for eight seasons.

This still is a week of firsts, however. Bielema is making his first return trip to Lincoln in the same team colors for Nebraska’s first Friday night² home game. It’s the first Big Ten opener at Memorial Stadium since 2017 and the first home game with two ranked teams—No. 22 Nebraska, No. 24 Illinois—since 2013.³

Husker fans will hope to add a few more firsts to the tally. Nebraska hasn’t won a home, ranked v. ranked game since beating Michigan State in 2011. Matt Rhule last beat a top-25 team in 2016 when Temple beat No. 19 Navy 34-10 to win the AAC championship game. He went 0-11 against ranked teams over three seasons at Baylor, though nine of those losses were to top-15 teams, and 0-3 last year.

What will it take for Nebraska, up to a 10-point favorite Tuesday, to snap a couple of streaks this week? Let’s break it down.