Illinois fell to Nebraska 42-38 on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. After the Illini took a 38-35 lead early in the 4th quarter, quarterback Adrian Martinez led Nebraska on a 11-play, 78-yard drive for what would be the game winning score. Martinez accounted for 445 yards of total offense for the Huskers.
Illinois was led by senior running back Reggie Corbin, who rushed 20 times for 134 yards and a touchdown. The Illini fall to 2-2 on the season. They now have a bye week before traveling to Minnesota on October 5.
STEAMROLLED
The Illinois defense ran out of gas in the second half and couldn't get a stop. Overall, Nebraska ran a whopping 98 offensive plays for 690 net yards. The Huskers won the time of possession 37:04 to 22:56. Nebraska sustained drives, keeping the Illini defense on the field, converted 11-19 third down tries, and scored 35 red zone points. The Huskers averaged 6.7 yards on 1st down, and only had three 3-and-outs the entire contest. Martinez’s 445 yards of total offense marked the third-highest individual total offense game in school history. The game marked the second time in school history that the Huskers have both passed and rushed for 300 yards in the same game. It was a beat-down of Lovie Smith's defense. Four Nebraska turnovers kept the game close. The Huskers were also penalized 11 times for 119 yards.
RISK AVERSE
Lovie Smith chose to run out the clock rather than go for points at the end of the first half, giving a vote of no confidence to the offense. Illinois took over on its own 19-yard line 1:32 remaining in the first half. With Illinois winning 21-14, rather than try to get in field goal range and put more points on the board, Lovie let the clock tick away. Upon further review, the offense would probably like that one back. Place kicker James McCourt has a big leg, making the choice to kill the clock even more baffling. Every possession counts in college football, something Lovie Smith hasn't quite caught on to yet. You must try to score on every offensive possession, particularly when you have a defense that can't get stops.
NO PASSING GAME
Transfer quarterback Brandon Peters was supposed to improve the Illini passing game. Against Nebraska, the junior completed 9-22 passes for only 78 yards. Unsurprisingly, the IIllini were 1-11 on 3rd down tries. It was mostly dink-and-dunk for Peters, who averaged just 8.7 yards per completion. Illinois was playing against a Nebraska pass defense that had allowed 32 completions of 10+ yards through the first three games. Illinois manged just two. The Illini had just 3 passing yards in the decisive 4th quarter. The passing game was a total disaster. Back to the drawing board for offensive coordinator Rod Smith.
ADAMS IS A DIFFEERENCE MAKER
The Illini defense was bad, but it no fault of Tony Adams. The junior free safety returned from an injury to post 14 tackles (12 solo) and a forced fumble. He made one TD-saving stop after another on punishing hits. Adams left it all on the field, and the Nebraska receivers and running backs will know they've been in a football game.