CHAMPAGNE — Illinois And Nebraska head into Friday night’s kickoff at Gies Memorial Stadium with identical records but very different atmospheres.
Nebraska (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten) is riding a three-game losing streak with three straight fourth-quarter leads that caused Cornhuskers fans to throw water bottles onto the field and one fan reportedly verbally accosted. Matt Rhule teenage daughter. Fans are angry, demanding personnel changes (which haven’t happened) and for Rhule to take the step forward that many expected but have yet to see in year four under his leadership.
All of this led Rhule to deliver a 19-minute introductory statement, and near-statement of the program, at his weekly press conference on Monday.
“Doing too much is killing us,” Rhule said. “That’s really my message to them: You get to these times, and the water is rocky, the ocean is rocky. Stay steady in the boat, man. Don’t take a boat that’s moving and seas that are moving even more. You can’t control what’s outside the boat, but you should just focus on being stable on the boat, getting back to work this week.”
Meanwhile, Illinois (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) is riding a three-game winning streak, turning around a season that seemed lost just a month ago after parting ways with its defensive coordinator and losing its starting quarterback to a hand injury. The Fighting Illini have renewed their playoff hopes, needing just one win in their final four games to earn a bowl bid for a third straight season, something the program has not done since 1992, and star quarterback Katin Houser returned last week, just 19 days after hand surgery to give the Illini a boost.
Illinois will likely be underdogs in its final four games, but ESPN’s FPI gives Illinois a 72.5 percent chance of getting to six wins with a home game against Nebraska as one of its best chances — although the Cornhuskers are road favorites and rank 28th according to Sagarin’s analytical grades, compared to 42nd-ranked Illinois.
This college football season has shown that few things are predictable and that past results don’t always transfer to the future. But these teams enter Friday’s prime-time game with opposite tendencies. Illinois has a chance to solidify a remarkable midseason turnaround by earning a bowl bid and stirring up even more trouble in Lincoln.
Meanwhile, Nebraska has a chance to turn the tide of its spiraling season and make the Illini’s path to a bowl much narrower.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday November 6
Place: Gies Memorial Stadium (Champaign, Illinois)
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Broadcast: FOX — Jack Kizer (play-by-play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst)
Radio: Illini Sports Network Live Stream (Station List Here)
Kickoff predictions: 45°F, 10% chance of precipitation, 82% humidity, 8 mph wind
Double: Illinois +4.5 (DraftKings)
Total: 50.5 (Draft Kings)
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