Husker Football: Nebraska vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Preview
Four games, four wins. Husker football stands tall and undefeated after wading through its non-conference schedule. Now it’s time to dive into Big Ten waters.
Nebraska stays home for yet another late kickoff. In fact, the Huskers’ tilt against Illinois will actually begin an hour later than their game against Miami did.
Last year’s contest provided an excellent scrimmage for the Big Red, and this year it’s the buffer between a showdown with Michigan State.
Head Coach: Tim Beckman
2013 Record: 30-35; 18-22 (9-19; 1-15 at Illinois)
Home stadium: Memorial Stadium
Stadium capacity: 60,670
Stadium surface: FieldTurf
Location: Urbana-Champaign, IL
Returning Starters: 18
Series History: Nebraska leads 8-2-1 (Most recent meeting: 10-5-2013 – Nebraska 39 Illinois 13)
Standout Players:
Quarterback Wes Lunt
| Passing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| 2014 | 4 | 100 | 153 | 65.4 | 1237 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 11 | 3 | 153.1 |
| Career | 100 | 153 | 65.4 | 1237 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 11 | 3 | 153.1 |
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CFB: View Original Table
Running Back Josh Ferguson
| Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2014 | 4 | 50 | 316 | 6.3 | 3 | 12 | 125 | 10.4 | 2 | 62 | 441 | 7.1 | 5 |
| Career | 280 | 1459 | 5.2 | 10 | 93 | 925 | 9.9 | 6 | 373 | 2384 | 6.4 | 16 |
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CFB: View Original Table
Defensive Lineman Jihad Ward
14 tackles (5 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble
2014 National Rankings:
Scoring Offense: No. 64 (32.8 points per game)
Scoring Defense: No. 103 (32.5 points per game)
Rushing Offense: No. 113 (108.3 yards per game)
Rushing Defense: No. 83 (172.5 yards per game)
Passing Offense: No. 19 (321.5 yards per game)
Passing Defense: No. 95 (257.3 yards per game)
Notes:
More from Nebraska Football
- Former Nebraska football star returns to the program in new role
- Travis Hunter injury uproar has some Nebraska football fans reminding Colorado about Adrian Martinez
- Nebraska Football: Freshman RB in line for big playing time
- Nebraska Football: Matt Rhule faces tough decision between Heinrich Haarberg and Jeff Sims
- Nebraska Football: Trio of big contributors banged up after NIU
– Vegas Insider has opened the line with Nebraska as a 17.5-point favorite
– Eight players are questionable for Saturday’s game while linebacker Mike Svetina is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
– Ameer Abdullah was four yards away from a season-high rushing total of 233 yards versus Miami. He had a career-high game last season against Illinois with 225 yards. Currently sitting at 625 yards, Abdullah may find himself on the edge of a 1,000-yard season soon.
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