Nebraska Football: Adrian Martinez will be the difference against Illinois

Nebraska football and Illinois are very evenly matched and the biggest difference could be Adrian Martinez and his ability to throw the ball.

When it comes down to it, there are a lot of similarities between the Nebraska football team and Illinois, the Huskers opponent Saturday in Lincoln.

Illinois will come into the game at 4-5, while the Huskers are 2-7. Yet, Nebraska football is favored by 17 points and if you look at some of the stats of both teams, you might wonder why?

Both Nebraska and Illinois are near the bottom in most defensive categories. In total defense, the Huskers are 13th in the Big Ten and Illinois is last at 14th. Both teams are both ranked near the bottom in run defense, pass defense and scoring defense.

Basically, if you didn’t know, the defenses, on paper at least, are bad. Nebraska is good at pressuring the quarterback; Illinois can intercept the ball. Other than that, neither defense has much to go on.

Both teams are also very good offensively, especially when it comes to running the football. Illinois has two of the top 10 rushers in the Big Ten with AJ Bush and Reggie Corbin. However, Nebraska also has Devine Ozigbo, who is fifth in the Big Ten in yards per game, along with Maurice Washington and QB Adrian Martinez. The Huskers also have the third-best overall offense in the conference; Illinois is sixth.

Admittedly, Illinois probably runs it better, because Corbin is a real weapon. His home-run ability and history of big runs are worrisome, however, the Illini don’t have anything in the passing game like the weapons of Nebraska.

Not only do the Huskers have Martinez, who was the top quarterback in the conference a week ago according to Pro Football Focus, but they also have two highly-skilled wideouts in Stanley Morgan Jr and JD Speilman.

At the end of the day, both teams are going to make gains on the ground and both teams are going to score points. Ultimately though, Nebraska should have the edge because of Martinez and his ability to make big plays with his feet and his arm. Bush is a good player and averages 199 yards per game of total offense, but Martinez is averaging 300, which is third in the Big Ten. He also has two of the best receivers in the conference at his disposal.

I expect Nebraska football and Illinois to play a competitive game, yet in the end, the Huskers will prevail and Martinez will be the biggest reason why.