Nebraska Football excels in all three phases of win over Illinois

Nebraska football got impressive performances from the offense, defense and special teams in a blowout win over Illinois Saturday.

Nebraska football had a lot to feel good about after a really close loss to Ohio State last week. However, the Huskers had to feel even better after notching a blowout win over Illinois.

While the Huskers defense gave up lots of points and yards, Nebraska football got enough big plays from the Blackshirts and more than enough from the offense to beat Illinois 54-35 Saturday in Lincoln Memorial Stadium.

Even the special teams got in on the act, getting two fumble recoveries and blocking a punt which led to safety, yet the story of the day was still Adrian Martinez.

The freshman tossed two touchdown passes to Stanley Morgan Jr. in the first quarter, along with rushing for another score, giving Nebraska a 21-14 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Devine Ozigbo got in the on the act with a 66-yard touchdown run. He would add another 60-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. It was another stellar performance for the senior.

His first touchdown though made it 31-14. Nebraska then scored another touchdown when Martinez hit Jack Stoll for in the end zone seconds before the half, giving the Huskers a 38-21 lead and four total touchdowns in the first half for Martinez.

In the third quarter, Martinez continued to show his growth. On the Huskers first drive, he converted two fourth downs before Ozigbo scored his second of three touchdowns. That made the score 45-21 and after the safety, it was 47-21.

Illinois narrowed the deficit and made the score 47-28 before Ozigbo ripped off his 60-yard scoring run which put the exclamation point on an impressive win.

Nebraska football finished with 606 yards of total offense, including 316 on the ground. Ozigbo ran 11 times for 162 yards and three scores, while Martinez rushed 13 times for 55 yards and score. Martinez also completed 24-of-34 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns, along with one interception.

Morgan also had a stellar day, catching eight passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. JD Spielman also caught seven passes for 71 yards. Defensively, Nebraska also had some very good moments, including some good pressure on AJ Bush. Bush also completed just 11-of-25 passes and intercepted him twice.

Nebraska football forced five turnovers, including the two interceptions and a fumble recovery on defense. The Blackshirts did give up 380 yards rushing and more than 500 total yards. Yet, Illinois scored only 35 points and two of those touchdowns came late when Nebraska already had a big lead.

In all, it was Nebraska’s best win of the year. Illinois is a much better team than Minnesota or Bethune-Cookman, however, the Huskers handled them with relative ease. That’s how things should go against a team you should beat. It was also the third-straight win at home.

Now, we will see how the 3-7 Huskers handle Michigan State. More on the win over Illinois is upcoming.