Nebraska Football: Grading the Huskers win over Illinois
Defense: B
To be honest, the defense played about as well as I expected. If you take a gander at my predictions leading up to the game, I had the Huskers winning 52-35, so I knew the defense would give up some points, however, the Blackshirts also made some huge plays.
Not only did the defense force three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble recovery — it also had three sacks and six tackles for loss. Those kinds of plays are significant. Illinois ran the ball great, but when the Fighting Illini attempted to throw, it wasn’t pretty.
If they don't want it, we'll take it!
— Nebraska On BTN (@NebraskaOnBTN) November 10, 2018
Right place, right time, and this @HuskerFBNation INT is a #BTNStandout presented by @AutoOwnersIns: pic.twitter.com/ORx0527axF
AJ Bush, a former Husker, was not good against his old team, completing 11-of-25 passes for 125 yards. He also threw the two picks. He did run for 187 yards and three touchdowns, which was spectacular, but you knew if Nebraska forced him to throw, it would win.
The Huskers also did a pretty good job against Reggie Corbin, the Big Ten’s third-leading rusher entering the game. He ran the ball just nine times for 59 yards. Certainly, allowing 386 yards on the ground isn’t good, yet beyond that, the Blackshirts still did enough to win and that deserves a solid score on the grading scale.