Nebraska football Tailgate Talk: Into the trenches against Illinois

The ranked Nebraska football team plays ranked Illinois at 7:00 p.m. on a hot and steamy (88 degrees) Friday night in Lincoln. Fox will televise the game. You read that right: A Friday night game instead of a Saturday kick-off because Fox thinks it's what people want to see. Not me. I would tell the B1G schedulers where to go on that one, especially when it's the 400th sell-out. I get it. Until the Huskers start winning consistently, the Big Ten will continue to screw with the economic livelihood of Lincoln. So go get that win! End of rant.

Last week was a good win. That's the most important thing for now. It wasn't the soul-crushing of Northern Iowa I wanted to see, given the 16-play, 10-minute first drive of the Panthers, but it was how the Huskers responded that fans and media should focus on.

For example, Dylan Raiola was 22-25 on 2nd downs. That is a talent that is going to be needed on Friday. Take the win, especially with no injuries coming out of the game. This Saturday, I'd love to say we are still undefeated. For more on why Husker fans can't be happy, click here.

It's clear that Coach Rhule is still going to switch up Husker running backs like a baseball coach rotates pitchers. As long as they continue to produce good yardage and hold onto the ball, I'm ok with lineup changes. Dante Dowdell looks like he's going to be the No. 1 guy, but Emmett Johnson looked pretty dang explosive as well. I guess it's nice to have options.

Speaking of options, how about Heinrich Haarberg with the run, the catch, and the handoff?! Way to GO HH! That kind of switcheroo will hopefully get Illinois Coach Bret Bielema going for the TUMS. It's amazing to me how good he looks now that he's had a quality coach working with him in Glenn Thomas. Yes, that was some shade on offensive coordinator Satterfield. He is slowly gaining favor with me but I'm still not enamored with his playcalling. He needs to shake things up with some pre-snap movement and have a dedication to the run in my humble opinion.

The fighting Illini bring junior QB Luke Altmyer to town. He transferred to the orange after 2 seasons with Ole Miss. Luke can run a little bit when the pocket breaks down so Husker linebackers will need to stay sharp. Last week, Altmyer was 19 of 29 with 242 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Illinois is also12 for 12 in the red zone with only 3 as field goals. Altmyer is also complimented by their go to running back Josh McCray. Their star wide receiver is Pat Bryant (a senior captain) who already has multiple touchdown games this season.

As if that weren't enough, don't forget that their kicker, Ethan Moczulski banged a 59-yard field goal last week either. The only thing bigger than the Illinois linemen is the turnover stat for them at +8 so far. Lots of weapons for the orange people and it's not going to be an easy game for Big Red.

Nebraska football has weapons back

On the bright side, Jimari Butler is a go for Big Red on Friday after sitting out last week. He adds something special to the D line and Huskers defense need to make the Illinois QB uncomfortable. Nebraska's number 1 offense hasn't scored in the 4th quarter, but I think they are going to have to in this conference opener. To be fair, they haven't been in the game in the 4th quarter much.

Things to remember: Tony White's defense is still good. He's masterful at getting lots of reps for lots of bodies which is going to be key on another gross, sweaty, hot football gameday. That Husker defense can go get that ball from the other team too. Even with all the misdirection in Illinois coverages, I think the Cornhusker defense is up to the task.

Things to remember: Nebraska has a good offense this year. Huskers need to keep the tradition of scoring early on to create an advantage for themselves Friday night. Wide receivers Banks and Neyor will need to go get open, and the tight ends are going to be key to keeping QB1 upright and making good decisions. As an aside, that first interception of Dylan's last week - how often do you see both players place the blame on themselves and not the others. Tip of the cap to those guys, it's a very good sign.

Just as important as the passing game is the run game for the Cornhuskers Friday night. Husker backs will have a tough time getting through the line of scrimmage but need to keep their hands on the ball most of all. This is old school football. However, it's going to test your nerve if it's a close game at the end. I'm going to put my faith in Big Red!

As for the tailgate part of things, it's week 4 in a row and it's definitely been a grind, to say the least. But we are back to an old school type of football game so I'm falling back on my old school go to drink - the cherry kamikaze. 1/4 cup triple sec, 1/2 cup of vodka, 1 TBS of sweet and sour mix combined with the small cherry jello packet and 1 cup of boiling water. If you prefer the cocktail, you can take the alcohol parts and mix it with either cranberry juice (for Big Red) or orange juice for the other guys. It goes well with everything.

It's the last week of yelling your lungs out at the game. It's definitely been a grind. I've even scheduled a massage for Saturday. Make sure to thank your Nebraska football tailgate hosts, be courteous to the orange people and most of all GO BIG RED!