Illinois vs Nebraska prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 8, Saturday, October 29
Illinois vs Nebraska How To Watch
Date: Saturday, October 29
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
How To Watch: ABC
Record: Illinois (6-1), Nebraska (3-4)
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Illinois vs Nebraska Game Preview
Why Illinois Will Win
The defense continues to be a brick wall.
Illinois might not always be scintillating, but you know what you’re getting.
The offense is going to run, the passing game will keep everything safe as it controls the clock and has the ball for around 35 minutes. The D will do the rest.
The Illini are No. 1 in the nation in total and scoring defense, second against the run, and they’re great at forcing teams to turn it over. Nebraska doesn’t have the offense to overcome any of it.
The Husker running game will struggle to get to 100 yards, it’ll seem like the O is never on the field, and the run defense that’s the worst in the Big Ten is about to get hammered on.
But …
Why Nebraska Will Win
The Huskers are playing better.
They might have lost to Purdue two weeks ago, but the passing game opened it up a little bit, the ground attack averaged over five yards per carry, and overall the team is doing a decent job of battling the moment.
Whether it was the rocky win over Rutgers, the strong performance by the O against Indiana, or the fight against the Boilermakers, this is a different-looking bunch – it’s having a little success.
Illinois isn’t going to run away with this even if everything is working. The score will never be too far out of reach, if at all, but …
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What’s Going To Happen
You can’t turn the ball over against the Illini, and Nebraska will.
The Huskers will throw well enough to matter early on, but they’ll have problems closing out drives with points. On the other side, Illinois will be Illinois and grind, grind, grind.
It’ll always have the ball, the defense will come up with two takeaways, and the time of possession battle will be monstrously tipped one way.
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Illinois vs Nebraska Prediction, Line
Illinois 27, Nebraska 17
Line: Illinois -8, o/u: 50.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Illinois vs Nebraska Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
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