Nebraska visits Illinois on 8/28/2021 at 1:00PM.
Nebraska and Illinois face off in a regular season matchup. Games are on campuses and crowds are full once again! Nebraska had a record of 3-5 last season. Illinois went 2-6 last season. Enough preamble… Let’s get to the preview…
Nebraska Team Defense Preview
Nebraska had 93 defensive drives in non-garbage time minutes and they have yielded 6.08 plays per drive. The struggle was real. Nebraska struggled to find a way to get opposing offenses off the field. Three and outs were not common and this means that when a three-and-out is necessary late in a game to get the ball back, it was just not happening. Nebraska had a generally average defense. Nothing too special about it, but they were capable of rising up when needed. Nebraska opponents passed the football 44.42% of the time.Their opponents ran the ball as opposed airing it out.
Nebraska opponents had struggled with running the ball and the defense crushed the spirits of their opponents with zero or negative yard plays. 4th and Short was not a cake walk, maybe passing on 4th and Short or having some sort of RPO is the way to go because if an Offensive Coordinator thinks that they can just line up and run a Quarterback Sneak or hand it off to a tailback against last season ‘s defense, they are mistaken. Opponent rushing yards attributed to their offensive line last season comes out to 2.77 yards per carry. Generally speaking, this was an average defense when it comes to how offensive lines control or fail to control them on the ground. This was also a team that is allowing running backs and quarterbacks to get to the second-level in an average fashion. Opponents had shown a relatively average level of explosiveness in the running game, maybe there will be a breakout rushing play against them.
This Defense had average success disrupting the flow of the opposing offense. Getting more specific, this front seven was a cause of a lot of headaches for offenses. They may be good enough to cause trouble in pass rush with just four rushers!Nebraska was better at stopping the run than the pass last season .
Nebraska Team Offense Preview
Nebraska had 91 drives in non-garbage time minutes and they averaged 6.1 plays per drive. When you were among the best at plays per drive, you were certainly a team that aims to wear down the opposition with a high play count or with long, physical grinding drives that eat up a lot of clock. We need to find out more here when it comes to Nebraska. Nebraska had shown a capability to be explosive on first and second down to avoid third downs and had converted well (relatively) on 3rd and 4th Down situations. Nebraska passed the football 43.78% of the time.They favored running the ball as opposed airing it out.
Nebraska was not doing anything particularly special as far as their ability to avoid negative yardage plays on the ground. How effective was the offensive line given what we know about their ability to prevent negative yards on rushing plays? More than you think, thanks to the Adjusted Line Yards metric. Nebraska would take credit for 3.0 yards per carry. Generally speaking, this was an average offensive line as far as their ability to set up the running game. The offensive line and running back corps deserve a lot of credit for gashing defenses with their running game like the way they have last season . With a relatively average explosiveness in the running game, breakout rushing plays were possible, but it was not something to count on from them.
Defenses were able to impose their will on the Nebraska Offense last season . Front sevens of opposing defenses were causing a lot of problems. Nebraska was a better running team than passing team last season .
Illinois Team Defense Preview
Illinois had 93 defensive drives in non-garbage time minutes and they have yielded 6.1 plays per drive. The struggle was real. Illinois struggled to find a way to get opposing offenses off the field. Three and outs were not common and this means that when a three-and-out is necessary late in a game to get the ball back, it was just not happening. Offensive Coordinators had no trouble with last season defense, this was one of the worst defenses in the country. The Defensive Coordinator coaching search threads on Illinois message boards were flights of fantasy. Passing plays were 40.74% of their opponents’ play calls.Their opponents ran the ball as opposed airing it out.
Defenses want to stop offenses from getting into a 3rd Down where the options are plentiful. Unfortunately, the defense was too porous to limit those choices. How effective were opposing offensive lines given what we know about their ability to force negative yardage rushing plays? Illinois can take credit for holding the offensive line of their opponent to 3.49 yards per carry. Sorry to say this about their front seven, but the best way to make an average offensive line look good is for them to face last season ‘s horrid front seven. Running backs should look forward to this porous defense filled with poor tacklers who take terrible angles. They were capable of giving up a long run, which is really demoralizing when the opposing team has the ball deep in their own territory.
This was not a disruptive Defense and they get pushed over way too easily. Perhaps they were too vanilla with playcalling. Getting more granual into the front seven and their ability to cause trouble, they were just average in this regard. Illinois was better at stopping the run than the pass last season .
Illinois Team Offense Preview
Illinois had 95 drives in non-garbage time minutes and they averaged 5.4 plays per drive. There is not much to take away here when it comes to how many plays per drive they ran , but they were a team that falls in the average window when it comes to plays per drive. Struggles to get ahead of the chains and convert on third and fourth down were common, the offense would stagnate. Passing plays were 40.16% of their play calls.They favored running the ball as opposed airing it out.
Illinois was not doing anything particularly special as far as their ability to avoid negative yardage plays on the ground. How effective was the offensive line given what we know about their ability to prevent negative yards on rushing plays? More than you think, thanks to the Adjusted Line Yards metric. Illinois would take credit for 2.91 yards per carry. Generally speaking, this was an average offensive line as far as their ability to set up the running game. This was also a team that was getting to the second-level in an average fashion. Offensive line and running backs were average in this regard. They were capable of busting out a long run, which was really good when the team has the ball in their own territory.
Defenses had average success disrupting the flow of the Illinois Offense. Front sevens were causing an average amount of trouble for the Offense. Illinois was a better running team than passing team last season .
The Nebraska Roster
The Players to Watch for Nebraska
Adrian Martinez QB 6’2″ 220 Junior
Last season, Adrian Martinez put up 1055 yards, tossed 4 touchdowns, and he threw 3 interceptions. He threw a variety of different length passes. His average completed pass was 7.0 yards. He was considered one of the most mobile Quarterbacks in the country last season, designed runs and zone read looks are common. His average rush was 5.7 yards.
Markese Stepp RB 6’0″ 235 Sophomore
Last season, Markese Stepp had 165 rushing yards on 45 carries. Was he able to get to the end zone on the ground? He had 3 rushing touchdowns. He was relied upon to carry the ball quite a bit last season. His average rush was 3.7 yards. He was average among running backs when it comes to his role as a receiver in the offense. When he catches a pass, he generates on average 3.7 yards.
Zavier Betts WR 6’2″ 200 Freshman
Last season, Zavier Betts picked up 131 yards through the air. He caught the ball 12 times last season. He reached the end zone 1 times. He was a consistent option in the passing game last season. When he catches a pass, he generates on average 10.9 yards.
Ben Stille DL 6’5″ 295 Senior
The leading tackler among Defensive Tackles for Nebraska, Ben Stille, had 27 tackles last season. He was a strong force in the interior defense forcing 3 tackles for loss last season. He was among the best at disrupting things up the middle and getting to QBs, he had 2 sacks last season.
Deontai Williams S 6’1″ 205 Senior
The leading tackler among Defensive Backs for Nebraska, Deontai Williams, had 51 tackles last season. Among Defensive Backs, he was very active and disruptive in the backfield, he had 4 tackles for loss last season. He had 0.0 sacks last season.
Cam Taylor-Britt CB 6’0″ 205 Junior
The leading tackler among Cornerbacks for Nebraska, Cam Taylor-Britt, had 28 tackles last season. Among Cornerbacks, he was very active and disruptive in the backfield, he had 3 tackles for loss last season. He was among the best at picking off passes, he had 2.0 interceptions last season. Lockdown corner.
The Illinois Roster
The Players to Watch for Illinois
Artur Sitkowski QB 6’5″ 225 Sophomore
Last season, Artur Sitkowski put up 433 yards, tossed 3 touchdowns, and he threw 0 interceptions. He tends to throw shorter length passes, he’d be accused of being too safe or not being trusted by his coaches. His average completed pass was 5.6 yards. His mobility and the staff’s willingness to use it for the purposes of generating yardage is average. His average rush was 0.1 yards.
Chase Brown RB 5’11” 200 Sophomore
Last season, Chase Brown had 539 rushing yards on 103 carries. Was he able to get to the end zone on the ground? He had 3 rushing touchdowns. He is considered one of the workhorse running backs of College Football returning this season. His average rush was 5.2 yards. He was relied upon as a receiver in their offense last season. When he catches a pass, he generates on average 5.2 yards.
Brian Hightower WR 6’3″ 210 Junior
Last season, Brian Hightower picked up 209 yards through the air. He caught the ball 11 times last season. He reached the end zone 3 times. He was a part of the passing game last season. When he catches a pass, he generates on average 19.0 yards.
Roderick Perry DL 6’2″ 315 Senior
The leading tackler among Defensive Tackles for Illinois, Roderick Perry, had 17 tackles last season. Among Defensive Tackles/Nose Tackles, he was clogging the gaps and playing disruptive proving he is one of the best at forcing lost yardage, he had 4 tackles for loss last season. He was among the best at disrupting things up the middle and getting to QBs, he had 2 sacks last season.
Tony Adams DB 6’0″ 200 Senior
The leading tackler among Defensive Backs for Illinois, Tony Adams, had 51 tackles last season. He was not a factor as far as tackles for loss was concerned last season. He was among the best at disrupting things up the middle and getting to QBs, he had 1.0 sacks last season.
Nebraska vs. Illinois Prediction, Picks, and Odds
Prediction: Nebraska 23 Illinois 56
Spread Pick: Illinois +7.5 -120 BetOnline Get Up to a Grand in Your Hand Now!
Moneyline Pick: Illinois +235 BetOnline
Over Pick: Over 55 -105 BetOnline Get Up to a Grand in Your Hand Now!