i THOUGHT HE PLAYED A GREAT GAME, BIG TIME THROWS BUT, WAS RATTLED AT THE END DUE TO ILLINI D.Am I the only one who thinks Raoila ain’t all that?
Illinois 31, Nebraska 24 OT Postgame
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Pruman!! we did it!!!!
ILLINIShox24
Orange Krush '04 & '05
Some stats from r/cfb https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/s/cQlhL0efhx
* Illinois is 4-0 for the first time since 2011.
* Bret Bielema started his Illinois tenure 6-8. He's gone 16-11 since.
* Nebraska hasn't scored in their last eight overtime games, dating back to 2014.
* Nebraska hasn't has a four-game winning streak since 2016.
* This is Illinois' first Big Ten opening win since 2021 (vs. Nebraska)
* This was one of four ranked vs. ranked matchups this week (#22 vs. #24)
* Nebraska is 1-6 in one-possession games over the last two seasons.
* And 3-19 in their last 22 one-possession games.
* Illinois has won four of their last five games against Nebraska.
* Illinois QB Luke Altmyer had his second career 4+ TD game.
* Bret Bielema has had the Illini ranked in two of the last three seasons. They were not ranked at all from 2012-2021.
* The soon-to-be 7 weeks that Illinois has been ranked over the last three years is more weeks ranked than they had from 2009-2021 combined.
* Nebraska had 1st & 10 at the Illinois 28 with 4:11 left in the 4th quarter. They did not score the rest of the game.
* Illinois lost the lead with 32 seconds left in the first quarter. They did not lead again until the end of the game.
* Illinois WR Pat Bryant has 20 catches for 304 yards and 6 TD so far this season.
* Orange teams were 1-1 tonight (Illinois won, Syracuse lost)
* Illinois is 4-0 for the first time since 2011.
* Bret Bielema started his Illinois tenure 6-8. He's gone 16-11 since.
* Nebraska hasn't scored in their last eight overtime games, dating back to 2014.
* Nebraska hasn't has a four-game winning streak since 2016.
* This is Illinois' first Big Ten opening win since 2021 (vs. Nebraska)
* This was one of four ranked vs. ranked matchups this week (#22 vs. #24)
* Nebraska is 1-6 in one-possession games over the last two seasons.
* And 3-19 in their last 22 one-possession games.
* Illinois has won four of their last five games against Nebraska.
* Illinois QB Luke Altmyer had his second career 4+ TD game.
* Bret Bielema has had the Illini ranked in two of the last three seasons. They were not ranked at all from 2012-2021.
* The soon-to-be 7 weeks that Illinois has been ranked over the last three years is more weeks ranked than they had from 2009-2021 combined.
* Nebraska had 1st & 10 at the Illinois 28 with 4:11 left in the 4th quarter. They did not score the rest of the game.
* Illinois lost the lead with 32 seconds left in the first quarter. They did not lead again until the end of the game.
* Illinois WR Pat Bryant has 20 catches for 304 yards and 6 TD so far this season.
* Orange teams were 1-1 tonight (Illinois won, Syracuse lost)
How about instead a win in Happy Valley and College Gameday vs Michigan?
Nah...that coming from Seth Coleman - arguably our best player on that side of the ball, team leader, team captain...inexcusable. Gotta clean it up...
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
This was epically satisfying, lol. 4-0 with two top 25 wins?! Unthinkable 5 years ago. 
Take Luke out of tonight's average ypc, and we were real close to 5.0. Great job OL!!
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Since the Penn State game is already set for a night start, I don’t think Fox will have their show in Happy Valley.I'm so happy. Sleep well Illini nation. Let's go take down the Nittany Lions in front of a primetime national audience next Saturday. Eight day restPossible visit from ESPN College Gameday Or Big FOX show in Happy Valley???
But I have to think the Illinois-Penn State game will be the NBC prime time Saturday night game.
Our front got to him...great execution on D there on all phases in that OT...
Not much I enjoy more than winning on the road and sending the crowd home sad. Poor Husker fans. I remember being at Memorial Stadium a few years back and all the loud mouth Nebraska fans talking smack as we walked through the flyers. Then seeing them walk out with their tails between their legs.
So proud of this team. Lunmy called a great game and Luke executed it so well. And major props to Coach Henry and our stout defense. This was a great win.
Oskee Wow Wow!
So proud of this team. Lunmy called a great game and Luke executed it so well. And major props to Coach Henry and our stout defense. This was a great win.
Oskee Wow Wow!
Mostly unthinkable 5 weeks ago!This was epically satisfying, lol. 4-0 with two top 25 wins?! Unthinkable 5 years ago.
fify...This was epically satisfying, lol. 4-0 with two top 25 wins?! Unthinkable 5 weeks ago.
It just kinda feels like the game you just CANNOT LOSE at this point is Purdue...
and the big game - the game to really get amped up for - is Michigan. What an opportunity that is honestly. If we beat Purdue and they lose tomorrow to USC, will we be favored in that one? If we're not, can't imagine it being too much outside of that "toss up" zone.
Welcome! There will NEVER not be enough room......
Two things that greatly concerned me tonight were our offensive and defensive lines. Both played very well, in my opinion. We couldn't run the ball at all in the first half but we ran it very well in the second half. Nebraska only had 48 yards in rushing the night. That is an amazing statistic. They were completely one-dimensional offensively. Kudos to our defense that really stepped it up. Great win! Not sure if I'll even sleep at all tonight!
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
I have absolutely nothing to add. Just rewatching the game and not caring how miserable I will feel at work tomorrow. ILL
Saw a lot of Husker fans posting about how they "were the better team but still lost" tonight, which reminded me of the Jayhawk fan reaction after we won that game ... so I scrolled over to the Phog and some of them haven't changed. They're arguing about how much Illinois, UNLV, and now the Huskers are all terrible teams.
Man, I'd be really worried if I was a fan of "a better team" and had the Illini on the schedule. We're so terrible that we keep winning when we're not supposed to.
Man, I'd be really worried if I was a fan of "a better team" and had the Illini on the schedule. We're so terrible that we keep winning when we're not supposed to.
Honestly, I thought the contact on that play was fairly minimal. Now that's not to say flags haven't ever been thrown for that level of contact, but I think expecting a flag there is more wishful thinking or "boy it would be a nice break for us to get a flag here" than one you're going to get most of the time. If we want to talk blown calls, I think the defensive holding call on your guy was non-existent and we got a lucky break there. I also think we probably should have gotten DPI on another play that was a no call. I see the Huskers fans are angry about the 4th and 1 spot that went in Illinois' favor and I agree he looked short. That said, Nebraska also had an almost identical down and distance in the first half go in their favor where they looked short as well and got a favorable spot. On the other side there was a clear facemask on that 4th and 8 play for Illinois that should've been called. All of these plays would have an effect on the game, but there is one thing I'll say that you can bring home to the Husker boards if you want.
The Huskers shouldn't be blaming the refs for this loss, they should be blaming the really undisciplined play, both their o and d lines, and just the defense in general. They had 4 really clear and obvious facemasks or hands to the face- that stuff loses games right there. Both the o-line and d-line of Nebraska rightfully should have dominated us with the talent they have. Either the players didn't show up with the necessary effort or the coaches were terribly outschemed. It was a really tight and even game in my opinion and it would just come down to who could get the final stop. This time it wound up being Illinois.
Overall, Nebraska had some Frostian type issues rear the head today and that's why they lost. But thankfully he's not the coach for you anymore, so my guess is that after a very long week of film and practices, this game will only help you the rest of the season as Rhule will make sure what happened is known to be unacceptable. Losses never feel good but you're on the upswing, just lost a game to a team that played better on this night. Have a good one, and thanks for joining us in the pre and postgame threads
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