A brief Husker Football history lesson on the matchup between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Illinois Fighting Illini
The University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team takes on the University of Illinois Fighting Illini football team in a rare Friday night matchup in Memorial Stadium. It is a battle of two top 25-teams and the backdrop for the 400th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium.
This marks the 22nd all-time meeting, and 12th Big Ten Conference meeting between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Illinois Fighting Illini. Nebraska currently holds the lead in the all-time matchup over Illinois with a record of 14-6-1. The first meeting between Nebraska and Illinois football teams was in 1892, marked by a 6-0 victory by the Cornhuskers.
Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011, the Cornhuskers and Illini have met as conference opponents 11 times with Nebraska holding the edge in Big Ten Conference play, leading Illinois with a 7-4 record. The most recent meeting between the two teams occurred on a Friday night in Champaign, IL in 2023, with Nebraska emerging victorious, 20-7, snapping the three game winning streak Illinois held over the Cornhuskers. The Blackshirts were suffocating that night, allowing only 21 rushing yards and a motivated Husker offense rushing for 158 yards and two touchdowns, throwing for another 154 yards.
Illinois will bring a talented football team to Lincoln on September 20th. This marks the Illini’s fourth year under head coach Bret Bielema. Coach Bielema joined the Illini after a stint in the NFL in 2021, replacing longtime NFL coach Lovie Smith. Since joining the Illini, Coach Bret Bielema has racked up a 21-19 win-loss record, including a 2-1 record against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Before joining the Illinois Fighting Illini as head coach, Bielema was a thorn in Nebraska’s side, leading his then Wisconsin Badgers to a 2-1 record against the Cornhuskers, including the embarrassing 70-31 smackdown in the 2012 Big Ten Championship Game.
Friday night in Lincoln, Nebraska proves to be a special matchup under the lights. The 400th consecutive sellout in Memorial Stadium will be only the second time the (#24) Fighting Illini and (#22) Nebraska Cornhuskers have met as ranked opponents, with the first meeting as ranked opponents coming in 1985 when the 18th ranked Nebraska Cornhusker football team defeated the 20th ranked Illinois Fighting Illini Football team 52-25. Nebraska will need to bring that same kind of energy as in 1985 to defeat a hot 3-0 Fighting Illini team that has showcased a very capable offense and a stout defense throughout their first three games, including a win over a then top 20 ranked Kansas Jayhawk football team. An opening Big Ten Conference test for each team, where both teams are hungry to prove they belong in both the conference and national conversation.
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