Huskers Host Illini on Homecoming

GAME 5: NEBRASKA vs. ILLINOIS
OCT. 1, 2016 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
LINCOLN, NEB. | 2:30 p.m. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - ESPN2 (Dave Lamont, Kelly Stouffer, Paul Carcaterra)
RADIO - Husker Sports Network
SATELLITE RADIO - Sirius Channel 134, XM 196
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com

HUSKERS
Record: 4-0, 1-0 Big Ten
Last Game: Northwestern, W, 24-13
Rankings: AP-15; Coaches-15
Series: Nebraska, 9-3-1
Coach: Mike Riley
Career/NU Record: 103-87 (16th Year)/10-7 (2nd Year) 
vs. Illinois: 0-1

FIGHTING ILLINI
Record: 1-2, 0-0 Big Ten
Last Game: Western Michigan, L, 34-10
Rankings: NR
Coach: Lovie Smith
Career/Illinois Record: 1-2 (1st Season)/Same
vs. Nebraska: first meeting

The Matchup
Nebraska returns to Memorial Stadium on Saturday for its Big Ten home opener against Illinois. The game is set for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff in Lincoln, and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Saturday's contest with the Fighting Illini also marks the 2016 Homecoming game for Nebraska.

Nebraska enters the game with a 4-0 record, after opening Big Ten Conference play with a 24-13 victory over Northwestern on Saturday night in Evanston. The Husker offense was explosive in the victory, rolling up 556 yards of total offense, including 310 rushing yards.

The victory allowed Nebraska to begin the season 4-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Huskers also continue to climb in the national polls, checking in at No. 15 in both the Associated Press Poll and USA Today Coaches Polls.

Illinois comes to LIncoln with a 1-2 record, and Saturday's game will mark the Illini's conference opener after having a bye week last Saturday. Illinois opened the year with a victory over Murray State, but dropped back-to-back home contests against North Carolina and Western Michigan to complete non-conference action.

The Fighting Illini are in their first season under the direction of Coach Lovie Smith. The Illinois coach spent 11 years as a head coach in the National Football League, including the previous two seasons at Tampa Bay.

Nebraska Football Top 10
• Nebraska is 884-368-40 all-time, one of only 10 schools with 800 wins.

• The Cornhuskers rank fourth all-time with their 834 victories.

• Nebraska has won five national titles (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997).

• The Huskers have won 46 conference championships.

• Nebraska’s 52 all-time bowl appearances rank third nationally.

• Three Huskers have won the Heisman Trophy (Rodgers, Rozier, Crouch).

• Nebraska’s 107 football Academic All-Americans lead the nation.

• The Huskers have 110 first-team All-Americans in school history.

• Nebraska football is the only team in any sport in NCAA history to total 100 athletic and academic All-Americans.

• Memorial Stadium has been sold out every game since Nov. 2, 1962, a streak of 350 consecutive sellouts.

Nebraska-Illinois Series
• The first three meetings as Big Ten foes between Nebraska and Illinois marked the Huskers' Big Ten opener.

• The schools met just three times between 1925 and 2013.

• Nebraska has scored at least 39 points in each of the last three meetings in Lincoln.

Huskers to Host Big Ten Home Opener
Nebraska plays its fourth home game of 2016 on Saturday with its Big Ten home opener against Illinois. This will be the third time in the past four seasons NU has met Illinois in its Big Ten home opener.

• The Huskers are 4-1 in Big Ten home openers since joining the league in 2011.

NU in Big Ten Home Openers
10-8-2011 Ohio State W, 34-27
9-29-2012 Wisconsin W, 30-27
10-5-2013 Illinois W, 39-19
9-27-2014 Illinois W, 45-14
10-10-2015 Wisconsin L, 23-21

• Nebraska is 13-7 in Big Ten home games since joining the conference in 2011.

Nebraska Shoots for Homecoming Success
This weekend will mark Homecoming on the UNL Campus in LIncoln. The matchup with Illinois will be Nebraska's 106th Homecoming game. The Huskers own an all-time record of 79-22-4 (.771 winning percentage) in Homecoming games.

• Nebraska has won its past seven Homecoming games, including wins over Illinois in 2013 and 2014. Nebraska won 36 straight Homecoming games from 1969 to 2004.

Riley, Smith Among Nation's Most Experienced Coaches
Nebraska Head Coach Mike Riley and Illinois head man Lovie Smith are among a group of six current FBS head coaches who were NFL head coaches at one time in their career.

• Smith (11 years) and Riley (9 years) have more professional coaching experience than any other coaches in the college ranks. In addition to three years as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, Riley was a head coach in the CFL and WLAF. Smith spent 11 years as an NFL head coach.

• Riley and Smith did not meet as NFL coaches. Riley served as an NFL head coach from 1999 to 2001, while Smith was an NFL head coach from 2004-12 and 2014-15.

• The meeting of two former NFL head coaches is one of just two such matchups in the college ranks this season. Illinois will play Michigan and Head Coach Jim Harbaugh on Oct. 22.

Huskers Climb Rankings
Nebraska entered the national polls at No. 20 following its 35-32 victory over then-No. 22 Oregon on Sept. 17. After passing its first road test of the season at Northwestern, the Huskers climbed to No. 15 in the Associated Press Poll and 15th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

• The No. 15 ranking in the AP poll is the highest for the Huskers since late in the 2014 season when Nebraska was ranked 11th with an 8-1 record.

Riley joins 100-Win Club in Season-Opening Victory
Nebraska Head Coach Mike Riley earned his 100th win as a collegiate head coach in the 43-10 win over Fresno State in the season opener. Riley won 93 games in 14 seasons at Oregon State and has 10 victories at Nebraska.

• Riley is one of 23 active FBS head coaches with 100 career college victories.

• All 103 of Riley's victories have come while coaching in a Power Five Conference. Riley is one of 10 active coaches to win 100 games at a Power Five Conference school.

Big Red Balancing Act
The Nebraska offense is showing outstanding explosiveness and balance in its second season under Head Coach Mike Riley and offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf. The 2016 success comes a year after Nebraska ranked second in the Big Ten in total offense and passing offense, while finishing third in scoring offense.

Riley and his staff made a powerful running game and a balanced offense primary goals for 2016. Through four games the results have been outstanding.

• Nebraska is averaging 242.0 rushing yards per game to rank third in the Big Ten and 21st nationally. NU had a season-high 310 rushing yards at Northwestern and has rushed for at least 200 yards in three of four games.

• Nebraska is among the nation's most balanced offensive attacks. The Huskers' average 243.0 passing yards per game and 485.0 total yards per game, which ranks 23rd in the nation.

• Nebraska's 310 rushing yards at Northwestern was the Huskers' fifth-highest rushing total in a Big Ten Conference game.

• The 556 yards of total offense at Northwestern marked the second-highest total in a Big Ten Conference game in NU's six seasons in the league, trailing only a 624-yard effort against Illinois in 2014.

• Nebraska was held to 24 points at Northwestern, but has topped 28 points in nine of its past 11 games.

• Nebraska is averaging 38.5 points per game in 2016 to rank fifth in the Big Ten. The 52 points against Wyoming were the most in two seasons under Mike Riley.

• Nebraska passed for 266.9 yards per game to rank second in the conference in 2015. Nebraska has averaged 243.0 passing yards this season to rank third in the Big Ten.

• Nebraska topped the 300-yard passing mark for the seventh time in two seasons under Mike Riley with 412 passing yards against Wyoming. The yardage total was the fifth highest in school history and most since the 2007 season.

• Nebraska has also shown big-play ability again this season. Nebraska's 15.7 yards per completion ranks 12th in the nation. The Huskers had five passing plays of at least 25 yards against Wyoming. Last season, NU's 78 plays of 20-plus yards ranked second in the Big Ten.

• In addition to its 310-yard rushing effort at Northwestern, the Huskers rushed for 292 yards on 51 carries in the win over Fresno State. NU also had 228 rushing yards against Oregon, including 166 after half.

Nebraska Looks to Keep Pounding Ball on Ground
Nebraska has shown the ability to control the running game on both sides of the ball in 2016.

Nebraska out-gained Northwestern 310-137 on the ground, marking the third time in its past five games the Huskers have had at least 290 rushing yards. NU churned out 292 rushing yards on 51 carries in its season-opening victory over Fresno State. That rushing effort came on the heels of running for 326 yards in the Foster Farms Bowl win over UCLA to close the 2015 season.

The Blackshirts have been strong against the run in three of four games, limiting Fresno State to just 31 rushing yards, while holding Wyoming and Northwestern to less than 140 yards on the ground. Oregon did rush for more than 300 yards, but Nebraska held the Ducks' high-powered pass game in check with only 146 passing yards.

• Nebraska is 7-0 under Riley when rushing for 200 yards or more, including 3-0 in 2016. The Huskers are 6-0 under Riley when out-rushing the opposition.

Flipping the Turnover Script
Nebraska is off to a good start in changing its turnover fortunes in 2016. The Huskers are +6 in turnover margin after four games, and ranks eighth in the nation in that category.

Nebraska was -12 in turnover margin in 2015, and has had a positive turnover margin just once in the past 12 seasons (+5 in 2009).

• Nebraska did not commit a turnover in the season opener against Fresno State, while intercepting two Bulldog passes. The zero-turnover effort was NU's first since not having a giveaway in a 48-25 win at Minnesota last season.

• Nebraska has had four games with zero turnovers since the start of the 2014 season. In those games, Nebraska's average margin of victory is 31.3 points.

• The Huskers had six takeaways, including five interceptions against Wyoming. Those are the best totals in those categories since posting the same numbers against Idaho in 2010.

• The Huskers' plus-5 in turnover margin against Wyoming was their best since a +8 turnover margin against Texas A&M in 2003.

• Nebraska's performance in the first two games marked the first time the Huskers were +2 or better in turnover margin in consecutive games since the final two games of the 2003 season.

• Nebraska had just two games last season when the Huskers were +2 or better in turnover margin (South Alabama, Minnesota) and won those two games by a combined 62 points.

• NU has nine interceptions in four games this season after posting 10 in 13 games in 2015.

• Nebraska has scored 42 points on its 10 takeaways, while opponents have just six points off NU turnovers.

• Nebraska has won 17 consecutive games when it has a positive turnover margin dating back to a 2011 loss to Northwestern. NU is 5-0 under Mike Riley when it wins the turnover battle.

Start Fast, Finish Strong
Nebraska has controlled the first and fourth quarters of games this season, helping the Huskers to a 4-0 record.

Nebraska owns a 21-8 scoring advantage in the opening quarter this season, allowing only a touchdown by Oregon. The Huskers' have a much more decided edge in the game's final quarter.

• NU has outscored the opponent 57-6 in the fourth quarter, allowing only a TD by Oregon.

• Nebraska also controls the ball in the fourth quarter, averaging 9:24 in time of possession in the final period.

* Check out the attached Nebraska Games Notes PDF for more notes