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Nebraska Communications
Football

Huskers Open Conference Slate at Illinois on Saturday

NEBRASKA vs ILLINOIS
SEPT. 21, 2019 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. | 7 P.M. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - BTN (Kevin Kugler, Matt Millen, Rick Pizzo)
RADIO - Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin
SATELLITE RADIO - Sirius Channel 83, XM 83
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com, TuneIn.com
APP AUDIO - Official Huskers App, TuneIn App

HUSKERS
2019 Record: 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten
Last Game: Northern Illinois (W, 44-8)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Scott Frost
Career/NU Record: 25-16 (4th Year)/6-9 (2nd Year) 
vs. Illinois: 1-0

FIGHTING ILLINI
2019 Record: 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten
Last Game: Easton Michigan (L, 34-31
Rankings: NR
Coach: Lovie Smith
Career/Ill Record: 11-28 (4th Year)/Same
vs. Nebraska: 0-3

The Matchup
Nebraska opens Big Ten Conference play on Saturday night with the Huskers traveling to Champaign to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini. The prime-time tilt at Illinois' Memorial Stadium is set to kick off shortly after 7 p.m. CT, with national television coverage on BTN and radio coverage available on the Husker Sports Network from Learfield-IMG. 

Nebraska heads into Big Ten action with a 2-1 record, following an impressive 44-8 victory over Northern Illinois last Saturday in Lincoln. Nebraska opened a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back as the Blackshirt defense held NIU out of the end zone. The Huskers rolled up 525 yards of total offense, including better than 235 yards both rushing and passing. 

Illinois will enter Saturday's contest with a 2-1 record, following a 34-31 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday in Champaign. Illinois had opened the year with victories over Akron and at Connecticut before the setback this past weekend. Coach Lovie Smith's team has been strong on defense this season, allowing less than 320 yards per game, including just 79.3 rushing yards per game.

Nebraska and Illinois have a history of opening league play against each other. Since their first meeting as Big Ten opponents in 2013, the Huskers have opened conference play against Illinois four times in seven seasons. Nebraska is 5-1 against the Illini since joining the Big Ten Conference.

Series History
Nebraska holds a 12-3-1 all-time edge in the series, including a 3-2-1 record in games played at Illinois.

•     Nebraska is 5-1 against the Fighting Illini since joining the Big Ten, with the lone setback a 14-13 loss in 2015. Nebraska's five wins have come by an average of 21.4 points.  

•     One of Nebraska's memorable victories in the series occurred on Oct. 3, 1925, a 14-0 Nebraska win in Champaign. It was the only time in Red Grange's Illinois career that he was held scoreless in a home game.

Huskers Set to Open Big Ten Conference Action
Nebraska begins its ninth season of Big Ten Conference action on Saturday night in Champaign. The game marks the fourth time Nebraska has opened Big Ten play against Illinois. 

•     The Huskers are 5-3 in Big Ten openers since joining the league in 2011. 

•     Nebraska has won 39 of its past 44 conference openers overall, with four of those losses against top-20 teams. 

•     Overall, Nebraska is 91-22-2 all-time in conference openers (.800 winning percentage). 

•     Saturday's game is the first of four Big Ten road games for Nebraska in 2019. The Huskers are 3-5 in their first conference road game since joining the Big Ten.

Huskers Looking for Win No. 900
Nebraska will be looking to reach a major milestone on Saturday night at Illinois. A victory over the Fighting Illini would be win No. 900 in program history. 

•     The Huskers would join just four other programs in the 900-win club. The other current members of that club include Michigan (955), Ohio State (914), Texas (911), Alabama (908). Notre Dame and Oklahoma also sit at 899 victories. Notre Dame plays at Georgia this Saturday, while Oklahoma does not play this week.  

• Nebraska has reached its last two milestone victories on the road with win No. 800 coming at Kansas State in 2006 (21-3) and win No. 700 also in Manhattan in 1996 (39-3).

Frost Offenses Impressive on Opening Drives
One common theme of a Scott Frost-led offense has been a fast start, and that has held true for Frost's tenure in Lincoln. Nebraska has scored on its opening drive in each of the first three games in 2019. 

NU received the opening kickoff against South Alabama and drove nine plays and 81 yards for a touchdown to a take a 7-0 lead. At Colorado, Nebraska drove 96 yards in five plays on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead. The Huskers opened with a field goal on the game's first drive against Northern Illinois, covering 58 yards in eight plays. The opening-drive score continued a theme from 2018. 

• Nebraska scored on its first possession seven times in 12 games last season, including six of the final seven games. All seven of NU's opening scoring drives resulted in touchdowns. In Frost's two seasons, Nebraska has scored on its opening possession 10 times in 15 games.

• NU received the opening kickoff nine times in 2018 and scored touchdowns on six of those drives while punting only once. The Huskers had a game-opening touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead in five straight games during the Big Ten Conference season.

• The Huskers scored on nearly 60 percent of their opening possessions in 2018, even with a pair of drive-ending turnovers in opponent territory. Nebraska's average touchdown drive covered more than 74 yards, including one 80-yard touchdown march and five 75-yard scoring drives.

• Over the last three seasons - 2018-19 at Nebraska and 2017 at UCF - Frost's offenses have scored a touchdown on their opening possession 18 times in 28 games (64 percent). The average length of the touchdown drive in that span is 74 yards.

• In three-plus years as a head coach, Frost's offenses have scored on their opening drive 23 times in 41 games, with 21 touchdowns and two field goals. In 81 games over six-plus seasons as a play-caller, Frost's offenses have scored on their first possession of the game 44 times, putting points on the board in more than half of their opening possessions.

• Frost's Opening Drive Scoring Percentage: 54% (44 of 81 drives)    
• Frost's Opening Drive Touchdown Percentage: 47% (38 of 81 drives)


Blackshirt Defense Making Noise Early in 2019 Season
The Nebraska defense has focused on taking a step forward in 2019, specifically causing more turnovers and big impact plays. Through three games, Nebraska has done an outstanding job of checking that box, particularly in home wins over South Alabama and Northern Illinois. 

• Nebraska has nine takeaways through three games to rank first in the Big Ten and fifth nationally in that category. 

• Nebraska had five takeaways against South Alabama including four in the second half. The five takeaways matched the most in two seasons under Scott Frost (Illinois, 2018) and was only the fourth time since 2010 that a Nebraska defense recorded five or more takeaways.

• Nebraska scored a pair of defensive touchdowns against the Jaguars–a 38-yard interception return by Eric Lee Jr. in the third quarter and a fumble recovery in the end zone by Alex Davis in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.  The two defensive touchdowns marked the first time Nebraska scored a pair of defensive touchdowns since having two interception returns for touchdowns against Southern Miss in 2013. Nebraska is tied for the national lead in defensive touchdowns. 

• Lee's interception return for a touchdown was the first by a Husker since Marcus Newby had an interception for a touchdown against Northwestern in 2017.

• Davis' fumble recovery for a touchdown was the first by the Huskers since Josh Mitchell returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown against Miami in 2014. 

• Nebraska also scored on a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown by JD Spielman in the third quarter. The three non-offensive touchdowns were a first for Nebraska since the Huskers had three defensive touchdowns in a 31-3 win over Wake Forest in 2005. 

• Nebraska's effort against South Alabama marked the 16th time in school history the Huskers have scored on offense, defense and special teams in the same game.  It was the first time since 2012 NU had accomplished that feat, and the first instance against an FBS opponent since 2009 at Colorado.

• Nebraska has added two takeaways each of the past two weeks. NU is +2 in turnover margin through three games. 

• Nebraska has averaged 2.8 takeaways in its past eight games. Prior to that, Nebraska averaged 1.0 takeaway in its 30 previous games spanning three seasons. 

• The Huskers have forced three or more turnovers in four of their last eight games. Before the current streak, NU had not forced three turnovers in 30 games dating back to game two in 2016.

• Nebraska has forced 15 fumbles in its past eight games. Prior to that, Nebraska had forced just 14 fumbles in its previous 34 games. 

• Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander has a history of producing disruptive defenses. In 41 games as a defensive coordinator (UCF, Nebraska) Chinander's defenses have scored 11 touchdowns.

Bootle and Jackson Break Up Opponent's Passing Game
Junior Dicaprio Bootle wreaked havoc on opponent passing games in 2018. Bootle broke up 15 passes and had a career-high 39 tackles in his first season as a starter in 2018, helping Nebraska rank 34th nationally in pass efficiency defense, a 61-spot improvement from the 2017 season.

• Bootle broke up 15 passes in 2018, ranking ninth nationally in breakups and 16th nationally in passes defended per game (1.3). Bootle's 15 pass breakups ranked second on Nebraska's season chart and were the most by a Husker since DeJuan Groce broke up a school-record 17 passes in 2000. Bootle opened the 2019 season with a team-high two PBU against South Alabama, and added one PBU at Colorado.

• Bootle earned third-team All-Big Ten honors last year, becoming the first Husker cornerback to be honored by the conference in four seasons.

• Senior Lamar Jackson lines up opposite Bootle at corner, giving Nebraska one of the conference's best cornerback tandems. Jackson has an interception and a team-high five PBU in 2019. Jackson had a career-high four breakups against Northern Illinois, bettering his previous career high of two breakups in a single game. Jackson is tied for the national lead in passes defended per game at 2.0 per contest.

Husker Offense Showing Versatility
In non-conference play, the Nebraska offense has shown the versatility to both strike quickly and drive the length of the field. 
 
• Against Colorado, Nebraska had two touchdown drives of 95 yards or longer (95 and 96). That marked the first time the Huskers have had two 95-yard scoring drives in the same game since the 2000 Fiesta Bowl against Tennessee (97- and 99-yard touchdown drives). 

• Through three games, Nebraska has seven scoring drives that have covered 75 yards or more. 

• Nebraska also had two long scoring plays at Colorado with touchdown passes of 65 (Martinez-Speilman) and 75 yards (Martinez-Washington).  That marked the first time the Huskers had multiple 65-yard pass plays in the same game since 2006 against Kansas. 

• Nebraska flashed its quick-strike ability and explosiveness against Northern Illinois. Nebraska produced nine plays of 20 yards or more against the Huskies, including eight before halftime. The eight first-half chunk plays matched Nebraska's combined total in its first two games. 

• Nebraska had a pair of 60-yard runs against Northern Illinois. Dedrick Mills had a career-long 61-yard run in the first quarter, and Maurice Washington had a personal-best 60-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. That marked the second time in the past six games Nebraska has produced a pair of 60-yard runs in the same game

Nebraska Full Game Notes Package can be viewed by clicking here