The 2021 college football season opened up with a rare Week 0 game featuring conference opponents as Nebraska vs. Illinois headlined the opening slate of games. Two programs on opposite ends of the spectrum battled it out for opening-week supremacy.
The Illini defeated the Cornhuskers 30-22 — Nebraska head coach Scott Frost’s seat got hotter while Illinois head coach Bret Bielema made a successful Big Ten return.
Nebraska vs. Illinois score
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F | |
| Cornhuskers | 0 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 22 |
| Fighting Illini | 2 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 30 |
Illinois 30, Nebraska 22
The Fighting Illini utilized a couple of strong individual efforts on offense and a total team effort on defense to hold on late to the victory over Nebraska. A valiant comeback effort from the Huskers brought the game to within one score after a 19-play drive.
They even got the ball back with under a minute left, down 8 points. But it was all for not when Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez’s fourth-down pass with 0:19 left went incomplete.
Illinois got a great performance from backup QB Artur Sitkowski. He was forced into action following a significant injury to starting QB Brandon Peters. Sitkowski finished the game 12 of 15 through the air for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. His perfectly placed deep ball along the sidelines midway through the third quarter was the game’s lone passing highlight.
Longtime Illini RB Mike Epstein carried the ball 16 times for 75 yards and a touchdown while Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez led the game with 111 yards on the ground. Most of Martinez’s yards came on a 75-yard touchdown run, though he was sacked multiple times and on the run for most of the game.
He finished the game 16 of 32 for 232 yards and 1 touchdown but just 5 of 14 on third-down conversions.
Scott Frost will have multiple things to clean up as the Huskers open the season 0-1 for the third time in his four seasons as head coach. Frost is now 9-18 against Big Ten foes and 12-21 overall as the Nebraska head coach.
On the other side, Bielema opens the season 1-0 after adjusting his game plan with a backup quarterback in the lineup. The Illinois defense looked incredibly sharp and young, giving much hope for the future.
The Illini will hit the field next against UTSA, hosting the Roadrunners on September 4. Nebraska returns home for a matchup against Fordham on the same day.
Nebraska vs. Illinois live highlights and scoring updates
4:40 PM ET: Nebraska capitalizes on an impressive 19-play drive that spanned 91 yards and 6:42 with a 4-yard TOUCHDOWN reception by WR Oliver Martin. Martinez found him on a fourth down, capping the game’s longest drive to date. Nebraska kicker Connor Culp missed the PAT, however, leaving more to be desired on an impressive drive. Illini still lead, 30-22.
4:32 PM ET: In a low-scoring fourth quarter, Nebraska continues their hot/cold play with an impressive third-down run from Martinez. That was followed by a high snap from center Cameron Jurgens that knocked the Huskers’ offense back 14 yards.
4:06 PM ET: The Illinois defense begins to clamp down, aided by a pass interference penalty that negated a big play. Despite a long TD run from Martinez and a quick out from the Illinois offense, the Illini take a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter. Illinois leads 30-16 with 15 minutes remaining.
3:51 PM ET: Martinez showcases what makes him a potentially dangerous threat with the ball in his hands, evading a cornerback blitz and scrambling for a 75-yard TOUCHDOWN. Huskers close the gap but Illinois still leads, 30-16.
Adrian Martinez is fast. 😮💨
He takes it 75 yards to the house!
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 28, 2021
3:45 PM ET: Sitkowski continues to look good in relief, dropping a perfectly placed pass along the sideline to WR Deuce Spann for a 45-yard gain after a quick three-and-out from Nebraska. Sitkowski connects with QB-turned-WR Isaiah Williams on a 1-yard TOUCHDOWN pass to increase Illinois’ lead to 30-9.
3:29 PM ET: The Illinois rushing attack crams it down the Nebraska defense to start the second half. Backup QB Artur Sitkowski and former QB Isaiah Williams combine with the RB trio of Mike Epstein, Reggie Love, and Chase Brown to get on the board with the first possession of the third quarter. The Illini run it on 10 plays during a 14-play drive but get on the board with a 2-yard TOUCHDOWN pass from Sitkowski to TE Luke Ford. Illinois increases their lead to 23-9.
Luke Ford in for six.@IlliniFootball increasing the lead.
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 28, 2021
2:57 PM ET: Fittingly enough, Martinez is sacked to end the half on a last-ditch effort to gain some momentum before the half. Martinez finishes the first half 6-of-14 passing for 112 yards and a fumble in the pocket. Illinois records 3 sacks in the first half and a defensive touchdown to boot. Illini lead at the half, 16-9.
2:54 PM ET: Adrian Martinez is sacked, losing the football in the process. The ball is scooped up by Illinois LB Calvin Hart Jr. who returns it 42 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Redshirt-freshman DE Keith Randolph Jr. gets credited for the sack. Illinois leads, 16-9.
🚨 SCOOP AND SCORE 🚨@IlliniFootball forces the fumble and takes the lead just before the end of the first half! pic.twitter.com/2CqWdw4qe8
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 28, 2021
2:50 PM ET: Illinois WR Donny Navarro loses the ball during the team’s 2-minute drive at the end of the half, relinquishing possession for the game’s first turnover.
2:35 PM ET: A long drive ends with a 1-yard TOUCHDOWN run from Mike Epstein. An 11-play, 75-yard drive was capped by Epstein’s 12th carry going for the Illini’s first touchdown of the season. The drive was also aided by a roughing the passer penalty that negated an interception from backup QB Artur Sitkowski. Illinois ties it up, 9-9 with 2:51 left to play.
2:20 PM ET: Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez showcases his hot-and-cold nature once again. He hits a perfect downfield shot to get the Huskers in scoring range but then misses a wide-open receiver off a mesh concept in the end zone. Martinez then misfires on 3rd down, settling for a 27-yard Connor Culp field goal. Nebraska increases their lead, 9-2.
OKAY ADRIAN MARTINEZ.
The Nebraska QB with a great toss! 😱
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 28, 2021
2:07 PM ET: The first TOUCHDOWN of the college football season comes from USC transfer RB Markese Steep, who punches it in from 2 yards out. Stepp also had a 30-yard reception out of the backfield to spark the Nebraska offense on the drive. Connor Culp missed the point-after-touchdown. Nebraska leads, 6-2.
2:02 PM ET: The first quarter comes to a close with each offense continuing to find their way. Nebraska is knocking on the door as the second quarter approaches, but the lone points have come from a special-teams safety. Illinois leads, 2-0 at the end of one.
1:55 PM ET: The Illini can’t cash in on the safety as they miss a 54-yard field goal attempt following the change of possession. Perhaps even more worrisome, Illinois QB Brandon Peters exited the game with an apparent arm injury after being sacked.
1:45 PM ET: Nebraska punt returner Cam Taylor-Britt makes an ill-advised decision to catch a punt at his own goal line. He slips after fielding it, landing on his end-zone line for the game’s first points – a safety! Illinois takes the first lead of the college football season, Illini lead 2-0.
1:29 PM ET: The game’s first highlight comes from the reigning Big Ten Punter of the Year in Blake Hayes. He boots it 50 yards and perfectly coffin-cornered out of bounds at the Nebraska 1-yard line. Huskers take over, pinned deep.
1:25 PM ET: A promising drive to start the season ends with a punt for Nebraska. QB Adrian Martinez connects on his first two passes of the game but gets pressured on a 3rd-and-4 pass attempt that falls to the turf. Martinez goes 2 of 3 for 22 yards while true freshman RB Gabe Ervin runs it twice for just 1 yard. Illinois takes over.
Nebraska vs. Illinois game preview
A 12-20 start to his tenure at Nebraska is not what Cornhusker fans wanted nor what they expected when he was announced as the head coach over three years ago. Nevertheless, Nebraska and Frost are staring down the barrel of what could possibly be the end of this era if things don’t go right for them in 2021.
Nebraska is fresh off an offseason marred with potential NCAA sanctions after the Cornhuskers reportedly kept their players on campus during the pandemic last season. While the NCAA likely doesn’t make much movement on that situation during the season, the larger issue at hand still applies. Even with a possible competitive advantage last season, Nebraska under Frost still finished the season 3-5 a year ago.
Two battle-tested quarterbacks will return to the field for both programs as Adrian Martinez begins his fourth season at Nebraska and Brandon Peters begins his fifth Big Ten season and third with the Illini. Peters finished last season with a sub-50% completion percentage as Illinois struggled to find an identity.
The Illini, though, enter the 2021 season with a bevy of hope — hopeful of returning to winning seasons, hopeful for Bielema to return to his glorious Big Ten winning ways. He did, of course, win three Big Ten titles and Big Ten Coach of the Year during his time at Wisconsin from 2006-2012.
No matter what, this Nebraska vs. Illinois game to kick off Week 0 in college football is a dream matchup. A Big Ten conference matchup ahead of all else? A leader in the Big Ten not named Ohio State by day’s end?
And those are just a few of the reasons to watch.
How to watch Nebraska vs. Illinois
- Start time: 1 PM ET, August 28
- Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
- TV Channel: FOX
- Live stream options:
- SlingTV
- YouTubeTV