Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 8/28/2021 College Football Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Saturday, August 28, 2021

Location: Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Fighting Illini (+7)

Total/Over-Under: 54.5

Memorial Stadium is where the Illinois Fighting Illini (2-6 last year) will try to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-5 last season) on Saturday. Illinois opens this contest as 7-point dogs. The over/under is 54.5.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers ended the season having earned a 3-5 record. In their last matchup, the Cornhuskers played against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and notched a win by a score of 28-21. Adrian Martinez went 24/28 with 255 yards through the air and 1 touchdown. He had a QB rating of 159.7 and ended the game with 2 interceptions. Dedrick Mills was the rushing leader for the Cornhuskers with 25 attempts for 191 yards (7.6 yards per carry). The Nebraska Cornhuskers ended up rushing 58 different times and totaled 365 yds, which is an average of 6.3 yards per carry. In all, they ran 86 plays which converted into 620 yards. Nebraska conceded 11 pass completions on 22 tries for a total of 122 yds, and a completion rate of 50.0%. On the ground, the Cornhuskers gave up 130 yds on 30 tries, which is 4.3 yards per rush allowed.

The Cornhuskers tallied 3,132 total yards for the prior season. They gave the ball to the opposition 18 times. Nebraska compiled 5 passing touchdowns and 15 touchdowns on the ground. Nebraska earned 171 1st downs as a team, and they committed 54 penalties for 485 yards. Offensively they held an average of 201.4 yards on the ground, which ranked them 28th in college football. When it comes to putting points on the board, the Nebraska Cornhuskers were sitting at 23.1 PPG. Concerning passing yards, the Cornhuskers conceded 1,736 yds which had them sitting in 59th in D-1. Over the course of their 8 games played, they yielded 217.0 yards per contest through the air and allowed a completion percentage of 63.1%. They relinquished 386.5 yards per game which had them ranked 63rd in college football. They gave up 10 touchdowns via the pass in addition to 15 touchdowns via the ground game. They allowed teams to run for an average of 4.2 yards per rush and 169.5 yards on the ground per game over the course of last year. Overall, they allowed 1,356 rushing yards through 8 outings. The Cornhuskers were sitting in 76th in college football regarding team defense, giving up 29.4 points per contest.

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The Fighting Illini ended the season having a 2-6 record. The last time they took the field, the Fighting Illini took a defeat with a final score of 56-21 against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Isaiah Williams (2 TDs) ended the contest with 120 yards on 8/18 passing while his quarterback rating was 126.0. He had 1 interception and his average yards per pass attempt was 6.7. Isaiah Williams carried the rock 15 times for 102 yards, ending the contest with 6.8 yds per carry for Illinois. Illinois rushed the football for 4.0 yards per attempt, finishing with 153 yds on 38 carries. The Fighting Illini finished the game with a total of 273 yards and they ran 60 plays (4.6 yards per play). The Fighting Illini secondary allowed a completion percentage of 70.4%, relinquishing 327 yds on 19 out of 27 passing. Illinois allowed 53 rushing attempts for 253 yds (4.8 yards per rush).

The Illinois Fighting Illini held an average of 349.0 yards per outing which ranked them 100th in Division 1. They threw 4 picks while losing 5 fumbles and they tallied 143 1st downs. They averaged 196.1 yards per game on the ground and ran for 1,569 yards overall. The Illinois offense accrued 406 yards of penalties on 39 violations, which was 96th in the nation in terms of hurting your team. Last season, the Fighting Illini had a total of 1,223 passing yards not to mention averaging 152.9 throwing yards per outing, putting them at 117th in D-1. When looking at their ability to score points, the Fighting Illini were 112th in D-1 averaging 20.1 PPG. The Fighting Illini surrendered 34.9 points per contest, which had them in 112th in the nation. In total, they allowed 279 points in total. Illinois surrendered a total of 1,841 rushing yards (230.1 yards/game) as well as 17 touchdowns via the rush throughout last year. They conceded 18 touchdowns through the air and 237.1 yards/contest, which put them in 81st in D-1. The Fighting Illini defense was on the field for 572 plays, which had them ranked 63rd in Division 1. Their defense totaled 8 fumbles and 7 picks for the previous season.

Who will win tonight's Cornhuskers/Fighting Illini college football game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Cornhuskers -7

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