Close to the vest? Illinois, Nebraska still haven't released depth charts before Week 0 showdown
Illinois and Nebraska have declined to release depth charts on Monday, just five days before they meet in the Big Ten’s season-opener on Saturday.
Both the Illini and Huskers are holding their weekly press conferences on Monday, but it seems neither is ready to release a depth chart.
No public #illini depth chart for Week One
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) August 23, 2021
No depth chart within Nebraska's game notes for Illinois this week. Probably not a surprise after Scott Frost said recently he's in no hurry to release it.
— Evan Bland (@EvanBlandOWH) August 23, 2021
Illinois is entering its first season under new head coach Bret Bielema. Given the staff and player turnover in Champaign, it makes sense that the Illini would want to continue position battles through this week.
That’s less true for Nebraska, who is entering Year 4 under coach Scott Frost. Huskers DC Erik Chinander told reporters last week that he wanted position battles to be finalized sooner rather than later.
Nebraska has a 65 percent chance of winning this game, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
This game was originally set to be played in Ireland, but that trip was canceled due to the pandemic.
Kick off is at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday.