Final score: Nebraska 42 Illinois 38

Brief recap: The best B1G game of the day comes in the final contest of the night. Illinois was in control of the game early, building a two-touchdown advantage in the first half thanks to some big defensive stops and a solid start from Reggie Corbin. The Illini held a 35-27 advantage into the fourth quarter but the Huskers outscore the Illini 15-3 in the final 15 minutes to come away with the win. Nebraska overcame four turnovers and 11 penalties (119 yards) to get its first road win since a 2017 trip to Purdue. It wasn’t a pretty game for Scott Frost and company, but a gritty performance from the Huskers.

Key moment: In a game that had many critical moments, there were several that could fall under this category. But let’s go back to early in the second quarter when Illinois was leading 21-7 with the football at midfield. Brandon Peters underthrew a wide open receiver and the pass was picked off by Cam Taylor-Britt. If the Illini take a three-touchdown lead, it could’ve been a huge blow to Nebraska’s confidence early in the game.

Key stat: Do you want to know Illinois’ 3rd down conversion rate? It was 1-of-11. The Illini also only had 78 passing yards. Those seem to be pretty big factors in the loss.

Key player: Co-key player honors in this one. Adrian Martinez accounted for over 500 yards of offense and three touchdowns, and scored on a key two-point conversion. Freshman all-purpose back Wan’Dale Robinson accounted for three total touchdowns while racking up 89 rushing yards and 79 receiving yards. Both guys were huge down the stretch.

What it means for Nebraska: Give credit to Frost and the Huskers, they overcame a lot to get a win. The four turnovers, nearly a dozen penalties and they trailed for over 50 minutes in the game, a lot of times trailing by two scores. A year ago, there’s no way Nebraska wins this game, even against a less talented team. Just shows how much improvement this team has made.

What it means for Illinois: The Illini forced four turnovers, Nebraska has 11 penalties and still Illinois couldn’t win the game. That’s a pretty damning sign moving forward. The defense surrendered nearly 700 yards of offense despite all those components. This was a winnable game for Lovie Smith’s group. The number of winnable games is starting to drop significantly.