Saunders Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 2015 Game 5 “Expert” Picks: Nebraska at Illinois ————— CollegeFootballNews.com http://collegefootballnews.com/2015/nebraska-vs-illinois-game-preview-fearless-prediction C’mon, Nebraska (2-2), it’s time to start looking like a real, live contender in the West already. The Huskers could very easily be 3-1, with the Hail Mary loss to BYU setting an ominous tone for the start of the Mike Riley season, but it’s been a struggle so far overall. Beating Illinois (3-1) wouldn’t necessarily change much in terms of perception, but it would be a nice appetizer of a road win to start the Big Ten season. Check out the Nebraska vs. Illinois game preview and prediction. Why You Need To Care The Huskers are getting a strong start out of QB Tommy Armstrong, proving the square peg can fit into the round hole, but the start to the Miami game was too much to overcome, the finish to the BYU game stunk, and it took too much to get by Southern Miss. With Wisconsin up next followed up by a trip to Minnesota and a date with Northwestern, the division hopes will likely be made or broken over the next month. Nebraska can’t lose this. While the Huskers are assumed to be major players in the Big Ten West race, Illinois can establish itself as one if it can sneak away with a win. The Illini hit reality hard after losing on the road to a mediocre North Carolina team, but they fought through Middle Tennessee to a solid 3-1 start – at least under the circumstances – and now they can make a statement with a home win before going off to Iowa. There’s a week off before dealing with Wisconsin, so if the Illini can somehow go 2-1 over the next three games, they’re going to be right in the fun. Why Nebraska Will Win For two teams that with erratic offenses, field position turns into a really big deal. Nebraska’s punting game has been mediocre, but on just four punt returns, the production has been there averaging close to 14 yards per try – the explosion is there for the Huskers. Illinois junior Ryan Frain hasn’t been too awful, averaging close to 40 yards per kick, but the punt coverage team has stunk. North Carolina had fun thanks to Ryan Switzer, and Middle Tennessee averaged 11.5 yards per pop. Why Illinois Will Win The defense continues to be phenomenal on third downs. The Huskers struggled last week against Southern Miss converting just 4-of-13 tries and had problems at times against Miami. That’s just the offense Illinois is great at slowing down. The front seven is coming up with good stops on first downs, and the D is doing a great job of getting off the field allowing offenses to convert just 21% of the time. North Carolina converted four of ten chances, but no one else has done more than 28%. Don’t be shocked if the Illinois defense gives Nebraska one of its toughest performances of the year helped by … Player Who Matters Safety Clayton Fejedelem, who’s come up with a team-leading 38 tackles with three broken up passes. At 6-1 and 200 pounds he has excellent size, and he’s bringing the pop more and more with 14 tackles against North Carolina and 12 against Middle Tennessee. Nebraska is trying to get Tommy Armstrong to throw more and more, especially midrange, and this is where Fejedelem should shine. What’s Going To Happen? Illinois will give the Huskers all they can handle. The Nebraska D will rise up in the fourth and hang on, but it’s going to be a tough fight to the finish. Expect a good game with each team getting chances to put the game away, but not being able to do it. It’s going to be a terrific game. PREDICTION: Nebraska 24- Illinois 20 ————— SBNation/Football Study Hall http://www.footballstudyhall.com/2015/10/1/9427457/college-football-projections-picks-week-5 Ilinois 30 - Nebraska 24 ————— ESPN FPI http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/fpi?id=158&year=2015 Illinois - 50.7% chance of winning ————— FEI Predictions http://www.bcftoys.com/2015-game-projections/ FEI Game Projections are calculated as a function of the current FEI rating of each team, an adjustment for home field advantage, and the projected scoring pace of the game. Nebraska has a 77.8% chance to win. Nebraska 31 - Illinois 19 ————— BTN.com http://btn.com/2015/09/30/polls-its-time-to-select-your-week-5-big-ten-football-winners/ Tom Dienhart: Nebraska 41 - Illinois 35 Sean Merriman: Nebraska 38 - Illinois 28 Brent Yarina: Nebraska 37 - Illinois 27 Angelique Chengelis: Nebraska 24 - Illinois 17 ————— ESPN Big Ten Blog http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/124544/big-ten-week-5-game-picks-are-wisconsin-and-northwestern-on-upset-alert Brian Bennet: Nebraska Josh Moyer: Nebraska Dan Murphy: Nebraska Mitch Sherman: Nebraska Jesse Temple: Nebraska Austin Ward: Nebraska ————— Big Red Wrap-Up http://netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/sports/big-red-wrap-illinois-prediction-1 Kevin Kugler: Illinois 41 - Nebraska 38 Blake Lawrence: Nebraska 34 - Illinois 17 Sean Callahan: Nebraska 45 - Illinois 34 ————— Daily Nebraskan http://www.dailynebraskan.com/sports/dn-sports-desk-nebraska-vs-illinois-score-predictions/article_b954b770-6582-11e5-aa22-9f9bb04b10a1.html Josh Kelly: Nebraska 33 - Illinois 20 Brett Nierengarten: Nebraska 31 - Illinois 21 Nick Wilkinson: Nebraska 31 - Illinois 24 Michael Dixon: Nebraska 33 - Illinois 28 Vanessa Daves: Nebraska 35 - Illinois 31 ————— 6 Quote Link to comment
Red Five Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Why does Kevin Kugler hate Nebraska and/or Mike Riley? Quote Link to comment
Saunders Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Why does Kevin Kugler hate Nebraska and/or Mike Riley? Well, he picked us to lose to Miami by 1, so maybe he just doesn't trust the team? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Quote Link to comment
teachercd Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Why does Kevin Kugler hate Nebraska and/or Mike Riley? I know you are kind of joking but I thought about this when I saw him on Big Red Wrap Up the other night...I have a feeling that many Husker fans are going to turn on him...quickly. I don't think they should, I like the guy and think he does a great job but I can see it coming. Quote Link to comment
Kiyoat Husker Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Why does Kevin Kugler hate Nebraska and/or Mike Riley? Because he hates America, freedom, and puppies. 2 Quote Link to comment
teachercd Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I just can't see this game being closer than the Smiss game but who knows. I love the -6.5 line...but Vegas seems to know more than I do. Quote Link to comment
Creighton Duke Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Thanks again for putting this together. Really enjoy having all of this information in one place! Quote Link to comment
ADS Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Never thought I'd see the day where Nebraska isn't a touchdown favorite over Illinois. Quote Link to comment
Dr. Strangelove Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Why does Kevin Kugler hate Nebraska and/or Mike Riley? Has he been incorrect in any of his predictions? Quote Link to comment
StPaulHusker Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Why does Kevin Kugler hate Nebraska and/or Mike Riley? Do you think the predictions would have been different with Bo still as HC? Quote Link to comment
Red Five Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Never thought I'd see the day where Nebraska isn't a touchdown favorite over Illinois. Good thing we didn't play them in 2007. We would have been at least a touchdown dog. Quote Link to comment
Red Five Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Has he been incorrect in any of his predictions? Do you think the predictions would have been different with Bo still as HC? Sarcasm doesn't carry over very well on computer screens. Quote Link to comment
Guy Chamberlin Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Wait. Illinois is expected to be a tough game? Quote Link to comment
Saunders Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Why does Kevin Kugler hate Nebraska and/or Mike Riley? Has he been incorrect in any of his predictions? He picked us to beat BYU. Quote Link to comment
hskrfan4life Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Thanks Saunders for putting this together! One thing I look forward to each week! 1 Quote Link to comment
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