Illinois Football: 4 ways the Illini can beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers

3. Control the clock

I think it is pretty evident that Illinois is a much better team when they control the clock. The stats show that when the time of possession is close to even or even in favor of Illinois, then the Illini are in games more often.

Illinois only had the ball for 16:32 in the Wisconsin game, which was a loss by 38 points. They had the ball for 22:25 against Minnesota, which was a loss by 27 points. The Illini were about even with Purdue in time of possession, as the Illini had the ball for 29:22 and only lost by seven points. Against Rutgers, Illinois won the time of possession by having the ball for 34:38 and won the game by three points.

Through the first three games, Illinois averaged having the ball 37.95-percent of the time in games, which ranked No. 129 out of 130 teams in college football. That number has improved to 42.90-percent of the time, which ranks No. 119 after the Rutgers game.

The one saving grace for the Illini is the fact Nebraska isn’t much better. The Cornhuskers only average having the ball 46.01-percent of the time this season, which ranks No. 102 in the nation. In the last game against Penn State, Nebraska only had the ball for 23:36 compared to the Nittany Lions who had it for 36:24.

What this means is this Saturday will feature two teams that like to go hurry-up on the offensive side of the ball. First downs will be crucial to keep the chains moving, but they will be even more crucial so the team can control the clock. If Illinois can get a handle on time of possession, then I think they can come away with a victory.