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Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Nebraska

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 6, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) is tackled by Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker John Bullock (5) during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 6, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) is tackled by Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker John Bullock (5) during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 06: Head coach Bret Bielema of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Memorial Stadium on October 06, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

With the Chicago Bears coming off a big win on Thursday night, I was hoping the Illinois football team would follow suit.

This wasn’t just a regular game for the Illini, though. I would argue that the entire 2023 season fell on the shoulders of this one game.

Nebraska came to Champaign, and this was a chance for Illinois to get back to .500. That didn’t happen, though. The Illini made mistake after mistake, and we couldn’t put the ball in the end zone. Only scoring seven points is not the recipe for a victory.

Without much of a fight on the offensive side of things, Illinois wouldn’t make this game interesting. Nebraska took down the Orange and Blue, 20-7.

Here are five observations from the Illinois football loss to Nebraska

1. Too many mistakes by the Illini

Illinois entered the game on Friday night needing a win. We are at a point with this team where we can’t afford to make any mistakes, but the mistakes continue to come in bundles.

Besides for the final few minutes, I believe there was no point where Illinois was out of the game against Nebraska. The defense kept us alive, and we just needed the offense to come through with some key drives.

The mistakes started to snowball, though. On the first drive of the game, Illinois got it down to the one-yard line. We couldn’t manage to put the ball in the endzone, and this allowed the Cornhuskers to take control. It was essentially a 10-point swing.

Nebraska kicked off after going up 10-0 in the game. The kick was short, and the Illinois returner failed to recover it. This led to another touchdown to bring the score to 17-0.

Illinois had a chance to make this a 17-14 game in the third quarter. A 17-yard completed pass ended up being fumbled away, which led to a Nebraska field goal. It was another potential 10-point swing.

Three out of the following four drives for the Illini ended in either a turnover on downs or an interception. The mistakes continued to happen, and they ultimately doomed us.

I honestly believe Illinois has the talent to win games this season. We aren’t a horrible team, but we make really dumb mistakes. We can’t get out of our own way, and it is killing us on the football field.

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