College Football Game of the Week: No. 24 Illinois vs. No. 22 Nebraska

Welcome to the game preview for No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska this Friday night.

Matchup Preview:

It seems fun to be a fan of one of these teams so far coming into Week 4. Especially fans of the Cornhuskers. There seems to be something brewing in Lincoln and people are excited about it.

When the season started, nobody really expected this Week 4 matchup on a Friday night to be one between two ranked teams.

The No. 22 Cornhuskers are set to host the No. 24 Fighting Illini on Friday night in a big-time matchup between two 3-0 Big Ten teams which should be a dogfight at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

Nebraska is 3-0 for the first time since 2016. I know the Huskers have yet to be tested with wins over UTEP, Northern Iowa and a dominating victory over the world-famous Colorado Buffaloes, but the defense has been great and true freshman Quarterback Dylan Raiola has done everything he’s needed to up until this point of the season.

Matt Rhule is in his second season as head coach at Nebraska. He led the team to a 5-7 record last season but has quickly turned things around. Rhule has already managed quick rebuilds at Temple and Baylor before heading to the NFL.

Illinois is also arriving in Lincoln 3-0, blowing out Eastern Illinois in week one, a big win against then No. 19 Kansas at home two weeks ago and handling business against Central Michigan last week.

Quarterback Luke Altmyer is off to a great start to begin the 2024 campaign completing almost 70% of his passes for 647 yards and six TDs in three games played so far this season.

Illinois head coach Brett Bielema said that this matchup is “awesome” for his squad. The Week 4 contest is the first road game of the season for Illinois and also serves as the Big Ten opener for both sides.

Friday night's matchup marks the first time Nebraska (No. 22) and Illinois (No. 24) will face each other when they are both ranked since 1985.

Game Prediction:

This is a very interesting game to pick because both sides are undefeated and ranked. Both teams are coming off games where they won-handedly. Nebraska has also lost its last 24 games against AP-ranked opponents.

Nebraska has not faced a competent running game yet this season. Illinois is going to try and get the ground and pound going right out of the gate and go right after the Husker D-front with sophomore running back, Kaden Feagin.

I personally think that it's a little bit too early for Nebraska to consistently win games against bigger opponents. Friday night should be a huge test for both teams but Illinois is the more experienced team even though they lost to Nebraska a year ago.

It is going to be a close game, but Luke Altmyer and the Fighting Illini will walk into Lincoln and beat Dylan Raiola and the upstart Cornhuskers on Friday night in a tight one, 24-21.

Austin Moran is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email acm6506@psu.edu