Nebraska at Illinois: 8/28/21 College Football Picks and Predictions

By Shane Mickle | August 26, 2021 3:07 pm

Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) vs Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0)

Game Info: Saturday, August 28, 2021 at 1:00 pm (Memorial Stadium)

Betting Odds: Illinois Fighting Illini +7-- Over/Under: 55 Click Here for the Latest Odds

Where to watch: FOX

The Nebraska Cornhuskers and Illinois Fighting Illini face off on Saturday in Week 0 of the college football season at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. 

There is a lot of pressure on the Nebraska Cornhuskers heading into the season. When Scott Frost was hired there were high expectations that this team would get back to competing for the Big Ten title, but that hasn’t happened. The Cornhuskers still don’t have a winning season under Frost. For Nebraska this season, they are going to need a ton of production out of Junior quarterback Carlos Martinez. One big problem for Martinez though might be his lack of playmakers. Wan'Dale Robinson was the top receiver last season. But he decided to transfer out. On defense, this is a veteran-led team, and in this game, they are going to need to create a couple of turnovers to make life tough on the Illinois Fighting Illini’s offense. 

On the other side of this matchup is the Illinois Fighting Illini who moved on from Lovie Smith this offseason and brought in Bret Bilema to lead the team. The Illinois Fighting Illini offense were good at times last season, but they were inconsistent, and they need the offense to be a lot more consistent this season. Quarterback Brandon Peters is back for another season and they are going to need him to be good in this game. At running back Chase Brown is back, and he is going to be an x-factor in this game. On defense, Illinois is young but they have a couple of veteran players like Jake Hansen who was the best player last season. 

Illinois is 1-4 against the spread in their last five home games. Nebraska is 2-6 against the spread in their last eight games as a favorite. The under is 6-0 in Nebraska’s last six road games. The under is 20-8 in the Cornhuskers last 28 games as a favorite. 

Illinois might not be good this season, but Nebraska laying seven points is way too many. I don’t love the Nebraska offense and their lack of scoring is going to keep this game close. Back the Fighting Illini getting the points. 


Shane’s Pick Illinois +7