Our side
MoneylineILL to win
ours 51%
Projected score
26–27
NEB – ILL
2026-11-06 · 8:00 PM
Gies Memorial Stadium · Champaign, IL
B1G game
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Nebraska lead
14–7–1
· 22 meetings since 1892
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
even
33 ranks apart
Nebraska Cornhuskers #93 rush offense
Illinois Fighting Illini #60 run defense
Pass game
even
33 ranks apart
Nebraska Cornhuskers #146 pass offense
Illinois Fighting Illini #179 pass defense
Run game
edge Illinois Fighting Illini
107 ranks
Illinois Fighting Illini #124 rush offense
Nebraska Cornhuskers #231 run defense
Pass game
edge Illinois Fighting Illini
48 ranks
Illinois Fighting Illini #38 pass offense
Nebraska Cornhuskers #86 pass defense
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Balanced · 52% run
Ball-control
Illinois Fighting Illini
Balanced · 54% run
Ball-control
Matt Rhule · 58-46
Bret Bielema · 56-45 · offense-minded
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Nebraska Cornhuskers
RB
Jamal Rule
210 rush yds · 3 TD · 2 rec
#13 RB
WR
Jacory Barney Jr.
13 rec · 175 yds · 2 TD
#35 WR
WR
Kwazi Gilmer
11 rec · 97 yds · 3 TD
#60 WR
RB
Mekhi Nelson
112 rush yds · 1 TD · 4 rec
#49 RB
Illinois Fighting Illini
WR
Collin Dixon
17 rec · 236 yds · 5 TD
#5 WR
QB
Katin Houser
453 pass yds · 6 TD · 1 INT
#8 QB
LB
Ismael Kante
10 tkl · 0.5 TFL
#45 LB
LB
Will Holmes
10 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#102 LB
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Nebraska offense vs Illinois defense+5.7 pts
Illinois offense vs Nebraska defense+4.3 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 448 mi
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.
Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest
were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them.
Adding them again would double-count.