Fox Sports Analyst Joel Klatt Says Illinois At A Disadvantage Against Nebraska

Zachary Draves | Sep 20, 2024

Dec 27, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA; Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt at the Holiday Bowl at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt chooses Nebraska to come out on top over Illinois on Friday.

He specifically mentioned the Cornhuskers having home field advantage in comparison to contests last week where the home team came out victorious.

"I just think Nebraska is going to be really tough to beat at home," he said. "If you take a look at these Friday night games, this goes back, it doesn't even have to be a ranked game. But even last week, Arizona and Kansas State. Arizona goes into Manhattan, Kansas and gets thumped."

This matchup marks the first road game for the Fighting Illini this year. They are off to their best start in over a decade. An upset win over Kansas helped catapult them to the No. 24 ranking.

However, Klatt sees a real challenge for the Fighting Illini as they have a short window of time to prepare themselves.

"Going on the road on a weeknight is incredibly difficult," Klatt said. "It's a short week already. You're totally thrown off based on the schedule of your own team and now you've got to play a night game. You've got to play on the road and it's a weeknight. It's unique. The fans are ready. I just don't like road teams on Friday nights ... I'm gonna ride with Nebraska."

Zachary Draves is a contributor to Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at zdraves1013@gmail.com and on Instagram @zdraves0633.

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