Big Ten Roundup (Week 0): Bret Bielema Gets First Win at Illinois, Beats Nebraska 30-22

It's the same ugly movie for Nebraska, which opens the season with a 30-22 loss at Illinois in Bret Bielema's first game with the Illini. Backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski, a transfer from Rutgers, was huge off the bench for Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – When Bret Bielema took over an Illinois program that had the worst record in the Big Ten a year ago, the common thought was that it might take a while for the veteran coach to get the Illini turned around.

One game in, things are looking good for the Illini after posting a 30-22 victory over Nebraska in the "Week 0'' season opener, a game that was originally scheduled to be played in Dublin, Ireland but was moved back home because of COVID-19. It was the only matchup of two Power 5 teams on Saturday.

"You guys are probably tired of me talking about having the opening kickoff of college football, but to have it be a win is just like the perfect ending,'' Bielema said after the win in 90-degree heat at Memorial Stadium. "It’s the perfect period at the end of the sentence about what we did (Saturday).

“You can’t get overly excited about what it means or what it’s going to do going forward. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but it is a good end to the day.”

On if Bielema was fighting emotions after this win: "No. I was just sweating." #Illini

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) August 28, 2021

Nebraska, who was a 6.5-point road favorite coming to the game, jumped out to an early 9-2 lead but then allowed 28 unanswered points. The Cornhuskers scored twice late and had the ball in the final minute with a chance to tie, but came up short.

The Huskers had more yards (377-326) than the Fighting Illini, but a pair of mistakes in the second quarter once again put Nebraska in trouble. A roughing-the-passer penalty wiped out a Nebraska interception, and a fumble led to a 41-yard scoop-and-score touchdown that helped Illinois build a 30-9 lead late.

Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez was 16-for-32 passing for 232 yards and a score, and he ran for 111 yards, going 75 yards for a score. But mistakes continue the haunt the Huskers, who are now 12-21 under Scott Frost in his three-plus years at the helm of his alma mater. It's the second straight loss to Illinois.

"It looked like the same movie," Frost said. "I just got done telling the guys, 'We can't have this season look like the same movie,' because this game looked like the same movie today. I don't know what we're doing trying to field the punt inside the 1 [yard line] and then trying to throw it out of the end zone, and missing a couple extra points certainly didn't help.

"I felt like every time we got something started on offense, we got a holding or offensive pass interference or bad snap. We haven't seen any of those all camp. So it looked like the same movie today. We can't let it be that way."

No one in the Nebraska locker room could put a finger on why all the mistakes occurred in the opener after a solid fall camp.

"If I had that answer, it wouldn't have happened today," Martinez said. "It's just a matter of continuing to get better, understanding what those mistakes are and understanding that they're hurting this football team. We have to get better."

Frost still believes the Cornhuskers can be a good team, but it's right back to the drawing board now after the conference loss. They have three straight nonconference games now with Fordham, Buffalo and No. 2-ranked Oklahoma. 

"The guys really believe they're better, they know they're better, and they are better," Frost said. "They're better than they've ever been. We've got more talent, more depth, I've been saying that. But they need some good things to happen if they're really going to believe, and sometimes I feel like we're snakebit with the timing of when these things happen."

"This league, man, a lot of games are going to ride on a play here and a play there, and we didn't make enough of them today," Frost said. "So I need to do a better job of making sure we avoid the mistakes and keep putting them in situations where they can rise up and make those plays.

"I believe in my heart this team can still have a special season."

Illinois got a big boost from backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski, who completed 12 of 15 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns after starter Brandon Peters, a redshirt senior from Avon, Ind., went down with an injury in the first quarter. Sitkowski played 18 games in three years at Rutgers before transferring. 

“I’ve been through a lot at Rutgers. I went through a lot of ups and downs, but I learned a lot from that,” said Sitkowski, who threw 18 interceptions as a true freshman in 2018. “I learned a lot from my failures and my ups and downs and that’s what life’s all about, getting yourself back and going, so I’m just really happy. It was a great team win.”

The Illini rushed for 167 yards, with Mike Epstein leading the way with 75 yards on 16 carries.

Related stories on Big Ten football

• PAT FORDE COLUMN: Once again, the Nebraska's season-opening loss to Illinois has the Cornhuskers' rebound project looking rudderless. “It looked like the same movie,” Frost said of the rotten tomato performance.  CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN DAILY: Purdue decides on Jack Plummer as its starting quarterback, plus some recruiting news. CLICK HERE
• HENDERSON PRIMED FOR BIG SEASON: Indiana tight end Peyton Hendershot feels great after an injury-riddled 2020 season, and he's excited about making noise on a national stage this season. CLICK HERE

Week 1 Big Ten games

The rest of the Big Ten jumps into action this week, with the Week 1 schedule starting on Thursday night. Here's the list of Week 1 games coming up. The list includes matchups, national rankings, game times, TV and point spreads as of Sunday morning courtesy of FanDuel.com.

Thursday, Sept. 2

• TEMPLE at RUTGERS: 6:30 p.m. ET at Piscataway, N.J. TV: Big Ten Network. Rutgers is a 13.5-point favorite according to FanDuel.
• NO. 4 OHIO STATE at MINNESOTA: 8 p.m. ET at Minneapolis, MInn. TV: Big Ten Network. Ohio State is a 13.5-point favorite according to FanDuel.

Friday, Sept. 3

• MICHIGAN STATE at NORTHWESTERN: 9 p.m. ET, at Evanston, Ill. TV: ESPN. Northwestern is a 3.5-point favorite according to FanDuel.

Saturday, Sept. 4

• NO. 19 PENN STATE at NO. 12 WISCONSIN: Noon ET at Madison, Wisc. TV: FOX. Wisconsin is a 5.5-point favorite according to FanDuel. The line was 4.5 last week.
• WESTERN MICHIGAN at MICHIGAN: Noon ET at Ann Arbor, Mich. TV: ESPN. Michigan is a 16.5-point favorite according to FanDuel. The line was 17.5 last week.
• FORDHAM at NEBRASKA: Noon ET at Lincoln, Neb. TV: Big Ten Network. There is no line on the game yet according to FanDuel.
• NO. 17 INDIANA at NO. 18 IOWA: 3:30 p.m. ET at Iowa City, Iowa. TV: Big Ten Network. Iowa is a 3.5-point favorite according to FanDuel.
• WEST VIRGINIA at MARYLAND: 3:30 p.m. ET at College Park, Md. TV: ESPN. West Virginia is a 3.5-point favorite according to FanDuel.
• OREGON STATE at PURDUE: 7 p.m. ET at West Lafayette, Ind. TV: FOX Sports 1. Purdue is a 6.5-point favorite according to FanDuel. The line was 7.5 last week.
• TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO at ILLINOIS: 7:30 p.m. ET at Champaign, Ill. TV: Big Ten Network. There is no line on the game yet.