McMaster's Keys to the Game: Nebraska Football vs. Illinois

Matt McMaster offers his three keys for the Huskers to see success Friday night against No. 24 Illinois.

Tyler Knaak (75) lifts Carter Nelson (29) in the endzone. / Amarillo Mullen

The Nebraska Cornhuskers welcome the No. 24 Illinois Illini to Memorial Stadium for their first ranked vs. ranked contest since 2013 and the monumental celebration of the 400th straight sellout at Memorial. A standalone Friday contest which will cement who is contender and who is a pretender in the loaded Big Ten Conference.

Handle the Five-Man Front

The Illini are incredibly aggressive on the line of scrimmage. Brett Bielema's group loves using five man fronts on the defensive side of the ball in order to create one on one matchups on the interior, with the hopes of getting to the quarterback or running back quickly and effectively. Despite losing first-round pick Johnny Newton and starter Keith Randolph, they've still been effective at the line of scrimmage, making life for the entire defense easier. Two names to watch for are lineman Dennis Briggs Jr. and Gabe Jacas. They’ve combined for 25 total tackles, five tackles for loss, and two sacks through three games. 

The Nebraska offensive line cannot afford to have a bad day. If Briggs and Jacas and company have easy access to the backfield, it will make life harder on young star Dylan Raiola. The Illini have stars on the secondary like Xavier Cross who will turn Raiola’s mistakes into turnovers when given the opportunity. 

The Huskers need to protect Raiola and in turn Raiola needs to get the ball out of his hands quickly. One more guy on the line means one less player in coverage so quick routes with speedsters Jacory Barney Jr. and Jaylen Lloyd could be a way to gash this well-coached Illini D.

Make Luke Altmyer One-Dimensional

So far the story of the Illinois season is the improvement of quarterback Luke Altmyer. After a below average season last year, many discounted the junior quarterback viewing him as a weakness for this Illinois team.

Through three weeks of play, the story is the opposite. Altmyer is averaging just under 220 pass yards a game, along with six touchdowns and no interceptions. If Altmyer continues this level of play, he'll have a career year in every statistical throwing category by a mile.

His poise in the pocket, along with his accuracy and confidence, have taken major jumps. However, Altmyer is not a one-trick pony. A reason he started nine games last year, despite posting severely below-average stats, was because of his legs. The former four-star quarterback is an athlete who can get it done by air and by sea.

The Blackshirts need to make him one-dimensional. Nebraska cannot allow the duel-threat quarterback to be effective in both facets of the offense. The Cornhuskers need to keep the quarterback in the pocket as best as they can, and if he escapes, put him down as quickly as possible. I think that because of Nebraska's strengths in the middle of the defensive line and their elite zone corners, they can afford to put a player like Mikai Gbayer in as a spy for Altmyer.

Do Not Underestimate This Team

Nebraska enters this game as a plus touchdown favorite. They've looked dominant in their three games this season and will be playing this game in front of arguably the best fans in college football.

As hostile of an environment as this will be for Illinois, and I might catch flack for this statement, I don't think this crowd is going to affect this game as the general public may think.

I have two reasons for this thought.

The first is that Illinois is coached by Brett Bielema, a hard-nosed professional who is going to have his team ready to play anywhere in the country. His offensive system is very simple. They use their physicality up front to establish the run and take quick passes that the defense gives to them in order to set up shots down field when the D is sleeping later in the contest. They rock you to sleep and then kill you when you least expect it. This style of play travels anywhere.

Secondly, the Illini have already done this before. They've already went into a ranked team's home stadium and beat them this season when they knocked off No. 19 Kansas in week two. This is nothing new for them.

That's not the case for the Big Red. The last time NU beat a ranked opponent was nearly eight years ago. They are the ones with the pressure. They are the ones who have to prove that they deserve the respect they've been given.

If the Big Red take Illinois lightly for a second, they'll be terribly disappointed in the result of this game on Saturday morning.

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