Illinois @ Nebraska preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 3, 2015 ) Nebraska 13, Illinois 14

Nebraska entered Big Ten play this year with a chance to avenge five painful conference losses last season - contests decided by a total of 23 points - and cashed in its first opportunity last weekend. The 15th-ranked Cornhuskers eye a similar result in their second such game Saturday as they host Illinois.

Already reeling from a pair of last-second, non-conference losses to begin the 2015 season, Nebraska had its heart broken again in the conference opener last year as the Illini took advantage of some poor clock management late in the fourth quarter to drive 72 yards in 41 seconds and score the go-ahead touchdown with 10 seconds left en route to a 14-13 win. The Cornhuskers opened league play this year in much different fashion, overcoming two first-half fumbles near the goal line to defeat Northwestern 24-13, avenging a two-point setback to the Wildcats last October. The Illini began the Lovie Smith era with a 52-3 thrashing of FCS foe Murray State, but the honeymoon period for the first-year coach may be quickly coming to an end. After falling by 25 to North Carolina one week later, Illinois was outrushed 287-3 by Western Michigan in a 34-10 home loss Sept. 17.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Nebraska -21.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (1-2, 0-0 Big Ten): Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Kendrick Foster combined for 337 yards rushing on 48 carries over the Illini's first two contests but totaled only 25 yards on 10 attempts as the Broncos stacked the box and forced quarterback Wes Lunt to beat them. Lunt had a season-high 312 yards passing in the loss, but he took four sacks, committed two turnovers (including his first interception of the season) and only three of his 29 completions covered more than 20 yards. The defense has also not held up its end of the bargain after allowing -10 yards rushing and recording three takeaways in the opener, yielding 484 total rushing yards and failing to force a turnover in the two games since.

ABOUT NEBRASKA (4-0, 1-0): Tommy Armstrong Jr. has flourished in his senior season - averaging a career-high 8.78 yards per attempt while also posting a 8:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio - and is coming off a game in which he threw for 246 yards and ran for a career-high 132 yards. After running backs Terrell Newby and Devine Ozigbo each fumbled on potential scoring opportunities in the first half, Chicago native Mikale Wilbon impressed with 55 yards on six carries as the Cornhuskers put the game away on the ground over their final two drives. Guard Tanner Farmer (high-ankle sprain) has been ruled out and big-play wideout Alonzo Moore (shoulder), who leads the team with 310 yards receiving, is doubtful for Saturday.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Cornhuskers are tied with Ohio State for the conference lead in interceptions with nine - one off the pace in FBS - after picking off only 10 passes in 13 contests last season.

2. Illinois, which has dropped 13 of its last 15 games following a bye, is 3-9-1 all-time against Nebraska and collected its only win in eight meetings in Lincoln in 1924.

3. The Cornhuskers' 556 yards of total offense last week was their second-highest total in a conference game since joining the Big Ten in 2011, trailing only a 624-yard effort against Illinois in 2014.

PREDICTION: Nebraska 38, Illinois 20