Illini Beat Cornhuskers, 30-22

After Brandon Peters went out in the first quarter due to injury, backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski came in and commanded the Illini with two touchdown passes in the third quarter.

Sitkowski impresses under center

Sitkowski unexpectedly made his Illini debut in the first game of the season following Peters' injury but looked comfortable as soon as he stepped onto the field. The QB went 12-15 for 124 yards and tossed a pair of touchdowns to Isaiah Williams and Luke Ford.

The Illini offense presented a balanced attack, with seven different receivers getting touches. Williams led the passing attack with six catches for 41 yards and a touchdown while Deuce Spann had the longest catch of 45 yards. Luke Ford had a career-high three catches and found the end zone for the first time in his career.

Illinois' rushing attack kept the defense on its toes as five different running backs got involved. Mike Epstein got the start for Illinois and rushed for 75 yardson 16 carries. Epstein scored the first Illini touchdown of the season with a one-yard rush late in the first quarter.

Illini defense brings the pressure

In front of a orange-filled crowd for the first time since 2019, the Illini defense stepped up to limit Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez's production. The Illini put the pressure on up front, totaling five sacks and six tackles for loss.

In his Illini debut, linebacker Calvin Hart Jr. fueled the defense with a team-high five tackles in the first half. Hart scored just the second touchdown of the season for Illinois with a scoop and score — forced by Keith Randolph Jr. — late in the second quarter to put the Illini up 16-9 before halftime. Hart also recorded his first sack as an Illini in the second quarter which led to a Nebraska punt.

Special Teams Shines

The first points of the game came courtesy of Illini's special teams' unit as a deep Blake Hayes punt and a Kerby Joseph tackle forced a safety. The safety was Illinois' first since Dawuane Smoot's TFL against North Carolina on Sept. 16, 2016.

The Lads also kept the Nebraska close to their end zone as James McCourt sent his kickoffs deep and Hayes sent an early punt all the way down to the one-yard line.

Head Coach Bret Bielema opening statement:

"Very, very excited to get a win, not just for our team but our fans. I appreciate everyone that came out and made this happen today. I thought the crowd was awesome, starting with the Illini Walk to getting dropped off in Grange Grove, I thought our players really reacted to that. During the course of the game, you really felt the fans. It had been so long since the team had been able to hear the crowd, and even though it wasn't sold out it was still energetic. The student section was absolutely awesome to see. As players and coaches, you have to be able to recognize that and to honor that, because they're a constituent and if you win them then it just weeds into everything. I couldn't be happier for our players, especially our sixth-year seniors who came back and wanted to start this thing off the right way, and to have that group in the locker room. It was really a four-quarter victory and it took all three phases of the game, like the kicking game. We have really stressed it to our players since fall camp started to where we are today, that nothing will come easy. They played our hearts out and rallied around a second-string quarterback. Anytime your quarterback gets knocked out it's a big deal, and I thought Art was prepared for the moment. I give Tony Peterson and the offensive staff a lot of credit to have him step into that role. I think when he had the late-hit, personal foul on him it kind of riled him up and more than anything it fired up the troops around him. You literally saw the offensive line get fired up and get some good rhythm. We had some guys that maybe some didn't expect to see today, a guy like Jakari Norwood came in who had two big runs. How about Deuce Spann, right? A guy on his first play as a wide receiver comes up with a big play like that, toe-taps and puts the ball on the six-inch line. And Isaiah Williams, his first game as a WR, to be as effective as he was. Alex Palczewski, he comes back from knee surgery, it took a whole lot of reps to get him in there, and to do what he did, I couldn't say anything more positive. Defensively, it wasn't pretty. The only guy that we really thought could beat us was #2 [Adrian Martinez] and we gave him that one play that really got them back into the game. So, a great teaching moment for me as a head coach to get that across to our players and coaches that we have to take away the things that can beat us. It really does build character with your team and it does build a lot of things you can't simulate in practice. As far as injuries, I really don't know, I know BP was on his left shoulder, so that's a positive thing when you're a right hander. I don't know how long or anything like that, so we will see how that goes. I don't know anything about CJ at all, so we will see how that goes."

Head Coach Bret Bielema on what the win means for the fans and his team:

"This is a big deal. I give credit to Josh for letting me have this opportunity, and to the kids who played their heart out. For me, this was a big one to win, from a recruiting standpoint, the Big Ten West, and I've been preaching to our guys that the past five Big Ten West champions, they've only lost at home twice in Big Ten West play, so the importance of winning these home Big Ten West games, and our players buy into it one hundred times over."

Jamal Woods"We were very grateful to the Illini family to be out. We waited a whole year to see them. And with this new staff, everyone's locked in and we just want to see the best that we can do this year."

Isaiah Williams"I feel like there's more progress to be made, but I felt good. It felt like home. I got the chance to make some plays, show what I can do, but it's only up from here. More progress to be made, more plays to be made."

"We put the world on notice that this ain't the same team. The past is gone. We're looking forward to the future and now."
Tony Adams"Nebraska is a great football team and we came out and played with them. It got hard and we fought back. We had some adversity — we lost Brandon — but we fought, we kept fighting, and we came out with a W."

"It was lit. We haven't seen that in forever. It was lit. We rallied behind them. We fed off them. It's always good."
Jer'Zhan Newton"We felt like it was a statement game for us, to prove to ourselves that there's going to be a change in Champaign"

"We always said we were going to come out and smack them in the mouth against Nebraska and the rest of the season. We always feel like we're underdogs in every game."

"It was mind-blowing, honestly,. Even before the game I was walking into the stadium, I didn't know what to say. I was just so surprised, so shocked that so many people were coming out to show us love. Honestly, once I saw that I knew I had to be on my best game to make their money's worth. Coming out when we were about to start playing, the atmosphere was electric. I was so shocked. I really didn't want to let the fans down. They're all coming to watch us. …

They wanted to see something new. It was our job to help the fans keep the expectations high. The better we do, the more fans that will come to Champaign."

Artur Sitkowski"I've been through a lot at Rutgers, a lot of ups and downs, but I learned a lot from that. I learned a lot from my failures and that's what life's all about. I'm just really happy. It was a great team win. Our guys played great in all phases. Special teams, offense, defense, o-line did a great job blocking, we ran the ball great. That's all you can ask for."

"I just want to do my best. Coming here in May, I've never been around a group of guys that just brought people in. I live with three transfers, and we were so amazed at how everybody on this football team just brought us in like their own. They welcomed us with open arms, and I really appreciate that."

Luke Ford"It feels amazing. It was an awesome experience. It was just all the team coming together. Art threw a perfect ball, the o-line blocked great, wide receivers ran the routes. Just an awesome experience."

"It was surreal. It was awesome. The energy from the student section, my God, credit to them. They were loud, they were proud. Every one of the fans out there, it was so fun. It gets us hyped up. I feel like you play better when everyone is yelling and screaming. It was an awesome experience."

Vederian Lowe"It was a surreal experience. It's just something you can't take for granted. Just the energy from the fans, the highs and the lows, the tears, everything like that, you just miss it. You can't take it for granted."

Team Notes

• Nebraska's 22 points were the fewest allowed by the Illini defense at Memorial Stadium since defeating Rutgers 38-10 on Nov. 2, 2019.

• Illinois reeled off 28 points in a span of just 13:50, scoring four TDs that turned a 9-2 deficit with less than three minutes left in the first half into a 30-9 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

• Illinois beat Nebraska for the second-straight season, improving to 5-13-1 all-time against the Huskers, including a 3-4-1 record in Champaign.

• This was Illinois' first victory over Nebraska at home since 2015.

• Illinois has now defeated Nebraska in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1923 (W, 24-7 in Champaign) and 1924 (W, 9-6 in Lincoln).

• Illinois posted a conference win in a season opener for the first time since Sept. 1, 1984 (24-16 victory over Northwestern in Champaign).

• Illinois played a season opener at Memorial Stadium against a conference opponent for the first time since Sept. 2, 1995, when No. 25 Illinois hosted No. 13 Michigan.

• Aug. 28 marked the earliest season opener in Illinois' 132-year program history. The previous earliest start date was Aug. 30 (2003, 2008, 2014). This is the ninth time in program history that the season has started in August.

• Illinois played Nebraska in a season opener for the fifth time in program history (1923, 1924, 1925, 1953). The Illini now have a record of 3-1-1 against Nebraska in season openers.

• Illinois captains: DB Tony Adams, OLB Owen Carney Jr., LB Jake Hansen, P Blake Hayes, OL Doug Kramer, OL Vederian Lowe

• Illinois welcomed back fans at Memorial Stadium for the first time since the conclusion of the 2019 season. Today's attendance was 41,064.
Individual Notes• DB Kerby Joseph recorded the first points of the 2021 college football season, recording a safety on a tackle following a 59-yard booming punt from Blake Hayes that backed up Nebraska's Taylor-Britt to the endzone.

• It was Illinois' first safety since a Dawuane Smoot TFL against North Carolina on Sept. 10, 2016.

• QB Artur Sitkowski excelled in his Illini debut, entering the game late in the first quarter and going on to complete 12 of 15 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

• Sitkowski's two passing TDs equal his career high in a game. The former Rutgers QB also threw for two TDs against Purdue last season (Nov. 28, 2020).

• WR Isaiah Williams led the Illini with six receptions for 41 yards and his first career receiving TD, a 1-yard catch in the third quarter.

• Williams, the converted QB, was at WR for the first time since the 2019 Redbox Bowl (Dec. 30, 2019).

• TE Luke Ford had three receptions today, equaling his career total of three through his first two seasons of play.

• Ford's three catches totaled 30 yards, eclipsing his previous career total of 19 receiving yards.

• Ford recorded his first career TD with a 2-yard reception in the third quarter.

• RB Mike Epstein led the Illini rushing attack with 75 yards on 16 carries, highlighted by a 45-yard run in the first quarter.

• Epstein scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, recording his 11th career rushing TD.

• Deuce Spann recorded his first career stat and had the longest catch of the day, hauling in a 45-yard pass from Sitkowski at the 1-yard line.

• DB Tony Adams had a game-high 11 tackles, including 10 solos. It marked his sixth career game recording double-digit stops, and his most since tallying 13 tackles in last year's win at Nebraska.

• LB Calvin Hart Jr. had a strong debut with the Illini, recording six tackles, 1.5 TFLs, a hurry, and recovering a Martinez fumble and returning it 41 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.  

• Hart's fumble recovery for a TD was the first by an Illini since last season's opener at Wisconsin (Oct. 23, 2020), when Tarique Barnes scored on a 39-yard return.

• P Blake Hayes had another exceptional performance, averaging 45.3 yards on six punts, with four downed inside the 20. In addition to his 59-yarder that led to a safety, he also dropped a 50-yarder out of bounds at the 1-yard line and had a pair of fourth quarter punts fair caught at the 9-yard line and 13-yard line.