Inside the Box Score: Key stats from Nebraska’s loss to Illinois
The Nebraska Cornhuskers lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini 9-26 on Saturday.
The Cornhuskers got off to a solid start. It was a 9-13 game late in the second quarter. Unfortunately, quarterback Casey Thompson went down with an injury. Chubba Purdy took over at quarterback, and the offense struggled to get going.
Following the loss, the Cornhuskers have dropped to 3-5 on the season. It also drops their conference record to 2-3, which sinks them down to sixth place in the Big Ten West. Northwestern remains in seventh with a 1-4 conference record and 1-7 overall record.
Let’s take a look at two key stats from Saturday’s loss.
Nebraska: 29 total yards in the second half
Casey Thompson exited the game in the second quarter with an injury. Following his exit, Nebraska’s offense ground to a screeching half. In the second half, the Cornhuskers mustered only 29 yards of total offense. Backup quarterback Chubba Purdy completed only three passes for 15 yards.
Nebraska’s defense was actually able to hold the Fighting Illini to only six points in the second half, but the offense failed to put any points on the board.
If Thompson misses time, Mickey Joseph will need to a find a way to extract more offensive production out of this unit.
Illinois: 91% CMP
Tommy DeVito was the peak of efficiency for Illinois on Saturday, as he completed 20 out of his 22 pass attempts.
Nebraska’s defense did an admirable job containing Illinois’s explosive run game. The Fighting Illini averaged only 3.9 yards per carry, which is their second-lowest mark of the season.
Unfortunately, DeVito was able to continually extend drives through the air.
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