Leading Nebraska through three quarters, Illinois crumbled under a Husker assault that put up three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes Saturday, creating a sour ending to the Illini’s best performance of the season.
“We got better as a football team,” said Illinois coach Lovie Smith. “It's about wins. We still have a loss, but I think we made improvements. We hung in there throughout, had a lead for most of the game, but it's about finishing strong. We didn't do that.”
The first Nebraska score of the final period came at the end of an 18-play, 75-yard drive that ate up nearly 11 minutes — a march that from the Illini point of view was marred by a pair of penalties and a Husker conversion, by inches, on a fourth-down run at the Illinois 3-yard line.