Illinois Beat Nebraska 24-13 as Houser Throws Three Touchdowns and Dixon Sets Record

Illinois beat Nebraska 24-13 on Friday night at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Katin Houser finished 22 of 36 for 292 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and Illinois secured bowl eligibility for a fourth straight year under head coach Bret Bielema.

The first quarter ended scoreless. Nebraska scored first in the second quarter when Mekhi Nelson ran 15 yards for a touchdown at 9:34, on his only carry of the game, to make it 7-0. Illinois tied it at 1:55 of the second when Houser threw 3 yards to Collin Dixon, and the game was 7-7 at halftime.

The fake field goal that changed the game

Illinois took the lead for good in the third quarter. Punter Lars Rau ran 29 yards on a fake field goal to set up Houser's 5-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Anderson at 8:40 of the third, which made it 14-7. Illinois outscored Nebraska 7-0 in the quarter.

Houser and Dixon connected again early in the fourth, a 6-yard touchdown at 13:43 that made it 21-7. The catch was Dixon's second touchdown of the night and set the Illinois single-season receiving touchdown record at 12. Dixon finished with 8 catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Hudson Clement added 5 catches for 87 yards, and Aidan Laughery rushed 11 times for 55 yards.

Nebraska rallied late but ran out of room

Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea finished 32 of 43 for 284 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. His 51-yard touchdown pass to Jacory Barney Jr. at 10:52 of the fourth cut the lead to 21-13, but the two-point conversion attempt failed. Ethan Moczulski answered with a 21-yard field goal at 7:54 of the fourth for the final 24-13 margin. Moczulski was 3 for 3 on extra points.

Barney led Nebraska receivers with 6 catches for 93 yards and one touchdown. Jamal Rule rushed 15 times for 69 yards. Nebraska kicker John Hohl missed both of his field goal attempts, from 45 and 54 yards.

More yards, fewer points

Nebraska outgained Illinois 426 to 376 in total yards and had 25 first downs to 19 for Illinois. Illinois was 4 for 4 in the red zone, and neither team committed a turnover. Nebraska was penalized 11 times for 82 yards, against 6 penalties for 55 yards for Illinois.

Both teams entered the game 5-3, Illinois at 3-2 in the Big Ten and Nebraska at 2-3, with bowl eligibility waiting for the winner. The win was the fourth straight for Illinois, which is now 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten. The loss was the fourth straight for Nebraska after a 5-0 start, and the Cornhuskers are now 5-4. Nebraska had come in trying to end a three-game losing streak after a 17-10 loss to Washington, while Illinois came in off a 20-17 win over Maryland.

Illinois travels to No. 8 UCLA on Friday, Nov. 13. Nebraska plays at Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 14.