It was the start of a new season, but with similar results for Nebraska football. As for Illinois, a new era kicked off with a win as Bret Bielema's Fighting Illini beat the Cornhuskers, 30-22, on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Adrian Martinez led the Nebraska offense with 232 yards through the air, while connecting on 16 of his 32 pass attempts. The Huskers quarterback was also the team's leading rusher with 111 yards on 17 carries.

Artur Sitkowski had a solid day for the Illini, totalling 124 yards through the air with 12 of his 15 attempts hitting their intended targets. Sitowski came in after starting quarterback Brandon Peters went down in the first quarter due to injury

Illinois took control of the game late in the third quarter when Sitkowski found Luke Ford for a 2 yard touchdown.

With the momentum firmly in their grasp, the Illini followed that up with another trip to the endzone a couple minutes later on a quick pass to Isaiah Williams to make it 30-16, Illinois.

After Nebraska's Oliver Martin caught a 4 yard touchdown pass from Adrian Martinez, both defenses clamped down, and that was all she wrote.

Next Up

Nebraska will have a chance to get back on track when the Huskers host FCS Fordham on Sept 4 in Lincoln. As for the Illini, Illinois will host the visiting UTSA Roadrunners from C-USA on Sept. 4. Fans can catch that one when it kicks off on BTN at 7:30 ET.