Collin Dixon didn’t just help Illinois beat Nebraska on Friday night. He put his name in the record book while the Illini kept stacking wins and checking off milestones.
Dixon hauled in two touchdown passes in a 16-13 victory, giving him a new single-season program record with 12 receiving touchdowns. Illinois also locked up its fourth straight win and clinched bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season.
The Illini are now 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play.
The record-breaking grab came late in the second quarter when Katin Houser found Dixon on the right side for the touchdown that moved him past Pat Bryant, Brandon Lloyd and David Williams, who had all been tied with 10 receiving scores in a season. Dixon struck again early in the fourth quarter for No. 12.
Illinois needed all of it. Nebraska opened the scoring in the second quarter, but the Illini answered before halftime and then took control after the break. Houser capped a 75-yard, 13-play drive with a touchdown to Jordan Anderson, and Nebraska’s lone third-quarter possession ended with a turnover on downs after an 11-play, 50-yard march that ate up nearly six minutes.
The game turned on a few key moments, including a fake field goal that caught Nebraska flat-footed. Facing fourth-and-12 early in the third quarter with the score tied at seven, punter Lars Rau took the snap and ran 29 yards to the Nebraska 3-yard line. Three plays later, Houser hit Anderson for another touchdown.
Nebraska answered Dixon’s second score with a 91-yard drive that ended on Jacory Barney Jr.’s 51-yard reception, but Illinois added a field goal and then let the defense close the door.
That defense had to work for it. Nebraska piled up 426 total yards, but the Cornhuskers managed only 13 points. Illinois stopped Nebraska on fourth down twice in the fourth quarter and kept it off the board the rest of the way.
Linebackers James Kreutz and Ismael Kante, along with defensive backs Matthew Bailey and Juice Clarke, were among the players leading the charge, though the entire unit had a hand in the finish.
Dixon was the headliner, finishing with eight catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns. It was his fifth 100-yard game and his fourth multi-touchdown outing of the season. Through nine games, he has 68 receptions for 910 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Hudson Clement also kept moving the chains. He caught five of six targets for 87 yards, and every one of those receptions went for a first down.
Illinois didn’t get much going on the ground early, finishing the first half with minus-one rushing yard. The Illini ended with 84 net rushing yards, with Adrian Laughery leading the way with 55.
Laughery has taken on the heavier load since Ca’lil Valentine’s injury, and that role could grow again after freshman running back Javari Barnett was injured and carted off in the second quarter. Barnett gave fans a thumbs-up as he left the field, but the extent of the injury has not been disclosed.
Houser’s return keeps looking better, too. After breaking his throwing hand on Oct. 10 and undergoing surgery, he has now completed 40 of 68 passes for 515 yards, four touchdowns and one interception since coming back. Against Nebraska, outside of the interception and a couple of throwaways, he looked steady and in command.
With bowl eligibility secured, Illinois now has bigger numbers in sight. The last time the program reached bowl eligibility in three straight seasons was 1990 to 1992.
Where the Illini land in the postseason is still to be determined, with projections including the Military Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Music City Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl and ReliaQuest Bowl.
The bigger chase, though, is still ahead. An eight-win season would give Illinois three straight years with at least eight victories for the first time since 1902-04. A nine-win season would be even more notable, because it would mark the first time in program history that Illinois has put together three consecutive seasons with nine or more wins.
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