WATCH: Referee gets de-cleated twice in Illinois-Nebraska game
A couple of Illinois defenders hit a referee hard in the Illini’s game against Nebraska on Saturday. The Huskers and Fighting Illini kicked off the 2021 college football season and it’s safe to say not just the players that will feel sore Sunday.
The first hit came in the when an Illinois player collided with a ref while chasing his man in the first half. Adrian Martinez had a man wide open but overthrew him.
The second, much harder hit also came courtesy of Illinois. The referee took a hit to his back and fell to the ground immediately. Medical staff rushed onto the field to take a look at him as the game came to a halt.
It was later reported that the ref walked off the field.
Defense dominated the game early on, and the first points on the board came by way of a safety. At the end of the first half, the Fighting Illini led 16-9. One of its touchdowns came off of a fumble recovery.
The Huskers put together an impressive 19-play, 91-yard touchdown drive near the end of the fourth quarter. They forced Illinois to punt on the next drive and got the ball back with a chance to tie the game. However, they moved the chains just once before turning it over on downs with 11 seconds remaining.
Illinois claimed a 30-22 victory.
This marks the second straight season Nebraska has lost its opening game. The Huskers faced Ohio State in their first game of 2020 and lost 52-17. The next chance for them to come away with a win is Sept. 4 against Fordham.
The Fighting Illini have a home game against UTSA on the same date. Hopefully Illinois can avoid laying another hit on a referee like it did against Nebraska.