Halftime notes: 2017 Illinois
· Senior De’Mornay Pierson-El scored on a 45-yard touchdown reception to open the scoring in the first quarter. The touchdown was the 4th TD reception of the season for Pierson-El and the 10th receiving touchdown of his career. His 45-yard reception was the second-longest of his career, trailing a 46-yard catch at Northwestern in 2014.
· Pierson-El had 84 receiving yards on three first-half receptions and is now 20 yards from becoming the 26th Husker with 1,000 career receiving yards.
· The 45-yard touchdown pass was the longest throw of Tanner Lee’s Nebraska career, bettering a 44-yard TD pass to Stanley Morgan against Arkansas State.
· Lee completed 11-of-13 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Lee finished the half with 10 straight completions and was 9-of-9 for 110 yards in the second quarter.
· Nebraska’s 88-yard drive to open the game and had an 89-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. Those drives marked the Huskers’ fourth and fifth scoring drives of at least 85 yards in 2017.
· Redshirt freshman linebacker Ben Stille had his first career tackle for loss on a five-yard stop in the first quarter. He had two tackles for loss in the first half, tying the Nebraska season high for an individual (2, Khalil Davis, Northern Illinois).
· Junior I-back Devine Ozigbo scored on a 15-yard TD run in the second quarter, marking his first touchdown run of the 2017 season.
· Senior tight end Tyler Hoppes caught a 6-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, marking Hoppes’ first career touchdown.
· Senior Chris Weber recorded his first career interception on the final play of the first half.
Source: University of Nebraska Athletics