Champaign, Illinois - The University of Illinois managed to hold off Nebraska at home in college football’s first game of the 2021 season.

The Fighting Illini held on to win 30-22 over the Cornhuskers on Saturday but lost their starting quarterback to injury in the process.

Backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski (21) filled in for Illinois and led them to their first victory of the year in place of starting QB Brandon Peters, who had to leave the game in the first quarter with an arm injury after getting sacked by Nebraska’s junior defensive lineman Deontre Thomas.

Sitkowski completed 12 of 15 attempts for 124 yards and two touchdowns while senior running back Mike Epstein rushed for another score, part of his 16 carries for 75 yards on the day.

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Illinois’ defense played a decent game by scoring their team’s first points by way of a safety midway through the first quarter and then a fumble recovery for a TD in the second. Both teams kept the game close in the second quarter until the second half, when Illinois pulled away and held off Nebraska the rest of the way for the victory.

The Cornhuskers were led by junior quarterback Adrian Martinez who completed half of his 32 pass attempts for 232 yards and one touchdown through the air. He also contributed on the ground running the football for 111 yards off of 17 carries for another touchdown.

Sophomore running back Markese Stepp also ran in a score for the Huskers, part of his three carries for 10 yards.

Next Saturday, the Fighting Illini welcome into town the UTSA Roadrunners, while the Cornhuskers head back home to take on the Fordham University Rams.