CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (Interstat) — Katin Houser threw three touchdown passes and Illinois defeated visiting Nebraska 24-13 on Friday at Gies Memorial Stadium in an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision game. Attendance was 58,587. Illinois improved to 6-3. Nebraska fell to 5-4. The Cornhuskers were the visiting team, and the Fighting Illini were the home team.

Houser, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound quarterback from Anaheim, Calif., completed 22 of 36 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns. He was Illinois’ top star. Collin Dixon caught eight passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns for the Fighting Illini. Hudson Clement added five receptions for 87 yards. Jordan Anderson had seven carries for 24 yards and two receptions for 5 yards and a touchdown. Aidan Laughery ran 11 times for 55 yards and caught two passes for 37 yards. Kaden Feagin had two catches for 10 yards. Christian Abney caught one pass for 10 yards. Ty Robinson and Brayden Trimble each had one reception. Lars Rau punted four times for 182 yards and had a 29-yard run. Ethan Moczulski made a 21-yard field goal and added extra points. Javari Barnett ran twice for 2 yards.

Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea completed 32 of 43 passes for 284 yards and one touchdown and ran nine times for 27 yards and a score. Jacory Barney Jr. caught six passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, returned three kickoffs for 54 yards and returned two punts for 35 yards. Jamal Rule ran 15 times for 69 yards and caught five passes for 29 yards. Isaiah Mozee had six carries for 31 yards and two receptions for 7 yards. Mekhi Nelson scored on a 15-yard run. Kwazi Gilmer caught four passes for 58 yards. Luke Lindenmeyer caught five passes for 34 yards. Nyziah Hunter caught six passes for 32 yards. Quinn Clark had three receptions for 20 yards. Carter Nelson caught one pass for 11 yards. John Hohl missed field-goal attempts from 45 and 54 yards. Archie Wilson punted twice for 86 yards.

Illinois used Houser’s passing to build and protect a lead. Houser connected with Anderson on a 5-yard touchdown in the third quarter. He later found Dixon for a 6-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Houser’s third touchdown pass helped the Fighting Illini keep separation. Dixon’s two scoring catches were part of his 129-yard day. Moczulski’s 21-yard field goal with 7:51 remaining capped the Illinois scoring. The Fighting Illini finished with 24 points and held Nebraska to 13. Illinois’ scoring included two second-half touchdowns through the air and a fourth-quarter field goal.

Nebraska got a 15-yard touchdown run from Nelson, and Hohl made the extra point. The Cornhuskers later pulled closer when Colandrea hit Barney for a 51-yard touchdown with 10:44 remaining. The ensuing two-point pass failed. Nebraska could not close the gap after Moczulski’s field goal. The Cornhuskers moved the ball through Colandrea and Rule but were hurt by the two missed field goals by Hohl. Nebraska finished with 13 points. Nebraska’s scoring came on Nelson’s run and Barney’s catch. The Cornhuskers converted one extra point and failed on a two-point pass.

Illinois’ defense was led by Matthew Bailey, who had 11 tackles and half a sack. James Kreutz added 10 tackles. Ismael Kante had seven tackles and one quarterback hurry. Juice Clarke had seven tackles. Tanner Heckel had six tackles. Robert Edmonson had four tackles. Daniel Brown, Deuce Fillmore and Will Holmes each had one tackle. Kante and the Fighting Illini front recorded tackles and a quarterback hurry. Illinois also got tackles from its secondary and linebackers.

Nebraska’s defense got seven tackles from Vincent Shavers Jr. Caleb Benning and Dwayne McDougle III each had six tackles. Andrew Marshall and Dexter Foster each had five tackles. Victor Evans III had four tackles. Cameron Lenhardt had three tackles and one sack. Jordan Ochoa had two tackles and one sack. Owen Chambliss had two tackles and one quarterback hurry. Williams Nwaneri had one tackle and one quarterback hurry. Donovan Jones, Jahsear Whittington, Gage Stenger, Tyson Terry and Jasin Shiggs also recorded tackles. The Cornhuskers’ defense made stops but could not keep Illinois out of the end zone enough to complete the comeback.

Special teams played a role in the outcome. Hohl’s missed 45-yard attempt in the first quarter and missed 54-yard attempt late in the second quarter left Nebraska without points. Moczulski’s 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter gave Illinois a two-score cushion. Rau’s punting helped Illinois manage field position, and his 29-yard run on a special-teams sequence added a first down. Eddie Kasper had a 16-yard kickoff return for Illinois. Barney handled return duties for Nebraska and finished with 54 kickoff-return yards and 35 punt-return yards. Illinois also got one tackle from Deuce Fillmore and one from Will Holmes on defense. Moczulski’s field goal was his only field-goal attempt listed in the key plays, and he added extra points after Illinois touchdowns.

Illinois finished with 292 passing yards and 24 points. Nebraska finished with 284 passing yards and 13 points. The Fighting Illini got 129 receiving yards from Dixon, 87 from Clement and 37 from Laughery. The Cornhuskers got 93 receiving yards from Barney, 58 from Gilmer, 34 from Lindenmeyer and 32 from Hunter. Nebraska rushed for 69 yards from Rule, 31 from Mozee, 27 from Colandrea and 15 from Nelson. Illinois rushed for 55 yards from Laughery, 24 from Anderson, 2 from Barnett and 29 from Rau.

Illinois improved to 6-3 and Nebraska fell to 5-4. The game was played before a crowd of 58,587 at Gies Memorial Stadium. It was a Football Bowl Subdivision matchup between the Cornhuskers and Fighting Illini. Illinois had won its previous three games, while Nebraska had lost three straight. Illinois next plays at UCLA, and Nebraska visits Rutgers.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Illinois 34, Nebraska 32. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Illinois with a 69.1 percent probability to win. Nebraska had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -4.5. The total score of 37 went over the over/under line of 50.5.