The University of Illinois Memorial Stadium caught fire Tuesday, three days before the Fighting Illini are scheduled to play Nebraska. The college alerted the campus of the two-alarm fire through its Illini-Alert system at around 8.10pm local time Tuesday night, according to WCIA.
The fire broke out in the southwest corner underneath the horseshoe and was thankfully away from the spectator areas. Fire crews were called to the stadium at around 8pm and the fire was quickly contained before being extinguished. There were no injuries reported.
‘DIA will continue to evaluate the facility over the course of the next day but early indications are positive that the stadium will be prepared to host the game, as scheduled and without interruption of seating or services, for the game on Friday.’
The cause of the fire is not currently known. The Illinois football team is slated to host Nebraska at the stadium at 7pm CT on Friday but the school still hopes the game can go ahead. ‘The Illinois football team hosts Nebraska at Memorial Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.,’ Assistant Director of Illini Athletics Brett Moore said.
Moore also thanked the first responders for their quick action on behalf of the Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. Nebraska and host Illinois, each coming off blowout losses in Big Ten Conference play, face off on a short week on Friday night in Champaign, Ill.
‘Nebraska is very similar to our situation,’ Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. ‘But I think this week is a lot about us.’ The Fighting Illini allowed a season-low 406 yards to Purdue but gave up 31 points on five red-zone possessions. For the season Illinois has yielded 23 scores on 26 trips inside its 20-yard line, compared to 23 on 31 all of 2022.
Nebraska came up scoreless in its two red-zone possessions against Michigan and has been inside the opposing 20 on only 12 occasions this season. ‘I feel very confident with Heinrich being the starting quarterback,’ Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. ‘That being said, I also have a lot of confidence in Jeff. I’m getting them both ready. I have full confidence in Heinrich. I’ll do whatever it takes to win.’
The Cornhuskers will continue to go with sophomore Heinrich Haarberg at quarterback, even with Jeff Sims getting closer to 100 percent following a high ankle sprain. Haarberg is Nebraska’s leading rusher (270 yards), but had minus-2 against Michigan, so there could be a splitting of snaps.
Illinois may again be without leading rusher Reggie Love III (44 carries, 248 yards), who sat out the last game with an ankle injury. The Illini have won the last three meetings, including a 26-9 victory at Nebraska last October, but the Cornhuskers hold a 13-6-1 lead in the series. Nebraska’s last win in Champaign came in 2019.
