Week Zero was a success for Bret Bielema and Chip Kelly. But it increased the heat on Scott Frost.



Bielema’s first game as Illinois’ coach went well, as the Fighting Illini upset Frost and Nebraska 30-22. It was the first game of Frost’s fourth season with the Huskers, and a loss to the team expected to finish last in the Big Ten West is sure to ramp up the questions about Frost’s viability in Lincoln. He now is 12-21 in his tenure. His buyout? <a href="https://www.on3.com/news/scott-frost-situation-20-million-buyout-trev-alberts-nebraska-football/">It’s $20 million</a>.



Kelly, meanwhile, got his fourth season with UCLA off to a rousing start with a 44-10 rout of Hawaii. The Bruins got three touchdowns from Michigan transfer running back Zach Charbonnet in hammering the Rainbow Warriors. Charbonnet’s three scores came in the first half, which ended with the Bruins on top 31-3.



UCLA led 17-0 midway through the first period and throttled back the offense from there, but still managed 392 total yards and the 44 points. The Bruins scored more than 40 points twice last season, but lost both times.



A fairer assessment of the Bruins will come next week, when they welcome in LSU.



As for Nebraska, Frost told reporters afterward that “it looked like the same movie.” Nebraska lost a fumble that the Illini turned into a scoop-and-score TD, handed Illinois a safety on a punt return and missed two extra points; Huskers kicker Connor Culp was 20-of-20 on extra points in 2020, when he was the first-team All-Big Ten kicker. And while fourth-year starting quarterback Adrian Martinez accounted for 343 yards of total offense, he completed just 50 percent of his passes, missed some open receivers and made a handful of ill-advised throws.



Nebraska was 5-of-14 on third down and allowed five sacks. In addition, the Huskers’ running backs had 39 yards on 19 carries.



While there were moderate hopes for the Huskers going into the season, the loss makes you wonder if they can get to the needed six wins to get to a bowl for the first time in Frost’s tenure. The Huskers have games against ranked teams Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Oklahoma, as well as contests against Michigan, Minnesota and Northwestern.



Illinois scored more than 24 points just once last season — in a rout of Nebraska in Lincoln. The offensive output was impressive considering starting quarterback Brandon Peters was lost late in the first quarter to a shoulder injury; backup Artur Sitkowski played well in relief, throwing two TD passes.



The Illini rushed for 167 yards and controlled the ball for 34:55.



No other game in Week Zero involved a Power 5 team.

illinoiswin

On3 Football

Good start for Illinois and UCLA, bad one for Scott Frost

team image

The Main Board

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Teams

Fan Sites

Forums

Shows

team-link

College Football News

College Football Player Rankings

College Football Rankings

College Football Playoff

College Basketball News

Women's Sports

College

NIL News

NIL Valuation

NIL Deals

NIL Deal Tracker

Sports Business

Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal

Transfer Portal Rankings

Transfer Portal Team Rankings

Transfer Portal

NCAA Transfer Portal Home

Football Recruiting

Basketball Recruiting

Database

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Commitments

Recruiting Prediction Machine

Recruiting

High School News

Schools

High School Search

Rankings

High School Rankings

Scores

High School Scores

High School

NFL Draft

NFL Draft News

Draft By Stars

College Draft History

College Draft Totals

NBA Draft

NBA Draft News

Draft

NASCAR

Culture

Sports Betting

About

On3 App

Advertise

Press

Contact

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Good start for Illinois and UCLA, bad one for Scott Frost

Charles Bediako case

Transfer Portal Winners

2026 All-America Team

Darian Mensah

Big Ten Football