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College football winners and losers: Illinois surprises, UCLA rolls, Nebraska falls again

College football is back. Did anyone tell Nebraska?

The 2021 season kicked off with a short Week 0 slate of five games that still managed to yield results that may linger well into the offseason.

For one, the Cornhuskers' 30-22 loss at Illinois casts a serious cloud over fourth-year coach Scott Frost. On the flip side, Illinois is off to a smashing start under new coach Bret Bielema.

Here are the winners and losers from the first Saturday of the season:

WINNERS

Illinois

In topping the Cornhuskers in back-to-back years for the first time since 1923-24, Illinois put holes in the theory that Bielema's first team would bring up the rear in the Big Ten.