The Illinois Fighting Illini picked up a huge win on Friday night over the Nebraska Cornhuskers but did not escape the affair unscathed.

True freshman running back Javari Barnett, who has flashed as an intriguing young talent, was carted off during the second quarter with what seemed to be a significant leg injury. This was confirmed by head coach Bret Bielema on Monday, who shared that Barnett will be done for the season.

According to Bielema, Barnett's injury is "very very close" to the season-ender that junior RB Ca'Lil Valentine suffered against Purdue on October 3rd, but not exactly the same. Barnett had surgery on Sunday morning to address it.

It was a terrible moment in what was an otherwise great game for the Illini. The 19-year-old back went down writhing in pain, tossing his helmet aside as training staff quickly came out to tend to his leg. Barnett was carted off to the locker room with a towel covering his head after a long time down on the field. He offered a thumbs up for the home crowd at Gies Memorial Stadium, but clearly was dealing with something very serious.

It's a rough blow for an Illinois offense that saw Barnett step up in the absence of Valentine. He entered Friday coming off of a breakout game against Maryland on October 31st, where he ran for 80 yards on six carries including a 64-yard touchdown scamper on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Illini the lead.

After that game, Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. explained that the freshman would remain in a three-man running back rotation with fifth-years Aidan Laughery and Jordan Anderson. Before going down with the injury, Barnett had just two carries for two total yards against Nebraska.

Laughery leads the team with 100 carries for 615 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and two touchdowns this season. Anderson has 45 carries for 199 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and two touchdowns, while Valentine had 50 carries for 225 yards (4.5 yards per carry) and a touchdown before his season-ending injury.

Anchored by his long run against Maryland, Barnett led all Illini rushers with 6.9 yards per carry. He will finish his freshman season with 185 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on 27 carries. How Lunney Jr. and the Illinois offense will choose to divvy up his touches remains to be seen, but there's no denying it is an unfortunate outcome for such a promising young player.