Oct. 6, 2007

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Sept. 29, 2007

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ILLINOIS

1. Illinois' victory ends Wisconsin's 14-game winning streak, which was the longest in the nation entering today's game.

2. Today marks Illinois' first win over a Top-5 team since winning at No. 5 USC, 14-13, on Sept. 4, 1989. It is the Illini's first win over a Top-5 Big Ten team since defeating No. 5 Ohio State, 31-28, at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 5, 1985.

3. With last week's 27-20 victory over No. 21 Penn State and today's win over No. 5 Wisconsin, this marks the first time that Illinois has defeated ranked opponents in consecutive games since the final two games of the 1959 season, when the Illini beat No. 7 Wisconsin, 9-6, on Nov. 14 and No. 8 Northwestern, 28-0, on Nov. 21.

4. Illinois improves to 5-1 for the first time since 2001, and 3-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1990.

5. Illinois' current five-game winning streak is its longest since winning seven straight in 2001. All seven of those wins during the 2001 streak were in conference play, so the UI's current three-game Big Ten winning streak is its longest since the seven straight league victories in 2001.

6. This is Illinois' first win over Wisconsin since defeating the Badgers in Madison, 37-20, on Nov. 9, 2002. It is also the Illini's first win over Wisconsin at Memorial Stadium since a 42-35 victory on Oct. 20, 2001.

7. With 289 yards rushing today, Illinois has now rushed for over 200 yards in five consecutive games. The Illini entered today's game ranked sixth in the NCAA in rushing, and is now averaging 261.2 ypg on the season.

8. Rashard Mendenhall reached the 100-yard rushing mark on the team's first offensive possession of the second quarter. He has now rushed for over 100 yards in six career games and four this season. His four 100-yard games are tied for ninth on the single-season list.

9. Mendenhall scored his ninth and 10th rushing touchdowns of the season today, which ties him for sixth on the school's single-season rushing touchdown list. With his five-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Mendenhall recorded his 12th score of the season, which is tied for sixth on the Illinois single-season touchdown list.

10. In addition, Mendenhall's three TDs today tie him for sixth on the single-game touchdown record list. The last Illini to do it was Morris Virgil, who scored three TDs vs. Arkansas State on Sept. 14, 2002.

11. With 160 yards vs. Wisconsin, Mendenhall improved to 16th on the Illinois all-time rushing list. He now has 1,630 yards for his career.

12. The Fighting Illini had nine big plays (20+ yards) in today's game, giving them 33 for the season. Juice Williams accounted for five of those big plays today (three 24-yard rushes, 31-yard pass and 26-yard pass) while Rashard Mendenhall had four of the big plays (32-, 26-, 24 and 22-yard runs).

13. With seven points today, Illinois kicker Jason Reda improved to fourth on the school's all-time scoring list with 218 career points. He also nailed his 42nd career field goal with a 50-yarder in the second quarter, moving him into sole possession of third on the UI career field goals list with 42.

14. Senior J Leman had a game-high 12 tackles today, marking his third straight game registering double figures in tackles and fifth this season. Leman entered today's game ranked first in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation in tackles and is now averaging 11.8 tpg on the season.

15. With his 12 tackles today, Leman moved into the 10th place on Illinois' all-time tackles list with 346 career tackles.

16. True-freshman defensive tackle Josh Brent recorded his first career sack. He took down Tyler Donavan on third down in the red zone, forcing a Wisconsin field goal. In the third quarter, true-freshman Martez Wilson also recorded his first career sack.

17. The Illini led Wisconsin at halftime, 17-6, marking the fourth time this season Illinois has taken a lead into halftime. The only game they trailed at halftime was against Missouri, by a score of 23-6.

18. Kevin Mitchell's interception on the Illinois 16 yard line in the fourth quarter was his second this season and fourth of his career. Mitchell also had a career-high four passes broken up, surpassing his previous career high of two against Missouri on Sept. 1. His pick gives the Illini at least one turnover in five of six games this season.

19. Vontae Davis intercepted his third pass of the season and fourth of his career in the fourth quarter, marking the second-straight game the Illini have intercepted at least two passes.

20. With an attendance of 57,078, today's game is the second-straight sellout for the Illini at Memorial Stadium. Illinois has also sold out the Michigan contest on Oct. 20. The last time an Illinois team sold out three games in a season was 1986.

Wisconsin Postgame Notes

1. Today's loss breaks Wisconsin's 14-game winning streak, which was the longest active streak in the country.

2. The Badgers had also won nine straight Big Ten Conference games entering today's contest. Taylor Mehlhaff kicked a field goal with five seconds left in the first half. That marked the 12th game out of the last 15 (and 14th out of 19 in the Bielema era) that Wisconsin has scored points in the final two minutes of the first half. Under Bielema, UW has scored 95 points (11 touchdowns and six field goals) in the final two minutes of the first half.

3. UW once again won the time of possession battle. The Badgers entered today's play third in the country in TOP and held a 34:02-25:58 advantage vs. the Illini.

4. Quarterback Tyler Donovan recorded career highs in pass completions (27), attempts (49) and yards (392). His previous highs were 19 completions and 29 attempts vs. Washington State in the season opener and 308 yards vs. Buffalo on Nov. 18, 2006.

5. Donovan's 392 passing yards are the third-most in Badger history and the most for a UW player since Darrell Bevell threw for a school-record 423 yards vs. Minnesota on Oct. 23, 1993. His 49 passing attempts were also the third-most in Badger history and the most since Bevell threw the ball 51 times against Iowa on Nov. 18, 1995. Donovan's 27 completions were fourth-most in school history.

6. Tight end Travis Beckum had career-highs in receptions (11) and yards (160) today. It was the second consecutive week that Beckum went over the 100-yard receiving plateau. It was his fifth career 100-yard receiving game.

7. Beckum's 11 catches are the second-most in school history and his 160 yards are the 17th-most in UW annals.

8. Freshman Kyle Jefferson, who last week became the first UW true freshman to catch a touchdown pass since Brandon Williams in 2002, caught his second long TD in as many weeks. His 42-yarder today comes on the heels of his 64-yard touchdown reception vs. Michigan State last week.

9. Running back P.J. Hill scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter, his 11th touchdown of the season. Hill has scored at least one TD in 15 of his 19 games as a Badger. He now has 27 career touchdowns, one behind Lee Evans for fifth-best in UW history.

10. With two field goals today, Taylor Mehlhaff now has 38 in his career, one behind Mike Allen for third place on UW's career list. He also has 50 field goal attempts in his career, one behind John Hall for fourth all-time.

11. Mehlhaff's miss in the first quarter broke a string of eight straight made field goals, dating back to the 2007 Capital One Bowl vs. Arkansas.

12. David Gilreath's 10-yard reception in the third quarter was the first of his career. Six different Badgers caught passes today, tying a season high.