Nov. 17, 2007

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1. Illinois' 41-22 win today marks the first time the Illini have defeated the Wildcats in the last five games, reclaiming the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk for the first time since 2002. Today's win marks the eighth time that an Illinois team has won nine or more games and the first since 2001.

2. Illinois' 541 yards of total offense and 321 yards rushing today marked the third time this season that Illinois has posted over 500 yards of total offense and the fourth time with more than 300 yards rushing. In addition, it is the eighth time the Illini have posted over 400 yards of total offense and the ninth time the Illini have rushed for more than 200 yards this year.

3. Illinois became the third team in school history to post over 5,000 yards of total offense in a season and now ranks second all-time in total offense with 5,080 yards this year. The Illini need just 276 yards of offense in their bowl game to record the most yards in school history.

4. By scoring 41 points today, Illinois moved into fifth place on the single-season scoring list, jumping four spots. The team is 45 points shy of the school-record 390 scored in 2001.

5. Eight Illini caught at least one pass today, marking the third time this season it has happened (at Syracuse, at Ohio State). Quarterback Eddie McGee was the most unlikely receiver, catching the first pass of his career. Rahkeem Smith also recorded the first catch of his career.

6. In addition, eight different Illini had at least one rush in today's game, marking the second time this season it has occurred (at Minnesota).

7. For the ninth time this season, Illinois took a lead into the locker room at halftime. The Illini are now a perfect 9-0 when leading at half.

8. Illinois engineered one of its best drives of the season in the second quarter, putting together a 16-play, 97-yard touchdown drive that lasted 8:12. It is the longest drive of the season by yardage and ties the longest drive by plays. It also is the third drive of more than eight minutes that the Illini have strung together this season. The Illini also put together a 94-yard drive in the third quarter.

9. The Illini dominated the time of possession battle today, holding the ball for 38:30 compared to just 21:30 by the Wildcats.

10. Juice Williams had an incredible offensive game, completing 15-of-23 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown while rushing 23 times for 136 yards and two scores. His 136 rushing yards are the second-most ever in a game by an Illini quarterback, behind only his 145-yard performance against Purdue on Nov. 11, 2006. Williams now holds six of the top 10 rushing games by an Illini QB.

11. Williams was excellent in the first half, completing 10-of-15 passes for 139 yards while rushing 18 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns. It was the first time in his career that he has both passed and rushed for more than 100 yards in the first half of a game.

12. Williams rushed 23 times for 136 yards and Rashard Mendenhall ran 27 times for 124 yards, marking the second time this season the pair have rushed for over 100 yards in a game (at Minnesota, Nov. 3). It is the 17th time in Illinois history that two players have rushed for over 100 yards in the same game and fourth time in the past two years.

13. Williams moved into eighth place on the all-time total offense chart, passing Robert Holcombe with his career-high 356-yard effort today. Williams now has 4,337 yards for his career and needs 431 to pass Jeff George for seventh place.

14. Williams scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the game, marking the second time this season and in his career he has rushed for two touchdowns, also doing it against Ball State on Oct. 27.

15. Rashard Mendenhall's touchdown in the second quarter was his 16th rushing score of the season, breaking Howard Griffith's single-season school record. Mendenhall also moved up to second place on the single-season all-purpose yard list with 1,785 yards, 33 yards short of Keith Jones' record.

16. Mendenhall's 124 rushing yards give him a school-record seven 100-yard rushing games this season, breaking the previous mark held by Mendenhall, Jim Grabowski (1965) and J.C. Caroline (1953).

17. Jeff Cumberland's 48-yard reception in the first quarter marked a new career-long catch for the sophomore, besting his previous long of 45 against Indiana on Oct. 7, 2006. He then caught two passes for 73 yards on the first drive of the second half, including a 42-yard TD pass. His four-catch, 131-yard game marks his first career 100-yard game and the first 100-yard receiving game by an Illini since Kyle Hudson had 114 yards against Wisconsin on Sept. 29, 2005.

18. Kevin Mitchell's first-quarter interception was his fifth of the season. Oddly enough, the one return yard he gained was the first interception return yard gained by the Illini this season despite being the 15th interception of the year.

19. In the second quarter, Antonio Steele picked off his second pass of his career, both coming in the last two weeks.

20. J Leman finished his home career by leading the Illini with 10 tackles, the ninth time in 12 games this season that he has posted double-digit tackles. He now has 399 career tackles. He ranks sixth on the career tackles list.

21. Will Davis recorded a sack in today's game, giving him 9.5 on the season and moving him into fifth place on the season sacks list.

22. Jason Reda moved into a tie for the career points scored record along with Chris White at 262 points. Reda's 11 points today vaulted him past second-place Chris Richardson.