Sept. 2, 2007

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1. Vontae Davis' blocked punt and return for touchdown at 8:38 in the first quarter was the first by an Illini player since Sharriff Abdullah returned a punt that was blocked by Kevin Mitchell at Michigan State on Oct. 9, 2004.
2. The Illini "punt-breaker" unit was very successful on the day, blocking and returning one punt for a TD in the first quarter and forcing another punt of zero yards in the second quarter.
3. Illinois out-gained Missouri in total yards, 435-429. Going back to 2006, that is the eighth time in the Illini's last 13 games that they have out-gained their opponent. The Illini averaged an impressive 5.9 yards per play today.
4. A pair of true-freshmen wide receivers saw their first career action today, as Arrelious Benn and Brian Gamble played a large role in the Illini offense. Benn became the first rookie receiver to start for the Illini since Lonnie Hurst in 2003 and finished with five catches for 74 yards. Gamble had four receptions for 48 yards.
5. Benn made the first grab of his career to open Illinois' second drive of the season, catching a Juice Williams pass over the middle and gaining six yards. Gamble made the first catch of his career at 2:04 in first quarter. His second catch was a 22-yard grab on 3rd-and-2 and Gamble had another third-down grab at the 13:17 mark of the third quarter, catching a 13-yard pass on 3rd-and-3.
6. Eddie McGee entered the game in the second quarter, taking over for an injured Juice Williams. McGee took the first snap of his career at the 10:00 mark and his first career completion was caught by Kyle Hudson at 7:14.
7. McGee finished the day 17-for-31 for 257 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. It was the first 250-yard performance by an Illini quarterback since Tim Brasic threw for 277 yards against Wisconsin on Oct. 29, 2005, and first ever by an Illini redshirt-freshman. He also connected with seven different receivers in his first career game action.
8. McGee's first career scoring drive came on the first drive of the second half as he engineered a nine-play, 79-yard drive that consumed just 2:29 of the third quarter. Later in the quarter, McGee finished his second scoring drive with a 16-yard scamper, his first career rushing touchdown.
9. After Antonio Steele recovered a fumble by Missouri's Dana Alexander on the Tiger 41-yard line in the third quarter, McGee hooked up with wide receiver Kyle Hudson on a 41-yard, first-play touchdown strike for his first career touchdown pass.
10. Justin Sanders forced the first fumble of his career in the third quarter and the second of his career in the fourth quarter. Derek Walker returned the latter Tiger miscue to the Missouri 4-yard line and Rashard Mendenhall punched it in with a four-yard touchdown carry, cutting the Mizzou lead to 37-34.
11. A year after recording 49 plays of over 20 yards, the Illini tallied seven big plays today against the Tigers. In the second quarter, Juice Williams hooked up with Brian Gamble on a 22-yard pass. In the third quarter, Rashard Mendenhall hit paydirt with a 25-yard rush and Eddie McGee hit Arrelious Benn with a 25-yard pass. Also in the third, Daniel Dufrene ripped off a 30-yard rush and McGee hit Kyle Hudson for a 41-yard TD strike. In the fourth quarter, McGee hit Mendenhall down the sideline for a 42-yard pass on 3rd-and-7, and McGee kept the final drive alive with a 25-yard strike over the middle to Benn on 4th-and-10.
12. J Leman's 20 tackles today mark the second-straight time he has recorded 20 or more tackles and the 11th time in his last 12 games that he has recorded double-digit stops. Leman had 12 tackles at halftime.
13. Vontae Davis recorded a career-high 10 tackles, surpassing the nine stops he recorded against Indiana on Oct. 7, 2006.
14. Sophomore Daniel Dufrene got his first carry in the Orange and Blue at 4:37 in the second quarter and he rushed 17 yards for a first down. Dufrene finished with 58 yards on six carries for an average of 9.7 yards per carry.
15. In addition to Benn and Gamble, three other true-freshmen saw action today as Martez Wilson, Nate Bussey and Bo Flowers all saw special-teams action. Flowers also was on the field for a number of defensive snaps. The following Illini also saw their first game action in the Orange and Blue: junior Will Judson; sophomore Daniel Dufrene; redshirt-freshmen Jerry Brown, Garrett Edwards, Eddie McGee and Anthony Santella.