Nov. 25, 2014
Beckman Press Conference: Video | Quotes
Monday Interviews: OC Cubit | DC Banks | WR Dudek | QB O'Toole | DL Teitsma| DL Ward
QUICK HITS
•Opening Kick: The Fighting Illini (5-6 overall, 2-5 B1G West) travel to face in-state rival Northwestern (5-6 overall, 3-4 B1G West) on Saturday (11 am CT on ESPNU), with bowl eligibility for both teams and the Land of Lincoln rivalry trophy on the line.
•Going Bowling? Illinois is looking to reach a bowl game for the third time in the last five years after winning the 2010 Texas Bowl (over Baylor) and 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (over UCLA) before a two-year bowl drought in 2012 and 2013.
•Super Frosh: WR Mike Dudek is having the most prolific season for a freshman receiver in school history. Dudek has 62 receptions for 902 yards this season, which both break Arrelious Benn's previous freshman marks of 54 catches and 676 yards in 2007. He is one touchdown behind David Williams' freshman TD receptions record of six.
»Dudek leads all FBS freshmen in receiving yards per game (82.0), ranking 26th overall and third in the Big Ten.
»Dudek also ranks second in the nation with 354 fourth-quarter receiving yards and with 10 plays of 15+ yards in the fourth quarter.
•Reis(ner)-ing to the Occasion: Sophomore PK David Reisner nailed a game-winning 36-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining to give the Illini a 16-14 win over Penn State on Saturday, marking the first time since 2008 that the Illini won a game with a field goal in the last two minutes (Matt Eller, 46 yards vs. Iowa, 27-24, Nov. 1, 2008). Reisner was named co-Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for his heroics vs. PSU.
•Returning History: Junior V'Angelo Bentley is the first Illinois player in school history to record a kick return, punt return, interception return and fumble return for TD in his career. He is one of 13 players in the country with two or more defensive touchdowns this season. See page four for more on Bentley's return prowess.
•Punching It Out: Senior STAR Earnest Thomas III and junior LB Mason Monheim both have forced seven career fumbles, tied for for fourth place on UI's career fumbles forced list. The other four players on the list are All-Americans: Simeon Rice (13 FF), Whitney Mercilus (11), Dana Howard (8) and Kevin Hardy (7).
»Monheim is tied for the Big Ten lead and tied for seventh in FBS with four forced fumbles this season.
•Fergy Fast: Junior RB Josh Ferguson is one of only two active FBS players with more than 1,700 career rushing yards (1,733) and 1,000 receiving yards (1,136). Arizona State's D.J. Foster is the other.
•DuVernois a Weapon: Senior punter Justin DuVernois is second in the Big Ten and 15th in the nation in punting average (44.5 ypp), just behind Steve Weatherford's single-season UI record of 45.4. As a team, the Illini lead the Big Ten and rank 17th in the nation in net punting average (40.15 ypp).
•Tough Slate: Illinois has faced the 14th-toughest schedule in the nation thus far, with opponents posting a 57-37 record vs. FBS foes (.606). Nine of the Illini's 10 FBS opponents thus far are bowl eligible, tied for the second-most of any team in the country.
•Comeback Kids: The Illini have had to come from behind in the fourth quarter in all five of their wins this season. The Illini trailed entering the fourth quarter in wins against Youngstown State, Western Kentucky, Texas State and Minnesota. Saturday against Penn State, the Illinois led 10-7 after the third quarter, but fell behind 14-10 early in the fourth before coming back to win in the final seconds, 16-14.
•Kittner's Last Call: Fighting Illini radio network analyst Kurt Kittner will call his final regular-season Illini game on Saturday after eight seasons in the booth. Kittner was a star QB for the Illini from 1998-2001, leading the Illini to an outright Big Ten title and Sugar Bowl berth in 2001.
BATTLE FOR THE LAND OF LINCOLN TROPHY
•Illinois and Northwestern will play for the "Land of Lincoln" trophy on Saturday, the sixth battle for the relatively new rivalry trophy. Northwestern has won the trophy in each of the last two seasons - 37-34 in Champaign in 2013 and 50-14 in Evanston in 2012 - to give the Wildcats a 3-2 series edge. The Illini took the trophy in 2011 with a 38-35 come-from-behind win and in 2010 with a 48-27 rout at Wrigley Field. The Land of Lincoln Trophy was chosen by fans of both schools in 2009 in an online vote to replace the 62-year-old Tomahawk Trophy.
•Illinois and Northwestern played for the "Sweet Sioux" Tomahawk from 1947-2008. Illinois led the traditional trophy series by a 32-28-2 mark, but Northwestern won the final meeting for the Tomahawk with its 27-10 win in 2008. The Tomahawk was retired following the 2008 season.
NORTHWESTERN SERIES NOTES
•Saturday's game will be the 108th meeting between Illinois and Northwestern. Illinois leads the series 54-48-5 overall but the 'Cats hold a 27-26-3 margin in games played in Evanston. The Illini are 26-26-1 when playing the Wildcats in UI's Big Ten finale.
•The teams have split the last four meetings, with UI winning in 2010 and 2011, and Northwestern winning in 2012 and 2013. Illinois' two wins in that stretch have come in incredible fashion. In 2011, the Illini rebounded from a 28-10 third-quarter deficit to beat Northwestern 38-35 after Nathan Scheelhaase's one-yard touchdown plunge with 13 seconds left in the game. In 2010, the Illini crushed the 'Cats 48-27 at Wrigley Field in Chicago behind Mikel Leshoure's record-breaking 330 rushing yards. It was the first college game played at Wrigley Field in 40 years and was famously played one way, as all offensive drives went toward the west end zone due to safety concerns with the wall behind the east end zone.
ILLINI FACE TOUGH SLATE IN 2014
•Illinois has faced a formidable schedule thus far in 2014, as its slate is currently ranked as the 14th-toughest among FBS institutions, second-most difficult in the Big Ten. The Illini schedule includes three opponents currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 - No. 7 Ohio State (away), No. 14 Wisconsin (away) and No. 22 Minnesota (home).
•Nine of the Illini's 10 FBS opponents thus far are bowl eligible. Ohio State (10), Wisconsin (9), Minnesota (8), Nebraska (8), Iowa (7), Washington (7), Texas State (6), Penn State (6) and Western Kentucky (6) all have reached the six-win threshhold. Purdue (3-7) is the only Illinois opponent that is out of bowl consideration.
•Based on opponent winning percentage from 2013, the Fighting Illini's schedule ranks second in the Big Ten and No. 21 nationally. Illinois' foes combined for a 59.6 winning percentage (90-61) last season, with all four non-conference opponents winning at least six games. Only Rutgers' 62.6 opponent winning percentage (97-58), which ties for ninth-toughest in the nation, is stronger among Big Ten teams.
FOURTH-QUARTER MAGIC
•The Illini mounted their fifth fourth-quarter comeback victory of the season Saturday against Penn State. What made this one unique is that is the first of the five games that Illinois led entering the fourth, lost the lead, and then came back to win. In the first four comebacks, the Orange and Blue trailed entering the final quarter.
•Illinois overcame a 9-7 deficit against Youngstown State in its season opener and won 28-17; then beat Western Kentucky 42-34 after trailing 27-21 entering the fourth quarter; trailed 28-25 entering the final quarter against Texas State before winning 42-35; and was down 24-21 after three quarters against Minnesota before rallying to win 28-24 on Homecoming.
•Illinois has had 10 comeback wins since 2001 when trailing after three quarters. Four of those 10 came in the first eight games this season.
» Complete Illinois-Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
