FOR OPENERS
• Kicking Off: The Fighting Illini (4-1, 1-0) will look for their fourth-straight B1G win this Saturday, when they travel to Iowa City to face No. 22/23 Iowa (5-0, 1-0) in a Big Ten West showdown (11 am CT on ESPN2). It will mark Illinois' first trip to Kinnick Stadium since Oct. 13, 2007.
• Fast Start: Illinois is 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten after Saturday's win over Nebraska, the program's best start since 2011, when the Illini were 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the B1G to start the season.
• On the Upswing: Illinois has won three straight B1G games and four of last six dating back to last season. In the 25 Big Ten games prior to those last six, the Fighting Illini were 1-24.
• Cardiac Illini: The last two Fighting Illini games, both victories, have each been decided in the final 10 seconds of regulation by a total of three points. Against Nebraska, QB Wes Lunt found WR Geronimo Allison for a 1-yard TD with 10 seconds left for a 14-13 Illini victory. That followed up a 27-25 win over Middle Tennessee on Sept. 26 after the Blue Raiders missed a 43-yard field goal with four seconds on the clock.
• Captain Comeback: Illinois has seven fourth-quarter comeback wins in the last two seasons (five in 2014 and two so far in 2015). QB Wes Lunt has orchestrated five of those seven fourth-quarter comebacks, including both this season (vs. Middle Tennessee and vs. Nebraska).
• D-Fence: The Fighting Illini defense over the first five games has shown vast improvement since last season.
» The Illini rank in the top-25 nationally in nine different stat categories, including blocked kicks (1), third down defense (4), TFLs (15), interceptions (18), passing efficiency defense (19), total defense (21), first downs allowed (23), scoring defense (23) and turnovers gained (24).
» Through five games in 2014, the Illini were allowing 468.6 ypg and 35.0 ppg. This season, they're allowing 303.4 ypg and 17.8 ppg through five games.
» The Illini have forced 31 three-and-out drives this season (6.2 per game), tied for the fifth-most in FBS. Illinois forced 44 three-and-out drives in all of 2014 (3.4 per game).
» The Illini rank fourth in the nation in third down conversion defense, allowing just 17 first downs in 78 third down attempts this season (.218).
• Block Party: Illinois is tied for the FBS lead as one of four teams with three blocked kicks this season. The Fighting Illini have blocked two punts, returning both for touchdowns, and one field goal on the season.
• Senior WR Geronimo Allison leads the Big Ten in both receptions (32) and receiving yards (453), ranking in the top-20 nationally in both categories. A recent addition to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, Allison had eight catches for 91 yards against Nebraska, pushing him over 1,000 career receiving yards (1,051).
• Senior DB V'Angelo Bentley is the Illinois career leader in kick return yardage (1,530). He surpassed Pierre Thomas' record of 1,495 yards against MTSU on Sept. 26. The Hornung Award candidate is the first Illinois player in school history to record kick, punt, interception and fumble returns for TD in his career.
• Senior LB Mason Monheim has 331 career tackles, the second-most among active FBS players. The Butkus and Lombardi Award candidate has forced seven career fumbles, tied for fourth most in Illinois history and the fourth-most among active FBS players.
• Junior SS Taylor Barton has three interceptions this season, tied for 10th-most in the nation through the first five weeks of the season. It's the most for an Illini in a season since Terry Hawthorne in 2011 and equal the total for the entire team in all of 2013.
• Senior RB Josh Ferguson has climbed up to 11th on the UI career rushing list with 2,259 career yards.
» Ferguson became the 17th player in Illinois history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards with 133 yards at North Carolina in week three.
» Ferg is one of three active FBS players with more than 2,000 career rushing yards (2,259) and 1,000 receiving yards (1,305), along with Arizona State's D.J. Foster and Oregon State's Storm Woods.
» A Doak Walker Award candidate, Ferguson ranks fourth in career all-purpose yards at UI (3,945), with a realistic chance to break Robert Holcombe's all-time mark of 4,737 if healthy.
ILLINOIS-IOWA SERIES
• Illinois leads the all-time series against Iowa, 38-30-2.
• Illinois is 18-16-2 all-time in Iowa City.
• Illinois has not visited Iowa City since 2007, when the Hawkeyes defeated the Illini, 10-6.
• Iowa has won the last three meetings in Iowa City. The Illini's last win at Kinnick Stadium was a 40-24 victory in 1999.
• Iowa's longest winning streak in the series (five games) was snapped with the Illini's 27-24 win in 2008.
• The Hawkeyes won the most recent meeting, 30-14, in Champaign in 2014.
• Iowa is the last Big Ten team to beat Illinois, which is on a three-game conference winning streak.
• Eaton Spence had a career high three pass breakups against Iowa in 2014.
• Mason Monheim had a career high 15 tackles against the Hawkeyes in 2014.
• Dike Eddleman's 88-yard punt against Iowa in 1948 still stands as the longest in Illinois history.
• Alex Karras, 1957 Outland Trophy winner and All-American offensive lineman for the Hawkeyes in 1956 and '57, was the great uncle of current Illini senior offensive lineman Ted Karras.
ILLINOIS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Illinois faces its first Associated Press Top 25-ranked opponent of the season on Saturday as Iowa is No. 22 in this week's AP poll. The Hawkeyes are No. 23 in USA Today coaches poll.
• Illinois' win over Minnesota last season gave the Illini their first win over a ranked team in either the AP or Coaches poll since 2011, as the Golden Gophers were No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches poll (they were not ranked in the AP poll).
• The Illini have lost 10 straight and 19 of their last 20 against foes ranked in the AP poll since beating No. 1 Ohio State 28-21 on Nov. 10, 2007. The lone win during that span came on Sept. 17, 2011, over No. 22 Arizona State, 17-14. Illinois has lost its last nine road games against ranked foes since beating OSU in 2007.
• Illinois coach Bill Cubit is 0-4 against AP-ranked opponents in his 8+ years as a Division I head coach.
NO FLY ZONE
The improvement of the Fighting Illini defense in 2015, under the direction of co-defensive coordinators Tim Banks and Mike Phair, has been remarkable. The Illini have jumped over 70 spots in national rankings from last season in several categories and currently are ranked in the top-25 nationally in blocked kicks, third down defense, TFLs, interceptions, passing efficiency defense, total defense, first downs allowed, scoring defense and turnovers gained.
| ILLINOIS' DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT IN 2015 |
| Category | 2014 (Nat'l Rk) | 2015 (Nat'l Rk) |
| Blocked Kicks (total) | 1 (70) | 3 (1) |
| Third Down Conversion % | .423 (88) | .218 (4) |
| Tackles for Loss (per game) | 6.3 (49) | 8.2 (15) |
| Interceptions (total) | 7 (105) | 7 (18) |
| Pass Efficiency Defense (rating) | 136.0 (95) | 102.61 (19) |
| Total Defense (ypg) | 456.4 (109) | 303.4 (21) |
| First Downs Allowed (per game) | 22.5 (101) | 14.8 (23) |
| Scoring Defense (ppg) | 34.0 (107) | 17.8 (23) |
| Turnovers Gained (total) | 19 (74) | 10 (24) |
| Passing Yards Allowed (per game) | 239.2 (115) | 177.4 (29) |
| Rushing Defense (ypg) | 239.2 (115) | 126.0 (33) |
FOURTH-QUARTER MAGIC
• The Illini mounted their second fourth-quarter comeback victory of the season against Nebraska on Oct. 3. Illinois trailed 13-0 entering the final quarter and was down 13-7 with less than a minute remaining before QB Wes Lunt orchestrated a 6-play, 72-yard drive culminating in Geronimo Allison's 1-yard touchdown catch with 10 seconds left for a 14-13 Illini victory.
• A week before against Middle Tennessee State, the Fighting Illini trailed 25-24 with less than four minutes on the clock before Lunt engineered an 8-play, 41-yard drive ending in a 51-yard game-winning field goal by Taylor Zalewski with 2:09 left.
• In 2014, Illinois mounted five fourth-quarter comebacks at Memorial Stadium, coming back to beat Penn State, Minnesota, Texas State, Western Kentucky and Youngstown State after training at some point during the fourth quarter.
• Illinois has had 11 comeback wins since 2001 when trailing after three quarters. Five of those 11 have come since the start of the 2014 season.
MAKING THE GRADE
The Illini have excelled in the classroom over the last three seasons, a major focus of the staff's program-building.
• A total of 38 football student-athletes earned degrees in 2014-15, including 13 that are on the 2015 roster pursuing second degrees or master's degrees.
• Since 2012, the number of football graduates has gone from 15 (2012), to 16 (2013) to 21 (2014) to 38 (2015).
• Illinois has broken its school record for Academic All-Big Ten selections in each of the last three seasons in Champaign. Prior to 2012, the school record was 12 (2000 & 2009). Since then, the Illini have had 18 (2012), 21 (2013) and now 29 in 2014.
• For four consecutive semesters, at least 40 football student-athletes have posted at least a 3.0 grade-point-average, including a high of 60 in Spring 2015. In the same time frame, Illinois' team GPA also has risen steadily from 2.71 in fall 2012 to 2.98 in spring 2015.
GERONIMOOOO!
• Senior WR Geronimo Allison has 32 receptions for 453 yards this season, leading the Big Ten and ranking in the top-20 nationally in both categories.
• Allison caught the game-winning touchdown against Nebraska, a 1-yard strike from Wes Lunt with 10 second left in the game to put the Illini up 14-13. He was just nine yards short of his fifth-career 100-yard receiving game, finishing with eight receptions for 91 yards against the Huskers.
• Allison has hauled in nine receptions of 20+ yards, which is tied for the seventh-most in the nation and matches his 2014 season total. His 21 receptions of 10+ yards is tied for sixth-most in FBS.
• In his second season with the Illini after transferring from Iowa Western CC in 2014, Allison went over 1,000 career receiving yards during the Nebraska game. He now has 1,051 yards on 73 career receptions at UI.
• The Tampa, Florida, native and Iowa Western Community College transfer has had overwhelming success on first down, recording 549 of his 1,051 total yards (52.2 percent) and six touchdowns, including the Oct. 3 game-winner against Nebraska, on that down. Eighteen of his 31 first-down catches have resulted in first downs and eight of them went for 25-plus yards.
HE'S LUNT, HE'S LUNT, HE'S LUNT, HE'S IN MY HEAD
• After breaking the UI single-season QB efficiency record in 2014 (141.61), junior QB Wes Lunt is off to another solid start in 2015. Lunt tied his career-high with four TD passes in the opener against Kent State (all in the first half) and has completed 58 percent of his passes for 1,107 yards so far this season.
• Lunt leads the Big Ten in completions per game (22.2) and ranks third in the conference in passing yards per game (221.4) and passing touchdowns (8).
• Lunt has thrown 22 touchdowns against just five interceptions in his UI career. His career efficiency rating of 131.4 is on the heels of Tony Eason's Illinois school record of 133.8 (1981-'82).
• Lunt has led game-winning drives in the final minutes of the last two games (Middle Tennesee and Nebraska) and has led five fourth-quarter comeback wins in his first season and a half as the Illini signal caller.
• Last season, Lunt led all Power Five QBs in 4th qtr QB rating when the game was within seven points (plus or minus), completing 20-of-25 passes for 5 TDs and 0 interceptions in that situation.
• Despite missing three full games and parts of two others with a fractured fibula in 2014, Lunt still managed a big year statistically. At the time of his injury, Lunt ranked in the top 20 in the nation in completions per game (25.4, 10th), passing yards per game (313.8, 14th), passing TDs (13, 17th), passing yards (1,569, 18th), completion percentage (66.5, 20th) and passing efficiency (154.8, 20th), and was tied for fourth in FBS with 14 passing plays of 30+ yards.
KARRAS CONTINUES FAMILY'S B1G LEGACY
• Senior OG Ted Karras has been a mainstay on the offensive line for the last four years. Karras started at right guard for the first nine games of 2014, before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Ohio State. He has 36 career starts, second most among active Illini behind only Mason Monheim's 40 starts.
• If the Karras name seems familiar, that's because it's familial. Karras is the seventh member of his family to play football in the Big Ten, including his great-uncle, Alex, who was an All-American offensive lineman for Iowa a four-time NFL Pro Bowler before starting an acting career that resulted in a starring role in the 1980s sitcom "Webster." In addition, his grandfather, Ted, played at Indiana; his father, Ted Jr. – now the coach at Division II Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio – played at Northwestern; his great-uncle, Paul, played at Iowa; his great-uncle, Lou, played at Purdue; and his uncle, Tony, played at Northwestern.
Complete Illinois-Iowa Game Notes (PDF)
