PROMOTIONS / GAMEDAY TIMELINE
• Tailgating at Grange Grove » 7-11 am (games, food trucks, beer tent and live music)
• Illini Walk » 8:20 am (Ikenberry Commons to First Street, then through Grange Grove)
• Dads Day » Annual Dads Association Dads Weekend on campus is Nov. 4-6
OPENING KICK
• Back Home: The Fighting Illini (2-6, 1-4 B1G) will host the Michigan State Spartans (2-6, 0-5 B1G) at Memorial Stadium on Saturday (11 am CT on ESPNews).
• Takeaways & Turnovers: The Orange and Blue have done a good job of both taking the ball away and taking care of the ball this season.
» Three Illini QBs have combined to throw just three interceptions, ranking fifth in FBS and tied for first in the Big Ten (Lunt 1, Crouch 1, George Jr. 1).
» Illinois' eight fumbles recovered ranks 20th in FBS and second in the Big Ten.
• TFL U: As a team the Illini defense has been making plays in the backfield often in 2016.
» Illinois ranks ninth in the nation and third in the Big Ten in TFLs per game (8.3)
» Senior DE Carroll Phillips is averaging 1.6 TFLs per game, seventh-most in FBS and most in the Big Ten.
» Phillips (13.0) and senior DE Dawuane Smoot (9.0) have combined for more TFLs (22.0) than any other teammates in the Big Ten.
• Fourth Down 'D': Opponents have converted just 2 of 9 fourth down attempts (.222) against the Illini defense, the best conversion percentage in the Big Ten and third-best in FBS.
• Tackling Machine: Graduate transfer LB Hardy Nickerson is averaging 9.4 tackles/game to rank third in the Big Ten and 25th in FBS. He has 321 career tackles (246 at Cal, 75 at Illinois), seventh-most among active FBS players. Nickerson has more career tackles than any active Power-5 linebacker.
• Smoot Point: Senior DE Dawuane Smoot has come on strong in conference play, averaging 1.4 TFLs per game to rank third in the Big Ten during league play. For the season, he has 39 tackles, 9.0 TFLs, 2.0 sacks, six hurries, two forced fumbles and one safety, wreaking even more havoc than the stats indicate.
• Big Play Run Game: Illinois has four runs of 50+ yards this season, tied for 10th-most in the nation. Kendrick Foster had a pair of 56-yard TD runs against Murray State, Ke'Shawn Vaughn had a 65-yard TD scamper vs. North Carolina and Reggie Corbin busted a 53-yard run at Rutgers.
• Nelson Making Noise: RS freshman safety Patrick Nelson has burst onto the scene in Big Ten play. He had 16 tackles at Nebraska in his first career start and then 14 at Rutgers to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Nelson's 48 tackles since Oct. 1 are the most by any FBS freshman and his 9.6 tackles per game in conference play ranks fifth in the Big Ten.
• Target Turner: Junior WR Malik Turner accounts for 39.0 percent of Illinois' total receiving yards (523/1340 yards), the second-highest percentage of any FBS player. Turner has 35 receptions for 523 yards and four touchdowns this season.
• Reggie, Reggie, Reggie: RS freshman RB Reggie Corbin is averaging 7.8 yards per carry this season (411 yards on 53 carries), which ranks 11th among FBS players and third among FBS freshmen with at least 50 carries. In Big Ten play (5 games), the former HS rugby star has 340 rushing yards on 46 carries (7.4 ypc).
• Fresh Start: Illinois has had 25 first-time starters this season, the most in the nation. Included in that number are 11 freshmen (four true-freshmen and seven redshirt-freshmen).
• Chase McLongkick: RS freshman PK Chase McLaughlin kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal against Minnesota, tied for the fourth-longest in school history and the longest since Taylor Zalewski kicked a 54-yarder against Purdue on Nov. 17, 2012.
• Captain Vote: Prior to the season-opener, Coach Smith announced that QB Wes Lunt, LB Hardy Nickerson, DE Dawuane Smoot and OL Joe Spencer would be the 2016 team captains after a vote by players and coaches.
THE ILLINOIS-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
• Michigan State leads the all-time series against Illinois, 26-17-2.
• Illinois is 1-9 against Michigan State in the last 10 meetings dating back to 1998.
• Illinois has not played Michigan State since Oct. 26, 2013, a 42-3 win for the Spartans in Champaign.
• Michigan State has won seven straight games in Champaign dating back to 1992, a 14-10 victory for the Illini.
• Illinois' last win over Michigan State was a 23-20 victory in East Lansing on Sept. 30, 2006. Jason Reda hit a 39-yard field goal with six seconds left to seal the game.
• One of Illinois' three wins against No. 1-ranked teams came against Michigan State. The Fighting Illini scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to upset the top-ranked Spartans, 20-13, at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 1, 1956.
• Current Illini that have played against Michigan State in 2013: S Taylor Barton, DL Chunky Clements, S Caleb Day, CB Jaylen Dunlap, WR Justin Hardee, CB Darius Mosely (start), OL Austin Schmidt, OL Joe Spencer, DE Dawuane Smoot, LB Mike Svetina (start), WR D.J. Taylor, TE Tyler White
MICHIGAN STATE CONNECTIONS
• Illinois has two Michigan natives on its roster, freshman OL Jake Cerny (Traverse City/Traverse City West HS) and senior TE Tyler White (Kalamazoo/Plainwell HS). Michigan State has 10 players on its roster from Illinois.
• The Chicago Bears drafted Michigan State products TE Kellen Davis (5th round) and DE Ervin Baldwin (7th round) in the 2008 NFL Draft when Lovie Smith was the Bears head coach.
• Illinois sophomore DL Tito Odenigbo and Michigan State senior OG Benny McGowan played at Centerville HS (Centerville, Ohio).
• Illini sophomore LB Tre Watson and MSU sophomore LB T.J. Harrell played at Tampa Catholic HS (Tampa, Fla.)
• Illinois freshman RB Christian Bobak and Michigan State freshman OL Matt Allen and junior OL Brian Allen played at Hinsdale Central HS (Hinsdale, Ill.).
HIGHLIGHTS AGAINST THE SPARTANS
• CB Darius Mosely had his first career start and fumble recovery against Michigan State in 2013.
• Last 100-yard receiving game vs. Michigan State: Michael Dean (129), 9/25/1999
• Last 100-yard rushing game vs. Michigan State: Juice Williams (103), 9/30/2006
• Last 300-yard passing game vs. Michigan State: Kurt Kittner (323), 9/25/1999
TOUGH ROAD
• Illini have played the 10th-toughest schedule in the nation based on winning percentage vs. FBS teams (.659).
• Illinois' six FBS opponents are combined 40-16 this season – No. 2 Michigan (8-0), No. 9 Nebraska (7-1), No. 17 Western Michigan (8-0), No. 18 North Carolina (6-2), Minnesota (6-2), Purdue (3-5) and Rutgers (2-6). When projecting out future games, the Illini schedule ranks as the ninth-toughest in the nation according to NCAA stats.
• Five Illinois opponents are ranked in the latest AP Top 25 (Oct. 30) – No. 2 Michigan, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 17 Western Michigan and No. 18 North Carolina.
• Only four college football teams will play against more 2015 bowl teams during the 2016 season. Illinois' nine bowl opponents are tied for fifth in the nation behind USC (11), BYU (10), Colorado (10) and Ole Miss (10).
• The Big Ten moved to a nine-game conference slate this season, meaning each team plays three division crossover games. Illinois' cross-division games are home against Michigan State, at Michigan and at Rutgers, meaning the Illini have five road games and four home games in B1G play.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Illinois has had 25 first-time starters this season, the most in the nation (Bowling Green has second most with 24). Included in that number are 11 freshmen (four true-freshmen and seven redshirt-freshmen).
• On 10/29 vs. Minnesota, six Illini freshmen started on defense – true-freshmen S Stanley Green, LB Jake Hansen and DT Kenyon Jackson along with RS Freshmen DT Jamal Milan, S Patrick Nelson and CB Frank Sumpter.
• As the season has progressed, several new faces have seen their playing time and production increase, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
» RS freshman SS Patrick Nelson played only on special teams the first two games, making zero tackles. In the last six games, he's racked up 54 tackles at safety, making four starts.
» True-freshman Stanley Green did not play in the first two games before seeing some action on special teams in games three and four. In week five against Purdue, he saw his first action at safety and made three tackles before starting the last three games and making 25 tackles.
» True-freshman LB Jake Hansen made his first career-start in game eight against Minnesota. He played only on special teams prior to that start.
» Redshirt-freshman CB Frank Sumpter made his first career start in game eight against Minnesota. He did not see extended action on defense until game seven at Michigan.
» A pair of freshmen have seen increasing snaps the senior-laden defensive line. After playing sparingly in the first two games, RS freshman DT Jamal Milan has come on to post 18 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, two forced fumbles and one sack in his last four games (missed Purdue due to injury). Meanwhile, true-freshman DT Kenyon Jackson has made 14 of his 16 tackles in the last five games and has started three.
» RS freshman RB Reggie Corbin had 7 carries for 71 yards in the first three games before breaking out for 45 carries for 340 yards the last five games.
GRAD TRANSFERS MAKING BIG IMPACT
Both of Illinois' graduate transfers have made a huge impact for the Fighting Illini defense.
• Cal transfer LB Hardy Nickerson is averaging 9.4 tackles per game to rank third in the Big Ten and 25th nationally. He has added 4.5 TFLs, fourth-most on the team, a team-high two interceptions and 2.0 sacks.
• Auburn transfer DE Gimel President has 7.0 TFLs to rank third on the team and 17th in the Big Ten. He has 29 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, two QB hurries and one PBU on the season.
» COMPLETE ILLINOIS-MICHIGAN STATE GAME NOTES (PDF)
