GAME 8: ILLINOIS (2-5, 0-4) vs. #5/5 Wisconsin (7-0, 4-0)
When	Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 | 11 am CT (11:02 kick)
Where	Memorial Stadium (60,670), Champaign, Ill. | Seating Map | Interactive Map
Gameday Info	Gameday Central | Fan Guide | Parking Map | Weather
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Promotions	Pint Glass Giveaway #2 | Grange Grove
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WISCONSIN GAME PROMOTIONS

        • Homecoming – Celebrating the University of Illinois' 107th Homecoming

        • Pint Glass Giveaway #2 – First 5,000 fans will get collectible Gray Ghost pint glasses honoring #77 Red Grange

        • Grange Grove – 8-10:30 am (games, food trucks and live music) | Info

        • Illini Walk – 8:30 am through Grange Grove

OPENING KICK

• No Place Like Home: The Fighting Illini (2-5, 0-4 B1G) return home to host Wisconsin (7-0, 4-0 B1G) at Memorial Stadium as part of the University of Illinois' 107th Homecoming celebration on Saturday (11 am CT on ESPN).

• Punching It Out: The Illini have forced 13 fumbles this season to lead the nation in forced fumbles per game (1.83) and tie for the FBS lead in overall FF. Three Illini have forced two fumbles each – DB Stanley Green, DB Patrick Nelson and DL James Crawford, all tied for 21st in FBS.

• Fresh Faces: Youth has been all over the field this season. In fact, the Illini are putting the youngest team in the nation on the field. 

        » Illinois has started more true freshmen than any team in the nation (14): DB Tony Adams, RB Ra'Von Bonner, OL Larry Boyd, DB Dawson DeGroot, TE Louis Dorsey, RB Mike Epstein, DL Isaiah Gay, DB Nate Hobbs, OL Vederian Lowe, OL Alex Palczewski, DL Bobby Roundtree, WR Ricky Smalling, DB Bennett Williams and DL Jamal Woods. Baylor is second with 10 true-freshmen starters. No other team in the Big Ten has four or more.

        » The 10 true freshmen starters at USF in week three are the most in a single game in program history. Prior to this season, the most true freshman to start at Illinois in a SEASON was nine in 1980. 

        » Illinois has played 21 true freshmen, the most in the nation. LSU is second with 20 and Texas A&M is third with 18. An additional 10 redshirt-freshmen have played this year, brining the overall Illini freshman played total to 31. 

        » 11 of Illinois' 13 offensive touchdowns (84.6 percent) have been scored by true freshmen, including nine straight dating back to the USF game. Freshman touchdowns have been scored by Ra'Von Bonner (4), Mike Epstein (4), Ricky Smalling (2) and Louis Dorsey (1). 

        » Illinois had 26 first-time starters in the first seven games, the most in the nation. Baylor is second with 23 and Ball State is third with 22.

• Smalling Coming Up Big: Freshman WR Ricky Smalling has broken out for 13 catches, 182 yards and two touchdowns over the last two games, the first two TDs of his Illini career. He leads the team with 343 receiving yards on 22 catches, while his 15.6 ypc ranks fifth in the Big Ten. Against Rutgers on Oct. 14, Smalling became the sixth Illini in program history to have a 100-yard receiving game as a true freshman (5 rec., 111 yards). 

• QB Combo: Last week at Minnesota the Illini used a two-QB system with sophomore Jeff George, Jr. completing 18-of-23 passes for 128 yards and one TD, and true freshman Cam Thomas leading the team with 79 rushing yards on 10 carries in his Illini debut. 

• Getting Offensive: Illinois is averaging 374.0 yards per game over the last three games, up significatly from their 267.3 ypg over the first four contests. At Iowa on Oct. 7, the Illini gained a season-high 446 yards of total offense, including a season-high 200 rushing yards. A week later against Rutgers, the offense produced 394 total yards, including a season-high 308 passing yards. 

• Next in Line: While the Illini have freshmen playing all over the field, the offensive line is especially youth-oriented. An OL group of four freshmen and a junior  have started the last three games, paving the way for of the offensive resurgence (374 ypg over last three games). The group includes true freshmen Larry Boyd, Vederian Lowe & Alex Palczewski, redshirt freshman Doug Kramer and junior Nick Allegretti. 

• Block Party: Illinois has three blocked kicks (two field goals and one PAT) through seven games to lead the Big Ten and rank fourth in the nation in blocked kicks per game (0.43). The Illini are behind only Hawaii (5), Army (4) and Utah State (4). Jamal Milan blocked the potential game-tying field goal as time expired in the win over Ball State and then the Illini got a pair of blocks at USF, a blocked field goal by Isaiah Gay and a blocked PAT by Tito Odenigbo that was returned by Nate Hobbs for a defensive PAT. 

• NFL Experience: Lovie Smith's Illini staff has 56 seasons of combined NFL head and assistant coach experience – the most in college football in 2017, ahead of UCLA (45), Michigan (40), Baylor (38) and Alabama (34).

HONORING THE GALLOPING GHOST

• For the fourth straight Homecoming game, the Fighting Illini will honor Hall of Famer Harold "Red" Grange, the Galloping Ghost, by wearing special "Gray Ghost" alternate uniforms against the Gophers.

• The uniforms debuted at Homecoming 2014 on the 90th anniversary of Grange's historic Homecoming performance against Michigan in the Memorial Stadium dedication game on Oct. 18, 1924. In that game, Grange scored four touchdowns and racked up 262 total yards in the first 12 minutes, then ran for a fifth touchdown and threw for a sixth to lead the Illini to a 39-14 victory in what many consider the greatest single-game performance in college football history. 

• The first 5,000 fans to Saturday's game will get a 77 Gray Ghost pint glass to help commemorate Grange's historic Homecoming performance. 

ILLINOIS HOMECOMING FACTS

• The first homecoming celebrated on Illinois' campus was on Oct. 15, 1910, which the Illini won 3-0 over Chicago. This year's game against Wisconsin marks the 107th #ILLINOIShomecoming.

• Illinois has an all-time record of 45-59-2 on Homecoming, with its last victory coming against Minnesota in 2014. 

• This year marks the 12th time overall and the second time in the last three years that the Illini will host Wisconsin on Homecoming. Illinois is 8-3 all-time in Homecoming games against the Badgers. 

• Illinois boasts being one of the first universities to celebrate Homecoming, a tradition on almost every college campus. It was conceived in 1909 by students C.F. Williams and W. Elmer Ekblaw, members of the Shield and Trident senior society. They joined with another society, Phoenix, to organize the three-day event.

• For years, there has been a debate over which university had the first homecoming. Historians from various schools found research that puts Illinois among one of the first five universities to celebrate the Homecoming tradition. Baylor has documented proof of a formally named Homecoming celebration in 1909, but took a six-year hiatus before celebrating the second event at the school in 1915. Northern Illinois had alumni events beginning in 1906, but didn't use the proper noun "Homecoming" until 1911. Indiana University renamed their 1909 Gala Day to Homecoming on Nov. 5, 1910, and Michigan began inviting alumni back to campus in 1897, but the formal name began on the Ann Arbor campus in 1916.

THE ILLINOIS-WISCONSIN SERIES

• Saturday marks the 84th meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Badgers.

• Wisconsin holds a slim 40-36-7 edge in the all-time series and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings. Illinois' lone victory in that stretch was a 31-26 win over the fifth-ranked Badgers in Champaign in 2007.

• Illinois is 16-22-4 all-time against Wisconsin in Champaign.

• In 2015, Wisconsin's last trip to Champaign, the Badgers spoiled Illinois' homecoming with a 24-13 win. FS Clayton Fejedelem had one of the best games of his career, totaling 19 tackles and an interception.

• The 1995 game between the Illini and Wisconsin holds historical significance as the last college football game to end in a tie (final score was 3-3). Overtime rules were instituted the following season.

WISCONSIN CONNECTIONS

• Illinois head football strength and conditioning coach Joey Boese was a two-year starter and four-year letterwinner as a defensive back for the Badgers from 1998-2001.

• Illinois head coach Lovie Smith was the linebackers coach at Wisconsin in 1987. The Badgers went 3-8, including a 16-14 loss to Illinois in Champaign.

• Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was the tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers in 2001 when Illinois AD Josh Whitman played for the Chargers.

YOUTH GONE WILD

• Out of 100 total players on the roster there are just nine total seniors, tied for the second-least in FBS – Georgia Southern (8) and Wake Forest (9). 

• Only 25 total upperclassmen are on the roster – 9 seniors (8 scholarship seniors) and 16 juniors

• In contrast, there are 75 underclassmen – 22 sophomores and 53 freshmen (35 true-freshmen & 18 RS freshmen)

• Out of 100 players on the 2017 roster, 40 are newcomers 

FRESHMEN STARTERS SINGLE-GAME NOTES

• Illinois is playing and starting freshmen like never before in program history. 

        » Cumulative true freshmen starts in a season: 53 (2017), 34 (1977), 33 (2006)

        » 2017 Freshman Starters by Game: 3, 7, 10, 8, 8, 9, 8 (program record before this season: 5)

• Prior to this season, the previous high for most true freshmen started in a game at Illinois was five, which last happened Nov. 11, 2006 against Purdue (QB Juice Williams, WR Chris James, TE Michael Hoomanawanui, CB Vontae Davis, S Travon Bellamy). 

• Illinois started four freshmen on the offensive line (three true freshmen, one redshirt freshman) in each of the last three games, the only three times in program history (T Larry Boyd, G Alex Palczewski, T Vederian Lowe + redshirt freshman Doug Kramer).

• Illinois' 14 true freshmen starters this season is not only the most of any team in the nation, but also is a program record. The previous high for a season was nine in 1980.

• DE Isaiah Gay is the third-youngest player to start a game in FBS this season behind Duke DE Victor Dimukeje and Old Dominion QB Steve Williams. Gay turned 18 on Sept. 17. Those three are the only players to start in FBS as 17-year olds this season.

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF

Illinois has had three players return to action this season after missing at least two-straight seasons due to injury.

        Mike Dudek » After producing the most prolific season for a freshman receiver in school history in 2014, Dudek suffered season-ending knee injuries during spring ball in both 2015 and 2016, missing both seasons. He returned to action in the season-opener against Ball State, 981 days since his last game action.  

        Sean Adesanya » Third-year DE finally made his Illini debut in the 2017 season-opener after two years battling injuries. The 2015 junior college transfer missed all of 2015 and 2016 due to injuries before starting against Ball State. He has 8 tackles and 1.0 sack on the season.

        Dre Brown » One of the top signees in the 2015 recruiting class, Brown was poised for playing turn as a true freshmen before going down with an ACL injury prior to the season. In all, he endured 2 torn ACLs, 2 sprained MCLs, a stress fracture and 4 knee surgeries before making his Illini debut Oct. 7 at Iowa as part of the kick return unit. He got his first offensive snaps and carries Oct. 14, rushing for 11 yards on four carries against Rutgers. 

OFF THE FIELD NUGGETS

• Travel Buddies: Illini QB Chayce Crouch and WR Mike Dudek spent part of their summer together in Europe taking a study abroad program for the College of Business. The pair, who also have been roommates for three years, spent most of May in Vienna, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Prague and Budapest while taking a International Negotiations class. 

• First-time Footballer: Freshman punter Blake Hayes, a native of Melbourne, Australia, had never played in or attended a college football game until making his Illini debut against Ball State on Sept. 2. Hayes played Australian rules football before training at ProKick Australia for the last two years in hopes of getting a college scholarship in the United States. 

• Rugby Champ: Illini RB Reggie Corbin was a national champion rugby player in addition to being a football star in high school. Corbin helped Gonzaga HS in Washington D.C. to back-to-back rugby national titles in 2014 and 2015 after joining the team on a dare by star player Ben Cima, who plays on the U.S. national rugby team. The team lost only games in Corbin's two years on the team.   

• Facebook Find: Facebook was a key part in the recruitment of freshman safety Bennett Williams, at least according to Illini defensive coordinator Hardy Nickerson. Nickerson was a teammate of Bennett's father, Garey Williams, at Cal and the two are connected on Facebook. Nickerson says he would see highlights of Bennett on Garey's Facebook page and became more impressed as he got older, eventually leading to his recruitment to Illinois. 

» Complete Illinois-Wisconsin Game Notes (PDF)