OPENING KICK
• Kicking Off: The Fighting Illini (2-8 overall, 0-7 B1G West) and #8/8 Ohio State (8-2 overall, 6-1 B1G East) will battle for Illibuck rivalry trophy Saturday in Columbus (3:30 pm ET/2:30 CT, ABC).
• 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 (16): 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, LB James Knight, OL Vederian Lowe, OL Alex Palczewski, DL Bobby Roundtree, WR Ricky Smalling, QB Cam Thomas, DB Bennett Williams and DL Jamal Woods. Ball State is second with 12 true-freshmen starters. No other team in the Big Ten has four or more.
» Illinois has 73 cumulative starts from true freshmen this season, more than doubling the previous program record. Most cumulative true freshmen starts in a season: 73 (2017), 34 (1977), 33 (2006).
» Illinois has played 22 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 freshmen played total to 32.
» 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 freshmen to start at Illinois in a SEASON was nine in 1980.
» 13 of Illinois' 17 offensive touchdowns (76.5 percent) have been scored by true freshmen, including 11 of the last 13. Freshman touchdowns have been scored by Ra'Von Bonner (4), Mike Epstein (4), Louis Dorsey (3) and Ricky Smalling (2).
» Illinois had 29 first-time starters in the first 10 games, the second-most in the nation. Ball State leads the nation with 31 first-time starters.
• Punching It Out: The Illini have forced 16 fumbles this season to lead the nation in forced fumbles per game (1.6). DL James Crawford leads the way with a B1G-best three forced fumbles, all coming during conference play.
• Smalling Coming Up Big: True-freshman WR Ricky Smalling is making big plays for the Illini.
» Smalling's 17.43 yards per catch ranks second in the Big Ten and second among all true freshmen in FBS.
» Has at least one catch of 20+ yards in six straight games.
» Became the sixth Illini true-freshman in program history to have a 100-yard receiving game with 5 catches for 111 yards against Rutgers on Oct. 14.
» Leads the team with 488 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 28 catches.
• Dorsey Dealing: Freshman TE Louis Dorsey is another true freshman doing big things on the field.
» Dorsey's 107 receiving yards against Indiana on Nov. 10 were the most by a true freshman tight end in Illinois history, the seventh most by any tight end in Illinois history.
» His 77-yard TD catch vs. the Hoosiers is the longest reception in Illinois history by a true freshman.
» His 18.44 yards per catch would lead all FBS true freshmen, but his 1.8 receptions per game falls just short of the NCAA stats minimum (2.0).
• Big Play Freshmen: TE Louis Dorsey and WR Ricky Smalling have produced the two longest receptions by true freshmen in program history.
» 77 yards – Dorsey from Jeff George Jr. vs. Indiana, 11/11/17
» 76 yards – Ricky Smalling from Jeff George Jr. at South Florida, 9/15/17
• 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).
BATTLE FOR THE ILLIBUCK
• Illinois and Ohio State play for the Illibuck trophy, one of Illinois' three trophy games. (The Cannon vs. Purdue & Land of Lincoln Trophy vs. Northwestern)
• Ohio State leads Illibuck series 63-23-2. (OSU leads overall series 68-30-4)
• "Illibuck" is - or was - a turtle, destined for long life, it was hoped. But the wear and tear of traveling between Champaign-Urbana and Columbus was too much, even for a hardy marine reptile. "Illibuck" died in the spring of 1927 and his successor is now a wooden replica.
• Illinois last claimed the Illibuck with a 28-21 win at No. 1 Ohio State in 2007.
THE ILLINOIS-OHIO STATE SERIES
• Saturday marks the 103rd meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Buckeyes, dating back to 1902.
• Ohio State holds a 68-30-4 lead in the all-time series and 29-18-4 in matchups played in Columbus.
• In the next four years (2018-2021), Illinois and Ohio State will meet just one more time, Nov. 21, 2020 at Illinois.
• Ohio State has won eight straight over the Fighting Illini dating back to 2007.
• In the last 30 years (1988-2017), only Michigan (12) has more wins against Ohio State than Illinois (9).
• Illinois' last win over the Buckeyes in 2007 marked the first time the Illini beat a top-ranked team since 1956. The victory ended Ohio State's 29-game regular-season winning streak and 21-game Big Ten win streak.
• Illinois' last five wins in the series have come in Columbus (1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2007).
• The teams' last meeting came in 2015, a 28-3 win for Ohio State in Champaign. Wes Lunt was 23-of-47 passing for 241 yards and Clayton Fejedelem had 15 tackles in the loss. Ezekiel Elliott ran 27 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns and J.T. Barrett completed 15 of 23 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown.
• Mike Dudek's career-long 56-yard reception came against Ohio State 11/1/2014.
• Dave Wilson set Illinois single-game records for passing yards (621), completions (43), passing attempts (69) and passing touchdowns (6) against Ohio State 11/8/1980.
• Illinois' most receiving yards vs. Ohio State: 117 Mike Martin 10/16/1982
• Illinois' most rushing yards vs. Ohio State: 192 J.C. Caroline 10/10/1953, 187 Darrell Robinson 10/24/1970
• Illinois' most passing yards vs. Ohio State: 621 Dave Wilson 11/8/1980, 368 Tony Eason 10/17/1981
• Illinois' longest rush vs. Ohio State: 80 Daniel Dufrene 11/10/2007, 64 J.C. Caroline 10/10/1953
• Illinois' longest pass vs. Ohio State: 90 Taliaferro to Yavorski 10/13/1962
• Last 100-yard receiving game vs. Ohio State: Desmond Cain, 101, 11/14/2015
• Last 100-yard rushing game vs. Ohio State: Daniel Dufrene, 106, 11/10/2007
• Last 300-yard passing game vs. Ohio State: Jon Beutjer, 305, 11/15/2002
ILLINOIS-OHIO STATE CONNECTIONS
• Illinois head coach Lovie Smith was the defensive backs coach at Ohio State in 1995.
• Lovie Smith and Urban Meyer have coached in the same game twice - 1990 Arizona State (Smith ASU LB coach) beat Colorado State (Meyer CSU WR coach) 31-20 and 1987 Wisconsin (Smith WIS LB coach) beat Ohio State (Meyer OSU WR grad assistant) 26-24.
• Lovie Smith (2014-15) succeeded Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano (2012-13) as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccanneers in 2014.
FRESHMAN PLAYMAKERS
In addition to providing the top two receptions by true freshmen in program history, TE Louis Dorsey and WR Ricky Smalling account for three of the top nine true-freshmen receiving GAMES in program history this season. Five of the top nine on the list are by players on this year's Illini squad (Mikey Dudek in 2014).
Top Illini True Freshman Receiving Games (since 1951)
200 Mike Dudek vs. Purdue, 10/4/2014
117 A.J. Jenkins vs. Minnesota, 10/11/2008
115 Mike Dudek vs. Penn State, 11/22/2014
114 Kyle Hudson vs. Wisconsin, 10/29/2005
111 Ricky Smalling vs. Rutgers, 10/14/2017
107 Louis Dorsey vs. Indiana, 11/11/2017
103 Brandon Lloyd at Iowa, 11/6/1999
101 Desmond Cain vs. Ohio State, 11/14/2015
99 Ricky Smalling at South Florida, 9/15/2017
FRESHMEN STARTERS SINGLE-GAME NOTES
• Illinois is playing and starting freshmen like never before in program history.
» Cumulative true freshmen starts in a season: 73 (2017), 34 (1977), 33 (2006)
» 2017 Freshman Starters by Game: 3, 7, 10, 8, 8, 9, 8, 7, 7, 6 (program record before this season: 5)
• Prior to this season, the high for most true freshmen started in a game at Illinois was five, which last happened Nov. 11, 2006. This Illini have started more true-freshmen than that in each of the last nine games.
• Illinois' 16 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 9 in 1980.
• Illinois has started four freshmen on the offensive line (three true freshmen, one redshirt freshman) in four games this season, the only four times in program history (T Larry Boyd, G Alex Palczewski, T Vederian Lowe + redshirt freshman Doug Kramer).
• 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.
YOUTH GONE WILD
• Out of 103 total players on the roster there are just 10 total seniors, tied for the third-least in FBS – Georgia Southern (8) and Wake Forest (9).
• Only 27 total upperclassmen are on the roster – 10 seniors (8 scholarship seniors) and 17 juniors
• In contrast, there are 76 underclassmen – 22 sophomores and 54 freshmen (35 true-freshmen & 19 RS freshmen)
• Out of 103 players on the 2017 roster, 43 are newcomers
BLOCK PARTY
Illinois has three blocked kicks (two field goals and one PAT) this season to rank 13th in FBS and second in the Big Ten. All three blocks came in the first three games of the season.
» In the 2017 opener against Ball State, DT Jamal Milan blocked the potential game-tying field goal as time expired to preserve a 20-17 victory.
» The Illini got a pair of blocks at USF, a blocked field goal by DE Isaiah Gay and a blocked PAT by DT Tito Odenigbo that was returned by Nate Hobbs for a defensive PAT.
» Complete Illinois-Ohio State Game Notes (PDF)
