GAME 12: ILLINOIS (2-9, 0-8) vs. #23/23 Northwestern (8-3, 6-2)
When	Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017 | 3 pm CT
Where	Memorial Stadium (60,670), Champaign, Ill. | Seating Map | Interactive Map
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Promotions	Senior Day | Grange Grove
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NORTHWESTERN GAME PROMOTIONS

     • Senior Day – 10 Fighting Illini student-athletes will be honored prior to the game. 

     • Grange Grove – Noon-2:30 pm (games, food trucks and live music)

     • Illini Walk – 12:30 pm through Grange Grove

OPENING KICK

• Kicking Off: The Fighting Illini (2-9 overall, 0-8 B1G West) welcome in-state rival #23/23 Northwestern (8-3, 6-2) to Memorial Stadium on Saturday to close out the season and battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy (3 pm CT, FS1).

• Senior Sendoff: Saturday's game will mark the final home game for 10 Illini student-athletes. James Crawford, Christian DiLauro, Jaylen Dunlap, Nathan Echard, Jordan Fagan, Kendrick Foster, Ahmari Hayes, Brandon Roberts, Ryan Tucker (RS junior) and Malik Turner will be recognized on the field at Memorial Stadium prior to the game.

• 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 more than five.

     » Illinois has 79 cumulative starts from true freshmen this season, more than doubling the previous program record.  Most cumulative true freshmen starts in a season: 79 (2017), 34 (1977), 33 (2006).

     » Illinois has played 22 true freshmen, the most in the nation. LSU is second with 20 and Tennessee is third with 19. 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' 18 offensive touchdowns (72.2 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 30 first-time starters in the first 11 games, the second-most in the nation. Ball State leads the nation with 33 first-time starters. Baylor is third with 27, followed by Coastal Carolina with 25.

• Punching It Out: The Illini have forced 17 fumbles this season to lead the nation in forced fumbles per game (1.55), ahead of Nevada and Utah State (16). 

     » Sophomore S Stanley Green and senior DE James Crawford lead the way with three forced fumbles each, ranking 13th in FBS and third in the Big Ten.

     » Stanley Green has six forced fumbles in his 2-year Illini career which is tied for seventh-most in program history (dating back to 1990), and is T-1st in the B1G (Maryland's Jermaine Carter, Jr.) and T-10th in FBS over the last two seasons. 

• Smalling Coming Up Big: True-freshman WR Ricky Smalling is making big plays for the Illini. 

     » Smalling's 17.07 yards per catch ranks second in the Big Ten and second among all true freshmen in FBS.

     » Became the sixth Illini true-freshman in program history to have a 100-yard receiving game with five catches for 111 yards against Rutgers on Oct. 14.  

     » Leads the team with 495 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 29 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 1.6 receptions per game falls just short of the NCAA stats minimum (2.0).

• 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 LAND OF LINCOLN TROPHY

• Illinois and Northwestern will play for the "Land of Lincoln" trophy on Saturday, the ninth battle for the relatively new rivalry trophy. Illinois is 3-5 against Northwestern since the beginning of the Land of Lincoln trophy.

• Illinois owns "Land of Lincoln" trophy wins in 2014, 2011 and 2010. 

• The Fighting Illini and Wildcats 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.

• The Land of Lincoln Trophy, a bronze replica of a stovepipe hat famously worn by Abraham Lincoln, was chosen by fans of both schools in 2009 in an online vote to replace the 62-year-old Tomahawk Trophy.

THE ILLINOIS-NORTHWESTERN SERIES

• Saturday's game will be the 111th meeting between Illinois and Northwestern. 

• Illinois leads the all-time series 55-50-5, and leads 26-21-2 in Champaign.

• Illinois is 27-28-1 when playing the Wildcats in the Illini's Big Ten finale.

• Illinois' last win in the series was a 47-33 victory in Evanston in 2014. The Illini used 291 yards rushing to reclaim the Land of Lincoln Trophy and with a 47-33 win over Northwestern in the 2014 regular-season finale. Illinois forced five turnovers - three interceptions and two fumbles - and held the Wildcats to 62 yards in the first half.

• Prior to the 2014 win, Illinois' two previous wins over Northwestern came 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 Wildcats 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.

• Illinois' most receiving yards vs. Northwestern (since 1945): 268 A.J. Jenkins 10/1/2011

• Illinois' most rushing yards vs. Northwestern (since 1945): 330 Mikel Leshoure 11/20/2010

• Illinois' most passing yards vs. Northwestern (since 1945): 409 Tony Eason 11/21/1981

• Illinois' longest rush vs. Northwestern (since 1945): 86 Rashard Mendenahll 11/18/2006

• Illinois' longest pass vs. Northwestern (since 1945): 68 Eason to Lopez 11/21/1981

• Last 100-yard receiving game vs. Northwestern: 164 Malik Turner 11/26/2016

• Last 100-yard rushing game vs. Northwestern: 106 Daniel Dufrene 11/10/2007

• Last 300-yard passing game vs. Northwestern: 337 Wes Lunt 11/26/2016

ILLINOIS-NORTHWESTERN CONNECTIONS

• Illinois offensive coordinator Garrick McGee coached at Northwestern from 2004-07. He served as the Wildcats' offensive coordinator in 2006 and 2007.

• Illinois DT Tito Odenigbo's brother, Ifeadi Odenigbo, was a defensive lineman for Northwestern and is now on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.

• Northwestern offensive line coach Adam Cushing is the brother of former Illinois tight end Matt Cushing.

ILLINOIS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• Illinois faces its fourth AP Top 25-ranked opponent of the season on Saturday. Northwestern is No. 23 in this week's AP and Coaches polls. The Illini fell to No. 22 South Florida, 47-23, on the road back on Sept. 15, to No. 5 Wisconsin at home, 24-10, on Oct. 28, and to No. 8 Ohio State, 52-14, on Nov. 11. 

• The Illini have lost 19 straight and 28 of their last 29 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' win over Minnesota in 2014 gave the Illini their first win over a ranked team in either the AP or Coaches poll since 2011. The Golden Gophers were No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, however, the Gophers were not ranked in the AP poll at the time of the game.

THANK YOU, SENIORS

These 10 seniors will play their final game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. 

• DE James Crawford (Deerfield, Fla.) » 35 games played, 18 starts. Team-high 5.5 TFLs & 4.0 sacks this season. Already has bachelor's degree in communication (Dec. 2016) & is pursuing second bachelor's in agricultural leadership education. 

• OL Christian DiLauro (Uniontwon, Ohio) » 47 games played, 37 starts. Has played tackle, guard and tight end in 2017. Already has a degree in agricultural and consumer economics (Dec. 2016) and is pursuing a second bachelor's in agricultural leadership education. 

• CB Jaylen Dunlap (Chicago, Ill.) » 46 games played, 20 starts. 19 career PBUs & 120 tackles. Already has degree in communication (Dec. 2016) and is pursuing a master's in education policy, organization and leadership.

• TE Nathan Echard (Eureka, Mo.) » 37 games played, 5 starts. Out since WKU game due to injury. Already has degree in agriculture & consumer economics (May 2017) and is pursuing a master's in technology management. 

• OL Jordan Fagan (Chula Vista, Calif.) »24 games played, 2 starts in three seasons. On track to earn a bachelor's degree in economics in May 2018. 

• RB Kendrick Foster (Peoria, Ill.) » 29 games played, 12 starts. 1,060 career rushing yards & 9 rushing TDs. Already has a degree in recreation, sport & tourism (May 2017) and is pursuing a master's in the same field. 

• CB Ahmari Hayes (Davis, Calif.) » 19 games played in 2 seasons. 54-yard fumble return TD at Ohio State. On track to earn a bachelor's degree in sociology in May 2018.  

• RB Brandon Roberts (Peoria, Ill.) » 5 games played. Valuable scout team member. Already has a degree in communication (May 2017) and is pursuing a master's in technology management.

• P Ryan Tucker (Chicago, Ill.) » Junior walk-on punter is on track to earn a degree in communication in Dec. 2017. 

• WR Malik Turner (Springfield, Ill.) » 45 games played, 32 starts. 139 career receptions for 1,767 yards and 10 touchdowns. On track to earn a bachelor's degree in recreation, sport & tourism in May 2018. 

FRESHMAN PLAYMAKERS

• Big Plays: 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

• Big Games: In addition, Dorsey and Smalling account for three of the top nine true-freshmen receiving GAMES in program history. Five of the top nine on the list are by players on this year's Illini squad (Mike 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

» Complete Illinois-Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)