WKU GAME PROMOTIONS
• Family 4-Pack Tickets – 4 tickets for $49
• Tailgating at Grange Grove – 4-6:30 pm (Interactive games, food trucks and live music)
• Illini Walk – 4:30 pm through Grange Grove
• Local Heroes Day – First responders, law enforcement, active military, veterans, and other community heroes will be recognized.
OPENING KICK
• Back to Work: The Fighting Illini begin a string of three straight prime time games when Western Kentucky comes to Memorial Stadium Saturday night for a 7 p.m. CT kick on Big Ten Network.
• We've Met Before: Saturday will be the second meeting on the gridiron between the Fighting Illini and WKU. The only other time the two teams met was a 42-34 Illini victory at Memorial Stadium in 2014.
• It's a Block-Off: Illinois opened the season with a 24-21 win over Ball State on Saturday thanks to a walk-off blocked field goal by sophomore DT Jamal Milan. The 6-3, 300-pound Milan got his paw on the Cardinals' 54-yard attempt as time expired, sealing victory for the Orange and Blue.
• He's Back: Saturday's season opener marked the return of Illini WR Mike Dudek, who missed the last two seasons due to injury. A freshman All-American in 2014 prior to the injuries, Dudek didn't miss a beat despite not playing in a game for 981 days. His first catch was a 16-yard TD pass from Chayce Crouch just 5:02 into the game and ge racked up 102 all-purpose yards on the day. His 52-yard punt return late in the game set up the Illini's game-winning score in the final minutes.
• Mike & Mike: Dudek wasn't the only Mike to have a big game against Ball State. Freshman RB Mike Epstein had a team-high 105 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in his Illini debut, including the go-ahead one-yard plunge with 2:06 left in the game. He led the team with 54 rushing yards on 11 carries (4.9 ypc).
• Phillips' Big Debut: Junior LB Del'Shawn Phillips, a junior college transfer making his Illini debut, was all over the field in the win over Ball State. Phillips' 16 tackles leads the Big Ten, two more than Iowa's Josey Jewell in second place, and ranks fifth nationally.
• Home Sweet Home: Illinois now has 20 consecutive home-opening wins, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation behind only Florida (27), Oklahoma State (22) and Wisconsin (22). Florida's 2017 home opener is Sept. 9 vs. Northern Colorado. Illinois is 90-33-5 all-time in home-openers.
• Boys of Summer: The Illini are 24-4 in Aug./Sept. home games dating back to the start of 2007.
• NFL Experience: 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).
• Leading the Way: Illinois Week 1 captains were OL Nick Allegretti, QB Chayce Crouch, TE Nathan Echard, RB Kendrick Foster, DL Tymir Oliver, LB Tré Watson. Captains are voted on by the team each week and announced on Thursday prior to each game.
FRESH FACES
Youth was all over the field in Illinois' season-opening victory over Ball State.
» Illinois started three true freshmen in the opener (S Bennett Williams, CB Tony Adams, DE Bobby Roundtree). In the previous 42 years, Illinois started a total of 12 true freshmen. The three true-freshmen starters tied for the second most in the nation in season openers behind LSU's four.
» It was the first time three Illini true freshmen started on defense in a season opener since 1980 (3), and the first time multiple true freshmen started in the season opener since 2006 when future NFL stars TE Jeff Cumberland and CB Vontae Davis started against Eastern Illinois. Illinois tied with Arizona and LSU for the most true-freshmen starters on defense in season openers.
» Illinois had 10 first-time starters in the opener - six on defense (S Bennett Williams, CB Tony Adams, DE Bobby Roundtree, DT Tymir Oliver, DE Sean Adesanya, LB Del'Shawn Phillips) and four on offense, including three offensive linemen (WR Dominic Thieman, OL Doug Kramer, OL Zeke Martin, OL Adam Solomon).
» Illinois started two true freshmen defensive backs (S Bennett Williams, CB Tony Adams) in the season opener for the first time since at least 1975.
NEW KIDS ON THE QUAD
• A total of 24 players, including 12 true freshmen, made their Illini debuts in the 2017 season opener. The 12 true-freshmen played was the fifth most in the nation during the opening weekend.
» True-Freshmen (12): DB Tony Adams, OL Larry Boyd, TE Louis Dorsey, RB Mike Epstein, DL Isaiah Gay, P Blake Hayes, DB Nate Hobbs, DB James Knight, DL Bobby Roundtree, WR Ricky Smalling, WR Kendall Smith, DB Bennett Williams.
» Redshirt Freshmen (8): DL Christion Abercrombie, RB Christian Bobak, DB Harvey Clayton Jr., OL Doug Kramer, QB Cam Miller, LS Sean Mills, LB Ayo Shogbonyo, LS Ethan Tabel
» Sophomores (2): OL Zeke Martin, LB Jimmy Marchese
» Juniors (2): DL Sean Adesanya, LB Del'Shawn Phillips
THE ILLINOIS-WKU SERIES
» Illinois is 1-0 all-time against Western Kentucky, a 42-34 come-from-behind win Sept. 6, 2014, at Memorial Stadium.
» QB Wes Lunt threw for three touchdowns and S Taylor Barton returned an interception 77 yards for a late score to put up the Illini 35-27 and secure the win.
» WR Mike Dudek caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown and WR Malik Turner caught six passes for 56 yards against WKU. Dudek, Turner and OL Christian DiLauro are the only current Illini that appeared against WKU in 2014.
» The 2014 Western Kentucky team was coached by former Illini assistant Jeff Brohm, who is now the head coach at Purdue.
WKU CONNECTIONS
» Illinois AD Josh Whitman played for the San Diego Chargers in 2001 when WKU assistant coach Mike Sanford Sr. was the Chargers wide receivers coach.
YOUTH GONE WILD
» Out of 101 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, 16 juniors
» In contrast, there are 76 underclassmen – 22 sophomores and 54 freshmen (36 true-freshmen and 18 redshirt freshmen)
» Out of 101 players on the 2017 roster, 41 are newcomers
» Illinois had 28 first-time starters during the 2016 season, the most in the nation during the regular season, just ahead of Missouri (27). Included in that number were 13 freshmen (four true-freshmen and nine redshirt-freshmen).
» Only four players entered 2017 with double-digit career starts – DiLauro 31, Turner 24, Allegretti 12, Dunlap 12. Two of the four didn't start week one (DiLauro and Dunlap).
» Complete Illinois-WKU Game Notes (PDF)
