GAME 3: ILLINOIS (2-0) vs. South Florida (2-0)
When	Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 | 2:30 pm CT (2:40 kick)
Where	Soldier Field (61,500), Chicago | Seating Map
Gameday Info	Gameday Central | Fan Info | Parking Map | Weather
Tickets	Buy Online
Promotions	Pregame Fan Fest
Watch	BTN | BTN2Go.com (Dave Revsine, J Leman & Ally Sturm)
Listen	Illini Sports Network | Listen | Sirius 145 / XM 386
Live Stats	FightingIllini.com
Illinois Links	Game Notes (PDF) | Record Book | Stats
USF Links	Game Notes (PDF) | Record Book | Stats
Big Ten Links	Notes (PDF) | Record Book | Stats
Monday Presser	Video | Quotes
Shop	Online Store
Social Media	@IlliniFootball  | #Illini | @IlliniFootball  | Facebook  | YouTube

SOLDIER FIELD PREGAME FAN FEST

Pregame Fan Fest for Illini fans located at Stadium Green outside Soldier Field (Campus Museum Dr. & E. Waldron Dr.) will include live music, inflatables, beer, food trucks, cheerleaders, Marching Illini and more.

     » 10:30 a.m. – Fan Fest opens (food truck and beer sales begin)

     » 12:15 p.m. – Illini Walk (through Fan Fest)

     » 12:30 p.m. – Marching Illini performance (in Fan Fest)

     » 12:45 p.m. – The Ron Burgundy's concert begins

     » 2 p.m. – Fan Fest closes

     » 2:40 p.m. – Kickoff Illinois vs. USF

OPENING KICK

• Back to Work: The 2-0 Fighting Illini head to Chicago to host South Florida Saturday at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears (2:30 pm CT on BTN). Illinois is looking to begin the season 3-0 for the first time since 2011.

• Sweet Home Chicago: Saturday's game against USF will be Illinois' first in the city of Chicago since a 24-14 loss to Northwestern at Soldier Field on Nov. 28, 2015. It also will mark the Illini's fourth-ever game at Soldier Field and first against an AAC opponent. Illinois previously played at Soldier Field in 1994 (10-9 loss to Washington State), 2013 (34-24 loss to Washington) and 2015 (24-14 loss to Northwestern). 

• Getting Offensive: Illinois has scored more points in each of the first two games (31 vs. Kent State and 34 vs. Western Illinois) than in any game last season (2017 season-high was 24 points).

• AJ & M.J.: Graduate transfer QB AJ Bush Jr. led the Illini to victory over Kent State in the season-opener but was sidelined with an injury early in the second quarter against WIU. Enter true freshman M.J. Rivers II. Rivers came on in relief for Bush and threw two second-quarter touchdowns passes to give the Illini the lead, then managed the game in the second half finishing with 105 yards passing, 36 yards rushing and zero turnovers in his first collegiate action.

• Freshman Connection: Both of touchdown passes for M.J. Rivers II went to fellow true freshman Edwin Carter, one for 18 yards and one for 16 yards, on back-to-back drives in the second quarter. Neither Rivers nor Carter played in the season opener against Kent State, so the WIU game was both of their Illini debuts. Unfortunately, Carter was injured on the second TD and will miss the rest of the season. He finished with two catches for 34 yards and two touchdowns on 11 snaps this season. 

• Hansen, So Hot Right Now: Sophomore LB Jake Hansen has had a monster start to 2018. 

     » Hansen ranks second in FBS in TFLs per game (3.0) and has a team-high 18 tackles in two games. 

     » Earned Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week and Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors after racking up 15 tackles and a school-record tying 6.0 TFLs in week one win over Kent State. 

     » The 6.0 TFLs against Kent State not only tied the Illinois single game program record (Jeff Weisse vs. Middle Tennessee 9/12/1998), but also tied for the seventh-most in a game in Big Ten history. 

     » His 6.0 TFLs in week one was more than the 2017 Illinois team leader for the season (James Crawford, 5.5). 

     » Hansen had eight career tackles entering the 2018 season, all as a true-freshman in 2016 before missing last season with an injury.

• Fresh Starts: The first two games of the 2018 season have seen the Illini play 16 true freshmen, including four that have earned starts – TE Daniel Barker, DB Sydney Brown, DB Jartavius Martin, DB Delano Ware. 

     » The four freshmen starters was the most in the nation during week one, tying the program's record for a season opener (4 in 1980). Three of the four started against WIU in week two – Barker, Brown and Martin.

     » Illinois started multiple true freshmen in back-to-back season openers for the first time in program history (three in 2017 and four in 2018).

     » Illinois' seven true freshmen to start season openers in the last two years (7) equals the total from the previous 36 years combined (7).

     » Illinois used six first-time starters in the opener: grad transfer QB AJ Bush Jr. and redshirt freshman OL Kendrick Green along with true-frosh Barker, S. Brown, Martin and Ware.

• Fear the Beard: Illinois improved to 2-0 in games Lovie Smith coached with his signature white beard. 

• Boys of Summer: The Illini are 27-5 in Aug./Sept. home games dating back to the start of 2007.

• NFL Experience: Lovie Smith's Illini staff has 60 seasons of combined NFL head and assistant coach experience, the most in college football for the third consecutive year, easily outpacing second-place LSU's total of 48. 

• Leading the Way: Illinois announced three season captains voted by the team prior to the season: OL Nick Allegretti (OFF), LB Del'Shawn Phillips (DEF) and LB Dele Harding (ST). A fourth captain will be voted on each game to join the three season captains. For the first two games they have been QB AJ Bursh Jr. (Kent State) and TE Austin Roberts (WIU).  

• Youth Movement, Part Two: For the second straight year, Illinois is putting one of the youngest teams in the nation on the field (roster breakdown as of Sept. 6, 2018). 

     » 2018 class breakdown: 8 seniors, 16 juniors, 38 sophomores, 39 freshmen (32 true-frosh, 7 RS frosh)

     » The 8 seniors and 24 total upperclassmen are both the fewest in the nation

     » With 77 underclassmen – 38 sophomores and 39 freshmen (32 true and 7 RS) – out of 101 players, the Illini roster has the highest percentage of underclassman in the nation – 76.2 percent

     » 38 out of the 101 players on the roster are newcomers

     » Only three Illini currenlty have as many as 15 career starts – Nick Allegretti 25, Mike Dudek 16, Stanley Green 16. 

     » Illinois' four fifth-year seniors – Nick Allegretti, Mike Dudek, Chase McLaughlan, Austin Roberts – is tied for the third-fewest nationally behind UConn (2) and Auburn (3). (All 5 years at one school)

THE ILLINOIS-SOUTH FLORIDA SERIES

• Illinois lost to South Florida 47-23 last season in Tampa in the first ever meeting between the two programs.

• Mike Epstein scored two touchdowns for the Fighting Illini in a 47-23 loss at No. 22 South Florida Friday night.

• South Florida scored a touchdown on the final play of the first half to turn a 7-point game into a 14-point game  entering the lockerroom. QB Quinton Flowers ran six yards for the touchdown as the clock hit 0:00.

• This is the final game of the two-game contract between Illinois and USF. No future games are scheduled.

ILLINOIS-SOUTH FLORIDA CONNECTIONS

• The Illinois roster features 22 players that are from or went to high school in Florida, including several from the Tampa-St. Petersburg area – freshman DB Sydney Brown (St. Stephen Episcopal HS), freshman DL Verdis Brown (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.), freshman DB PC Daniel II (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.), sophomore LB Jake Hansen (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), freshman LB Khalan Tolson (St. Petersburg, Fla.), freshman OL Reuben Unije (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.), sophomore DL Bobby Roundtree (Largo, Fla.)

• Illinois head coach Lovie Smith spent five years as linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2000) while USF wide receivers coach Charlie Williams was Tampa Bay's wide receivers coach.

• Illinois defensive coordinator Hardy Nickerson was a linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999 when USF running backs coach Shaun King started five games as a rookie quarterback for the Bucs.

• USF head strength and conditioning coach Pat Moorer served as director of strength and conditioning at Illinois from 1997-98

• Both Illinois and South Florida feature quarterbacks on their third FBS team. Illinois' AJ Bush Jr. previously played at Nebraska and Virginia Tech before grad transferring to the Illini this season. USF's Blake Barnett played at Alabama and Arizona State before grad transferring to South Florida.

ILLINI-BEARS CONNECTIONS

The University of Illinois and Chicago Bears have a long-standing tradition dating back to the original Decatur Staleys, who were founded by University of Illinois alums George Halas and Dutch Sternaman.

• Orange & Blue: The Chicago Bears team colors have always been orange and blue, after those of the University of Illinois, the alma mater of founder George "Papa Bear" Halas.

• George Halas: Chicago Bears founder, player and long-time coach, earned a B.S. degree at Illinois in 1918 while lettering in football, basketball and baseball.  A charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Illini Athletics Hall of Fame and member ot the Bears Hall of Fame, Halas selected orange and blue as the team's colors as a nod to his alma mater. Halas passed away in Oct. 1983, and starting in 1984 the Bears added the initials GSH to the left sleeve of their jerseys in honor of the late "Papa Bear." The Bears uniforms still don the initials to this day. 

• Red Grange: Illinois All-American was first major signing by Halas and the fledgling National Football League. Halas took Grange and the Bears on a coast-to-coast barnstorming tour in which the club played 16 games in nine weeks. The tour is generally credited with saving the professional game and putting the NFL on the national sports map. Grange is a charter member of the Pro and College Football Halls of Fame. Jersey number 77 retired at Illinois and by the Bears. Also coached for the Bears for eight seasons from 1933-40. Bears and Illini Athletics Hall of Fame member.

• Dick Butkus: The greatest linebacker in the history of the game. Butkus joined the Bears as a first-round draft pick in 1965 after an All-American career at Illinois. Butkus went on to earn All-Pro honors seven times and is a member of the Pro and College Football Halls of Fame. The Bears and Illini Athletics Hall of Fame member's jersey number 50 retired is at Illinois and 51 retired by the Bears. 

• 2002 Season: The Chicago Bears played all of their home games (eight regular season and two exhibition games) at Memorial Stadium on the University Illinois campus during the 2002 season while Soldier Field was being renovated. The Bears also played their two 2003 home preseason games at Memorial Stadium while the finishing touches were put on the Soldier Field renovation. 

• Lovie Returns to Soldier Field: Illinois head coach Lovie Smith spent nine season as the Chicago Bears head coach from 2004-12, going 81-63 (.563) overall and 48-28 (.632) at Soldier Field. Lovie led the Bears to the 2006 NFC title and three playoff appearances. Smith led the Bears to a 10-6 record in his final season with Chicago in 2012, a mark that has not been duplicated since Smith's departure. 

ILLINI STORYLINES 

• Future Coaches: Illini RB Reggie Corbin got a taste of coaching this past summer. Corbin, along with Illini teammates Justice Williams and Del'Shawn Phillips, led the Seahawks to an undefeated 5-0 record in the inaugural season of the Tuscola Flag Football League. The trio connected with nine-year old Illini superfan Colton Rahn, who has cerebral palsey,  this past winter when a group of football student-athletes drove to Tuscola to cheer on Colton's basketball team. 

• First-time Footballer: Sophomore 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 two years in hopes of getting a college scholarship in the United States. It paid off, as the Aussie earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as a true-freshman, averaging 42.0 yards per punt.  

» Complete Illinois-USF Game Notes (PDF)