OPENING KICK
• On a Roll: The bowl-eligible Fighting Illini (6-4, 4-3), winners of four straight and coming off an open week, look to stay hot when they travel to Iowa City on Saturday to face the 19th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (11 am CT on BTN).
• Bowl Bound: The Fighting Illini, who opened a bowling alley in the players lounge this August as part of the new Smith Football Center, are bowl eligible for the first time since 2014.
• We're Streaking: The Illini are on a four-game winning streak for the first time since starting the 2011 season 6-0.
» Illinois has won four straight Big Ten games for the first time since the 2001 Big Ten Championship team finished the regular season with seven straight conference victories.
» The four-game streak is tied for the sixth-longest current streak among power-five teams: Clemson 26, Ohio State 16, LSU 11, Oregon 9, Utah 6, Illinois 4, Georgia 4, Texas A&M 4.
» Illinois has won consecutive Big Ten road games in a single season (at Purdue 10/26 & at Michigan State 11/9) for the first time since winning at Minnesota and No. 1 Ohio State in November 2007. The last time the Illini won three straight B1G road games was in 2001 (at Indiana, at Purdue, at Ohio State).
• Winning Streak Notes: Some standout stats and notes during the Illini's current four-game winning streak.
» The Illini have outscored opponents 79-22 in the second half, including 35-10 in the third quarter and 44-12 in the fourth.
» The Illini have forced 3.0 turnovers per game and have a +2.25 turnover margin (12-3)
» WR Josh Imatorbhebhe has nine catches for 276 yards, a whopping 30.7 yards per catch, and four TDs.
» LB Dele Harding is averaging 12.8 tackles and has 5.0 TFLs, 2 forced fumbles and one pick-six.
» S Sydney Brown is averaging 9.3 tackles with two interceptions, one TFL, one PBU and one TD.
» S Stanley Green is averaging 9.0 tackles with two fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble, one INT and one TFL.
» QB Brandon Peters has thrown for 689 yards, six touchdowns and one interception, and has engineered two game-winning drives in the final seconds (WIS: 9 plays, 32 yards, FG // MSU: 13 plays, 75 yards, TD).
• Signature Wins: Within the past month, Illinois has had two of the most memorable wins in its 130-year history.
» The last-second 24-23 win over No. 6 Wisconsin On Oct. 19 marked the Fighting Illini's first victory over a top-10 team since beating No. 1 Ohio State 28-21 on 11/10/2007. It also snapped a string of 24 straight losses to AP-ranked opponents dating back to a 17-14 win over No. 22 Arizona State on Sept. 17, 2011.
» The 25-point comeback win at Michigan State on Nov. 9 was biggest comeback in program history, spanning 1,260 games. The previous mark was 20 points, which happened twice – at Michigan, 10/25/1999 (27-7 deficit), 35-29 and 20 points vs. Rutgers, 9/3/2005 (27-7 deficit), 33-30 ot.
• Comeback Kids: The Fighting Illini overcame double-digit deficits to win in the final seconds against both Wisconsin and Michigan State.
» In East Lansing Nov. 9, Illinois trailed 28-3 in the second quarter and 31-10 entering the fourth quarter, at which time ESPN's win probability calculator gave the Spartans a 99.6% chance to win. The 21-point deficit entering the fourth quarter is tied for the largest fourth-quarter comeback in a Big Ten game in the last 40 seasons (21 points, MSU at NW, 2006; 21 points, MICH at MIN, 2003).
» Against No. 6 Wisconsin on Oct. 19, Illinois trailed by as many as 13 points and faced a deficit of 23-14 with six minutes to play before rallying for a 24-23 victory on James McCourt's walk-off 39-yard field goal to complete the biggest upset in college football this season.
• Havoc on D: Like his signature Chicago Bears defenses, Lovie's Illini D excels at forcing turnovers, scoring points and making negative plays for the opposing offense. The Illini rank…
» First in the nation in defensive touchdowns (6)
» First in the nation in turnovers gained (26)
» First in the nation in forced fumbles (17)
» First in the nation in fumble recoveries (16)
» First in the nation in turnover margin (+1.40)
» Seventh in the nation in tackles for loss per game (8.3)
• Dele Domination: Senior LB Dele Harding is having a monster season.
» Ranks second in FBS and leads the Big Ten in tackles (12.0 per game), over two full tackles per game ahead of the next closest (9.9). In B1G games, he is almost four tackles per game ahead of No. 2 (12.9-9.1).
» Is the No. 13 graded linebacker in the nation and No. 4 in the Big Ten by PFF (77.9, min. 500 snaps).
» Named National and B1G Defensive Player of the Week after 12 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, 1 TD in the win over Rutgers, becoming just the second player in the last 20 years to have 12+ tackles, 2.0+ TFL, 1+ FF, 1+ INT, and 1+ TD in a single game (Kentucky's Mike Edwards vs. MTSU 11/17/2018).
HOW THE WEST COULD BE WON
With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Illinois is still alive to win the Big Ten West and represent the division at the Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 7. Here's what needs to happen:
Nov. 23:
» Illinois needs to win at Iowa
» Minnesota needs to lose at Northwestern
» Wisconsin needs to lose at home to Purdue
Nov. 30:
» Illinois needs to win at home against Northwestern
» Wisconsin needs to win at Minnesota
If all five of those results happen, there will be a three-team tie atop the West at 6-3 between Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin, with all three teams having a 1-1 record against each other (which is the first tiebreaker). Based on the Big Ten's division tiebreakers, the next criteria is record against the division: Illinois 4-2, Wisconsin 4-2, Minnesota 3-3. That would drop Minnesota from the tiebreaker and leave Illinois and Wisconsin. That tie would be broken by head-to-head matchup, which was Illinois 24, Wisconsin 23 on Oct. 19, giving the Illini the title game bid.
THE ILLINOIS-IOWA SERIES
• Saturday will be the 75th meeting between the Illini and Hawkeyes in a series that dates back to 1899.
• Illinois and Iowa did not play a game from 1953-1966 because of a fight following the 1952 game.
• Illinois leads the all-time series 38-34-2. The series is tied 18-18-2 in games played in Iowa City.
• Iowa has won six straight meetings dating back to 2008, their longest streak in the series history.
• Illinois led Iowa 13-10 late in the second quarter in 2017 in its last visit to Iowa City, before Iowa took the lead just before halftime and pulled away with 21 points in the fourth quarter for a 45-16 win. Illini RB Mike Epstein had seven carries for 83 yards before being sidelined with an injury, an injury that led to the end of Epstein's freshman season.
• Iowa shut out Illinois, 63-0, at Memorial Stadium in the teams' last meeting 11/17/2018.
• The Illini's last win in the series was a 27-24 victory in Champaign on Nov. 1, 2008. Matt Eller kicked a 46-yardfield goal with 24 seconds left and Illinois withstood Iowa's fourth-quarter comeback. Illinois sacked Ricky Stanzi six times, scoring a touchdown on one of them when DB Dere Hicks forced a fumble, scooped up the ball and ran in for 24-9 lead in the third quarter. The 2008 win snapped Iowa's five-game winning streak against Illinois.
IOWA CONNECTIONS
• Iowa sophomore WR Henry Marchese is the twin brother of Illini junior safety Michael Marchese. Their dad, John Marchese, played football at Iowa from 1982-86.
• Illinois head football athletic trainer Jeremy Busch graduated from Iowa and worked as an undergraduate athletic trainer for the Hawkeyes.
GRADS ON GRADS ON GRADS
The 2019 Fighting Illini roster features 11 student-athletes that already earned 12 college degrees prior to the season – seven at Illinois and five at different schools
Student-Athlete | Bachelor's Degree » Degree Pursuing
Oluwole Betiku Jr. | International Relations (May '19 at USC) » Recreation, Sport & Tourism
Dre Brown | Recreation, Sport & Tourism (Dec. '18 at Illinois) » Management
Reggie Corbin | Communication (May '18 at Illinois) » Recreation, Sport & Tourism
Josh Imatorbhebhe | Business Administration (May '19 at USC) » Strategic Brand Communication
Jamal Milan | Sociology (May '19 at Illinois) » Communication (2nd bachelor's)
Brandon Peters | General Studies (June '19 at Michigan) » Recreation, Sport & Tourism
Richie Petitbon | Communication Studies (Dec. '18 at Alabama) » Sport Management
Caleb Reams | Community Health (May '19 at Illinois) » Management
Trevon Sidney | Communication (June '19 at USC) » Recreation, Sport & Tourism
Bobby Walker | Political Science (Dec. '18 at Illinois) » Management
Justice Williams | Business Management (Aug. '18 at Illinois) » Already finished M.S.
Justice Williams | M.S., Business Administration (Aug. 19 at Illinois) » Spanish (2nd bachelor's)
