Northwestern Claims Land of Lincoln Trophy

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Northwestern spoiled Illinois' Senior Day with a 29-10 win at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Illini (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) gained a 7-3 lead in the second quarter, but the Wildcats (3-9, 1-8) outscored the home team 26-3 the rest of the way.

Takeaway Leads to Touchdown Once Again

Junior cornerback Nate Hobbs picked off an Andrew Marty pass in the second quarter and returned it 29 yards to set up Illinois' lone touchdown of the day. A 29-yard pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Robinson to senior receiver Caleb Reams set the scene for Dre Brown's six-yard touchdown run to give the Illini the lead.

McCourt Good From 50

Junior kicker James McCourt connected on a 50-yard field goal with 2:30 to play in the third quarter. It marked his fourth field goal of 50 yards or longer of both the season and his career. McCourt is tied for the most 50+ yard field goals in a season and second most in a career in Illini history.

Harding Pulling Out All the Stops

Senior linebacker Dele Harding made a game-high 15 tackles Saturday, including 1.0 TFL, to bring his season total to 147 tackles. That ties him for 10th in a single season in Illinois history and gives him the second-most tackles in a season in the last 25 years behind J Leman's 2006 total of 152.

Team Notes

• Illinois finished the season winning four of its last six games.
• Illinois has at least one takeaway in all 12 games this season, the third longest active streak in the nation.
• Illinois started the same five on the offensive line all 12 games this season, although C Doug Kramer was injured and did not play in the second half.
• Illinois is bowl eligible for the first time since 2014. 
• Illinois started two transfers (OL Richie Petitbon, LB Milo Eifler), its fewest this season.
• Illinois captains: LB Dele Harding, LB Jake Hansen (injured), P Blake Hayes, OL Doug Kramer, OL Alex Palczewski
• Illinois honored 18 seniors prior to the game: Nolan Bernat, Dre Brown, Reggie Corbin, Trenard Davis, Kurt Gavin, Stanley Green, Dele Harding, Kenyon Jackson, Brandon Jones, Jamal Milan, Cam Miller, Tymir Oliver, Griffin Palmer, Richie Petitbon, Caleb Reams, Ayo Shogbonyo, Bobby Walker, and Justice Williams.
• Illinois' Bobby Roundtree was in attendance and gave the pregame speech to the team.

Individual Notes

• Senior LB Dele Harding had a game-high 15 tackles and 1.0 TFL. His 147 tackles this season are tied for 10th on Illinois' all-time list and the second-most in the last 25 yards (152 J Leman, 2006).  
• Senior S Stanley Green had his 10th career forced fumble, the third most in Illinois history.
• Junior CB Nate Hobbs had his second career interception on the first play of the second quarter.
• Redshirt freshman QB Matt Robinson was 8-of-17 passing for 108 passing yards in his second start of the season (Michigan).
• Senior WR Caleb Reams had a career-high five receptions for a career-high 57 yards. 
• Freshman WR Casey Washington had a career-high four receptions for a career-high 55 yards. 
• Junior RT Alex Palczewski started for the 35th straight game.
• Junior C Doug Kramer started for the 27th straight game.
• Junior LT Vederian Lowe started for the 25th straight game.
• Sophomore LG Kendrick Green started for the 24th straight game.
• Junior LB Jake Hansen, a Butkus Award semifinalist, missed his third straight game with an injury.
• The following Illinois players missed the game with injuries: DB Tony Adams, LB Dawson DeGroot, LB Jake Hansen, WR Jordan Holmes, WR Josh Imatorbhebhe, DL Marc Mondesir, RB Jakari Norwood, QB Brandon Peters, WR Carlos Sandy, DL Jamal Woods 
• The following Illinois players are out for the year with injuries: DB Marquez Beason, WR Edwin Carter, RB Mike Epstein, DB James Knight, DL Bobby Roundtree, WR Trevon Sidney, WR Ricky Smalling, DB Dylan Wyatt