OPENING KICK
• Searching for Six: The red-hot Fighting Illini (5-4, 3-3), fresh off back-to-back-to-back victories over No. 6 Wisconsin, Purdue and Rutgers, look to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2014 when they travel to East Lansing on Saturday to face the Michigan State Spartans (3:30 pm ET/2:30 CT on FS1).
• We're Going Streaking: Illinois is on a three-game winning streak for the first time since starting the 2011 season 6-0.
» Illinois has not won four straight Big Ten games since the 2001 Big Ten Championship team finished the regular season with seven straight conference victories.
» The last time Illinois won three straight Big Ten games was in 2014 and '15, when the Illini finished the 2014 season with victories over Penn State and Northwestern, then beat Nebraska to start the 2015 conference schedule (there was a bowl loss and a 2015 nonconference loss in between the three B1G games).
» Illinois is on a three-game Big Ten winning streak in a single season for the first time since beating Minnesota, No. 1 Ohio State, and Northwestern to end the 2007 regular season en route to the Rose Bowl Game.
• 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 (5)
» First in the nation in turnovers gained (22)
» First in the nation in forced fumbles (17)
» First in the nation in fumble recoveries (15)
» Second in the nation in points off turnovers (105)
» Fourth in the nation in turnover margin (+1.33)
» Sixth in the nation in tackles for loss per game (8.4)
• Dele Domination: Senior LB Dele Harding is having a monster senior season.
» Named B1G Defensive Player of the Week and to the PFF College National Team of the Week after his 12 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, 1 defensive touchdown performance in the win over Rutgers.
» Harding is the second player in the nation in the last 20 years to have 12+ tackles, 2.0+ TFL, 1+ forced fumble, 1+ interception, and 1+ touchdown in a single game (Kentucky's Mike Edwards vs. MTSU 11/17/2018).
» Ranks fourth in FBS and leads the Big Ten in tackles (11.8 per game), almost two full tackles per game ahead of the next closest (9.9). In B1G games, he has over a three tackles-per-game lead (12.5-9.2).
» Is the No. 16 graded linebacker in the nation and No. 3 in the Big Ten by PFF (78.5, min. 400 snaps).
» Along with his 106 tackles, Harding has 8.5 TFLs, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and two touchdowns (40-yard pick-six at Minnesota and 54-yard pick-six vs. Rutgers).
• Hansen, So Hot Right Now: Junior LB Jake Hansen has become one of the biggest takeaway threats in the game.
» Named one of 12 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation's top linebacker and is named after Illini legend Dick Butkus.
» Leads the nation forced fumbles (7) and ranks second in fumbles recovered (3) behind Illini Stanley Green.
» Seven forced fumbles are the second-most in a season in Illini history behind only Whitney Mercilus' school record of nine in 2011 and is the third-most in a season in Big Ten history (since 2000).
» Has two more forced fumbles (7) than any other player in the nation (Ohio State's Chase Young, 5) and as many or more as 73 FBS teams.
» Named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and B1G Defensive Player of the Week after posting 11 tackles, two forced fumbles, one sack and one TFL in the Illini's upset win over No. 6 Wisconsin on Oct. 19.
» Is the No. 9 graded linebacker in the nation and No. 1 in the Big Ten by PFF (81.1, min. 400 snaps).
• Corbin Climbing: Senior RB Reggie Corbin ranks 12th on the Illinois all-time rushing list. Corbin enters the Rutgers game with 2,263 yards, 222 yards behind 11th-place Howard Griffith (2,485).
» Corbin's career 6.6 ypc ranks third among active FBS players and is the most for any Illini with at least 2,000 rushing yards.
» Corbin has had 10 scrimmage plays over 50 yards in his career, all coming against B1G competition.
» Corbin's career rushing numbers: 341 carries, 2,263 yards, 6.6 yards per carry, 16 touchdowns.
THE ILLINOIS-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
• Michigan State leads the all-time series against Illinois, 26-18-2, and holds an 13-8-1 edge in East Lansing.
• Illinois and Michigan State have met only once in the last six seasons, a 31-27 Illinois win in Champaign on Nov. 5, 2016.
• In that 2016 meeting in Champaign, Jeff George Jr. connected with wide receiver Sam Mays for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:17 left in the game and the Illini trailing 27-24 to give Illinois a 31-27 win. Michigan State drove to the Illinois 15-yard line on the ensuing drive, but Carrol Phillips' fourth-down sack with 0:12 left sealed the game and handed Michigan State its seventh straight loss. It was George Jr.'s first career win as a starter.
• Current Illini that played against Michigan State in 2016: S Stanley Green (start), DL Jamal Milan (start), RB Reggie Corbin, TE Justice Williams, LB Jake Hansen, LB Dele Harding, DL Tymir Oliver.
• Illinois' last win over in East Lansing was a 23-20 victory on Sept. 30, 2006. Jason Reda hit a 39-yard field goal with six seconds left to win the game.
• Illinois has visited East Lansing only once since the 2006 win, a 26-6 loss in 2010. The Illini led 6-3 at halftime of the 2010 game before falling. The game featured a number of future NFL stars, including Kirk Cousins, Le'Veon Bell, Darqueze Dennard, Corey Liuget, Whitney Mercilus, A.J. Jenkins, Tavon Wilson, Akeem Spence, Mikel Leshoure, and Jeff Allen.
• One of Illinois' three wins against No. 1-ranked teams came against Michigan State. The Fighting Illini scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to upset the top-ranked Spartans, 20-13, at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 1, 1956.
ILLINI-SPARTAN CONNECTIONS
• Saturday will be Illinois head coach Lovie Smith's first trip to East Lansing during his coaching career (college assistant from 1983-95, Illinois head coach from 2016-present).
• The Chicago Bears drafted Michigan State products TE Kellen Davis (5th round) and DE Ervin Baldwin (7th round) in the 2008 NFL Draft when Lovie Smith was the Bears head coach.
SIGNATURE WIN
The Oct. 19 win over No. 6 Wisconsin 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.
BREAKING THE BADGERS
• Finish for the Ages: A 39-yard field goal by James McCourt as time expired capped a nine-point comeback in the final six minutes to top No. 6 Wisconsin, 24-23, on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium. Illinois trailed by as many as 13 points and faced a deficit of 23-14 with six minutes to play before a 29-yard TD pass from Brandon Peters to Josh Imatorbhebhe with 5:53 left, an interception by Tony Adams with 2:32 left, and then McCourt's walk-off completed the Illini rally and the biggest upset in college football this season.
• Breaking Through: Illinois put up the biggest numbers of the season to that point against the top-ranked Wisconsin defense, which entered the game ranked first in the nation in total defense (173.7 ypg), points allowed (4.8 ppg), rushing yards allowed (44.7 ypg), passing yards allowed (129.0 ypg), and shutouts (4).
• Illinois had the most points (24), takeaways (3), rushing yards (141), passing touchdowns (2, tied), rushing touchdowns (1, tied), yards per carry (4.0), and longest rush (43, Corbin) against Wisconsin through 7 games.
• Reggie Corbin (83 yards) and Dre Brown (70 yards) had the top two rushing performances against Wisconsin to this point in the season. The previous high was 68 yards by Northwestern's Drake Smith.
• Illinois' 24 points were the most allowed by the Badgers, who had allowed only 29 points in its first six games.
• Illinois was the first team to lead the Badgers at any point this season. The only lead of the game for the Illini came with 0:00 on the clock.
• Illinois was the first team to score a touchdown in the first half against Wisconsin this season. Wisconsin had allowed only three first-half points in the first six games.
• Illinois' touchdown in the second quarter (Peters to Navarro) were the first points allowed by Wisconsin in 148:17 of game time. Wisconsin had shut out their previous two opponents (Kent State and Michigan State).
RUNNIN' REGGIE
Senior RB Reggie Corbin is the Illini's home run hitter.
» Ranks sixth in the Big Ten in rushing yards (72.1) and fifth in yards per carry (5.3)
» Has two 100-yard games this season (144 vs. EMU and 134 vs. NEB) and six career 100-yard games.
» He has 577 yards on the season to bring his career total to 2,263 yards, good for 12th on Illinois' all-time rushing yardage list.
» Ranked third in the nation in yards per carry (8.48) in 2018 for any player with at least 10 carries per game.
» Led FBS in runs of 70+ yards (4), second in runs of 50+ (7) and 80+ yards (1), and third in 60+ (5) in 2018.
» Had 1,085 rushing yards in 2018, the 13th 1,000-yard season in Illinois history and the first since 2010.
» Career yards per carry of 6.6 ranks third among all active FBS players with at least 2,000 rushing yards. He has had 10 scrimmage plays over 50 yards in his career, all coming against Big Ten competition.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Now in his fifth year with the Illini, RB Dre Brown has battled through a lot of adversity. He is finally healthy and it shows, rushing for 442 yards on 74 carries (6.0 ypc) and making six catches for 49 yards this season. Perhaps his biggest impact has been on kickoff returns, where he ranks 17th in FBS and third in the B1G at 26.9 ypr (15 returns for 404 yards).
» Brown ran for a career-high 131 yards on a career-high 18 carries in the Oct. 26 win at Purdue. It was the first 100-yard rushing game of his career.
» Brown ranks four in program history in kickoff return average at 25.0 ypr (min. 15 att.), behind only Red Grange (30.2 ypr), Mike Bellamy (26.4 ypr), and Pierre Thomas (25.3 ypr).
» His current 26.9 yards-per-return average this season ranks fifth on the Illinois single-season list.
» One of the top signees in the 2015 recruiting class, Brown was poised for playing time as a true freshmen before going down with an ACL injury prior to the season. In all, he missed nearly two-and-a-half seasons after enduring 2 torn ACLs, 2 sprained MCLs, a stress fracture and 4 knee surgeries before making his Illini debut Oct. 7, 2017, at Iowa as part of the kick return unit. He got his first offensive snaps and carries Oct. 14 at Rutgers. He had a breakout game at Ohio State that season, rushing for a career-high 76 yards on 15 carries (5.1 ypc) and finished the season with 138 yards on 31 carries (4.5 ypc).
ILLINI STANDOUTS
• Punching It Out: Senior S Stanley Green (9 career forced fumbles) and junior LB Jake Hansen (8 career forced fumbles) both have a knack for getting the ball on the ground. Both Green and Hansen are…
» Green has the third-most forced fumbles among active FBS players (10, Paddy Fisher and Joe Gaziano of Northwestern), while Hansen is tied for fourth-most).
» Green ranks third in program history (since 1990) behind only Simeon Rice (13) and Whitney Mercilus (11), while Hansen is tied for fourth with Dana Howard (8).
» Green also leads the nation this season in fumble recoveries (4), while Hansen is tied for second in FBS (3).
» Hansen's current 0.78 forced fumbles per game average (7 FF, 9 G) is on pace to rank second on the NCAA all-time list (since 2000). The current mark is 0.83 by Louisville's Elvis Dumervil in 2005 (10 FF, 12 G).
• No Way, Wole: Junior DE Oluwole Betiku Jr., a graduate transfer from USC, has been a force on the defensive line.
» Betiku ranks sixth in the nation in sacks (1.14 per game) and eighth TFLs (1.6 per game) on the season.
» His 8.0 sacks already are more than or equal to Illinois' season leader in 19 of the last 23 seasons.
• James and the Giant Leg: Junior K James McCourt has already established himself as one of the biggest legs in program history. Five of his eight made field goals are from 40 or more yards and three are from 50 or more.
» McCourt's 39-yard game-winner as time expired over No. 6 Wisconsin on Oct. 19 will go down as one of the biggest kicks in Illini history.
» McCourt is one of two FBS kickers with 3 or more 50+ field goals this season (3 – Rodrigo Blankenship, UGA)
» The three 50+ field goals are the fourth-most in a career in Illinois history. Last year, Chase McLaughlin finished his career with an Illinois record five 50+-yard field goals. Dan Beaver and Jason Reda each made four.
» McCourt tied the Illinois record with a 57-yard field goal against EMU, tying Dan Beaver's 44 year old mark (vs. Purdue, 10/18/1975). It's also tied for the longest field goal in FBS this season.
» His first Illini make was from 53-yards at UConn Sept. 7, tying for the longest road field goal in Illinois history (Mike Bass at Syracuse 9/18/1982; Dave Finzer at Purdue 10/15/1977).
» On kickoffs, McCourt ranks 15th in FBS in average (63.86 ypk) and 18th in touchback percentage (72.0%).
• Oh, BheBhe: Junior WR Josh Imatorbhebhe, a transfer from USC, notched his first career 100-yard receiving game with five catches for 102 yards and one touchdown against Michigan on Oct. 12. His seven touchdown receptions this season, including a career-long 52-yard catch, rank third in the Big Ten lead and 24th nationally, as well as tied for ninth in Illinois single-season history. He leads the team with 25 catches and 420 receiving yards (16.8 yards per catch).
• Cosmo Kramer: Through nine games, junior center Doug Kramer is the No.1 graded power-five center and is the No. 3 overall center in FBS with a grade of 81.0 (@PFF_College). Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck called Kramer one of the best he's seen on film at that position "in any year at any level."
• Hayes, Australian for Boot: Punter Blake Hayes has been a field-flipper for the Fighting Illini.
» Hayes ranks 16th in FBS and second in the B1G in punting average (45.0) and his versatility, whether it's booming kicks or bouncing rugby-style kicks, have helped the Illini rank 24th in FBS in net punting (41.27 ypp).
» Of Hayes' 55 punts, 24 have been downed inside the 20, with just one touchback. Opponents have scored only 16 points on ensuing drives after Hayes' punts inside the 20 (0.7 points per drive) and Illinois has scored two defensive touchdowns (net -2 points).
» 14 of Hayes' punts have been downed within the 10-yard line and six have been downed on the 1- or 2-yard line. Only 19 of his 55 punts have been returned.
» Hayes' current season average of 45.0 yards per punt is second-best in Illinois history behind Steve Weatherford's program record of 45.4.
» His career punting average of 43.3 ranks second at Illinois only 0.2 yards behind Weatherford's career record (43.5) set from 2002-05.
» Hayes was named Big Ten Special Teams player of the week on Sept. 23 after averaging 46.0 yards per punt and dropping five punts inside the 20 against Nebraska, including a 59-yard boot to the 2-yard line that set up an Illini score.
• Milan is the Man: Senior DT Jamal Milan has been dialed in as of late, racking up 6.0 tackles-for-loss in the last two games. He led the defense in the Oct. 26 win at Purdue with a career-high 4.0 TFLs, the first Illini with 4.0+ TFLs in a game since Jake Hansen (6.0) vs. Kent State 9/1/2018, then followed that up with 2.0 TFLs in the win over Rutgers.
• BP = Big Points: Michigan transfer QB Brandon Peters returned to his starting role against Wisconsin after missing the Michigan game and most of the Minnesota game due to injury.
» Peters had a career-long 54-yard run against Rutgers, narrowly missing his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.
» Despite missing nearly two full games, Peters ranks 51st in FBS in points responsible for (12.0 per game) and 46th in touchdown passes (13).
» Peters (13) already has surpassed the Illinois season passing touchdown leader for each of the past three seasons: 2018 - AJ Bush Jr. (6), 2017 - Jeff George Jr. (7), 2016 - Wes Lunt (8).
» Peters threw four touchdown passes at UConn, tied for seventh-most in Illinois history, and the most since Wes Lunt threw 4 TDs vs. Kent State 9/5/2015.
» Peters was officially announced as the starter by Lovie Smith on Aug. 20. He graduated from Michigan in three years and transferred to Illinois this summer with two years of eligibility remaining.
EXPERIENCED O-LINE GETTING IT DONE
The offensive line returned four starters from one of the best groups in the nation in 2018. OG Nick Allegretti is now with the Kansas City Chiefs, but returning are sophomore Kendrick Green, junior Doug Kramer, junior Vederian Lowe, and junior Alex Palczewski, who each started all 12 games and played a majority of the snaps together last season while paving the way for Illinois' potent rushing attack (243.0 yards per game, 12th-best in FBS).
» In fact, the foursome of Palczewski-Kramer-Green-Lowe have started 21 straight games together (all 12 last season and 9 this season). The only change has been Petitbon (9 starts in '19) stepping in for Allegretti (12 starts in '18).
» Through nine games, four of the top five PFF offensive grades on the team belong to the OL – 1. Doug Kramer (81.0), 3. Kendrick Green (78.5), 4. Vederian Lowe (76.2), 5. Alex Palczewski (75.7).
LINEBACKER U, IT'S NOT WHERE YOU THINK IT IS
• Like many Illini teams over the years, the 2019 Illini defense is getting big production from its linebacking corps, led by senior Dele Harding and juniors Jake Hansen and Milo Eifler. The trio has combined for 225 tackles, 23.0 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, four interceptions and three touchdowns this season.
• Illinois' history at the linebacker position is up there with any program in the nation. It begins with the greatest linebacker in football history, Dick Butkus, who was a two-time All-American and led the Fighting Illini to a 1964 Rose Bowl win over Washington. Illinois boasts two Butkus Award winners, Dana Howard in 1994 and Kevin Hardy in 1995, several first-team All-Americans like Darrick Brownlow (1990), Simeon Rice (1994 & '95) and J Leman (2007), not to mention second-team All-American Scott Studwell (1976) and NFL legend Ray Nitschke.
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)
