OPENING KICK
• Hitting the Road: After a season-opening 42-3 rout of Akron at Memorial Stadium, Illinois (1-0) travels to Connecticut (1-0) to face the Huskies on Saturday in East Hartford (3:30 pm ET/2:30 CT on CBS Sports Network).
• First-time Foe: Saturday will be the first-ever meeting on the gridiron between the Illinois and UConn. It is the first leg of a home-and-home series between the two programs. The Huskies will come to Champaign on Sept. 12, 2020.
• Dominant from the Start: The Illini wasted little time getting things going in 2019. The Illini won the coin toss, took the ball, and promptly drove 63 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown to open the season. By halftime, the Illini led 28-3 en route to a 42-3 season-opening victory over Akron. Here are a few standout stats from the opener:
» The offense rolled up 401 total yards with a balanced attack (207 on the ground and 194 through the air)
» The defense allowed its fewest points (3), fewest yards (192) and secured its largest margin of victory (39) since a 52-3 win over Murray State on Sept. 3, 2016, Lovie's Smith's first game at Illinois.
» The defense racked up 12 tackles-for-loss and six sacks while forcing the Zips into two turnovers
• Impact Transfers: As expected, transfers made a huge impact in Saturday's season-opening victory.
» Illinois started five transfers against Akron - QB Brandon Peters (199 total yards, 4 total TDs), WR Josh Imatorbhebhe (2 catches, 34 yards), OL Richie Petitbon, DL Oluwole Betiku Jr. (6 tackles, 3.0 TFLs, 1.5 sacks), and LB Milo Eifler (2 tackles, 1.0 TFL), while two others saw action and contributed – WR Trevon Sidney (2 catches, 26 yards, 1 TD) and WR Donny Navarro (1 punt return, 13 yards)
• Peters Shines in Debut: Michigan transfer QB Brandon Peters was in command during his first game in Orange and Blue, completing 14-of-23 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for 36 yards and one touchdown on six carries, and, most importantly, playing turnover-free football while leading the Illini to victory. Peters was officially announced as the starter by Lovie Smith on Aug. 20. A former four-star recruit, Peters was the No. 3 pro style QB in the nation coming out of high school (247Sports). He graduated from Michigan in three years and transferred to Illinois this summer with two years of eligibility remaining.
• Hansen, So Hot in Openers: Junior LB Jake Hansen monster game against Akron, collecting a team-high seven tackles, a half-sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and his first career interception. Hansen's 90.7 PFF grade ranked 25th in FBS on defense and sixth in FBS among linebackers. Last season, Hansen exploded onto the scene with a 15-tackle, 6.0-TFL performance to open the season vs. Kent State en route to a 95-tackle season.
• Running Wild: The Illini started off 2019 with 207 yards on the ground against Akron, just below their 2018 season average of 243.0 rushing yards per game, which was good for 12th-best in FBS, 2nd-best in the Big Ten and fifth on the Illinois season rushing average list. The 2018 average was 137.4 yards per game more than 2017 (105.6), the biggest improvement in the nation from 2017 to 2018.
• Home Sweet Home: With the win over Akron, Illinois now has 22 consecutive home-opening wins, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation behind only Florida (29), Wisconsin (24) and Oklahoma State (23 – hasn't played 2019 home-opener yet). Illinois is 92-33-5 all-time in home-openers.
• Streak-Breakers? With a trip to UConn this weekend, Illinois is looking to break a streak of seven straight nonconference road losses dating back to 2008.
» Since a 41-20 win at Syracuse in 2007, the Fighting Illini have dropped games at Western Michigan (2008), Cincinnati (2009), Fresno State (2010), Arizona State (2012), Washington (2014), North Carolina (2015) and South Florida (2017).
» The last two times the Illini won a nonconference road game they went on to play in a BCS bowl game (2001 – won at Cal and later played in Sugar Bowl, and 2007 – won at Syracuse and went on play in Rose Bowl).
• Talent Upgrade: The 2019 recruiting class was small in numbers (16) but big on talent. The average recruit rating of .8679 by 247Sports was the highest rated Illini class in the online recruiting era (since 2002), ranking 31st nationally and seventh in the Big Ten. 2019 signees Marquez Beason (.9564 rating, No. 99) and Isaiah Williams (.9479 rating, No. 116) are the highest rated Illini recruits since 2009 (Terry Hawthorne, No. 72), and the highest duo since 2007 (Arrelious Benn, No. 12, and Martez Wilson, No. 15).
• 2019 Captains: Lovie Smith announced on Aug. 27 that LB Jake Hansen, LB Dele Harding, P Blake Hayes, OL Doug Kramer and OL Alex Palczewski were voted team captains for the 2019 season. The captains were determined by a vote of Illini players.
THE ILLINOIS-CONNECTICUT SERIES
• Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between Illinois and Connecticut.
• The Illinois football team has never played a game in New England.
• The Illinois football team has never had a letterwinner from the state of Connecticut.
• The scheduling of Saturday's game was announced Feb. 11, 2014.
ILLINOIS-CONNECTICUT CONNECTIONS
• Connecticut WR Quayvon Skanes led Phillips Academy to the Illinois Class 4A state championship his senior year, becoming the first Public League team to win a state championship.
• Illinois defensive line coach Austin Clark's sister, Adrienne, previously served as an assistant softball coach at Connecticut from 2015-18.
• Connecticut has only 11 seniors, tied for the fourth fewest in the nation, while Illinois has only 13 seniors, tied for the 10th fewest in the nation.
• Illinois and Connecticut were two of only six programs in the nation to start the same five offensive linemen in 2018. Four of those five return to Illinois' line in 2019 (Kendrick Green, Doug Kramer, Vederian Lowe, and Alex Palczewski).
TRANSFER PORTAL U
Lovie Smith and staff also used the transfer portal to load up the roster with talent, adding seven new power-five transfers, five of which are eligible to play immediately in 2019 as graduate transfers. In addition, LB Milo Eifler (Washington) and WR Donny Navarro (Valparaiso) are now eligible to play after sitting out the 2018 season, and RB Chase Brown (Western Michigan) also transferred in. In all, 10 transfers have joined the team over the last two off-seasons, with seven eligible to play in 2019.
Transfers On the Field in 2019
DL Oluwole Betiku Jr. (USC) » 2 years left
QB Brandon Peters (Michigan) » 2 years left
OL Richie Petitbon (Alabama) » 1 year left
LB Milo Eifler (Washington) » 2 years left
WR Trevon Sidney (USC) » 2 years left
WR Josh Imatorbhebhe (USC) » 2 years left
WR Donny Navarro (Valparaiso) » 3 years left
Transfers Sitting Out 2019
TE Luke Ford (Georgia) » 3 years left starting in 2020
LB Derrick Smith (Miami) » 2 years left starting in 2020
RB Chase Brown (WMU) » 3 year left starting in 2020
NEW KIDS ON THE QUAD
• A total of 20 players, including 10 true freshmen, made their Illini debuts against Akron.
True-Freshmen (10): TE Bryce Barnes, LB Tarique Barnes, WR Dalevon Campbell, LB Shammond Cooper, WR Kyron Cumby, DB Matthew Judd, DL Moses Okpala, DL Keith Randolph Jr., WR Casey Washington, and DB Devon Witherspoon
Redshirt Freshmen (3): OL Verdis Brown, OL Julian Pearl, DL Ezekiel Holmes
Sophomores (1): WR Donny Navarro
Juniors (5): DL Oluwole Betiku Jr., LB Milo Eifler, WR Josh Imatorbhebhe, QB Brandon Peters, WR Trevon Sidney
Seniors (1): OL Richie Petitbon
LONG SNAPPER TABEL AWARDED SCHOLARSHIP
• Coach Lovie Smith had a special announcement at the first game-week team meeting on Aug. 26. Walk-on long snapper Ethan Tabel was awarded a scholarship for the 2019 season by Lovie. Tabel was mobbed by his teammates after the announcement. A redshirt-junior, Tabel is entering his third season as the team's primary long snapper.
ILLINI STORYLINES
• Future Coaches: Illini RB Reggie Corbin got a taste of coaching over the summer. Corbin, along with Illini teammates Justice Williams and Dele Harding coached the 'Chargers' to a successful second season in the Tuscola Flag Football League. The trio connected with 10-year old Illini superfan Colton Rahn, who has cerebral palsey, in the winter of 2017 when a group of football student-athletes drove to Tuscola to cheer on Colton's basketball team. It marked the second straight summer Corbin and Williams coached a flag football team in Tuscola.
• Rugby Champ: In addition to being an undefeated flag football coach, Reggie Corbin was a national champion rugby player while also starring on the football field in high school. Corbin helped Gonzaga HS in Washington D.C. to back-to-back rugby national titles in 2014 and 2015 after joining the team on a dare by star player Ben Cima, who plays on the U.S. national rugby team. The team lost only two games in Corbin's two years on the team.
• First-time Footballer: Junior punter Blake Hayes, a native of Melbourne, Australia, had never played in or attended an American football game until making his Illini debut against Ball State on Sept. 2, 2017. 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, and then upped that to third-team All-Big Ten and a 43.6 yards per punt average in 2018.
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)
