Illinois Welcomes #3 Ohio State to Champaign

Saturday, November 28

Champaign, Ill.

11 AM CT

University of Illinois

Ohio State

November 23, 2020 | Football

News

Illinois (2-3) vs. #3 Ohio State (4-0)
Date/Time	Saturday, Nov. 28 \| 11 a.m. CT \| GameDay
Location	Champaign, Ill. (Memorial Stadium)
TV	FS1 \| Fox Sports Streaming
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network \| Listen \| Sirius (Ch. 133) /XM (Ch. 387)
Live Stats	FightingIllini.com
Illinois	Game Notes \| Record Book
Ohio State	OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Shop	Fighting Illini Store
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The two top rushing teams in the Big Ten meet Saturday when Illinois hosts #3 Ohio State at Memorial Stadium for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff. FS1 has the television broadcast with Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), and Jenny Taft (sidelines) on the call.

Illinois has had five 100-yard rushers in its last three games, including 100+ last week from running backs Mike Epstein and Chase Brown. The Illini average 222.4 yards per game on the ground, second only to Ohio State's 233.3 rushing average among Big Ten teams.

The #3 Buckeyes have won their first four games of 2020, including a 42-35 win over #9 Indiana last week. Illinois is coming off back-to-back road wins at Rutgers and at Nebraska to get to 2-3 on the season.

Illinois Fighting Illini running back Chase Brown (2)Illinois Fighting Illini Football at Nebraska - 11/21/20

ILLINOIS STATS AND NOTES

TWO STRAIGHT WINS

Illinois won Big Ten road games in consecutive weeks for the first time since Nov. 3, 2007 at Minnesota (44-17) and Nov. 10, 2007 at No. 1 Ohio State (28-21).
Illinois dominated in all three phases of the game in a 41-23 win at Nebraska last week, the Illini's first win in Lincoln since 1924 (previously five-game losing streak).
» QB Brandon Peters threw for over 200 yards and RB Mike Epstein and RB Chase Brown both ran for over 100 yards.
» Illinois' defense had five takeaways at Nebraska (3 interceptions, 2 fumbles). The Illini have 3+ interceptions in back-to-back games for the first time in at least 20 years.
» P Blake Hayes highlighted the special teams with a 14-yard run on an improvised fake punt to pick up a first down on the first possession of the second half.
Illinois was led by QB Isaiah Williams' 192 rushing yards at Rutgers 11/14/20 in his first career start. It was the most rushing yards by a quarterback in program history.
Illinois led for only the last 0:03 of the game at Rutgers. The Illini were down 10-0 after the first quarter and 20-10 in the second half. James McCourt's 47-yard field goal with 0:03 left led to the 23-20 win.
Williams was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week and McCourt was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after the Rutgers game.

FOUR GAMES, FOUR QBS

Illinois started four quarterbacks in the first four games.
» Brandon Peters, the season-opening starting QB, tested positive for COVID after one game played. He missed the next three games before returning to lead Illinois to the road win at Nebraska.
» Matt Robinson started against Purdue in place for Peters, but was hurt on the second drive.
» Coran Taylor started against Minnesota, the first start of his career.
» Isaiah Williams had 296 yards of total offense (192 rushing, 104 passing) at Rutgers, 67% of the team's total offense, in his first career start and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
This is the first time Illinois has started four quarterbacks in a single season since the program's starters records began being kept in 1975.
In Peters' two seasons at Illinois, the Illini are 7-5 when Peters starts and finishes the game and 1-5 when he does not.

HANSEN AMONG NATION'S BEST LINEBACKERS

Senior LB Jake Hansen is the only 2019 Butkus Award semifinalist that returned to college football in 2020.
One of only three players in the nation with multiple interceptions, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries in 2020 (LB Mikel Jones, Syracuse; DB Richie Grant, UCF).
#5 in the Big Ten in tackles, #3 in TFLs, #7 in interceptions, #1 in forced fumbles, and #2 in fumble recoveries
Seven tackles, 2.5 TFLs, one interception, and one fumble recovery at Nebraska 11/21/20
Team-high 15 tackles at Rutgers last week, along with 1.0 sack, one interception and one pass breakup
» Top-graded linebacker in Power-5 last week by PFF (81.3)
Hansen is tied for third in Illinois history in forced fumbles (10), behind only Illinois legends Simeon Rice (13) and Whitney Mercilus (11).
Nine forced fumbles in the last 13 games
Led the nation in forced fumbles (7) and ranked fifth in fumbles recovered (3) in 2019

GROUND GAME

Illinois leads the Big Ten in rushing yards (1,112) and ranks second in rushing yards per game (222.4), behind only Ohio State (233.3)
Illinois has had multiple 100-yard rushers in back-to-back Big Ten games for the first time since at least 1945 when complete records began.
Illinois has had five 100-yard rushing performances in the last three games.
RB Mike Epstein (113) and RB Chase Brown (110) both went over 100 yards at Nebraska.
» Epstein ranks fourth in the Big Ten in yards per carry (6.1)
» Brown ranks sixth in the Big Ten in yards per carry (5.9)
QB Isaiah Williams (192) and RB Chase Brown (131) both went over 100 yards at Rutgers.
» Williams and Brown combined to become the second QB/RB duo to both rush for 130+ yards in a game in Illinois history. RB Rashard Mendenhall (201) and QB Isiah "Juice" Williams (133) both ran for 130+ at Minnesota 11/3/2007.
Epstein ran for 108 yards three weeks ago against Minnesota.

PETERS RETURNS AFTER POSITIVE COVID TEST

Senior QB Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman TE Griffin Moore were both sidelined for 21 days following positive test results Oct. 29 for the COVID-19 virus. Both players returned last week against Nebraska.
Peters is the No. 3 graded quarterback in the Big Ten this season according to PFF, behind only Ohio State's Justin Fields and Indiana's Michael Penix.
Peters was the No. 4 graded quarterback in the nation last week by PFF.

Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Brandon Peters (18)Illinois Fighting Illini Football at Nebraska - 11/21/20

ALL-TIME SERIES

ILLINOIS vs. OHIO STATE

Series: Ohio State leads, 69-30-4
Last: Ohio State 52, Illinois 14 (11/18/17 at Ohio State)
Streak: Ohio State W9
at Champaign: Ohio State leads, 37-12
Illinois and Ohio State play for the coveted "Illibuck" trophy. Ohio State leads the trophy series with a 64-23-2 mark. "Illibuck" is – or was – a turtle, destined for long life, it was hoped. But the wear and tear of traveling between Champaign-Urbana and Columbus was too much, even for a hardy marine reptile. "Illibuck" died in the spring of 1927 and his successor is now a wooden replica.
Dave Wilson set Illinois single-game records for passing yards (621), completions (43), passing attempts (69) and passing touchdowns (6) against Ohio State 11/8/1980.
Illinois head coach Lovie Smith was the defensive backs coach at Ohio State in 1995.
In the next five years (2021-2025), Illinois and Ohio State are scheduled to meet just one time, Sept. 28, 2024 at Ohio State.
In the last 33 years (1988-2020), only Michigan (12) has more wins against Ohio State than Illinois (9).
Illinois' last win over the Buckeyes was in 2007. It marked the first time the Illini beat a top-ranked team since 1956. The victory ended Ohio State's 29-game regular-season winning streak and 21-game Big Ten win streak. The Illini rushed for 260 yards against an Ohio State defense that came in allowing just 65 yards on the ground per game. Rashard Mendenhall set an Illinois season record (1,402 yards at the end of the game) while rushing for 88 yards on 26 carries. Juice Williams threw for four touchdowns and led Illinois on a 16-play drive lasting the final 8:09 of the game to finish the win.
Illinois' last five wins in the series have come in Columbus (1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2007). Illinois has not beaten Ohio State in Champaign since a 10-7 win 10/12/1991 (0-11 since).
The first ever meeting in the series was a 0-0 tie in Columbus in 1902.