#24 Illinois Hosts Minnesota for Dads Day, Military Appreciation Day

#24 Illinois Hosts Minnesota for Dads Day at Memorial Stadium

• Illinois, #24 in this week's AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, hosts Minnesota on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on FS1.
• Illinois is 5-0 at home this season. The Illini are looking to start the season with six straight home wins for the first time since 2001, when Illinois finished 6-0 at home on the way to the Big Ten title and 2002 Sugar Bowl. 

Illinois Off to 6-2 Start, Ranked for Seventh Straight Week

• Illinois has been ranked for seven consecutive weeks. The seven AP Poll appearances are the Illini's most since the 2001 Big Ten championship team was ranked for 10 weeks.
• Illinois has six or more wins through eight games for the second time in the last three seasons. Illinois started 7-1 in 2022. 
• Illinois, #6 Texas, #7 Tennessee, and #8 Notre Dame are the only teams in the nation with three AP Top 25 wins this season. 
• Illinois is the only Big Ten team with three AP Top 25 wins this season.
• Illinois is 3-2 against AP Top 25 teams this season. From the 2008 Rose Bowl game through the 2023 season, Illinois went 3-40 against AP Top 25 teams.
• Illinois has three AP Top 25 wins in a single season for the first time since 2007. Only two teams in Illinois history have more ranked wins than this year's Illini squad: the 1946 and 1983 teams that went 4-0 against AP Top 25 teams.
• Illinois' only two losses have come to top-10 teams — #1 Oregon and #9 Penn State, which are both inside the top three in this week's AP Top 25.
• Illinois will play in the postseason twice in a three-year span for the first time since making back-to-back bowl games in 2010 and 2011. 

Turnover Margin

• Illinois is 23rd in the nation and second in the Big Ten in turnover margin (+0.75 per game).
• Illinois is tied for eighth in the nation and leads the Big Ten in forced fumbles (10).
• Illinois is tied for 29th in the nation and third in the Big Ten in interceptions (9).

The Illinois Offense

• QB Luke Altmyer is 35th in the nation in passing efficiency. His 137.7 passing efficiency would be eighth-best in a single season in Illinois football history.
• Altmyer is tied for 24th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in passing touchdowns (15). 
• Altmyer 's 5/1 TD/interception ratio is tied with Indiana's Kurtis Rourke for the best in the Big Ten and tied for third-best in Power 4 behind only Clemson's Cade Klubnik (20/3) and Texas Tech's Behren Morton (17/3). (min. 10 TDs)
• Altmyer joined an impressive list of Illini QBs who have led the team to three Top 25 wins in a single season over the last 50 years: Jack Trudeau (1983), Jason Verduzco (1990), Kurt Kittner (2001), Juice Williams (2007), and Altmyer (2024).
• WR Pat Bryant is tied for 11th in the nation in receiving touchdowns (7) and fourth in the Big Ten.  
• Bryant has two game-winning touchdown catches in overtime, both coming from Altmyer (at Nebraska, vs. Purdue). He is the only player in the nation with two game-winning touchdowns in the final two minutes/overtime this season.

The Illinois Defense

• In Aaron Henry's second season as defensive coordinator, Illinois ranks 32nd in the nation in scoring defense (20.6), an improvement of 61 spots in the national rankings year-over-year (93rd, 29.4).
• The Illini defense ranks in the top 30 nationally in forced fumbles (8th, 10) and interceptions (29th, 9).
• Illini OLB Gabe Jacas is top 15 nationally in forced fumbles (t-4th, 3) and sacks (t-13th, 6.5). He leads the Big Ten in forced fumbles and is tied for second in sacks, only 0.5 behind Indiana's Mikail Kamara (7.0).
• Illini DBs Xavier Scott (3 interceptions), Miles Scott (2), and Torrie Cox Jr. (2) have multiple interceptions. 
• Xavier Scott is the #4 graded corner in the Big Ten and #19 in Power-4 according to PFF (80.9). He is also the #1 graded tackler among Power-4 cornerbacks and #2 nationally according to PFF (90.9).

The Illinois Special Teams

• Kicker David Olano is 13-for-16 on field goals, including 12-for-14 inside of 50 yards and 8-for-8 inside of 40 yards.
• Kicker Ethan Moczulski's 59-yard field goal vs. Central Michigan, the only attempt of his career, set an Illinois program record and is tied for the fourth-longest field goal in the nation this season. 
• Punter Hugh Robertson has landed 60.0% (15/25) of his punts inside the 20, which is on pace for an Illinois record.
• Hank Beatty is averaging 16.6 yards per punt return on eight returns, which would lead the Big Ten and rank fifth in the nation if he qualified (he is one return short of qualifying for the national leaderboard).

The Illinois-Minnesota Series

• Saturday's game between Illinois and Minnesota will be the 77th meeting between the two teams.•
• Illinois trails in the all-time series against Minnesota, 33-40-3, but the Illini are 20-17-1 in home games vs. the Golden Gophers, and the Orange and Blue have won three straight in the series. 
• In the two teams' last meeting at Memorial Stadium, Illinois took care of business on Homecoming in 2022, defeating Minnesota, 26-14, to move to 6-1 on the season. The victory was the team's fifth consecutive win and sixth straight home win at Memorial Stadium. The Fighting Illini registered 472 yards of offense and went 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions in the win. Chase Brown rushed for 180 yards, his eighth straight game with over 100 yards on the ground. The Illini defense allowed only 180 total yards, including just 38 through the air.
• In Illinois' last trip to Minneapolis in 2023, the Illini captured a thrilling 27-26 win. After QB Luke Altmyer was injured, John Paddock entered the game for the first time with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter facing a 4th-and-11 from the Illinois 15-yard line and the Orange and Blue trailing by five. Paddock needed just 35 seconds to drive the Illini 85 yards on three straight completions, including a 46-yard, game-winning touchdown throw to Isaiah Williams, who also caught the 22-yard pickup on fourth down to keep Illinois alive. Paddock finished 3-for-3 passing for 85 yards, one touchdown, and a 448.0 passer rating in one of the all-time great performances by an Illini back-up quarterback.
• John Sullivan set Illinois' single-game tackles record of 34 vs. Minnesota 11/12/1977
• Rich Kreitling set Illinois' single-game yards per catch record of 41.5 (4-166) at Minnesota 10/18/195
• Dike Eddleman set Illinois' single-game punt return average record of 51.0 vs. Minnesota 10/18/1947

Minnesota Connections

• Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck is a native of Sugar Grove, Illinois, and went to Kaneland High School. 
• Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller coached the offensive line at Minnesota during the 2016 season.
• Illinois head football athletic trainer Jeremy Busch was a graduate assistant athletic trainer with the Minnesota football program and graduated from Minnesota with a master's degree in sports management in 2005.
• Illinois Director of Football Operations Pete Weiden served in the same role at Minnesota in P.J. Fleck's first season as head coach of the Gophers in 2017. Weiden is also a graduate of St. Cloud State University (sports management, 2007), located less than 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis in St. Cloud, Minnesota. 
• Illinois Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Nutrition Brittany Perry was a four-year hockey letterwinner for Minnesota. Her husband, Travis Perry , is a graphic designer in the Illinois athletic department and worked on Minnesota's football staff for four years.
• Illinois chancellor Robert J. Jones had a 34-year career at the University of Minnesota, where he began as a plant physiologist in the department of agronomy and plant genetics and rose through a series of academic administrative appointments, serving as senior vice president for academic administration at the University of Minnesota System from 2004 to 2013.