NEBRASKA GAME PROMOTIONS
• Big Ten 2-Pack – Tickets to 2 B1G games (choose from NEB/WIS/OSU) starting at $80 ($40 per ticket)
• Grange Grove – Opens at 7 am (Interactive games, food trucks & music start at approximately 11:30)
• Fighting Illini Walk – 12:30 pm through Grange Grove
FOR OPENERS
• Kicking Off: The Fighting Illini (3-1, 0-0) open conference play Saturday when Big Ten West foe Nebraska (2-2, 0-0) comes to Memorial Stadium (3 pm CT on BTN). It will mark the Huskers' first trip to Champaign's Memorial Stadium since Sept. 20, 1986.
• Block Party: Illinois is tied for the FBS lead as one of three teams with three blocked kicks the season. The Fighting Illini have blocked two punts, returning both for touchdowns, and one field goal on the season.
• Mr. Clutch: Senior PK Taylor Zalewski nailed a 51-yard field goal with 2:09 left for what proved to be the winning points in Saturday's 27-25 win over Middle Tennessee. It was the 25th made field goal of his career and the third of 50 or more yards. Zalewski's career long is 54 yards in 2012.
• Captain Comeback: Junior QB Wes Lunt engineered an eight-play drive that culminated in Zalewski's game-winner vs. MTSU. It was the fourth fourth-quarter comeback of win for Lunt in the last two seasons.
• D-Fence: The Fighting Illini defense over the first four games has shown vast improvement since last season.
» The Illini rank in the top-25 nationally in five different stat categories, including blocked kicks (1), third down conversion percentage defense (6), tackles for loss (10), interceptions (17) and total defense (24). See page 2 for a table comparing the 2014 Illini defense with this year's.
» Entering conference play in 2014, the Illini were allowing 429.8 ypg and 32.8 ppg. This season, they're allowing 306.3 ypg and 19.0 ppg heading into B1G action.
» The Illini have forced 24 three-and-out drives this season (6.0 per game), tied for the fifth-most in FBS. Illinois forced 44 three-and-out drives in all of 2014 (3.4 per game).
• OL Pride: The first string offensive line of LT Austin Schmidt, LG Chris Boles, C Joe Spencer, RG Ted Karras and RT Christian DiLauro has allowed just two sacks in four games this season. As a team, the Illini rank 13th nationally with three sacks allowed (the second string OL has allowed one sack).
• Senior RB Josh Ferguson has climbed up to 11th on the UI career rushing list with 2,209 career yards.
» Ferguson became the 17th player in Illinois history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards with 133 yards at North Carolina in week three.
» Ferg is one of three active FBS players with more than 2,000 career rushing yards (2,209) and 1,000 receiving yards (1,301), along with Arizona State's D.J. Foster and Oregon State's Storm Woods.
» A Doak Walker Award candidate, Ferguson ranks fourth in career all-purpose yards at UI (3,891), with a realistic chance to break Robert Holcombe's all-time mark of 4,737.
• Senior DB V'Angelo Bentley surpassed Pierre Thomas' UI career kick return yardage record Saturday against MTSU. Bentley's 1,530 career KR yards moved him past Thomas' total of 1,495. The Hornung Award candidate is the first Illinois player in school history to record kick, punt, interception and fumble returns for TD in his career.
• Junior SS Taylor Barton has three interceptions this season, tied for sixth-most in the nation through the first four weeks of the season and the most for an Illini in a season since Terry Hawthorne in 2011 and equal the total for the entire team in all of 2013.
• Senior LB Mason Monheim has 321 career tackles, the second-most among active FBS players. The Butkus and Lombardi Award candidate has forced seven career fumbles, tied for fourth most in Illinois history and the fourth-most among active FBS players.
ILLINOIS-NEBRASKA SERIES
• Illinois trails the all-time series with Nebraska, 2-9-1 (.208).
• This will be Nebraska's fifth all-time trip to Champaign and the first since 1986.
• The teams have faced each other only four times in the last 62 years.
• Illinois' two victories against Nebraska came in 1923 and 1924.
• Geronimo Allison had a 58-yard touchdown reception from Reilly O'Toole and Josh Ferguson broke a 41-yard touchdown run in last season's 45-14 loss at Nebraska.
• Allison had five receptions for 118 yards against the Huskers in 2014.
• T.J. Neal intercepted a pass and Mason Monheim forced a fumble that was recovered by Eaton Spence on back-to-back Nebraska drives last season.
• Josh Ferguson led Illinois with 114 yards on 19 carries and 82 yards on eight receptions during the Illini's 39-19 loss at Nebraska in 2013.
• Ferguson is averaging 87.5 rushing yards and 55.5 receiving yards in two career games against Nebraska.
NO FLY ZONE
Despite a rough day at North Carolina, the improvement of the Fighting Illini defense in 2015, under the direction of co-defensive coordinators Tim Banks and Mike Phair, has been remarkable. The Illini have jumped over 70 spots in national rankings from last season in several categories and currently are ranked in the top-25 nationally in blocked kicks, third down defense, TFLs, interceptions and total defense.
| ILLINOIS' DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT IN 2015 |
| Category | 2014 (Nat'l Rk) | 2015 (Nat'l Rk) |
| Blocked Kicks (total) | 1 (70) | 3 (1) |
| Third Down Conversion % | .423 (88) | .213 (6) |
| Tackles for Loss (per game) | 6.3 (49) | 8.8 (10) |
| Interceptions (total) | 7 (105) | 6 (17) |
| Total Defense (ypg) | 456.4 (109) | 306.3 (24) |
| Rushing Defense (ypg) | 239.2 (115) | 110.8 (27) |
| Turnovers Gained (total) | 19 (74) | 8 (27) |
| First Downs Allowed (per game) | 22.5 (101) | 15.5 (31) |
| Scoring Defense (ppg) | 34.0 (107) | 19.0 (33) |
| Pass Efficiency Defense (rating) | 136.0 (95) | 113.80 (45) |
MAKING THE GRADE
The Illini have excelled in the classroom over the last three seasons, a major focus of the staff's program-building.
• A total of 38 football student-athletes earned degrees in 2014-15, including 13 that are on the 2015 roster pursuing second degrees or master's degrees.
• Since 2012, the number of football graduates has gone from 15 (2012), to 16 (2013) to 21 (2014) to 38 (2015).
• Illinois has broken its school record for Academic All-Big Ten selections in each of the last three seasons in Champaign. Prior to 2012, the school record was 12 (2000 & 2009). Since then, the Illini have had 18 (2012), 21 (2013) and now 29 in 2014.
• For four consecutive semesters, at least 40 football student-athletes have posted at least a 3.0 grade-point-average, including a high of 60 in Spring 2015. In the same time frame, Illinois' team GPA also has risen steadily from 2.71 in fall 2012 to 2.98 in spring 2015.
Complete Illinois-Nebraska Game Notes (PDF)
