OPENING KICK
• Back on the Road: The Fighting Illini (1-4 overall, 0-2 B1G West) will be looking to end a four-game skid when they head to the East Coast to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-4 overall, 0-3 B1G East) on Saturday in New Jersey (Noon ET/11 a.m. CT on ESPNews).
• Handle with Care: The Orange and Blue have done a good job taking care of the ball this season.Â
   » With just four giveaways, the Illini rank third in the nation and first in the Big Ten in fewest turnovers.Â
    » With just one interception thrown, the Illini are tied for second in the nation in fewest interceptions thrown. Western Michigan is the only team in the nation that has yet to throw an INT this season.
• TFL U: As a team the Illini defense has been making plays in the backfield early and often in 2016. Â
   » Illinois ranks 16th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in TFLs per game (8.2)
    » Senior DE Carroll Phillips is averaging 2.2 TFLs per game, most in the nation and the Big Ten.
• 'O' on Track: Illinois piled up 499 yards of total offense against Purdue and rushed for a season-high 315 yards against the Boilers. In addition, Illinois' 24 first downs against PU were a season high.
• Tackling Machine: Graduate transfer LB Hardy Nickerson is averaging 9.4 tackles per game to rank second in the Big Ten and 34th in the nation. He is seven tackles shy of reaching 300 for his career, a total that ranks seventh among active FBS players. Nickerson also picked off two passes against Purdue, the second and third INTs of his career.Â
• Target Turner: Junior WR Malik Turner has emerged as one of the top pass catchers in the Big Ten. He's averaging 5.8 receptions and 81.8 receiving yards per game to rank second and third in the conference, respectively. Turner hauled in nine catches for a career-high 129 yards against Purdue and now has 29 receptions for 409 yards and three touchdowns on the season.Â
• Reggie, Reggie, Reggie: Redshirt Freshman RB Reggie Corbin, making his second career start, ran for a career-high 92 yards on 11 carries (8.4 ypc), including a career-long 46-yard run in the first quarter. He also had a 30-yard reception against the Boilers. In Big Ten play (2 games), Corbin has 212 all-purpose and 164 rushing yards on 20 carries.
• Crouch Provides Spark: Sophomore QB Chayce Crouch came in for an injured Wes Lunt against Purdue and had a career game. Crouch completed 10-of-14 passes for 142 yards and rushed for a career-high 137 yards and two touchdowns. It marked the fourth-most single-game rushing yards by a QB in Illinois history and the most since Reilly O'Toole had 147 at Northwestern on Nov. 29, 2014.
• Throwing Strikes: QB Wes Lunt is one of the most accurate passers in the nation during his time with the Illini.Â
   » Now in his third season starting at Illinois, Lunt has thrown 34 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions on 851 attempts (85.1 att/int).Â
   » With one interception on 129 pass attempts in 2016, Lunt is one of five players in the nation with at least 125 attempts and 1 or less INT.Â
   » Lunt threw 95 passes this season before throwing his first interception of the season in the fourth quarter of the third game vs. Western Michigan.Â
• Lunt's Legacy: QB Wes Lunt ranks in the top 10 on several UI career lists: Â
   » 5,364 passing yds – 7th (1,667 behind Tony Eason for 6th)
   » 501 completions – 7th (60 behind Tony Eason for 6th)
   » 122.7 passing efficiency – 8th (just behind Jeff George's 122.8 for 7th)
   » 34 passing touchdowns – 9th (1 behind Johnny Johnson for 8th & 4 behind Tony Eason for 7th)
   » 5,093 yards of total offense – 9th (65 behind John Beutjer for 8th)
• Smoot Point: DE Dawuane Smoot has 25 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, three hurries, one forced fumble and one safety in 2016, but has wreaked much more havoc than the stats indicate. Smoot was a preseason All-American and named the 20th-best player in the country by Pro Football Focus heading into his senior season, drawing plenty of attention from NFL draft experts.
• Chasing Perfection: Sophomore PK Chase McLaughlin (8-9 FG and 14-14 PAT) made the first 22 kicks of his UI career (8 FGs and 14 PATs) before his first miss in the final seconds against Purdue. He has connected on 8-of-9 field goals this season to rank 13th in FBS in FG percentage (.889).Â
THE ILLINOIS-RUTGERS SERIES
• Illinois and Rutgers will meet for the first time since Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014.
• Illinois and Rutgers have met twice all-time, splitting games in 2005 and 2006.
• Saturday will be the Illini's first trip to Piscataway, New Jersey, since Rutgers beat Illinois 33-0 on Sept. 9, 2006.Â
• Illinois won the program's first meeting, 33-30, in an overtime game in Champaign on Sept. 3, 2005. Illinois trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before scoring 20 unanswered points to force overtime. After Rutgers hit a field goal in the first possession of overtime, Pierre Thomas' two-yard touchdown run ended the game. The 20-point comeback is tied for the largest comeback win in Illinois history along with the Illini's 35-29 victory at Michigan on Oct. 25, 1999.
RUTGERS CONNECTIONS
• Illinois DL Sean Adesanya (Rahway, N.J./Rahway/Eastern Arizona JC) and LS Sean Mills (Metuchen, N.J./St. Joseph) are New Jersey natives.
• Illinois running backs coach Thad Ward and Rutgers defensive coordinator Jay Niemann coached together at Northern Illinois from 2013-15.
• Illinois offensive coordinator Garrick McGee and Rutgers defensive coordinator Jay Niemann coached together at Northern Iowa in 1999.
• Rutgers special teams coordinator Vince Okruch was Illinois' defensive coordinator in 2006.
TOUGH ROAD
• The Illini have played the 10th-toughest schedule in the nation based on winning percentage vs. FBS teams. Illinois' four FBS opponents are combined 18-4 this season – No. 12 Nebraska (5-0), No. 17 North Carolina (4-2), Western Michigan (6-0) and Purdue (3-2). When projecting out future games, the Illini schedule ranks as the eighth-toughest in the nation.Â
• Four Illinois opponents are ranked in the latest AP Top 25 (Oct. 10) – No. 4 Michigan, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 24 Western Michigan, while North Carolina (No. 28) and Iowa (No. 38) are both receiving votes.
• Only four college football teams will play against more 2015 bowl teams during the 2016 season. Illinois' nine bowl opponents are tied for fifth in the nation behind USC (11), BYU (10), Colorado (10) and Ole Miss (10).
• The Big Ten moved to a nine-game conference slate this season, meaning each team plays three division crossover games. Illinois' cross-division games are home against No. 12 Michigan State, at No. 7 Michigan and at Rutgers, meaning the Illini have five road games and four home games in B1G play.
GRAD TRANSFERS MAKING BIG IMPACT
Both of Illinois' graduate transfers have made a huge impact for the Fighting Illini defense.Â
• Cal transfer LB Hardy Nickerson is averaging 9.4 tackles per game to rank second the Big Ten and 34th nationally. He has added 3.0 TFLs, fourth-most on the team, a team-high two interceptions and 1.0 sack.Â
• Auburn transfer DE Gimel President has 5.0 TFLs to rank second on the team and 11th in the Big Ten. He has 19 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, one PBU and one QB hurry on the season. He had six tackles against Western Michigan, the most of his career.
» COMPLETE ILLINOIS-RUTGERS GAME NOTES (PDF)
