OPENING KICK
• B1G Play Begins: Coming off their lone bye week of the season, the Fighting Illini (1-2) travel to Nebraska this Saturday to open Big Ten play against the 15th-ranked Huskers (2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2).
• B1G Leaders: Illini are at the top of the conference in three major defensive categories.
» Senior DE Carroll Phillips is averaging 3.0 TFLs per game to lead the nation and B1G.
» Phillips is averaging 1.33 sacks per game to lead the B1G and rank fifth in the nation.
» Graduate transfer LB Hardy Nickerson is averaging 9.7 tackles per game to lead B1G.
• TFL U: The Illini defensive has been making plays in the backfield early and often in 2016.
» Illinois is tied for NCAA lead in sacks per game (4.33) with Miami (FL) and Boise St.
» Illinois ranks third in the nation and second in the Big Ten in TFLs per game (10.7).
» Individually, Carroll Phillips leads the nation in sacks per game and is fifth nationally in TFLs per game. Graduate transfer Gimel President is averaging 1.7 TFLs per game to rank third in the B1G and 15th in the nation.
• Lunt's Legacy: QB Wes Lunt ranks in the top 10 on several UI career lists:
» 123.4 passing efficiency – 7th (just behind Kurt Kittner's 124.8 for 6th)
» 484 completions – 7th (77 behind Tony Eason for 6th)
» 34 passing touchdowns – 9th (1 behind Johnny Johnson for 8th & 4 behind Tony Eason for 7th)
» 4,913 yards of total offense – 9th (245 behind John Beutjer for 8th)
» 5,189 passing yds – t-9th (1 behind Jon Beutjer for 8th & 104 behind Johnny Johnson for 7th)
• Throwing Strikes: After throwing six touchdowns and one interception in the first three games of 2016, Lunt has thrown 34 TDs against just 10 INTs in his two-plus years at Illinois. He threw 95 passes this season before throwing his first interception of the season in the fourth quarter of the third game vs. Western Michigan.
• Lunt 2 Leek: Lunt's favorite target has been junior WR Malik Turner, who leads the team with 15 receptions for 223 yards and three touchdowns. The duo hooked up for scores of 5 and 68 yards against Murray State and then from 7 yards out against North Carolina. Turner's high school football coach, Ken Leonard (Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin HS), is the father of Lunt's high school football coach, Derek Leonard (Rochester HS).
• Block Party: Senior DT Rob Bain blocked a field-goal attempt in the second quarter against Western Michigan, his fourth career blocked kick. He was second in FBS with three blocked kicks last season.
• Smoot Points: Senior DE Dawuane Smoot tackled UNC RB Elijah Hood in the end zone for a safety on Sept. 10, marking the Illini's first safety since Sept. 13, 2014, at Washington. Smoot, who has 2.0 TFLs, two hurries, one forced fumble and one safety in 2016, was named a preseason All-American and the 20th-best college football player in the country by Pro Football Focus. He drew plenty of attention from NFL draft experts heading into 2016.
• Big Play Offense: Illinois has five plays of 50+ yards this season, tied for seventh-most in the nation (three runs and two passes). The three runs of 50+ yards is tied for the second-most in the nation. Kendrick Foster had a pair of 56-yard TD runs against Murray State and Ke'Shawn Vaughn had a 65-yard TD scamper against North Carolina.
• Captain Vote: Prior to the season-opener, Coach Smith announced that QB Wes Lunt, LB Hardy Nickerson, DE Dawuane Smoot and OL Joe Spencer would be the 2016 team captains after a vote by players and coaches.
• NFL Experience: Lovie Smith's Illini staff has 56 seasons of combined NFL head and assistant coach experience – the most in college football in 2016, ahead of UCLA (44), Michigan (41), Nebraska (32) and USC (30).
• Purdue Game Time: The Oct. 8 game against Purdue at Memorial Stadium has been set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by Big Ten Network » Full Schedule
THE ILLINOIS-NEBRASKA SERIES
• Illinois trails the all-time series with Nebraska, 3-9-1 (.269).
• This will be Illinois' ninth trip to Lincoln and third in the last four years. The Illini are 1-7 in Lincoln with the lone winning coming in 1924 (9-6).
• Illinois is looking to beat Nebraska in back-to-back years for the first time since 1923-24. Last year's 14-13 win in Champaign was the Illini's first against the Cornhuskers since 1924.
• The 2015 Illini win over the Huskers ended in dramatic fashion, as QB Wes Lunt found WR Geronimo Allison for a 1-yard touchdown with 10 seconds remaining to give the Illini a 14-13 victory in Champaign. Illinois went 72 yards in the final 41 seconds for the winning score.
NEBRASKA CONNECTIONS
• Illinois AD Josh Whitman played for the San Diego Chargers in 2001 when Nebraska head coach Mike Riley was the head coach of the Chargers. Nebraska defensive coordinator Mark Banker and Nebraska special teams coordinator Bruce Read served in the same roles for the 2011 Chargers. Nebraska defensive line coach John Parrella was a defensive tackle on that Chargers team.
• Illinois linebacker Hardy Nickerson played against Mike Riley's Oregon State teams twice when he was at California. Nickerson had seven tackles in a 45-31 win for the Bears in 2014 and five tackles in a 49-17 loss for Cal in 2013. Riley brought many of his Oregon State staff to Lincoln when he took the job at Nebraska in 2015.
• The Chicago Bears drafted four players from Mike Riley's Oregon State program while Lovie Smith was the Bears' head coach: LB Joey LaRocque (2008, 7th round), DB Al Afalava (2009, 6th round), DT Stephen Paea (2011, 2nd round) and DB Brandon Hardin (2012, 3rd round)
• Nebraska linebackers coach Trent Bray was the linebackers coach at Arizona State in 2011 when the Illini beat the Sun Devils 17-14 on Sept. 17, 2011, Illinois' last win against an AP-ranked opponent. Nebraska graduate manager Jon Clark was a student assistant for the 2011 Arizona State team.
• Former Illinois quarterback Chase Haslett is a graduate manager for Nebraska. Haslett, the son of former NFL player and NFL coach Jim Haslett, spent three years as a backup at Illinois before transferring to Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
ILLINOIS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Illinois faces its first Associated Press Top 25-ranked opponent of the season on Saturday. Nebraska is No. 15 in this week's AP poll and also is No. 15 in the current USA Today Coaches Poll.
• The Illini have lost 13 straight and 22 of their last 23 against foes ranked in the AP poll since beating No. 1 Ohio State 28-21 on Nov. 10, 2007. The lone win during that span came on Sept. 17, 2011, over No. 22 Arizona State, 17-14.
• Illinois' win over Minnesota in 2014 gave the Illini their first win over a ranked team in either the AP or Coaches poll since 2011. The Golden Gophers were No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, however, the Gophers were not ranked in the AP poll at the time of the game.
• Illinois is 0-3 against Nebraska when the Cornhuskers are ranked in the AP poll with losses in 1985 (L, 52-25 at No. 17 Nebraska), 1986 (L, 59-14 vs. No. 6 Nebraska) and 2014 (L, 45-14 at No. 21 Nebraska).
BYE WEEK FACTS
• The Fighting Illini are coming off their lone open weekend of the season heading into the Nebraska game.
• Illinois has dropped 13 of its last 15 games following a bye. Last season, the Illini fell to Wisconsin 24-13 following their lone bye week. The last victory following an off weekend came vs. Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 28, 2013 (50-14).
• Illinois has played 37 games after a bye in the modern era (since 1985, when bye weeks became commonplace) and is 13-24 in those contests.
THE LOVIE EFFECT
• Arrow Pointing Up: Through three games, the Illini are averaging 50,089 fans per game in 2016. In 2015, Illinois averaged 41,342 fans per game with a high of 51,515 (vs. Ohio State 11/14/15)
• Selling Out: Illinois welcomed a sellout crowd of 60,670 against North Carolina on Sept. 10, marking the first sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium since hosting Michigan on Nov. 12, 2011. It was the first non-conference sellout since hosting Arizona State on Sept. 12, 1987 (Capacity at the time was 70,060).
• Big Opener: The crowd of 48,644 for the 2016 season-opener against Murray State marked Illinois' best non-conference attendance since Sept. 17, 2011 against Arizona State (50,669) and was Illinois' best home-opener attendance since Sept. 11, 2010 against Southern Illinois (52,217).
HE'S LUNT, HE'S LUNT, HE'S LUNT, HE'S IN MY HEAD
• Senior QB Wes Lunt went 29-for-42, for 312 yards and a touchdown his last time out against Western Michigan, his fifth career 300+ yard game.
• Lunt started off his final season with an efficient performance against Murray State, completing 15-of-21 passes for 226 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. His passing efficiency of 209.0 against the Racers ranked as eight-best in the nation during the first week of action. Through three games, he has six touchdowns and one interception, while throwing for 665 yards.
• Lunt currently ranks in the UI career top-10 six different categories – passing completions (7th), passing attempts (7th), passing efficiency (7th), total offense (9th), passing yards (9th) and passing touchdowns (9th).
• Lunt was named to four preseason watch lists heading into 2016 – Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Unitas Golden Arm and Manning Award.
• With one interception on 98 pass attempts in 2016, Lunt is one of 12 players in the nation with at least 95 attempts and 1 or less INT.
• Lunt has thrown 34 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions in his three-year UI career. He threw just six interceptions in 481 pass attempts in 2015 (80.2 att/int) and has 10 career interceptions in 820 attempts (82.0 att/int).
SMOOT, SO HOT RIGHT NOW
• The preseason hype for senior DE Dawuane Smoot was large. In addition to being named to three preseason watch lists (Bednarik, Hendricks, Lombardi), Smoot also was named a preseason All-American, the 20th-best college football player in the country and is a projected first round draft pick by Pro Football Focus. Phil Steele, Athlon and Lindy's all named him to their preseason All-Big Ten teams.
• Smoot had a breakout year in 2015, racking up 15.0 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks while earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.
• Smoot is off to a modest start in 2016 while garnering lots of attention from the opposing offense, but has still managed 12 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, two hurries, one forced fumble and one safety in the season's early stages. He had a career-high eight tackles against Western Michigan on Sept. 17.
NO AVERAGE JOE
• Senior OL Joe Spencer continues to be a model student-athlete both on and off the field, as evidenced by being on the preseason watch lists for both the Rimington Award (top center in the country) and the Wuerffel Trophy (an award recognizing community service).
» On the field, Spencer has been an anchor of the offensive line for the past three years, making 27 career starts, and is regarded as a team leader by his teammates. He sat out the Murray State game due to injury, but returned to start at center against North Carolina, even picking up a fumble and advancing it 14 yards to nearly gain a key first down.
» Off the field, he's been even more valuable, serving as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Illinois Uplifting Athletes chapter, which raises money for rare disease research. He's also a member of the Illinois Leadership Academy, serves as a "Big" for Big Brothers Big Sisters and organizes countless visits to local schools and events.
» Spencer also is one of 11 graduates on this years roster, earning a bachelor's degree in finance in May. He's currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration.
THE HARDY BOYS
• Former NFL great Hardy Nickerson is on the Illinois sideline as defensive coordinator in 2016, and he's joined by his son, also named Hardy, manning the middle of the defense. The younger Nickerson is a graduate transfer middle linebacker from Cal. He said he couldn't pass up the chance to play for his father and for Coach Lovie Smith for his final season of college football.
• In his first three games with the Illini, Young Hardy started at middle linebacker and leads the team and the Big Ten in tackles (9.7 tpg).
• At Cal, Young Hardy had 246 tackles, 9.0 TFLs, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one interception.
• As a team captain in 2015, Nickerson had a team-high 112 stops, third-most in the PAC-12, to earn honorable mention All-PAC 12 honors.
• The father and son have different middle names, so they are not Sr. and Jr. They both simply go by Hardy Nickerson. We usually refer to them as defensive coordinator Hardy Nickerson and linebacker Hardy Nickerson, or Hardy and Young Hardy.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Dynamic Duo: The backfield tandem of junior Kendrick Foster and sophomore Ke'Shawn Vaughn has been explosive thus far, combining for 362 yards and four touchdowns in the first three games of 2016.
» Foster broke out for a career-high 118 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries in the opener vs. Murray State (29.5 ypc), breaking a 61-year old Illini record for most yards per rush in a game. Foster had two 56-yard touchdown runs against the Racers on back-to-back drives. He has 175 yards on the ground and is averaging 9.7 yards per carry this season.
» Vaughn started the North Carolina game with a 65-yard touchdown run and finished the night with 116 yards on 15 carries, his second career 100-yard game. He has 187 yards and two touchdowns on the season, and is closing in on 1,000 career rushing yards (910 entering Saturday's Nebraska game).
• Equal Opportunity: At least 10 different Illini have caught passes in each of the first three games this season. Through three games, 15 different Illini have at least two receptions.
• Turning Up: Junior WR Malik Turner is again the top Illini deep threat. He went over 100 yards for the second time in his career on Sept. 17 vs Western Michigan, totaling 107 yards on nine receptions. On the season, Turner leads all Illini receivers with 15 catches for 223 yards (14.9 ypc) , including touchdown catches of five, 68 and seven yards. The 68-yard strike from Wes Lunt in the first quarter of the season-opener was the longest play of both players' careers.
• Senior TE Ainslie Johnson scored his first career touchdown on a career-long 56-yard reception against Western Michigan. He has five catches for 85 yards on the season to lead the Illini tight ends.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Push 'Em Back: The Illini lead the nation in sacks per game (4.33) and rank third in TFLs per game (10.7), led by seniors Carroll Phillips (9.0 TFLs) and Gimel President (5.0 TFLs), who rank first and 15th in the nation, respectively.
• Up-and-Comer: Redshirt-freshman DL Jamal Milan started on the defensive line for the first time in his career in game three vs. WMU. He had a career-high seven tackles, 1.0 sacks and 2.5 TFLs.
• Picking Up Where He Left Off: Cal graduate transfer LB Hardy Nickerson led Illinois with 11 tackles in each of his first two games at Illinois and leads the conference in tackles per game (9.7) heading into week five.
• In the Negative: The Illinois defense held Murray State to -10 yards rushing, the lowest total in the nation by a wide margin during the opening weekend – the next closest was Miami (FL), who held Florida A&M to 22 yards on the ground. The last time an opponent had negative rushing yards against Illinois was Western Michigan (-6) in 2012.
• Setting the Tone: Sophomore SS Julian Hylton, making his first career start, intercepted Murray State QB KD Humphries on the second play of the game during the Sept. 3 season-opener, setting the tone for the game.
• Taylor Made: Senior safety Taylor Barton is a veteran presence (team-high 32 career starts) in an otherwise inexperienced secondary. Heading into 2016, the rest of the secondary had just five combined starts under its belt (all by senior CB Darius Mosely). Barton had a career-year in 2015, making 56 tackles and a team-high four interceptions, the most for an Illini in a season since 2007. He has opened 2016 with 14 tackles, 1.0 TFL, one PBU and an interception through three games and now has 204 tackles, eight PBUs, seven interceptions, 5.0 TFLs, two forced fumbles, one pick-six and one fumble recovery in his UI career.
THE SPECIAL TEAMS
• Chasing History: Sophomore PK Chase McLaughlin made a splash in his Illini debut, hitting 7-of-7 extra points and nailing his only field goal try from 48 yards, accounting for 10 points in the 52-3 victory over Murray State. He remains perfect on the season and for his career, 11-for-11 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals.
• Block Party: Senior DT Rob Bain blocked a field goal against Western Michigan, the fourth blocked kick of his career. He blocked three kicks in 2015 (2 PATs, 1 FG) to rank second among FBS individuals in blocks. As a team, Illinois ranked fourth in FBS with five blocked kicks in 2015 (2 punts, 2 PATs, 1 FG), two of which were returned for touchdowns.
• Snap Engineer: Senior long snapper Michael Martin returns after splitting long-snapping duties with Zach Hirth the last two seasons. Martin served as long snapper for punts, while Hirth short-snapped for PATs and field goals. With Hirth gone, Martin, who was recently placed on scholarship for his final season, is making all long snaps.
» COMPLETE ILLINOIS-NEBRASKA GAME NOTES (PDF)
