Illinois’ freshman quarterback will get his sophomore start this weekend as the Illini head to Michigan State for the first road trip of the Big Ten season.

Juice Williams and the rest of the Illini know they have a tough contest ahead of them, as the Spartans played the top-25 Fighting Irish to the wire last weekend. But they say they’ll be prepared to fight.

“As long as we go out there and play ball, bring our A-game, we should be alright,” Williams said Monday.

But the Spartans won’t let the Illini off easily, as they come off a tough, last-minute primetime loss to Notre Dame last weekend, and will be looking to improve on a 3-1 record. But while Illinois will be quarterbacked by a rookie, Michigan State sends a veteran with a chip on his shoulder after letting last week’s 37-40 loss slip by.

“Playing the position that I play, you have to be able to take the burden of what happened, and it’s frustrating because there are two or three plays that you’d like to have back,” MSU quarterback Drew Stanton said this week in press conference. “I play them over again in my mind, and seeing them again on film, too, and the way that it happened, it was just something that you’d like to have back, but you can’t.”

Illinois’ inverse record of 1-3 means the Illini look to put triple the losses behind them. Head coach Ron Zook said Tuesday that the team feels increasingly frustrated as the losses pile up, but that he knows the improvements become more and more noticeable each game.

“Obviously it’s not as fast as we all would have liked to have, but I think if you go back and look, defensively we are getting better, we are chasing the ball, we aren’t giving up as many big plays,” Zook said.

The head coach expressed confidence in his man under center, and Williams said he’s feeling more secure each week in practice. Last Saturday’s start against Iowa showed him he can handle the pressure of a Big Ten defense, and he said he’s starting to settle into the rhythm of the college game.

“I feel a little more confident coming into this week of practice,” Williams said. “I feel like I’ve grown a step as far as getting experience, as far as seeing the defense a little better.”

Illinois will struggle without offensive lineman Akim Millington, who is expected to sit out after injuring his ankle against Iowa.

But with corner Alan Ball and defensive lineman Derek Walker back, the defense feels it is in the best position possible to handle a Spartan offense that won’t let up.

“When they’re hitting on all cylinders, they’re maybe as good as anybody,” Zook said. “Drew Stanton is a winner. The running backs are the real deal.

“That’s the great challenge for us. Let’s go play it.”