Big Ten Schedule for the week

Illinois at Minnesota — 11 A.M.

Indiana at Maryland — 11 A.M.

Michigan at Penn State — 11 A.M.

Purdue at Iowa — 11 A.M.

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Rutgers at Army — 11 A.M.

Michigan State at Ohio State — 2:30 P.M.

Northwestern at Wisconsin — 2:30 P.M.

Illinois schedule/results up to this point
Sept. 5 vs. Kent State — (W 52-3)
Sept. 12 vs. Western Illinois — (W 44-0)
Sept. 19 at North Carolina — (L 48-14)
Sept. 26 vs. Middle Tennessee State — (W 27-25)
Oct. 3 vs. Nebraska — (W 14-13)
Oct. 10 at Iowa — (L 29-20)
Oct. 24 vs. Wisconsin — (L 24-13)
Oct. 31 at Penn State — (L 39-0)
Nov. 7 at Purdue — (W 48-14)
Nov. 14 vs. Ohio State — (L 28-3)
Nov. 21 at Minnesota — 11 A.M.
Nov. 28 vs. Northwestern — 2:30 P.M.

Big Ten Standings
East
Ohio State (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten)
Michigan State (9-1, 5-1)
Michigan (8-2, 5-1)
Penn State (7-3, 4-2)
Rutgers (3-7, 1-6)
Indiana (4-6, 1-6)
Maryland (2-8, 0-6)
West
Iowa (10-0, 6-0)
Wisconsin (8-2, 5-1)
Northwestern (8-2, 4-2)
Nebraska (5-6, 3-4)
Illinois (5-5, 2-4)
Minnesota (4-6, 1-5)
Purdue (2-8, 1-5)

Illinois Depth Chart
Offense
QB Wes Lunt 12
RB Josh Ferguson 6
WR-X Geronimo Allison 8
WR-T Desmond Cain 86
WR-Z Malik Turner 11
TE Andrew Davis 89
LT Austin Schmidt 57
LG Chris Boles 55
C Joe Spencer 71
RG Ted Karras 69
RT Christian DiLauro 67
K Taylor Zalewski 17
Defense
DE Carroll Phillips 6
NT Rob Bain 16
DT Jihad Ward 17
LEO Dawuane Smoot 91
WLB Mason Monheim 43
MLB T.J. Neal Jr. 52
STAR James Crawford 5
CB V’Angelo Bentley 2
SS Taylor Barton 3
FS Clayton Fejedelum 20
CB Eaton Spence 27

Minnesota depth chart:

Offense

QB Mitch Leidner 7

WR-X Drew Wolitarsky 82

WR-Z KJ Maye 1

TE-H Brandon Lingen 86

TE-Y Nate Wozniak 39

LT Foster Bush 77

LG Joe Bjorklund 73

C Tyler Moore 71

RG Connor Mayes 55

RT Jonah Pirsig 79

RB Rodney Smith 24

FB Miles Thomas 41

K Ryan Santoso 18

Defense

DE Thelren Cockran 55

DT Andrew Stelter 99

DT Yoshoub Timms 52

DE Hendrick Ekpe 95

LB De’Vondre Campbell 26

LB Jonathan Celestin 13

LB Jack Lynn 50

CB Eric Murray 31

S Antonio Johnson 11

S Adekunie Ayinde 4

CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun 29

P Peter Mortell 37

Illinois position leaders:

Passing

Wes Lunt

216-for-393, 2,241 yards, 12 TD

Rushing

Ke’Shawn Vaughn

145 carries, 699 yards, 6 TD

Josh Ferguson

95 carries, 583 yards, 3 TD

Passing

Geronimo Allison

57 catches, 794 yards, 3 TD

Desmond Cain

43 catches, 398 yards, 1TD

Malik Turner

25 catches, 338 yards, 2 TD

Josh Ferguson

23 catches, 145 yards, 2 TD

Minnesota position leaders

Passing

Mitch Leidner

187-for-315, 2,167 yards, 11 TD

Rushing

Rodney Smith

133 carries, 574 yards, 1 TD

Shannon Brooks

82 carries, 471 yards, 4 TD

Receiving

KJ Maye

56 catches, 630 yards, 4 TD

Drew Wolitarsky

32 catches, 402 yards, 2 TD

Brandon Lingen

25 catches, 375 yards, 3 TD

Eric Carter

21 catches, 245 yards, 1 TD

History:

The Illini won the teams’ matchup in Champaign last year, beating the Gophers 28-24. Though, Minnesota leads the all-time series 35-29.

Did you know?

Last year’s win over then-No. 24 Minnesota was the Illini’s first win over a ranked opponent since Illinois beat then-No. 22 Arizona State in 2011.

Minnesota’s schedule:

Sept. 3 vs. TCU — (L 23-17)

Sept. 12 at Colorado State — (W 23-20)

Sept. 19 vs. Kent State — (W 10-7)

Sept. 26 vs. Ohio — (W 27-24)

Oct. 3 at Northwestern — (L 27-0)

Oct. 10 at Purdue — (W 41-13)

Oct. 17 vs. Nebraska — (L 48-25)

Oct. 31 vs. Michigan — (L 29-26)

Nov. 7 at Ohio State — (L 28-14)

Nov. 14 at Iowa — (L 40-35)

Nov. 21 vs. Illinois — 11 A.M.

Nov. 28 vs. Wisconsin — 2:30 P.M.

Eye on the Illini: Geronimo Allison

Prior to the last three games, in which Allison had a combined nine catches, the receiver had caught at least eight passes in four straight games. Head coach Bill Cubit said opposing teams have been playing closer attention to the wideout, at times double-teaming him. Allison was named to the Biletnikoff watch list earlier this season but is not a finalist for the award.

Eye on the Enemy: Mitch Leidner

Leidner’s 187 completions this season ranks 10th all-time in program history. He’s also gained 177 yards rushing on 82 carries this year. The Gophers QB is 91-of-160 with 1,110 passing yards against ranked opponents this year. He has thrown 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions thus far.

Illini Cutout: Desmond Cain
The 5-foot-11 freshman had the best game of his collegiate career Saturday in the team’s 28-3 loss to reigning national champion Ohio State. He had 10 receptions for 102 yards and one carry for five yards – it was the first rushing attempt of his Illini career. Cain made a 37-yard reception against Ohio State – his longest one yet. He has 43 grabs for 398 yards and one touchdown this year.

Minnesota cutout: KJ Maye

Maye leads the Gophers in receptions (56) and receiving yards (630) this year. Sixty-four percent (36) of Maye’s receptions have resulted in a first down or touchdown — 17 of those catches have come on third or fourth down. Maye recorded 116 yards against Ohio State earlier this season — a season high for him.

Last week for Minnesota:

The Gophers lost to undefeated conference foe Iowa 40-35 at Kinnick Stadium. Minnesota was down three points at halftime and had a one point lead after the third. Leidner threw for 259 yards and one touchdown, Maye had seven receptions for 106 yards.