| 2014 Northwestern Football -- Game 12 |
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| Northwestern (5-6, 3-4 Big Ten) vs. Illinois (5-6, 2-5 Big Ten) |
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| Date | Saturday, Nov. 29 | 11 a.m. CT |
| Location | Ryan Field (47,330) | Evanston, Ill. |
| TV: | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
| Gametracker | NUsports.com |
| Radio | WGN720 | 87.7 FM The Game | WNUR Online |
| Game Notes | Northwestern  | Illinois
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| Social Media | @NU_SportsLIVE  | @NUFBFamily | Facebook  |
| Buy Tickets | 888-GO-PURPLE | Online Ticket Office |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern and Illinois are set to stage their annual rivalry game Saturday at Ryan Field (11 a.m. CT) with plenty on the line, as both teams enter the game with matching 5-6 records and in need of a victory to gain bowl eligibility. Northwestern is 3-2 in the series since the teams began playing for the Land of Lincoln Trophy in 2009, prior to which they battled for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy.
The game will be carried live to a national audience on ESPNU, with Mark Neely and Ray Bentley on the call. On the radio, the game can be found on WGN720 and 87.7 FM The Game in Chicago or TheGameChicago.com, with the veteran tandem of Dave Eanet and Ted Albrecht being joined on the sideline by Jordan Bernfield.
Series Notes
NU and Illinois are meeting for the 108th time since their first matchup back in 1892, which is tied for the 26th-most played series in FBS football. The teams have met every year since 1927 and from 1945-2008 competed for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy, before making the shift to the Land of Lincoln prize in 2009.
Northwestern OC Mick McCall and WR coach Dennis Springer each spent two seasons on the same coaching staff as Illinois head coach Tim Beckman while at Bowling Green in 2003 and 2004. McCall was the quarterbacks coach for the Falcons and Springer oversaw the running backs while Beckman was the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Illinois linebackers coach Mike Ward also was on that staff, coaching BG's defensive line.
Illinois defensive line coach Greg Colby spent six years (2002-07) as defensive coordinator at Northwestern under Randy Walker and Pat Fitzgerald, helping guide NU to three seasons of bowl eligibility.
Illinois has not won at Ryan Field since a 31-24 win on Nov. 23, 2002, losing four straight games in Evanston in the time since (NU's 2010 home game was played at Wrigley Field).
Northwestern Game Notes
In its quest to become bowl eligible for a sixth time in seven seasons, Northwestern was left needing three wins in three games following a one-point loss to Michigan on Nov. 8. The `Cats assumed a playoff mindset ahead of their Nov. 15 trip to No. 15-ranked Notre Dame and took the first step in maintaining their postseason hopes by overcoming multiple 11-point deficits in South Bend and defeating the Irish, 43-40, in overtime. The win marked NU's sixth November victory over a top-20 opponent in the last seven years and served as a springboard to the Wildcats' 38-14 road win at Purdue the following week. Pat Fitzgerald is now 18-14 in his head coaching career in the month of November.
After scoring a combined 33 points in a three-game stretch between Oct. 18 and Nov. 8, Northwestern has found its groove on offense and averaged 40.5 points and 480.5 total offense yards per game in wins at Notre Dame and Purdue. The victory over the Fighting Irish featured NU season highs for points (43, previously 29 vs. Penn State), rushing yards (263, previously 203 vs. Wisconsin) and total offense (547, previously 394 vs. NIU) and also featured the Wildcats' longest pass completion to date this year, a 60-yard catch-and-run to Cameron Dickerson.
Last week at Purdue, true freshman RB Justin Jackson achieved a milestone that had been met only 15 previous times in Northwestern Football history -- and only one previous time by a freshman -- surpassing 1,000 rushing yards on the season. Jackson's 1,057 rushing yards this season are the fifth-most by a freshman in FBS football this year and the third-most by a Power-5 conference freshman. The Carol Stream, Ill., native reached his milestone in impressive fashion at Purdue, going over the 1,000-yard mark on an NU season-long run of 68 yards that marked Jackson's second touchdown of the game. He finished with 147 yards for the day, his fifth 100-yard rushing effort of the season.
Senior QB Trevor Siemian was on top of his game at Notre Dame when he threw for a season-high 284 yards on 30-of-48 passing, with one touchdown both throwing and rushing. He then started strong against Purdue before falling victim to an injury in the second quarter that sidelined him for the rest of the day. The 2014 co-captain recently moved into fourth on NU's career record lists for both passing yards (5,931) and completions (550) and is sixth in total offense (5,908).
Northwestern has coaxed its opponents into 12 turnovers over the last three games, most recently notching a season-high five takeaways against Purdue. The 'Cats rank No. 3 in the Big Ten and tied for 12th in the country with 26 turnovers gained (14 interceptions, 12 fumbles recovered) on the year. Northwestern has recorded five or more takeaways in a game only seven times since 2000, with three of those instances (2008, 2009, 2014) coming against Purdue.
Senior safety Ibraheim Campbell was honored Monday as the Big Ten's Co-Defensive Player of the Week after his second straight stellar performance for the Wildcats. Against Notre Dame, Campbell recorded a career-best two forced fumbles, including the strip of Notre Dame's Cam McDaniel with 1:28 remaining in the game that allowed NU to tie the score in regulation. One week later, Campbell recorded his third forced fumble in two games and added his 11th career interception in the fourth quarter.
Like Campbell, senior linebacker Jimmy Hall has come up with a series of big plays in recent weeks, contributing to four turnovers in two games. In NU's dramatic win at Notre Dame, Hall pounced on a pair of fumbles, one on Cam McDaniel's late fumble and the other in the NU end zone. One week later, Hall intercepted Purdue's Austin Appleby on the Boilermakers' first offensive series (Hall's third career pick), then forced and recovered a fumble later in the first half.
Illinois Notes
Illinois is looking to reach a bowl game for the third time in the last five years after winning the 2010 Texas Bowl (over Baylor) and 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (over UCLA) before a two-year bowl drought in 2012 and 2013.
The Illini have had to come from behind in the fourth quarter in all five of their wins this season. Illinois trailed entering the fourth quarter in wins against Youngstown State, Western Kentucky, Texas State and Minnesota. Last Saturday against Penn State, the Illini led 10-7 after the third quarter, but fell behind 14-10 early in the fourth before coming back to win in the final seconds, 16-14.
WR Mike Dudek is having the most prolific season for a freshman receiver in school history. Dudek has 62 receptions for 902 yards this season, which both break Arrelious Benn's previous freshman marks of 54 catches and 676 yards in 2007. He is one touchdown behind David Williams' freshman TD receptions record of six. Dudek leads all FBS freshmen in receiving yards per game (82.0), ranking 26th overall and third in the Big Ten.
Junior RB Josh Ferguson is one of only two active FBS players with more than 1,700 career rushing yards (1,733) and 1,000 receiving yards (1,136). Arizona State's D.J. Foster is the other.
Nine of the Illini's 10 FBS opponents thus far are bowl eligible. Ohio State (10), Wisconsin (9), Minnesota (8), Nebraska (8), Iowa (7), Washington (7), Texas State (6), Penn State (6) and Western Kentucky (6) all have reached the six-win threshhold. Purdue (3-7) is the only Illinois opponent that is out of bowl consideration.
Complete Northwestern and Illinois game notes are linked in PDF format at the top of the page.
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