Illinois closes out its 2021 regular season against rivals Northwestern. Illinois and Northwestern will play for the Land of Lincoln Trophy on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on BTN.
Saturday’s game will be the 115th meeting between Illinois and Northwestern. Illinois leads the all-time series 55-54-5. Last season, the Illini rushed for 155 yards and forced one turnover but fell 28-10, before Lovie Smith was fired the following day. Illinois’ last win in the series was a 47-33 victory in Evanston in 2014 .
The Cats enter the game with a 3-8 record following a 32-14 loss to Purdue on Saturday at Wrigley Field. Sophomore running back Evan Hull rushed 25 times for 96 yards in the loss. Hull is the leading rusher, leading scorer, and third leading receiver for the Wildcats.
Safety Brandon Joseph was an AP First Team Preseason All-American and is on the Walter Camp Award Watch List. He's posted 79 tackles this season and a team-leading three interceptions. Senior linebacker Chris Begin is the leading tackler in the Big Ten, averaging 11.18 stops per game.
We caught up with Michael Fitzpatrick from WildcatReport.com to get the lowdown on Northwestern ahead of Saturday's game. Follow Wildcat Report on Twitter @WildcatReport.
