No. 22 Illinois tries to reach 9 wins for 1st time since 2007 when it meets Northwestern at Wrigley

By
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

No. 22 Illinois (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten, No. 23 CFP) at Northwestern (4-7, 2-6) at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Saturday, noon EST (Big Ten Network)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Illinois by 7 1/2.

Series record: Illinois leads 57-55-5.

What’s at stake?

Illinois is in line for its first nine-win season since the 2007 team went 9-4 on the way to the Rose Bowl. The Illini squeezed out a 38-31 victory at Rutgers last week when Luke Altmyer connected with Pat Bryant for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 4 seconds remaining. Northwestern has been outscored a combined 81-13 the past two games. The Wildcats were blown out 50-6 at Michigan last week after getting thumped by No. 2 Ohio State in the first game this season at Wrigley Field.

Key matchup

Bryant vs. Northwestern’s secondary. Bryant was Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week after setting a career high with 197 yards on just seven catches. The winning touchdown was his third in the final minute or overtime this season — tops in the nation. It also gave him 2,025 yards in four seasons at Illinois..

Players to watch

Illinois: Altmyer. In his second season since transferring from Mississippi, Altmyer has completed 61% of his passes for 2,373 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions. He is the only quarterback in the nation with 20 or more TDs and three or fewer INTs.

Northwestern: QB Jack Lausch. The redshirt sophomore from Chicago has started the past nine games after Mike Wright struggled through the first two and has more interceptions (six) than touchdowns (five). He got picked off twice against Michigan and was sacked five times while completing 10 of 21 passes for 106 yards.

Facts & figures

Northwestern is 0-4 at Wrigley Field since college football returned to “The Friendly Confines” in 2010 after more than a seven-decade absence. The Wildcats have been outscored in those games by a combined 121-55, starting with a 48-27 loss to Illinois in 2010. This will be the Illini’s third appearance at the Chicago Cubs’ ballpark. Led by Red Grange, the 1923 national champions beat Northwestern 29-0. … The Illini have four fourth-quarter comeback victories this season — Kansas, at Nebraska, Purdue and at Rutgers. … Northwestern was held to 10 yards rushing last week, including 33 yards lost on six sacks.