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Illinois Football – Washington Notes 

 

OPENING KICK
• The 2-0 Fighting Illini will hit the road for the first time in 2014 this Saturday, Sept. 13, when they head to Seattle to face the 2-0 Washington Huskies (1 p.m. PT/3 CT on FOX).

• Illinois has had to mount two fourth-quarter comebacks en route to its 2-0 start. The Illini trailed Youngstown State 9-7 after three quarters before ripping off 21 fourth quarter points to win going away, 28-17. Then against Western Kentucky, the Illini trailed 27-21 entering the fourth before scoring 21 straight on the way to the 42-34 victory. It is the first time Illinois has executed consecutive fourth-quarter comeback wins since the 2001 season. The Illini last did so against Penn State (Nov. 10, 2001) and Ohio State (Nov. 17, 2001).

• Sophomore quarterback Wes Lunt followed up the best QB debut in school history (285 passing yards, four TDs vs. YSU) with an even better performance against Western Kentucky. Lunt nearly broke the Memorial Stadium passing record with 456 yards in the win over WKU, just six yards shy of Juice Williams' stadium record from 2008, and also added three more touchdowns to bring his season total to seven.

• Lunt has been nearly perfect in the fourth quarter while leading Illinois back-to-back comeback wins. Lunt is 19-of-22 for 309 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions, good for an FBS-best 264.34 fourth-quarter efficiency rating (min. 10 att.). He also leads the nation in fourth quarter passing yards (309) and completion percentage (86.4 - min. 10 att.).

• Lunt and WR Mike Dudek both took home Big Ten honors after the WKU win. Lunt was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his big day against the Hilltoppers, while Dudek earned Freshman of the Week honors after catching four passes for 55 yards and a TD, giving the true-frosh a TD in each of his first two games.

• Sophomore FS Taylor Barton took an interception 77 yards to the house against WKU, the first interception return for a touchdown by an Illini since Ashante Williams vs. Western Michigan on Sept. 1, 2012. Barton's pick six extended Illinois' lead to 35-27, as the Illini scored 14 points in the first 4:45 of the fourth quarter.

• The Fighting Illini have been excellent on third down in 2014, converting 17-of-28 third-down attempts (61 percent), which ranks ninth nationally and second in the Big Ten. Illinois has been especially good on fourth-quarter third downs, converting 7-of-8 times in the final stanza (5-of-5 vs. YSU, 2-of-3 vs. WKU)

• Illinois has streaks of 63 games and 184 attempts without missing a PAT kick, which both rank as the third-longest active streaks in the nation. The Illini's last missed PAT kick was on Sept. 5, 2009, against Missouri.

• Thirteen (13) players have made their Illini debuts this season: three true-freshmen (Mike Dudek, Paul James III, Malik Turner), one redshirt-freshman (Nathan Echard), one sophomore (Michael Martin), one senior (Davontay Kwaaning) and seven transfers (Geronimo Allison, Clayton Fejedelem, Joe Fotu, Dallas Hinkhouse, Wes Lunt, Carroll Phillips, Jihad Ward).

• Nineteen (19) former Illini were on NFL opening-day rosters, tied for sixth-most among the 14 Big Ten teams.

LUNT'S FAST START ONE FOR THE AGES
• Sophomore quarterback Wes Lunt has started his Illini career in impressive fashion, recording both the best debut and best first two games by an Illini signal-caller in school history. He completed 24-of-38 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in the opener against Youngstown State, then connected on 35-of-50 passes for 456 yards, one interception and three scores against Western Kentucky.
• Lunt's 456-yard performance against WKU ranks second on the all-time Memorial Stadium passing yardage list, just six yards shy of the stadium-record 462 yards set by Juice Williams vs. Minnesota (Oct. 11, 2008). Lunt's performance stands fourth, meanwhile, on the Illini all-time single-game passing yardage list.
• Lunt's aerial display vs. WKU also broke his previous career high of 436 yards set during his true-freshman season at Oklahoma State (at Arizona on Sept. 8, 2012). And Lunt recorded the longest pass of his career against the 'Toppers, a 62-yard TD strike to Justin Hardee.
• Lunt's 285 yards in the season-opener out-paced the 257 that Eddie McGee threw for against Missouri in 2007 after entering in relief of an injured Juice Williams, which was the previous high-water mark for an Illini QB's debut.
• Lunt's 741 yards and seven TDs in the first two games obliterate the previous records, as Tony Eason posted 498 yards in his first two starts and three QBs (Nathan Scheelhaase, Jason Verduzco and Jack Trudeau) shared the record for TDs with three.
• Lunt was named the starter on Aug. 21, beating out senior Reilly O'Toole and sophomore Aaron Bailey in an offseason competition to replace four-year starter and UI all-time total offense record holder Nathan Scheelhaase.
• Lunt started five games at Oklahoma State in 2012 before transferring to Illinois during the summer of 2013 and redshirting last season. He completed 81-of-131 passes (61.8 percent) for 1,108 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions in six games at OSU.

WASHINGTON SERIES NOTES
• Washington leads the all-time series with the Illini by a 6-4 margin after beating the Orange and Blue 34-24 at Chicago's Soldier Field in 2013, the teams' lone meeting since 1972. The two programs are 2-2 in games played in Champaign, while Washington holds a 3-1 margin in Seattle. The Illini notched a 17-7 win in the 1964 Rose Bowl.

ILLINOIS AGAINST THE PAC-12
• Illinois has split its last four meetings against Pac-12 teams: beating Arizona State 17-14 on Sept. 17, 2011, and beating UCLA 20-14 in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, while falling 34-24 to Washington in Chicago in 2013 and 45-14 to ASU in Tempe in 2012. The 2011 victory over the Sun Devils was the Orange and Blue's first win over a current Pac-12 team since Sept. 1, 2001, when they won at California, 44-17. Illinois is 4-7 in its last 10 meetings with Pac-12 foes.
• The Illini are 29-47 all-time against current Pac-12 teams and 11-21 in games at Pac-12 opponents' home fields. Illinois is 14-22 all-time in games played in the Pacific time zone. The Orange and Blue have faced 10 Pac-12 teams in the last 14 years, dating back to 2000. That's the most of any other conference, narrowly surpassing Illinois' nine meetings with Mid-American Conference foes over that span.
• Illinois head coach Tim Beckman is 1-3 against current Pac-12 teams, beating Colorado in 2009 (when they were in the Big 12), losing to Arizona in 2010, Arizona State in 2012 and Washington in 2013.
• Illinois hasn't won a non-conference regular-season road game since 2007, when they notched a 41-20 victory at Syracuse, but have played only two true road games during that span (at Arizona State in 2012 and at Fresno State in 2010) in addition to five neutral-site games (Washington in 2013, Missouri in 2008, '09 and '10, and Western Michigan in 2008).
• Over the last 17 years (Beckman, Zook and Turner eras), Illinois is 4-9 in true non-conference road games during the regular season. And the Illini are 6-24 in non-conference regular-season road games since 1980. Twelve of those contests have been against Pac-12 teams, with Illinois going 2-10 in regular-season games at Pac-12 opponents since 1980.

CUBIT KEEPS ILLINI `O' CLIMBING
The Illinois offense made huge improvements in 2013 under OC Bill Cubit and continues to make strides in several areas in 2014. The Illini jumped at least 50 spots in the national rankings from 2012 to 2013 in first downs, passing offense, long scrimmage plays, total offense, passing efficiency and scoring offense, with the biggest move a 95-place jump in first downs per game. The passing game has gone up another notch in 2014.


 

 

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