Illinois and Northwestern close the regular season fighting over the Land of Lincoln Trophy again, and this time both rosters look almost nothing like they did a year ago.
Share
Show fees
FRI NOV 27 · 11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
Illinois
Northwestern
Bret Bielema is chasing a 3rd straight winning season in Champaign, and the engine behind that push is a brand-new quarterback. Longtime starter Luke Altmyer is gone, replaced by East Carolina transfer Katin Houser, who threw for 3,300 yards with 19 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions last season. Northwestern enters its own version of a reset under David Braun, who's improved his win total every year he's been in Evanston and just handed the offense to new coordinator Chip Kelly.
The bigger question for both sides is whether the new parts fit before Friday, November 27 rolls around. Illinois lost several starters up front and its leading receiver alongside Altmyer, so Houser will be asking a retooled line to protect him behind an offense that's had all offseason to gel but no real live fire until fall camp hits. Northwestern's got a dual-threat wrinkle in transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles, with running back Caleb Komolafe back to anchor the ground game — but Braun's group has to survive a three-game stretch at Oregon, home for Iowa and at Ohio State that's been flagged as one of the toughest slates in the country before it ever gets to this one.
None of that shows up on a scoreboard yet, which is the fun part of previewing a game this far out. By late November, both rosters will have been shaped by injuries, breakout freshmen and whatever the Big Ten grind leaves behind — the kind of variables that make the numbers on a screen right now close to meaningless.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Northwestern Wildcats
Illinois has actually had the better of this rivalry lately, taking the trophy in the last meeting and owning a share of recent bragging rights even though Northwestern leads the long-view series. The Hat has bounced around Illinois' trophy case more often than not since 2009, and Bielema's program now has the stability — 2 winning seasons running — that Northwestern is still trying to build toward under Braun.
Illinois Fighting Illini
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Northwestern Wildcats
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Whichever version of these two teams shows up on the last weekend of the regular season, the stakes are the same as always: keep The Hat, or watch it head up I-90 to Evanston. With a new quarterback and half a rebuilt line for Illinois, and an all-new coordinator plus a brutal midseason gauntlet for Northwestern, this one's got a real chance to come down to whichever roster is holding up better by the time November ends.
