Northwestern @ Illinois preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 24, 2018 ) Illinois 16, Northwestern 24

Illinois looks to put the exclamation point on one of its most successful seasons in over a decade when it hosts Northwestern in the battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy on Saturday. The Fighting Illini have won four of its last five games, including a memorable upset win over then sixth-ranked Wisconsin on Oct. 19, after a 2-4 start to secure bowl eligibility, and hope to continue their late surge by registering their highest win total in the regular season since 2007.

"(Our motivation) is to have an opportunity to win seven games and to beat our rival," Illinois coach Lovie Smith told reporters. "When you struggle and go through the hard times and put so much into it then you know what you have done." Northwestern has dropped eight consecutive conference games following a 38-22 setback to No. 9 Minnesota in Week 13. It's been a disappointing campaign for the defending Big Ten West Division champions, who will miss out on a bowl game for the first time since 2014, and they hope to get over the disappointment by notching their fifth straight victory over the Illinois, which would be the longest winning streak for Northwestern in the rivalry. "I know this rivalry is built on great respect and we're fired up to compete against the Illini," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told reporters. "Coach Smith has done a great job of getting them bowl eligible and they've had some amazing comebacks."

TV: Noon ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Illinois - 8

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (2-9, 0-8 Big Ten): Andrew Marty came off the bench to complete 8-of-10 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown while adding 52 on the ground in the loss to Minnesota. Defensive end Joe Gaziano finished with 1.5 sacks against the Golden Gophers to give him 29 in his career, which broke the program record of 28 previously held by Casey Dailley (1994-97). Quarterback Aidan Smith is questionable with a hand injury while freshman running back Evan Hull, who racked up 220 yards and matched a single-game program record with four rushing touchdowns in the 45-6 win against Massachusetts on Nov. 16, is likely to sit out on Saturday in order to preserve his redshirt.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (6-5, 4-4): Brandon Peters was limited to 125 yards on 16-of-31 passing, but rushed for a career-high 76 yards on 10 carries in the 19-10 loss to No. 20 Iowa in Week 13. Dre Brown added 67 yards on the ground while Donny Navarro hauled in a touchdown pass, but the Fighting Illini were held to a season-low 10 points against the Hawkeyes. Seventeen seniors, including leading running back Reggie Corbin, who is 12th on the Illini's all-time rushing yards list, and top tackler Dele Harding, are set to play their final game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday while defensive lineman Oluwole Betiku Jr. and linebacker Delano Ware are questionable with unspecified injuries.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Illinois leads the country in defensive touchdowns (six), fumble recoveries (16) and defensive turnovers (27).

2. Northwestern has lost its last five Big Ten games by an average margin of 24 points.

3. Harding is ranked second nationally in total tackles (132).

PREDICTION: Illinois 31, Northwestern 17