GAME NOTES: Land of Lincoln Trophy on the Line for No. 22 Wildcats at Illinois

Saturday, November 25

Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

3 p.m.

Northwestern

Illinois

GAME NOTES: Land of Lincoln Trophy on the Line for No. 22 Wildcats at Illinois

11/24/2017 1:09:00 PM | Football

NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL: GAME DAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Saturday, Nov. 25	Illinois	3 p.m.	Memorial Stadium Champaign, Ill.	TV: FS1 RADIO: WLS 890 AM	FightingIllini.com
FS1: Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) and AJ Hawk (analyst) WLS 890 AM: Dave Eanet (play-by-play), Ted Albrecht (analyst), Adam Hoge (sideline) Social: Twitter (@NUFBFamily and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (@nufbfamily) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| Illinois \| Big Ten

EVANSTON, Ill. — Riding its longest winning streak since 1996, the No. 22-ranked Northwestern football program will look to win its seventh straight on Saturday when it battles in-state rival Illinois for the Land of Lincoln Trophy.

The Wildcats (8-3, 6-2 Big Ten) and Fighting Illini (2-9, 0-8 Big Ten) will kick off on FS1 at 3 p.m., with Justin Kutcher and AJ Hawk on the call. Fans can also listen to the contest on WLS 890 AM with the voice of the Wildcats Dave Eanet, Ted Albrecht and Adam Hoge.

ONE LIST, TWO NAMES
Senior running back Justin Jackson carried the ball 31 times for 166 yards versus Minnesota, surpassing 1,000 yards in his fourth-straight season. Jackson joined Ron Dayne (Wisconsin) as the only other Big Ten player to rush for 1,000 yards in four-straight seasons. He is just the ninth player in FBS history to reach the milestone. The Carol Stream, Illinois, native also eclipsed the 5,000 yard rushing mark for his career in the win, becoming just the sixth player in Big Ten history and 23rd in FBS history to rush for more than 5,000 yards.

PARTY LIKE ITS 1996
The 23rd-ranked Northwestern Wildcats earned their first shutout since 2015 with a 39-0 victory over Minnesota last week to extend their winning streak to six games. The Wildcats are on their longest winning streak since Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald's senior season in 1996 when they reeled off seven straight wins en route to claiming a share of the Big Ten regular season title.

A BIG OL' DONUT
The Wildcats' 39-0 victory over Minnesota marked their largest margin of victory in 93 all-time meetings and was the second-consecutive shutout versus the Golden Gophers at Ryan Field. The last time the 'Cats shutout an opponent in back-to-back home meetings was when they blanked Minnesota in 1933 and 1936.

Chicago's Big Ten Team held Minnesota to a season-low 182 yards of total offense just a week after the Gophers put up 514 yards in a win versus Nebraska. The 'Cats forced five turnovers in the game and intercepted more passes (3) than Minnesota completed (2).

HALL EARNS BIG TEN HONORS FOR STANDOUT PERFORMANCE
Junior linebacker Nate Hall was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Monday morning after leading the NU defense Saturday with a team-high seven tackles, 2.5 sacks, an interception and his first career fumble recovery. Hall finished with three tackles for loss and now leads all Big Ten players with 12 solo tackles for loss this season. The junior SAM linebacker leads the 'Cats with 14 tackles for loss and is second on the team with a career-high 74 tackles.

LAND OF LINCOLN TROPHY ON THE LINE
Northwestern will look to put a bow on the regular season while keeping the "Land of Lincoln" trophy when it takes on in-state rival Illinois Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on FS1. The Wildcats reclaimed the rivalry trophy with a 24-14 win at Soldier Field in 2015 before retaining it for another year with a 42-21 victory at Ryan Field last season.

WHO SAID YOU CAN'T THROW IN THE RAIN?
Junior quarterback Clayton Thorson didn't throw it much versus Minnesota, but was efficient when he did, completing 9-of-13 passes for 86 yards while matching his career high with three touchdown passes for the eighth time in his career. Thorson moved past Zak Kustok (42; 1999-2001) and tied C.J. Bachér (43; 2005-08) for third in program history with 43 career touchdown passes. He needs just one more to tie Len Williams' (1990-93) and Brett Basanez's (2002-05) program record of 44. The Wildcats improved to 7-1 when Thorson throws three touchdown passes and are now 10-1 when he has thrown at least two.

SPREAD THE WEALTH
Thorson has thrown for 2,669 yards and 14 touchdowns this season and now owns two of the top seven passing yard marks in NU single-season history. His total this season ranks seventh on the list, while his 3,182 yards in his sophomore campaign were fourth. Thorson's 14 touchdowns this season are tied for the fourth most on the program's single-season list.

The junior has shared the ball with a plethora of receivers this season as the Wildcats are one of just 11 teams in FBS with five or more players who have at least 25 receptions. All five players—Bennett Skowronek (41/567), Flynn Nagel (42/451), Macan Wilson (32/446), Garrett Dickerson (34/369) and Justin Jackson (40/253)—have career-best marks this season in receptions and receiving yards. In addition to the five players listed, the 'Cats can set a team record for most players with 20+ catches this season should redshirt first-year Riley Lees make two receptions over the final two games.

GROUND AND POUND
The Wildcats had 10 players combined for 55 carries and 277 rushing yards versus Minnesota, their second-highest total this season. The 'Cats have rushed for at least 200 yards in two of the last three games (Nebraska, 232). In addition to Justin Jackson's 166 yards, first-year running back Jeremy Larkin had 37 yards rushing and his fourth score of the season, junior wide receiver Jelani Roberts scored his first career touchdown on a 12-yard jet sweep and senior Corey Acker scored his first career touchdown on a 24-yard run. Acker became the seventh Wildcat to score a rushing touchdown this season. The last time that happened was in 2011.

JACKSON ONE OF THE BEST IN BIG TEN HISTORY
Senior running back Justin Jackson moved past Mike Hart (5,040; Michigan) for fourth in Big Ten history with 5,139 career rushing yards following his 166-yard performance versus the Golden Gophers. The game marked Jackson's 25th-career 100-yard performance, 18 of which have come against Big Ten foes. The Wildcats are 21-4 during his career when he goes over 100 yards and 15-0 when he rushes for more than 131. Jackson also continued to move up the Big Ten's All-Purpose Yards list, moving past Brandon Williams (5,852; Wisconsin) and Montee Ball (5,953; Wisconsin) into eighth with 5,974.

25 TIMES AND A WIN
Jackson ranks third in Big Ten history with 1,092 career carries. Last Saturday marked the 10th time in his career he has carried the ball at least 30 times. The senior has 18 career games with at least 25 carries, with the Wildcats going a perfect 18-0 in those contests.

SUPERBACK OR SUPERMAN?
Senior superback Garrett Dickerson made the most of his two receptions last week, scoring a touchdown on each of them for his first career multi-score game. Dickerson is the first Wildcat with two touchdowns receiving since Bennett Skowronek versus Bowling Green on Sept. 16 and the first superback to do so since Dan Vitale versus Ball State in 2015. The senior is the only Wildcat since at least 2000 whose only two receptions went for a score.

BIG PLAY BENNETT
Sophomore wide receiver Bennett Skowronek caught his team-leading fifth touchdown of the season last week. Skowronek leads the Wildcats with 567 yards receiving and is second on the team with 41 receptions. He has enjoyed playing at the friendly confines of Ryan Field this season, hauling in 29 of his 41 receptions and 457 of his 567 yards at home.

SEE YOU IN THE BACKFIELD
Northwestern racked up a season-high six sacks and 11 tackles for loss versus Minnesota and now ranks 21st in FBS with 7.2 tackles for loss per game. In addition to junior Nate Hall's first career multi-sack game, sophomore defensive end Joe Gaziano recorded his team-leading seventh sack of the season and first-year defensive end Samdup Miller made his fifth of 2017. Gaziano is now just a half sack shy of tying Matt Rice (12; 1993-96) for 10th in program history, while Miller's five sacks this season are the most by a NU rookie since Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Ifeadi Odenigbo had 5.5 in 2013.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Redshirt first-year Paddy Fisher became the first Wildcat to hit the 100-tackle plateau with five stops last week. Fisher continues to lead all FBS rookies in tackles (100), tackles per game (9.2), solo tackles (58) and solo tackles per game (5.3). He is tied for fourth in the country among all players following his fourth forced fumble of the season last week.

RED ALERT: THE 'CATS ARE COMIN'
Northwestern was perfect yet again in the red zone last week and has now converted 27-of-28 chances inside the 20 during its six-game winning streak. The 'Cats are 44-for-47 this season, scoring 34 touchdowns and kicking 10 field goals, to rank ninth in the country at a 93.6 percent clip. NU's defense has been just as impressive, ranking ninth in the country in red zone defense by limiting opponents to 27-for-38 (71.1 percent). The Wildcats are the only program in the country to rank in the top 10 in both red zone offense and defense.

BRICK WALL
Northwestern's defense has stymied opponents' running attacks over the last nine games and the 'Cats now rank 10th in the country in rushing defense by allowing 112.3 yards per game. The Wildcats held Purdue to 40 yards rushing, their lowest total allowed since holding Wisconsin to negative-26 in 2015 and their fourth-lowest total overall since 2000. Since surrendering 375 yards rushing in the first two games of the season (187.5/game), the 'Cats have given up just 860 yards over the last eight (95.5/game) while holding each opponent under its season average. In Big Ten play, Northwestern has faced five of the top-100 running backs in the country in terms of yards per game this season (Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin; Saquon Barkley, Penn State; Ty Johnson, Maryland; Akrum Wadley, Iowa; LJ Scott, Michigan State). They averaged only 56.2 yards per game and just 3.55 yards per carry. None ran for more than 90 yards.

CHARLIE AND THE FIELD GOAL FACTORY
First-year kicker Charlie Kuhbander matched his season high with three field goals versus Purdue, setting a new program record for field goals made in a season by a first-year kicker with 12. Kuhbander has converted 12-of-14 tries in his rookie season to rank third in the Big Ten and 12th in FBS in field goal percentage (85.7) and has gone a 34-for-35 on extra-point attempts to rank fourth in PAT makes. He has scored 70 points in his first year, the second-most by a NU rookie and the most by a first-year kicker in program history.

GOING BOWLING
Northwestern is bowl eligible for the third-straight season, ninth time under head coach Pat Fitzgerald and 15th time overall (NU has twice in program history been eligible for bowl games and not been selected). Fitzgerald has helped lead the Wildcats to 11 of their 13 bowl games as a player or coach.
   •   Student-Athlete: 1996 Rose Bowl and 1997 Citrus Bowl
   •   Assistant Coach: 2003 Motor City Bowl and 2005 Sun Bowl
   •   Head Coach: 2008 Alamo Bowl, 2010 Outback Bowl, 2011 TicketCity Bowl, 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, 2013 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl, 2016 Outback Bowl, 2016 New Era Pinstripe Bowl

JACKSON NAMED FINALIST FOR WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL® TROPHY
Senior running back Justin Jackson was awarded an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship as one of 13 finalists for the William V. Campbell® Trophy last week. Jackson will be recognized at the National Football Foundation reception in New York City on December 5 and is eligible for a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship should he win the award.