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The No. 20 Illinois football team will try to win at No. 1 Oregon on Saturday.
Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. It’s not many Saturdays where you get to wake up and see if Illinois football can beat the No. 1 team in the country. The Illini get their 16th shot in program history at taking down the top-ranked team in the country when Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. Big Ten game at No. 1 Oregon kicks off.
➜ 2. Speaking of Illinois football, former Illini quarterback John Paddock will be the featured keynote speaker at the next Illini Quarterback Club event on Halloween. Paddock led the Illini in two thrilling late-season wins during the 2023 season and threw for 507 yards in a 48-45 overtime win against Indiana last November.
➜ 3. The QB Club event takes place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center on the UI campus.
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer has thrown for 1,506 yards with 15 touchdowns and one interception through the first seven games for the 20th-ranked Illini ahead of a 2:30 p.m. kick on Saturday at No. 1 Oregon.
Numbers game: 28
touchdown passes Luke Altmyer has thrown at Illinois going into Saturday’s game at No. 1 Oregon. Kurt Kittner’s school-record 70 touchdown passes is likely safe for the time being, but Altmyer needs four more touchdown passes to move past the 31 thrown by Jeff George and enter the Top 10 in school history in this particular category.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood will have his full complement of players on Sunday for Illinois’ charity exhibition game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., with freshman center Tomislav Ivisic available amid a temporary change in his playing status.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois at Oregon football. The Illini will attempt to become only the second team this decade to beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium, with Washington the lone team to do so when the Huskies left with a 34-27 win in 2022. Oregon is 25-1 at its home venue in the 2020s going into Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
➜ 2. Illinois at Mississippi men’s basketball. All proceeds that come from Sunday’s 11 a.m. charity exhibition game between the two programs will go towards the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of North Mississippi.
➜ 3. Northwestern at Illinois soccer. The regular-season finale for the Illini (7-8-2, 3-6-1 Big Ten) is 1 p.m. Sunday.
From left, the Schull family: Kolsyn, Ryan, Ripkyn, Riki and Emberlyn.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Schlarman soccer coach Ryan Schull:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Chicago Cubs.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Joe Davis, Lon Kruger and Phil Jackson.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … a tie between people having their phone volume on max when others are around or liars.
