Coming off the bye week, the Fighting Illini will welcome the Wisconsin Badgers to town for Homecoming.
Wearing their special "gray ghost" uniforms honoring the Galloping Ghsot, Red Grange, the Illini are coming off a tough loss to Iowa two weeks ago.
The bye week allowed Illinois to find health. Head Coach Bill Cubit indicated earlier this week star wideout Geronimo Allison will play after suffering a mild concussion against Iowa. Freshman runningback Ke'Shawn Vaughn had a scare in the game against Iowa, however, he was able to return in that game is a go for the Homecoming contest with the Badgers.
Bad news for the Illini is it appears senior runningback Josh Ferguson is still not ready for game action. Cubit indicated Ferguson will likely miss this weekend's game.
Additionally, wide receivers Mike Dudek and Justin Hardee are both out. It is becoming more likely with each passing week, Dudek (SO) will likely sit the entire season out and redshirt.
Sophomore wideout Marchie Murdock has been ruled out as well.
For the Badgers, their bread and butter for many years has been their run game, however, because of injuries to Cory Clement, the Badger run game has been towards the bottom of the Big Ten this year. Clement is questionable for Saturday's contest.
The availability of Clement for Saturday's game against Illinois remains unclear as the running back recovers from sports hernia surgery.
Coach Paul Chryst said before practice Thursday that Clement had taken hits in earlier in the week but had yet to be tackled.
Clement rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last season as the backup to Heisman Trophy runner-up Melvin Gordon. He was slated to take the starting job.
Clement had surgery on Oct. 1, and the team initially said that the junior might miss four to six weeks.
Saturday's game kicks off at 2:30 pm and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.
>>Redbirds Host Western Illinois For Homecoming, Hall of Fame Weekend
Coming off its fifth-straight win, No. 3 Illinois State (5-1, 3-0 MVFC) returns home to Hancock Stadium to host in-state rival No. 20 Western Illinois (4-2, 3-0 MVFC) on Homecoming at ISU. The Redbirds and Leathernecks will square off with the top spot in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings on the line.
After battling an outstanding Iowa Hawkeyes team in a season-opening loss (Sept. 5), Illinois State has been on a roll ever since. The Redbirds have now rattled off five-straight wins, including back-to-back victories over a pair of Top-10 Missouri Valley Football Conference foes in Northern Iowa (Oct. 3) and Youngstown State (Oct. 10). The Redbirds bring a 3-0 MVFC start to Hancock Stadium.
WIU is off to a 4-2 start in 2015, with a pair of wins against nationally-ranked FCS opponents. The Leathernecks opened the season with a 33-5 win over No. 25 Eastern Illinois and picked up a win at the UNI Dome against No. 12 Northern Iowa last week.
The WIU offense is loaded with play makers at every position. Quarterback Trenton Norvell has thrown for 1,471 yards and nine touchdowns, with Lance Lenoir serving as his favorite target as he has recorded 519 yards and scored twice. Running back Nikko Watson rounds out the three-headed monster on the ground, with an average of 5.1 yards per carry and 584 yards and six touchdown in just four games played.
Senior placekicker Nick Aussieker nailed the game-winning field goal, as No. 9 Illinois State erased a 21-point second-half deficit to come from behind for a 37-34 win at Western Illinois.
The game will kick off at 2 p.m., and will be broadcast live on CSN Chicago and ESPN3.
>>Eastern Welcomes Tennessee Tech For Homecoming
It's Homecoming in Charleston this weekend.
The Panthers put an undefeated mark in the Ohio Valley Conference up against Tennesee Tech who is 2-15 overall, and 1-3 in the Ohio Valley.
The Panthers are coming off an overtime win against Tennessee State last weekend.
Saturday's game is set for a 1 pm kickoff and can be heard on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW.
