IU offensive leaders
QB Kellen Lewis – 51-85 for 643 yards and nine touchdowns; 42 rushes for 334 yards and three touchdowns\nWR James Hardy – 10 receptions for 245 yards and five touchdowns\nRB Marcus Thigpen – 43 rushes for 222 yards; four receptions for 34 yards and one touchdown
IU defensive leaders
DL Greg Middleton – 11 tackles, five sacks; one forced fumble, one fumble recovery for a touchdown\nLB Geno Johnson – 19 tackles, 13 solo, 1.5 tackles for a loss\nLB Will Patterson – 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks; two fumble recoveries
IU will win if...
• The nation’s seventh-best rushing attack can keep churning out yards on the ground against a strong Illinois front seven. The combination of QB Kellen Lewis and RBs Marcus Thigpen, Demetrius McCray and Josiah Sears has been a success to this point.
• Illinois QB Juice Williams hits the ground multiple times on sacks, as IU co-defensive coordinator Brian George likes to rotate his defensive lineman up front.
Illinois offensive leaders
QB Isiah “Juice” Williams – 31-51 for 279 yards and one touchdown; 27 rushes for 139 yards and two touchdowns\nWR Arrelious Benn – 13 receptions for 152 yards; 10 rushes for 81 yards\nRB Rashard Mendenhall – 50 rushes for 340 yards and six touchdowns; seven receptions for 95 yards
Illinois defensive leaders
LB Jeremy “J” Leman – 39 tackles; 1.5 sacks; one forced fumble\nDB Kevin Mitchell – 21 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss; three defensive breakups\nDB Justin Sanders – 11 tackles; one sack; two forced fumbles
Illinois will win if...
• LB Jeremy “J” Leman and the rest of the Illinois linebacking corps can shut down running lanes and at the same time hinder Kellen Lewis’ ability to scramble from the pocket, putting pressure on him as they force the Hoosiers to go to the air early.
• RB Rashard Mendenhall – averaging 107.3 yards per game rushing – can be effective against a staunch IU defense that has allowed only 65.3 yards per game on the ground.
