PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Technically, today's game is the first road trip of the season for Illinois. Actually, the Illini had to travel for their final nonconference game against South Florida on Sept. 15 at Soldier Field.
"We got on the bus and we didn't play here," Illinois coach Lovie Smith said.
The game at HighPoint.com Stadium is different for the Illini.
"Some of our players, (it's their) first time on a plane," Smith said. "Whenever you go into a hostile environment there are some other issues that you have to deal with. We feel like we're set up for that.