Saturday’s game between Illinois and Rutgers is a must win for both programs. After splitting the series the past two seasons, whoever wins the grudge match this weekend will escape the label of being the worst team in the Big Ten and possibly all of power five college football programs. The Illini are coming off their bye week, while Rutgers enters the contest with renewed confidence after a solid second half performance in the loss to Indiana.
In an effort to find out more about this week’s opponent, I was fortunate to speak with Austin Jabs of SB Nation’s Illinois site, The Champaign Room.