A lot will be at stake on Saturday when No. 19 Kansas plays Illinois at a packed Memorial Stadium.
The Jayhawks (1-0) are aiming for a significant road victory.
The Illini (1-0) are eager to put behind them the 34-23 defeat they suffered against Kansas last year in Lawrence. Kansas scored on four of their first five drives against Illinois, with each drive covering at least 75 yards, and they led 34-7 in the third quarter.
“We’re going on the road to face a Power 4 conference team. We need to find a way to win a game like that. That hasn’t happened here in a while,” said Kansas coach Lance Leipold.
Illinois players and coach Bret Bielema are using the loss to Kansas as motivation. Receiver Pat Bryant called the game “rematch No. 1,” and defensive back Miles Scott said the team hasn’t forgotten what happened.
“Once we woke up and decided to play in last year’s game, it was too late,” said linebacker Dylan Rosiek. “We were angry and disappointed with how we played.”
The Kansas loss has kept Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry up at night. He said he’s watched the game film more than 100 times to figure out where he went wrong in preparation.
“Anytime you go through a loss like that, one thing you deal with is, ‘why?’” Henry said.
The Kansas offense might be giving Henry a hard time as he prepares for Saturday’s game. The Jayhawks have scored 48 or more points and gained 500 or more total yards in their last three games.
Key players for Kansas include quarterback Jalon Daniels, who missed most of last season with a back injury after being named the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, and running back Devin Neal, who has 13 career 100-yard rushing games.
“We’re glad Jalon is healthy. We’re a different team with him on the field,” Leipold said.
Bielema agrees. He saw Daniels throw for 277 yards and two touchdowns against his team last season.
