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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 22 Kansas Jayhawks will hit the road for the first time of the 2024 season, as the Jayhawks take on the Illinois Fighting Illini under the lights of Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT on FS1 with Alex Faust (Play-by-Play) and Robert Smith (Analyst) on the call.
The Jayhawks and the Illini face off for the second-straight season as Kansas and Illinois met in week two of the 2023 season. Kansas totaled 539 yards of total offense to power past the Illini 34-23 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Sept. 8, 2023. The combo of Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal led the Jayhawks offensively in that game, as Daniels threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-29 passing, while Neal went for 120 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.
Saturday’s meeting between Kansas and Illinois will be the seventh all-time, with the series locked at 3-3. It will be Kansas’ first trip to Champaign, Ill., since 1968, in a game that Kansas won 47-7.
This year’s matchup features two 1-0 teams both coming off a powerful week one win as Kansas defeated Lindenwood, 48-3, on Thursday, Aug. 29, while Illinois defeated Eastern Illinois 45-0.
The No. 22 ranked Kansas Jayhawks compiled 530 yards of offense, including 331 rushing yards, in the season-opening win vs. Lindenwood. The Kansas defense held strong, holding the Lions to just 202 total yards of offense and three points, the fewest allowed by a Kansas team since Sept. 5, 2009 vs. Northern Colorado.
Kansas senior Mello Dotson recorded his eighth career interception in the game vs. Lindenwood, which he returned 33-yards for a touchdown marking his third-career pick-six, breaking the KU school record for most interceptions returned for a touchdown. Offensively, Kansas was led by two rushing touchdowns from Neal on eight carries for 112 yards and 111 yards receiving and a touchdown from senior wide receiver Luke Grimm.
Illinois enters Saturday night’s game following a 45-0 win over Eastern Illinois, in which the Illini totaled 486 yards of total offense including six touchdowns. The Illinois defense forced four turnovers while allowing just 49 rushing yards.
The Illini are led by fourth-year head Coach Bret Bielema, who holds a 19-19 record in his time at Illinois and a career record of 116-77 in 16 years of coaching.
Following Saturday’s game at Illinois, the Jayhawks will close out non-conference play with a rematch of the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl as Kansas hosts UNLV on Friday, Sept. 13, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN with a 6 p.m. CT kickoff.
