Kansas football to face sellout crowd at Illinois
By Dillon Davis
When the No. 19-ranked Kansas Jayhawks travel to Champaign, Illinois, this weekend to take on the Fighting Illini, they’ll be doing so in front of a full house.
For the first time since 2016, the Illini will play in front of a sold-out home crowd inside Memorial Stadium – the team announced earlier this week.
The sellout is a sign of respect for this KU football program which has reshaped the narrative teams across the country had of this team following the Jayhawks’ performance last year and their current top 25 national ranking.
Don’t be surprised to see a lot of red and blue in the stands either as Champaign is just a 6.5-hour drive from Lawrence and only a two-hour trip from Chicago – home to a heavy KU alumni base.
Illinois is hoping to avenge last year’s loss to KU when they visited Lawrence and came away with a 34-24 defeat at the hands of Jalon Daniels and company.
In last year’s matchup, Daniels threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 41 yards. KU’s running game was the real difference maker though as Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw rushed for a combined 218 yards and one touchdown each.
The Kansas defense also recorded six sacks and two interceptions as the Jayhawks evened the all-time series against Illinois at 3-3.
This weekend’s matchup marks KU football’s first trip to Champaign since 1968 – a game that Kansas won 47-7 under head coach Pepper Rodgers.
Both teams currently sit at 1-0 after lopsided week one victories and will hope to stay undefeated after the two teams face off at 6 p.m. CT this Saturday. The game can be viewed on FS1.