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Hello Uncautiously Pessimistic Illini Nation,

There are 51 minutes on the clock at Edward Jones Dome and the both teams' skill players have hit the field for warmups. Illinois wears its road white jerseys and white pants with orange stripes down the side.

For those of you who remember officials' names and reputations, your referee today is Bill LeMonnier.

At Maddux Sports' college football odds web site, Illinois is a consensus 13.5-point underdog. That's the widest spread since these teams started playing here in 2002, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Illinois was a 6.5-point favorite last year and got whipped by 28.

Illinois is limited to 70 players on its travel roster, but the Illini still had enough room to bring along the injured Supo Sanni, Terry Hawthorne and Zach Becker.

Illinois brought along 11 true freshmen. Here are their numbers in case you're watching the TV screen and wondering, Who the heck is that?

No. 7 QB Chandler Whitmer
No. 8 LB Brandon Denmark
No. 12 WR Ryan Lankford
No. 15 WR Darius Millines
No. 16 QB Miles Osei
No. 24 LB Earnest Thomas
No. 30 LB Houston Bates
No. 35 FB Jay Prosch
No. 45 LB Jonathan Brown
No. 52 OL Alex Hill
No. 80 WR Spencer Harris

OK, now there are 42 minutes on the clock. Seniors Eddie McGee and Clay Nurse are screaming at their teammates as they stretch. Looks like G Randall Hunt and LB Nate Bussey join them as captains today.

LW