Western Michigan @ Illinois preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2012 ) Western Michigan 7, Illinois 24

Illinois looks to bounce back from its first loss of the Lovie Smith era when it hosts Western Michigan on Saturday. The Fighting Illini dropped a 48-23 decision to North Carolina in front of their first sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium in five years, and they hope to regroup quickly to fend off the dangerous Broncos, who have already knocked off one Big Ten opponent this season.

Illinois has won four out of five meetings against Western Michigan - including victories in 2011 (23-20) and 2012 (24-7) - and can improve to 24-3 in August/September home games since the beginning of the 2007 season. "Western Michigan is a good football team," Smith told reporters. "Looking at the schedule before the season started we knew this would be one of those games which will truly measure how far we've come and that will be the case." Western Michigan followed up a 22-21 upset over Northwestern by thrashing North Carolina Central 70-21 to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 1994. The Broncos are in a confident mood as they hope to beat two Big Ten opponents in a single season for the first time in school history.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPNews. LINE: Illinois +3.5

ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGAN (2-0): Zach Terrell completed 15-of-22 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Broncos to their highest offensive output since 1994. Corey Davis, the active FBS leader in receiving yards, caught seven passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns against North Carolina Central to go over the 4,000-yard mark for his career. "There is a lot of opportunities for other players but Corey will still always be our big dog," Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck told reporters. "We are going to go in with our normal game plan to get a win on Saturday."

ABOUT ILLINOIS (1-1): Wes Lunt struggled mightily in the loss to North Carolina as he went 17-of-35 for just 127 yards, but threw two touchdown passes and needs two more to move to past Johnny Johnson for eighth place on the Illini's all-time list. Kendrick Foster, who set a school record by averaging 29.5 yards per carry in the season-opening win against Murray State, was one of 40 players named to the Dante Hall Award Watch List, which honors the best offensive or special teams player who is under six feet tall. Junior wide receiver Malik Turner is off to a hot start as three of his six catches have resulted in touchdowns.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Illinois DE Carroll Phillips is tied for the FBS lead with 6 1/2 tackles for loss.

2. Davis needs 183 more receiving yards to pass Jordan White (4,187) for first place on Western Michigan's all-time list.

3. Fighting Illini LB Hardy Nickerson has made at least 10 tackles in eight of his last 10 games.

PREDICTION: Western Michigan 28, Illinois 27