University of Illinois, Northwestern University, and Northern Illinois University picked up victories Saturday, each on the road.
Illinois defeated Rutgers, 38-17, Northwestern stopped Michigan State, 29-19, and, Northern Illinois nudged Ball State, 24-16.
Illinois and Northern Illinois were favored, Northwestern was a decided underdog. Regardless, each came away with a valuable victory.
• Illinois, 3-2, still has something to prove despite a winning record. The Illini will be host to Purdue, 2-3, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a homecoming game that should be an honest test. Purdue is viewed as stronger than Rutgers, yet not in the class of Penn State, which defeated the Illini 63-24.
• Northwestern and Northern Illinois will play home games Saturday.
Northwestern, 2-3, will play host to Nebraska, 0-5 and 0-3 in the Big Ten Conference, Saturday at 11 a.m.. The idea of facing a team with nine-game losing streak, the Cornhuskers, might inspire confidence in Northwestern, 2-1 in the Big Ten.
• It will be Northern Illinois’ homecoming at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Ohio University, 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference. The host Huskies are 3-3 overall and 3-0 MAC.