This Week in Illini Athletics: Oct. 25-31, 2021

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports Welcome to “This Week in Illini Athletics,” a weekly review of the past week of Illini sports and a preview of the week to come.

FOOTBALL (3-5 Overall, 2-3 Big Ten)

Last Week: Illinois football made history on Saturday. The Illini defeated #7 Penn State 20-18 (9OT) for their first road win over a top-25 team since 2007. And if you didn’t catch that, the game went to NINE overtimes, the most in NCAA history at any level. After a nearly never-ending battle, the Illini finally won it on this Brandon Peters pass to Casey Washington.

Before the overtimes, the Illini had an incredible game on the ground, rushing for 357 yards. Chase Brown gained 223 yards on 33 carries,…