CHICAGO, Ill. -- The University of Chicago football team returns to Stagg Field on Saturday at 1 PM to take on the (RV) Illinois College Blueboys in a crucial battle at the top of the Midwest Conference.

UCHICAGO NOTES:

* UChicago enters the weekend with an 1-1 record on the season after taking down Cornell (IA) 28-12 for their first win of the 2025 season.
* The Maroons are coming off a 6-4 season in 2024 in which they finished 6-3 in Midwest Conference play, bringing home a 4th-place finish in the league.
* Craig Knoche earned his first career win on Saturday with the 28-12 victory over the Cornell (IA) Rams.
* UChicago holds a 7-5 advantage over (RV) Illinois College all-time, and they hold a 5-2 advantage in the modern era. The Blueboys have won each of the past two meetings with a 50-37 win last year and a 41-20 win in 2023.
* Simon Tchakarov came up with the first interception of the season for the potent UChicago defense, and he took it back 23 yards for the first pick-six by a Maroon since October 2024.
* The UChicago defense has been excellent through the first two games of the season, holding their opponents to 20 points or fewer. If the Maroons hold the Blueboys to 20 points or fewer on Saturday, it will be just the second time since 2014, joining 2022 when they started 4-0.
* Tad Tan earned MWC Special Team Player of the Week honors in Week 1 after he punted the ball 9 times for 37.3 yards per punt. He currently ranks top-25 in NCAA Division III with 41.1 yards per punt on the year.
* Following their clash with (RV) Illinois College, UChicago will take a week off before returning to the road to take on Knox Prairie Fire in a Midwest Conference showdown.

(RV) ILLINOIS COLLEGE NOTES: 

* llinois College enters the weekend as the lone unbeaten team in the MWC after opening the season with wins over Greenville (28-9) and (RV) Lake Forest (28-25 in OT).
* The Blueboys survived an overtime thriller against Lake Forest on Saturday when Tyson Elliott found Kyle Leonard for the game-winning 19-yard touchdown.
* Elliott has been excellent through the air for Illinois College with 455 yards and 6 touchdowns on 44-58 passing.
* Leonard is the reigning MWC Offensive Player of the Week and enters the weekend with 16 catches for 189 yards and 4 touchdowns in their two wins.
* The Blueboys have struggled on the ground this season with just 195 yards on 65 carries for 3.0 yards per carry.
* Drake Stuart has been a stahlwart on the Illinois College defense with 20 tackles and a team-high 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.
* Cam Dailey is the only Illinois College defender with more tackles than Stuart, entering the weekend with 21 tackles on the year.
* Following their game with UChicago, (RV) Illinois College returns to action on Saturday, October 4, as they return to Jacksonville to battle Lawrence. 

SERIES HISTORY:

* The University of Chicago leads the all-time series 7-5 over Illinois College.
* The Blueboys won each of the past two meetings, snapping a seven-game win streak for UChicago.
* Illinois College took down the Maroons 50-37 in 2024 and 41-20 in 2023 which are two of the three highest point totals allowed by a UChicago defense in the past four years.
* UChicago holds a 3-2 record all-time at Stagg Field with the wins coming in 1987, 2018, and 2021.

CAREER STATS RECORDS:

* Josh Minton - 1st in Yards per Kick Return (25.7)
* Jack Ruff - 7th in Completions (254) and 7th in Passing Yards (2,586)