College football preview: SDS at Illinois

South Dakota State (1-0) at Illinois (1-0)

When: 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium

TV: BTN; Radio: WIND 560-AM

Series: First meeting

Coaches: John Stiegelmeier (89-66, 15th year at SDSU); Ron Zook (29-45, seventh year at Illinois; 52-59 overall).

Players to watch: South Dakota State junior QB Thomas O’Brien makes his 19th career start. He owns more career interceptions (26) than TDs (24), but delivered a solid showing in last week’s 29-28 win over Southern Utah as he hit 27 of 40 passes for 279 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. Junior RB Tyrel Kool produced 107 rushing yards and 79 receiving yards in the opener. Not bad for a former WR. On the local front, sophomore TE Vince Benedetto (Crystal Lake South HS) will start while freshman LB T.J. Lally (Marmion) is scheduled to redshirt.

Illinois sophomore QB Nathan Scheelhaase set a career-high with 267 passing yards in last week’s 33-15 win over Arkansas State. While he focused exclusively on WRs A.J. Jenkins (career-high 11 catches, 148 yards, 1 TD) and Darius Millines (5-119-1), look for Scheelhaase to expand his repertoire this week to include TEs Evan Wilson and Jon Davis as well as freshman RB Josh Ferguson (Naperville).

The skinny: Zook has motivated Illinois this week by mentioning how South Dakota State battled at Nebraska last year before succumbing 17-3. These Jackrabbits are picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference — which means they’re no slouches — but the Illini ought to be able to control the line of scrimmage throughout.

Fast fact: Illinois shoots for its second 2-0 start (2005) in the last 10 seasons. South Dakota State owns a 1-18 record against Big Ten schools. The lone win came against Wisconsin in 1935.