Talented Illini CB Davis no shrinking violet

Decide for yourself the most impressive thing about Illinois sophomore cornerback Vontae Davis.

Might it be his 2.9 percent body fat, which gives the muscles ample room to shine on his 6-foot, 205-pound frame?

Is it his ability to shut down receivers?

Is it his knack for blocking punts, seeing as how he owns 2 in Illinois' first four games?

Or is it the Washington native's refreshing lack of modesty?

After Saturday's 27-14 victory at Indiana, Davis answered several questions about the tight relationship he shares with high school teammate Arrelious Benn. Davis concluded his thoughts with this:

"Me and him's just so good of athletes," he said earnestly, "that we don't know what we can do."

The sky does seem to be limitless for Davis and Benn, which bodes well for Illinois' continuing rise.

The next hurdle for the Illini (3-1, 1-0), who are enjoying their first three-game winning streak since 2001?

With No. 21 Penn State coming to town at 11 a.m. Saturday (Big Ten Network), Illinois has a legitimate chance to snap its 19-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

Davis, who received a scholarship offer from Penn State, gets to test himself against three of the league's most ballyhooed receivers in Jordan Norwood, Derrick Williams and Deon Butler.

He will enter that game fresh from an "A" performance against Indiana's James Hardy, who caught an early touchdown in a 1-on-1 battle with Davis but finished with 6 catches for just 42 yards.

Davis also earned the last word when he intercepted a slant pass intended for Hardy in the end zone with 1:10 to go.

"I feel that I could be considered one of the best corners in the Big Ten," said Davis, who had a second interception Saturday before the official ruled that a sliver of his foot came down out of bounds.

"I thought he did a great job," said Illinois coach Ron Zook on Sunday after reviewing the tape. "I thought it was by far his best game."

RB shortage: While starting running back Rashard Mendenhall earned a helmet sticker from ESPN's College Football crew for his 214-yard performance against Indiana, his backups earned trips to the infirmary.

Freshman backup Troy Pollard injured his right knee in the fourth quarter. It looked bad on the replay, but Ron Zook hopes it won't be any worse than the initial sprained knee diagnosis. Pollard plans to undergo an MRI today.

"It happened to him one time in high school, he said, and he only missed a week," Zook said.

Junior backup Dan Dufrene toted the ball just three times Saturday as Zook noticed a few ill effects from the sprained ankle Dufrene suffered at Syracuse.

"A little gimpy," Zook said. "Obviously it's going to be important to get him back where he was before he sprained his ankle."

Illinois has just one other running back on scholarship: Walter Mendenhall, Rashard's older brother, but he's more of a fullback type.