College scouting reports: Illinois, Notre Dame, Northwestern, NIU

Here's a look at four games involving area teams this weekend:

Minnesota (5-1, 1-1) at Illinois (3-2, 1-1)

When: 11:02 a.m. at Memorial Stadium

TV: ESPN

Radio: WIND 560-AM

Series: Minnesota leads 31-27-3.

Coaches: Tim Brewster (6-12, second year at Minnesota); Ron Zook (16-25, fourth year at Illinois; 38-38 overall)

Players to watch: The Gophers boast the Big Ten's best quarterback-receiver combo in soph QB Adam Weber (68 percent completions, 1,428 yards, 8 TDs) and junior WR Eric Decker (50 catches, 696 yards, 4 TDs). The latter ranks first nationally in yards and second in catches. Senior DE Willie VanDeSteeg owns 8 tackles for loss, including 3.5 sacks.

Illinois QB Juice Williams' performance at Michigan last week (310 passing yards, 121 rushing yards, 4 TDs) just gets more impressive. The school discovered Williams became the third player in Big Ten history (joining Northwestern's Zak Kustok and Michigan State's Drew Stanton) and 28th in NCAA history to pull off the 300-100 double. MLB Brit Miller leads the nation in tackles for loss (11.5) and leads the Big Ten in tackles (10.6 per game).

The skinny: If Minnesota really wants to be the new Illinois, then it needs to deliver a big win on the road. The Illini would definitely qualify as a big win, especially after the way they smashed Michigan at the Big House. While Illinois' defense showed it could handle a spread offense last week, Minnesota's spread (as directed by QB Weber) is more impressive. He can run like Mizzou's Chase Daniel, so MLB Miller will have to keep him under control.

Minnesota's defense, meanwhile, has improved markedly over last year, but it's still nothing special. Look for the Illini to pound the Gophers on the ground with Williams and Dan Dufrene until the visitors prove they can stop it.

Notre Dame (4-1) at North Carolina (4-1)

When: 2:37 p.m. at Kenan Stadium

TV: Channel 7;

Radio: WLS 890-AM

Series: Notre Dame leads 16-1.

Coaches: Charlie Weis (26-16, fourth year at Notre Dame); Butch Davis (8-9, second year at UNC; 59-29, eighth year overall).

Players to watch: Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen doesn't need to start practicing his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, but he has been something approximating special over the last two weeks. Clausen hit 49 of 75 passes for 622 yards, 6 TDs and no INTs in home wins over Purdue and Stanford. Safety Kyle McCarthy continues to rank among the nation's top 15 tacklers with 10.4 per game.

North Carolina lost stud QB TJ Yates to an ankle injury, but junior Cameron Sexton has stepped right in and clicked with a trio of receivers (Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate, Brooks Fosters) who own 50 catches, 890 yards and 9 TDs in five games. Sexton has hit 20 of 35 passes for 359 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. Senior strong safety Trimane Goddard shares the national lead for interceptions as he boasts 4 of the Tar Heels' 12 picks.

The skinny: Notre Dame probably didn't anticipate a potential ambush when it scheduled its first trip to Chapel Hill since 1975. With John Shoop as his offensive coordinator, former Miami czar Butch Davis has pushed North Carolina to the top of the short list for most-improved teams. A 3-point loss to Virginia Tech is all that's separating the Tar Heels from an unbeaten record, which explains why No. 22 UNC jumped into the Associated Press' Top 25 poll for the first time since 2001.

Clausen has been on a roll lately, but he hasn't faced a pass defense like Carolina's. The Heels rank 19th nationally in pass efficiency defense.

Miami Ohio (1-4, 0-1) at N. Illinois (2-3, 1-1)

When: 3 p.m. at Huskie Stadium

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

Series: Miami leads 7-5.

Coaches: Shane Montgomery (16-25, fourth year at Miami); Jerry Kill (2-3 at NIU; 106-60 in 15th year overall).

Players to watch: Miami's struggling offense is in the midst of a quarterback controversy. Junior Daniel Raudabaugh (94 of 164, 1,040 yards, 4 TDs, 5 INT) had the job until the middle of last week's loss to Temple, when sophomore Clay Belton (17 of 31, 161 yards, 1 INT) received a chance. There's no such leadership crisis on defense, where senior linebacker Joey Hudson leads the MAC and ranks seventh in the nation with 11 tackles per game.

NIU's quarterback situation is unsettled in a different way. Senior Dan Nicholson started the three previous games, but a left shoulder injury has him out this week. That leaves redshirt freshmen DeMarcus Grady and Chandler Harnish, the latter of which hasn't played since spraining his right foot Sept. 6 at Western Michigan. Senior DE Larry English earned the MAC West defensive player of the week honor after shredding Tennessee for 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

The skinny: It's the start of a well-deserved three-game homestand for the Huskies, who have already traveled to Tennessee, Minnesota, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan (at least NIU got to fly to Knoxville). For those who haven't kept track of the Huskies, get a load of coordinator Tracy Claeys' rabid defense. NIU has surrendered just 1 touchdown over the last three weeks and leads the MAC in scoring defense (15.2 ppg), rushing defense (108.8 ypg), total defense (289.4 ypg), turnover margin and tackles for loss.

That resume makes this look like a bad matchup for Miami, which represented the East Division in last year's MAC championship. The RedHawks' campaign to repeat has been slowed by a weak offense that tries to get things done through the air. They rank last in the MAC in rushing (80.4 ypg) and scoring (17.4 ppg). Of course, Miami played a strong non-conference slate in undefeated Vanderbilt, once-beaten Cincinnati and Michigan.

Michigan St. (5-1, 2-0) at Northwestern (5-0, 1-0)

When: 2:45 p.m. at Ryan Field

TV: ESPN2

Radio: WGN 720-AM, WNUR 89.3-FM

Series: Michigan State leads 32-16.

Coaches: Mark Dantonio (12-7, second year at MSU, 30-24, fifth year overall); Pat Fitzgerald (15-14, third year at Northwestern)

Players to watch: Call it a hunch, but Michigan State just might give the ball to senior RB Javon Ringer (212 carries, 988 yards, 12 TDs). After all, the nation's No. 2 rusher is on pace to break the Big Ten's single-season records for carries and yards and tie the mark for TDs. If Ringer's not rushing it, then senior QB Brian Hoyer is chucking it to Mark Dell. S Otis Wiley has a league-high 4 interceptions.

Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton didn't participate in Wednesday's practice, but his hamstring should be fine today. The Wildcats need Sutton to balance their offense, though you could understand if they don't believe that to be the case. Sutton missed last year's 48-41 overtime win at MSU, when C.J. Bacher (38 of 48, 520 yards, 5 TDs) had a game for the ages. Watch out for redshirt freshman DE Vince Browne, who racked up 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 blocked kick in the last two games.

The skinny: These are the games where teams learn whether they're something special. The Wildcats are No. 17 in the unofficial CollegeBCS.com rankings while the Spartans are No. 20, so the winner takes a big step in the Big Ten race as well as the BCS bowl chase.

Michigan State's defense usually fares better against the pass than the run, but the secondary has injury issues. Bacher might be able to exploit some inexperience there.

Conversely, Northwestern's defense has been stellar against the run, but it hasn't faced anyone the likes of Ringer. But if Iowa found a way last week to hold him to 91 yards and no TDs in 25 carries-Don't forget to save a round of applause for the 1948 Big Ten champs, the original Northwestern Rose Bowl team that holds its reunion this weekend.