Illinois will at least be without five notable players against Rutgers.

The Illini have looked like a new team lately and are riding a two-game winning streak. Head coach Lovie Smith and company have clearly put a four-game skid behind them with the upset of Wisconsin and win against Purdue last weekend.

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Now, Illinois is home once again for a showdown with the Scarlet Knights. Odds are good the Illini will secure their third straight win with Rutgers looking for its first B1G win since 2017.

Unfortunately, the Illini will be without some starters for the game, including WR Ricky Smalling and DL Oluwole Betiku Jr. Illini Stats & Notes provided a list of five notable players that will be out of Saturday’s action:

Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm EST on BTN.