It’s not often been said for the last several years but Illinois leads the nation in a key stat.

Their program’s Twitter account for football tweeted out a graphic with the stat that Illinois is the only school in the country that has 3 offensive linemen with 35+ career starts.

The 3 players shown here that have 35+ starts are Doug Kramer, Alex Palczewski, and Vederian Lowe.

This stat may not seem like a big deal to some, but having a lot of offensive line strength could be a big key for Illinois to start being competitive again. They’ll have strong protection for Brandon Peters, who’s in line to start this season after throwing for 429 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2020.

The Fighting Illini will open their season with a matchup against Nebraska in Week 0 on Aug. 28 and that could be a winnable matchup for them, especially if the line protects Peters and run blocks well. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. ET.