Casey Washington caught a 2-point conversion pass from Brandon Peters to end the first nine-overtime game in NCAA history and lift Illinois over No. 7 Penn State 20-18.

Nine of the 14 Big Ten football teams appear set at quarterback heading into the fall.

Both tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and will be sidelined 21 days per Big Ten protocol. Both would be eligible to return for the Nov. 21 game at Nebraska. Illinois also announced that contact tracing sidelined several other players for the Purdue game and next week’s game against Minnesota. Sophomore Matt Robinson started at quarterback for the Ilini. The Illini opened the season last week at Wisconsin, whose team has had 22 players and staff test positive for COVID-19 this week.

14 Badgers beat Illinois 45-7 on Friday night to open the pandemic-delayed Big Ten football season. Mertz became the first-team quarterback after returning starter Jack Coan underwent foot surgery on Oct. 7, leaving him out indefinitely. After Illinois fumbled the ball away on the game’s second play from scrimmage, Mertz hit fullback Jason Stokke for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Mertz responded to Illinois’ touchdown by throwing a 34-yard completion to Ferguson and then hitting the senior tight end again for a 14-yard score with 1:06 left in the half. After Illinois went three-and-out on its next series, Mertz threw deep and found Danny Davis for a 53-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left until halftime.

The unbeaten Badgers, following a 38-0 victory against Michigan State in Week 7, hope to continue their mastery of the Fighting Illini by notching their 10th consecutive victory in the series. LINE: Wisconsin -31.5"It's special when we're clicking on all cylinders," Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor told reporters. Illinois scored 25 unanswered points after falling behind 28-0 before eventually suffering a 42-25 defeat to 16th-ranked Michigan last week. Wisconsin has won 13 of the last 14 meetings with Illinois. PREDICTION: Wisconsin 48, Illinois 13More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Christian Turner #3 of the Michigan Wolverines looks for running room between Daviyon Nixon #54 and Jack Koerner #28 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during a first quarter run at Michigan Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo byCHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Michigan defeated Illinois 42-25. LINE: Michigan -21.5"We're right where we want to be as we're getting better, learning and growing every single week," Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson told reporters. "He's getting better and we're hopeful because we'll need everyone to beat a team like Michigan," Illinois coach Lovie Smith told reporters. PREDICTION: Michigan 31, Illinois 10More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Christian Turner #3 of the Michigan Wolverines looks for running room between Daviyon Nixon #54 and Jack Koerner #28 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during a first quarter run at Michigan Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 16 Michigan looks for its third consecutive win when it visits Illinois in Big Ten play on Saturday. LINE: Michigan -21.5"We're right where we want to be as we're getting better, learning and growing every single week," Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson told reporters. "He's getting better and we're hopeful because we'll need everyone to beat a team like Michigan," Illinois coach Lovie Smith told reporters. PREDICTION: Michigan 31, Illinois 10More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

The transfer portal is a major part of college sports now, and no team has seen more roster turnover than Michigan in that department.

Tyrone Wheatley Jr., Brandon Peters, Eddie McDoom and Kareem Walker are among the Michigan football transfers still on active rosters this season. He's made 25 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks this season for the Bulldogs while returning the occasional kickoff. After appearing in just one game for Michigan last season, Singleton was granted immediate eligibility for Rutgers this season and has appeared in all five games. Singleton has 20 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack this season, including five tackles against Michigan. Washington made 40 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks while picking off two passes and defending nine more passes in 2018.

Jordan Glasgow #29 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a 10-3 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. State of the Wolverines after win over IowaFor the time being, Michigan avoided a second loss that would have brought further outrage and increased calls for Jim Harbaugh's job. While Iowa's offense won't ever be confused for Ohio State or Alabama's, the U-M defense did dominate by forcing four turnovers and registering eight sacks in a 10-3 victory. Central Michigan gets win in other rivalry gameCentral Michigan lost one rivalry game at Western Michigan on Sept. 28, but responded a week later at home against its other in-state rival with a 42-16 win over Eastern Michigan. But that didn't matter to Hemlock, which produced a stunning 30-6 win over Ithaca to end that 66-game conference winning streak.

The Minnesota Gophers dance on the bench as they await a kick against the Georgia Southern Eagles during the game at TCF Bank Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by HannahMINNEAPOLIS - After a run of close games to start the season, Minnesota will be in search of an emphatic win when it hosts Illinois on Saturday in a Big Ten contest. 18 Michigan next on the docket, the Fighting Illini are in must-win mode against the Gophers after letting two wins slip away. Minnesota, which has won six of the last eight games with Illinois to take a 38-30-3 lead in the series, needs one win to become the 28th school to reach 700 victories. PREDICTION: Minnesota 47, Illinois 34More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

AJ Bush #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini runs the ball during the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Oluwole Betiku Jr. will have Mike Glass III in his cross hairs Saturday when Illinois welcomes Eastern Michigan for a nonconference game. Glass will try to become the first quarterback to throw a touchdown pass this season against Illinois, which has allowed one rushing score. Eastern Michigan, which took down Rutgers in 2017 and Purdue last season, has the same number of wins over Big Ten teams in the last two seasons as Illinois. PREDICTION: Illinois 37, Eastern Michigan 23More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

AJ Bush #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini runs the ball during the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. The Illini lost their final game in 2018 to Northwestern to finish the season with six losses in their last seven games. ABOUT AKRON (2018: 4-8)The Zips lost their final five games last season and coach Terry Bowden lost his job after seven years, replaced by Tom Arth of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Illinois finished with a losing record in 14 of the past 17 seasons and hasn't appeared in a bowl game since 2011. PREDICTION: Illinois 31, Akron 21More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.