Last year when Illinois traveled to play the Jayhawks it took them a half to adjust to the offensive scheme and by the time they settled in, the Jayhawks had 28 points on the board at halftime.

After last year’s game head coach Bret Bielema said Kansas used formations and plays, they had not shown on film.

“They did some extreme things,” Bielema said after last year’s game. “They put up an extra wide A and B gap and they schemed us on one drive where had never shown that and it's something that we got to adjust to on a fly. There were a couple trick plays, but that's kind of what their offense is. Lance and his staff, this is kind of what they are. They do some old school traditional, midline triple option stuff and they put new waves on it.”

Defensive coordinator Aaron Henry said on Monday he watched the game 100 times from last season. It was his second game as the Illinois defensive coordinator and he has learned from it.

"I probably watched the Kansas game 100 plus times," Henry said. "There were some schematic things that I thought they had a leg up on. Being in that moment and being able to grow from it, is probably one of the biggest things for me as a coach that I've learned."

There could be much of the same in store this weekend after the Jayhawks kept things simple on offense against Lindenwood. New offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes did not reveal a lot and has more on his play call sheet that could come out this week.

One player who will be on the field that gave the Illinois defense trouble is Jalon Daniels. Last season Daniels finished the game going 21-of-29 for 277 yards and two touchdowns as Kansas built a 28-7 lead at halftime. He also kept plays alive and eluded pressure several times.

“He's an incredibly talented player that has a very accurate ball,” Bielema said about Daniels. “You know, he gets rid of the ball very quickly. On early downs, he's under two and a half seconds, which on early downs to get the ball out that fast means that, a, he's got a concise plan, he's got a great direction, he's got great accuracy.”

Last year Daniels only netted 24 rushing yards on 11 carries, but Illinois will be aware what he can do with his legs.

“I think for us, the way we’ve got to play the game and, you know, he is a run, he's a quarterback that we need to treat as a running back,” he said. “We need to play with a certain intensity and value to that respect what he can do in the through game.”

There is a lot of experience back for the KU offense and who played against Illinois last year. The top four receivers against the Illini last year were Lawrence Arnold, Luke Grimm, Devin Neal and Quentin Skinner. Bielema knows they have more weapons to compliment Daniels.

“Three wide receivers are all very gifted and dynamic,” Bielema said. “He (Daniels) went deep on them the other day as he tried to do in our game. They’ve got some tight ends that can mix it up. Their running backs #9 and #4 are very talented players. I think (number) six is the main piece, but he's got a lot of nice accessories that they use.”

Illinois will have the home crowd advantage on Saturday and they are expecting a good turnout.

“I know our crowd is expected to be a good number,” Bielema said. “I think we're within 1000 or so of being sold out for that game.”