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GAME NOTES: In the Top-25 for the first time since 2008, the 22nd-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils will hit the road for the first time in 2011, traveling to Champaign to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium.

After opening the season with a convincing, 48-14 decision over UC Davis, the Sun Devils were in consideration for a spot in the polls, but fell just short of making the cut. Arizona State needed a big win to prove worthy of crashing the party and got that very thing this past weekend. The Sun Devils saw a late lead over then 21st-ranked Missouri evaporate in the final quarter, but coach Dennis Erickson's squad was able to pull out the victory in overtime, 37-30. For ASU to remain in the polls the team will have to take on a Big Ten team on the road, something that has proved problematic in the past, with the Sun Devils posting a mere 3-9 mark in such games, all-time.

The Fighting Illini are in the midst of a five-game homestand to start the season, and so far coach Ron Zook's squad has defended its home field. The competition has not be overly impressive, as the Illini have taken on the likes of Arkansas State (33-15) and South Dakota State (56-3). This will certainly be the toughest challenge for Illinois in the early stages of this season.

This will be the third showdown between the Sun Devils and Illinois. The only other two contests took place in the late 1980s in a home-and home series. Arizona State won both meetings, defeating the Fighting Illini on their field 21-7, and then winning in Tempe with a 21-16 decision.

Arizona State's journey into the polls is due to the surprising start by the offense, which has scored 48 and 37 points, respectively, in the first two games.

There are many quarterbacks to talk about in the Pac-12, and Brock Osweiler should be one of them. The 6-8 signal caller has been outstanding thus far, completing 74.1 percent of his throws for 615 yards and five touchdowns.

Osweiler stood tall against Missouri, throwing for 353 yards and three touchdowns, while scoring once on the ground. The quarterback played with tenacity, knowing the importance of this win.

"It is what you work for. When you are waking up at 5:30 in the morning, every morning from January to August; you are doing all the workouts watching all the film," said Osweiler. "These are the games you are working for - the big games to win when you are close. For us to do that tonight it is just a great feeling, but at the same time it is just one win. We have to get prepared for Illinois right away. They are a quality opponent and we have a lot more games this year that we have to be ready for."

The evolution of Osweiler has also shined a light on Aaron Pflugrad as a legitimate number one option. Pflugrad hauled in two touchdown passes and finished with 180 yards on eight receptions last time out. While Pflugrad put his own mark on the game, his attitude afterwards shows how much of a team player he is.

"It felt good. I really wanted to get the victory for the team," said Pflugrad. "We all came together and everyone seemed to make plays at opportune times. It was a great team victory and I'm just happy to be a part of it."

If there is a negative to this offense, it would be the inconsistency of the rushing attack, which finished with only 104 yards on 3.4 yards per carry against Missouri.

Coming into the season the Sun Devils were supposed to be a tenacious defensive team, with the hopes that the offense can do enough to keep the team in the win column. However, it was the other way around against Missouri, as the offense picked up for the defensive unit that fell apart in the final quarter.

For the second time in two games the Sun Devils allowed two fourth quarter touchdowns.

ASU did little right, allowing over 300 yards through the air and close to 200 yards on the ground. The team's inability to stop the run is concerning and could be a problem this weekend against an Illinois squad that just racked up well over 300 rushing yards in its last contest.

This is a unit that has yet to play up to its talent level. The star on this side of the football is All-American linebacker Vontaze Burflict. A favorite to win the Butkus Award this season, Burflict has already recorded four sacks in the first two games. Senior LB Colin Parker is another playmaker in the middle of the defense, leading the team in tackles with 16.

As for the Illini, they have shown their goal is to dominate the opposition with a devastating rushing attack. So far that approach has worked for coach Zook, as the Illini rumbled for 364 yards in their recent win over South Dakota State.

Zook used a number of running backs in the victory and even saw one of his quarterbacks dominate on the ground as well. Troy Pollard led the way with 101 yards and one score, while quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase added 93 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Donovonn Young also made a big splash, finding the end zone twice, to go along with 65 yards on just seven totes.

While it was a team effort out of the backfield, coach Zook felt that Young did an impressive job in only his second college game.

"I think Donovonn, both those guys - him and Josh [Ferguson] - the more they go in there, the more they run the football, the better they're going to be. I noticed they were much better this week than they were last week. They ran more like they did in camp today than they did last week and that'll come with experience."

Since Illinois found so much room to run the ball, the passing attack went by the wayside, although when the Illini threw they were successful. Scheelhaase passed for 102 yards on 6-of-8 passing, while Reilly O'Toole completed all nine of his throws for 50 yards and one touchdown.

The defense for Illinois was just as strong to start the year, putting forth back-to-back solid efforts. However, the competition has not exactly been stellar.

Regardless the Illini play who is in front of them and they have dominated both opponents, including holding South Dakota State to just three points and only 96 yards. Illinois surrendered just 25 rushing yards and held SDSU to only 71 yards through the air. Illinois also finished with two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Trulon Henry.

Henry was praised by coach Zook after the game for his continuing improvement.

"That was kind of the play, to me, that sparked everything, sparked the whole football team," said Zook. "Once again, Trulon just gets better and better and like I said before: (on) Saturdays, he plays well."

Playing on the road is always a different task, so the Sun Devils will have trouble in Champaign. However, look for coach Erickson to make sure the defense is better against the run and if ASU can sew up the issues up front then look for the Sun Devils to grab a big win on the road.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Arizona State 37, Illinois 28