Illinois football coach Lovie Smith speaks Monday at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago. The Fighting Illini will host Western Kentucky on Sept. 9.

Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a 12-part series looking at WKU’s 2017 football opponents.

Lovie Smith was hired by Illinois to make Fighting Illini football relevant again.

Illinois boasts a proud football tradition with names like Red Grange, Ray Nitschke and Dick Butkus, but hasn’t made an impression on the national stage in almost a decade.

The program has played in just three bowl games since a run to the 2008 Rose Bowl and has gone 20-41 over the last five seasons.

Illinois hired Smith last season to change the Illini’s fortunes. The Texas native, who coached the Chicago Bears to an appearance in Super Bowl XLI, went 3-9 last season as he tried to rebuild the program’s roster.

Illinois hopes to make a move up the Big Ten West Division pecking order this fall. Before conference play begins, its nonconference schedule includes a home date with Western Kentucky.

The Fighting Illini will host the Hilltoppers at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 in Champaign, Ill. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. Illinois is paying WKU $925,000 for the trip to Champaign.

The WKU matchup is part of a tricky two-game non-conference stretch for the Illini, which will play at South Florida the following week. Both the Toppers and Bulls won 11 games last season.

“Two of the three (non-conference) teams had over 10 wins last year, which will be challenging,” Smith said Monday at Big Ten Media Days.

Illinois loses 14 starters from its 2016 squad, a figure that’s tied with Ball State for the most among teams on WKU’s 2017 schedule.

The Fighting Illini were anemic offensively last season, ranking 122nd in the country with 19.7 points per game. By comparison, the Toppers led the FBS with 45.5 ppg.

Illinois’ only wins last season came against FCS foe Murray State and Big Ten opponents Michigan State and Rutgers, neither of which won more than three games.

“We haven’t been competitive enough,” Smith said. “We realize that. And our program hasn’t been going to a lot of bowl games. We realize that.

“But it’s a process you have to go through.”

Smith will turn to quarterback Chayce Crouch to pilot the Illini this season. Crouch, who went through shoulder surgery in the offseason, was described by Smith as a “dual athlete” who is “the undisputed leader of our team.”

Illinois will get a boost in the return of wide receiver Mike Dudek, who missed the last two seasons because of two knee injuries.

Dudek was a Freshman All-American in 2014, catching 76 passes for 1,038 yards and six touchdowns. He helped the Fighting Illini beat WKU that season 42-34 in the programs’ only previous meeting.

Linebacker Tre Watson (102 tackles) returns, and junior college transfer Del’Shawn Phillips is also expected to make an instant impact at that position.

“We didn’t do our share (in 2016),” Smith said. “We weren’t one of those teams that people were talking about.

“Can’t wait for the day where we’re in discussions about making the conference stronger, and that’s a part of our future, too.”

2017 Illinois football schedule

9/2 – Ball State

9/9 – Western Kentucky

9/16 – at South Florida

9/29 – Nebraska

10/7 – at Iowa

10/14 – Rutgers

10/21 – at Minnesota

10/28 – Wisconsin

11/4 – at Purdue

11/11 – Indiana

11/18 – at Ohio State

11/25 – Northwestern