Doing a number on No. 1

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With No. 1 Penn State coming to Huff Hall on Saturday, we asked News-Gazette staff writer Jeff Huth to come up with five noteable Illini victories against top-ranked opponents.

Men's basketball
1979
vs. Michigan State
In a matchup of unbeatens on national cable TV, Eddie Johnson's clutch shot with 4 seconds left stunned a Spartans team on its way to the NCAA title.

Football
2007
vs. Ohio State
With Juice Williams throwing four touchdown passes, visiting Illinois knocked off a national title game-bound Buckeyes team that had won a Big Ten-record 20 straight league games.

Volleyball
2004
vs. Southern California
With nearly 3,000 fans on hand at a rollicking Huff Hall, the Illini halted the Trojans' NCAA-record winning streak at 52.

Tennis
1999
vs. Stanford
One year after losing 5-0 to the Cardinal, the Illini gutted out a 4-3 win at the USTA/ITA Indoor Championships to end Stanford's 45-match winning streak.

Baseball
2009
vs. Louisiana State
Not once, but twice did the Illini topple the 2009 College World Series champions in Baton Rouge, winning the series opener 3-1 on Aaron Johnson's ninth-inning homer and the finale 6-2 behind Ben Reeser's 8 2/3 innings of shutout pitching.
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