Dick Butkus vs. Red Grange key Elite Eight matchup to help find college football's GOAT

The first Elite Eight matchup in Paste BN's quest to determine the greatest college football player of all-time is also a referendum on who's the greatest Illinois player of all-time.

Linebacker Dick Butkus is considered the greatest defensive player in Illinois history and he meets running back Red Grange, who is considered the Illini's greatest offensive player. Voting in the Paste BN contest starts today and runs through Wednesday.

In 20 games as a collegiate player, three-time All-American Grange rushed for 2,071 yards and amassed 31 touchdowns. In one game in 1924 against Michigan, Grange scored the first four times he touched the ball. He had a 95-yard kickoff return and rushing TDs of  67, 56 and 45 yards.

Butkus was a ferocious hitter who forced 10 fumbles with his 145 tackles for Big Ten champion Illinois in 1963. In 1964, the Football Coaches Association honored Butkus as the best player in the country.

Dan Jenkins of Sports Illustrated once wrote about Butkus: "Dick Butkus is a special kind of brute whose particular talent is mashing runners into curious shapes."

The Elite Eight field was set when Tennessee's Peyton Manning (51%) defeated Texas running back Ricky Williams (49%) and Michigan's Charles Woodson (67%) bested Ohio State's Orlando Pace (33%).

Here is the other Elite Eight matchups and schedule: 

Thursday through Saturday

WEST REGION FINAL  

Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh vs. Earl Campbell, Texas

Oct. 14-16

MIDWEST REGION FINAL  

Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State vs. Herschel Walker, Georgia

Oct. 17-19

SOUTH REGION FINAL

Charles Woodson, Michigan vs. Peyton Manning, Tennessee