B1G 2011 // Illinois Cocktail Party Preview
by Jonathan Franz on May 22, 2011 11:43 PM CDT
in Illinois
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PrintSix teams down, six to go. The next stop on our virtual road tour is Champaign, Illinois, home of the Fighting Illini.
SEVENTH IN A SERIES: THE ILLINOIS COCKTAIL PARTY PREVIEW
Illinois at a glance...
First Season: 1890
Head Coach: Ron Zook (5th Year, 18-30 (.375))
All-Time Record: 563-513-51 (.522)
2010 Record: 7-6 (4-4 Conference)
Last year, the Illini demonstrated a characteristic inconsistency that has come to exemplify the Ron Zook era. Lose to a beatable Missouri team in the opener, take the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes to the wire. Blow out Penn State on the road, lose to a lame duck Minnesota. Topple ranked Northwestern, drop trough in Fresno.
Heading into bowl season no one really knew what to make of the Illini. Heading out of bowl season the same might be said. The 38-14 dismantling of overachiever Baylor in the Texas Bowl put a feather in Ron Zook's cap, and showed why the Illini had the best rushing attack in conference. But what could account for tepid performances against Indiana, Purdue, and Minnesota?
[Conversation Pointer: The Illini really know how to get it done on the ground, with Top 5 rushing attacks in the B1G since 2006. But where has the passing game been? Illinois has ranked in the bottom 2 in conference for passing yards four out of the last five seasons.]
In the cupboard...
Total returning starters: 13 (6 Offense, 6 Defense, 1 Special Teams)
In many ways, Illinois football heading into 2011 is a tale of two cities. On one hand, Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is a solid playmaker with a capable command of Paul Petrino's offense. And speaking of the coordinators, the addition of coach Mike Gillhamer from the Carolina Panthers to the secondary gives Ron Zook one of the best crops of assistants in the Big Ten. That's a lot of game day acumen. But will it make up for a serious loss of star power? Gone are Mikel Leshoure, Corey Liuget, Clay Nurse, Martez Wilson, Nate Bussey, Jarred Fayson, and Eddie McGee, three of whom went early to the NFL. Questions abound in the defensive front seven, and at wide receiver.
Is Jason Ford the future of the Illini rushing attack?
Still, you cannot discount the benefit of a favorable schedule. Gone is perennial ball buster Missouri. In place of the traditional neutral site matchup are five home games in a row to open the 2011 season. Better yet, the Illini only face one road opponent (Penn State) that went to a bowl last season. That's a recipe for success in Champaign. Especially if Zook continues his tradition of developing punishing running backs.
2011 Schedule:
| Date | Opponent |
| 09/03/11 | Arkansas State |
| 09/10/11 | South Dakota State |
| 09/17/11 | Arizona State |
| 09/24/11 | Western Michigan |
| 10/01/11 | Northwestern |
| 10/08/11 | @ Indiana |
| 10/15/11 | Ohio State |
| 10/22/11 | @ Purdue |
| 10/29/11 | @ Penn State |
| 11/12/11 | Michigan |
| 11/19/11 | Wisconsin |
| 11/29/11 | Minnesota |
| 12/03/11 | Big Ten Championship |
[Conversation Pointer: There's no reason why the Illini can't be 5-1 and ranked heading into an October 15th matchup at Ohio State. If Ron Zook can continue his tradition of playing the Buckeyes tough, he'll have a chance at becoming one of the front runners in the Leader's Division with a win at Penn State.]
Stat to make you sound smart...
Illinois finished last in Big Ten in 2010 in punt returns and 100th nationally in kickoff returns. If they can make even a modest improvement in the return game, they're bound to improve on scoring offense.
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This week... |
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MONDAY | Cocktail Party Preview |
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TUESDAY | Point/Counterpoint |
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WEDNESDAY | Ron Zook Expose |
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THURSDAY | OTE Potluck |
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FRIDAY | Keeping the Enemy Close - Rival Blogger Interview |
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Comments
I really don't like Illinois
for some reason. I guess it’s cause we haven’t been able to blow them out big time, and it’s almost always close.
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by Ian_InsideTheShoe on May 23, 2011 5:42 AM CDT reply actions
I feel the same Ian, but mostly due to this:
If we dont get the 3 and out, well, when is the turnover coming?
by BuckeyeSki on May 23, 2011 9:55 AM CDT up reply actions 3 recs
Fuck Clemson
HELP IS ON THE WAY
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/
by SouthBayBuckeye on May 23, 2011 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions 5 recs
You don't like the turtle?
Visit Inside The Shoe
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by Ian_InsideTheShoe on May 23, 2011 6:50 PM CDT up reply actions
Bring back the live turtle!
Only for it to drown in rot-gut vodka/GHB cocktail in a DTD bathroom.
HELP IS ON THE WAY
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by SouthBayBuckeye on May 24, 2011 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions
Illinois?
They still have a football team in the B1G? Huh, you’d think Iowa would have played them at some point if they were still in the conference.
I hate the schedulers
It never gets to be easy.
Why the fuck doesn't it ever get to be easy?
they've been thinkign abotu shutting down the bball program too I hear..
HELP IS ON THE WAY
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/
by SouthBayBuckeye on May 23, 2011 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions
That schedule is an embarassment
Seriously, Ark State and SD State? I know Ark St. is technically a FBS team, but seriously.
Yeah
because Akron, Toledo, and Colorado are so impressive. There are a lot of shitty out of conference schedules in the Big Ten. U of I’s is at worst par for the course with two shitty teams, one MAC, and one good team.
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
Is UM playing another FCS school this year?
HELP IS ON THE WAY
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/
by SouthBayBuckeye on May 23, 2011 11:27 PM CDT up reply actions
Miami?
Seems you left them off the list. If i’m looking at that schedule with no team name attched, I’m guessing Indiana.
And he left off Arizona St.
The point was that most Big Ten teams schedule maybe one tough OOC game. OSU is no different than U of I in this regard.
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
even with shades of gray
ark state doesn’t exactly = colorado or toledo.
HELP IS ON THE WAY
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/
by SouthBayBuckeye on May 24, 2011 1:04 PM CDT up reply actions
Akron won one game last season.
One. Is that equal enough for you?
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
No B1G team plays an impressive OOC schedule
No one. Miami is a shell of what they were, Az State is the Pac-12 equivalent of Illinois, and Notre Dame is getting better but they still aren’t world beaters.
The only OOC game that is impressive, that I can think of off the top of my head, is Penn State’s matchup with Alabama.
"Lord I pray for the eyes of an eagle, the heart of a lion and the balls of a combat helicopter pilot."
Which is my point.
It’s silly to say any one team’s OOC schedule is “an embarrassment” as compared to another’s in the conference. None are outstanding.
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
horrible FBS > horrible FCS
or whatever they’re calling the divisions today.
HELP IS ON THE WAY
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/
by SouthBayBuckeye on May 25, 2011 10:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Arkansas State plays in the Sun Belt.
Which is in the FBS. The Red Wolves have been a division one team for 20 years now. Where are you even getting your “facts”?
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
North Texas is FBS
But you don’t hear Indiana bragging about that fact.
Just realized you were referring to South Dakota St..
who were better than horrible. And Akron lost to the FCS school they played. Akron is worse.
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
FYI
Zook is in his 7th year and his record at Illinois is 28-45 (.384).
It's still god awful
but slightly better than .375.
He refuses to get caught looking
HELP IS ON THE WAY
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/
by SouthBayBuckeye on May 23, 2011 1:14 PM CDT reply actions 3 recs
FYI
Illinois did not have tepid performances against Indiana and Purdue. They beat Indiana 43-13 and Purdue 44-10.
Unpossible.
Zook coaches them and he is the worst.
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
There Is Absolutely No Reason
Why the Illini should not make a bowl this year with that schedule. Zook is justifiably toast if he can’t get to a bowl again. Great O-line, potentially good secondary, historically good running game (I would LOVE to see Jason Ford justify all the love Zook has shown him this spring, but we’ll see). They’ll have to score points with the holes on D up front, but they should be, at a minimum, bowl-eligible.
Ford is a stud
I mean, he had a shot at the starting job, but Mikel was NFL-level nasty.
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by Graham Filler on May 23, 2011 10:46 PM CDT up reply actions
Illini Dark Horse pick to win BTE.
You’ve got Scheelhase, decent linemen, a solid backfield, and a lot of athleticism. With the uncertainty and problems facing the competition, I think this is Illinois’ year to make a run at a BTE title.
did they get a football shaped lcoker room?
HELP IS ON THE WAY
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/
by SouthBayBuckeye on May 24, 2011 6:13 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I hope not.
Otherwise, what will we hang our hats on? The giant jumbotron?
I hear they've built an ULTRAtron
new stadium is being left in the dust
HELP IS ON THE WAY
http://www.insidetheshoe.com/
by SouthBayBuckeye on May 24, 2011 6:42 PM CDT up reply actions
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