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slicknick3822 · 07-24-2017, 05:06 PM

Game: NCAA Football 14
Platform: Xbox 360
Rosters: jrriv's 2017-18 Roster (WIP so some things will be off but I wanted to start with certain Illinois recruits like Dwayne Lawson and Ricky Smalling)
Sliders: OS Community (I used default Heisman for the first game and it was too easy, so it'll get better)
Recruiting Rules: JoshC's Rules

slicknick3822 · 07-24-2017, 06:06 PM

Illinois Fighting Illini Football History

The Illinois Fighting Illini football team was founded in 1890, under the direction of Scott Williams, the team's starting quarterback who also served as the team's head coach. The team finished with a record of 1-2.Robert Lackey took over the reins for the program's second season in 1891, and the team finished undefeated with a mark of 6–0. For the next 20 years the Illini found mild success including one conference title.
The Robert Zuppke era is probably the most successfull era of Illinois history. Which is sad considering it was from 1913-41. Zuppke led the Illini to 7 conference titles and 4 national championships. His successor Ray Eliot also led the Illini to a national championship in 1951.
Since then, it's been a whole lot of nothing for the Illini. They've had only 4 conference titles since 1953 and have been 6-10 in Bowl games with no national championships to show either. Illinois has been in the bottom of the barrel of the Big Ten for a while despite having a good start to the Ron Turner era with a #1 recruiting class in 1999 led by Brandon Lloyd and a team led by him, Kurt Kittner, and others. This group would lead to their most recent Big Ten Championship in 2001 that brought them a bid to the Sugar Bowl, where they would lose to LSU 47-34.
Under Ron Zook, they would bring in a new group of guys including Rashard Mendenhall, Isaiah "Juice" Williams, and Arrelious Benn. In 2007, this team would go on to upset a #1 Ohio State team on their way to a Rose Bowl. Once again, they would fall, this time to USC 49-17.
After an abysmal 3 years under Tim Beckman, the Illinois Illini would turn to a coach who is a proven winner in the NFL. A team that the state of Illinois is familiar with. The last coach to lead the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl, Lovie Smith. Lovie Smith would see his Illini fall to 3-9 in his first year. But with the best recruiting class since the mid to late 2000's, Lovie Smith looks to turn things around soon.

School Records

Game leaders

Passing Yards: Dave Wilson (621 vs. Ohio State in 1980) *Big Ten Record
Rushing Yards: Mikel Leshoure (330 vs. Northwestern in 2010)
Receiving Yards: A.J. Jenkins (268 vs. Northwestern in 2011)
Touchdowns: Howard Griffith (8 vs. Southern Illinois in 1990) *NCAA Record
Touchdown Passes: Dave Wilson (6 vs. Ohio State in 1980)
Receptions: David Williams (16 vs. Purdue in 1985)
Tackles: John Sullivan (34 vs. Minnesota in 1977)
Interceptions: Mike Gow (4 vs. Stanford in 1974)
Sacks: Simeon Rice (5 vs. Washington State in 1994)

Season leaders

Passing Yards: Chayce Crouch (4,083 in 2018)
Rushing Yards: Mikel Leshoure (1,697 in 2010)
Receiving Yards: David Williams (1,278 in 1984)
Touchdowns: Mikel Leshoure (20 in 2010)
Touchdown Passes: Chayce Crouch (35 in 2018)
Receptions: David Williams (101 in 1984)
Tackles: John Sullivan (202 in 1977)
Interceptions: Al Brosky (11 in 1950 and 1951)
Sacks: Simeon Rice (16 in 1994), Whitney Mercilus (16 in 2011)

Career leaders

Passing Yards: Jack Trudeau (8,146)
Rushing Yards: Robert Holcombe (4,105)
Receiving Yards: David Williams (3,392)
Total Yards: Nathan Scheelhasse (10,634)
Touchdowns: Howard Griffith (33)
Touchdown Passes: Kurt Kittner (70)
Receptions: David Williams (245)
Tackles: Dana Howard (495)
Interceptions: Al Brosky (30) *NCAA Record
Sacks: Simeon Rice (44.5) *NCAA Record

slicknick3822 · 07-24-2017, 06:08 PM

Lovie Smith started his career in football as a Linebacker/Defensive Back at Tulsa. He was a two time All American. He immediately went into coaching after college, first at his former high school, Big Sandy, and then as a Linebacker coach at his alma mater, Tulsa.
He moved around the NCAA as a defensive assistant through the 80's and most of the 90's before finally breaking through to the NFL in 1996 as a Linebacker coach for the Buccaneers. Under the guidance of Tony Dungy they developed the Tampa 2 defense, which is still in use all across the league today. He would then move on to become Defensive Coordinator for the St. Louis Rams during their Super Bowl run in 2001 and the two years after before becoming head coach for the Chicago Bears.
Upon arriving in Chicago, Smith said he had three goals: beating the Packers, winning the NFC North, and winning a Super Bowl. While Smith struggled his first season going just 5-11, they were able to quickly turn it around with a dominant defense (despite losing QB Rex Grossman early) and go 11-5 in 2005 before losing to Carolina in an NFC Divisional Playoff Game. Grossman would return in 2006. And this was the year. The defense completely dominated the opposition and the special teams was explosive behind record holding return man Devin Hester, including sparking one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history against the Cardinals. The team would finish 13-3 as the top seed in the NFC and would beat defending champion Seattle and New Orleans on their way to the Super Bowl. Lovie Smith would become the first African-American head coach in Super Bowl history and then hours later, the Indianapolis Colts would win the AFC Championship, making Lovie's friend and mentor, Tony Dungy, the second African-American head coach in Super Bowl history. Despite an explosive start returning the opening kickoff for the first time in Super Bowl history the Bears would fall to the Colts 29-17 and Lovie did not capture the Super Bowl.
Lovie would continue to coach the Bears until 2012 which included another trip to the NFC Championship game in 2010 where they would fall to the Packers. He would then go to coach the Buccaneers where he was given two years and wasn't able to get up to .500 before coming to the Illini. He would finish 3-9 in his first year with the Illini.

slicknick3822 · 07-24-2017, 06:14 PM

2017

Spoiler

2018

Spoiler

slicknick3822 · 07-24-2017, 06:14 PM

MvPeterson2828 · 07-24-2017, 06:49 PM

I'll be keeping an eye on this dynasty! Looks like it's going to be sweet!!

Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

thesportsguru11 · 07-24-2017, 08:56 PM

I'm a sucker for a dynasty with a section devoted to school records.

I like the way you've set this up so far.

Nevertheless, Illinois always seems like a fun team to build up. Looking forward to seeing how successful you can be with Lovie!

slicknick3822 · 07-24-2017, 08:56 PM

Matchup Preview | August 31, 2017

@

Illinois Fighting Illini
(0-0, Away)

#18 South Florida Bulls
(0-0, Home)

Game Notes
Opening game of the season at Raymond James. A place Lovie Smith called home twice. Can the Illini take down the #18 ranked Bulls. Or will USF prevail and show they are a top tier team this year.

Illinois Fighting Illini Top 25 Recruits on the Board

Illinois Fighting Illini Recruiting - 2017
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Curt Watson (-505pts)	OLB	HS	Washington, MO	6'2"	231
Connor Fuller (-1440pts)	OLB	HS	St. Petersburg, FL	6'2"	208
Jonathan Floyd (-1280pts)	OT	HS	Chattahoochee, FL	6'8"	285
Derrick Washington (-340pts)	WR	HS	Highland Village, TX	5'9"	200
Gary Grant (-1190pts)	OG	HS	Seymour, IN	6'5"	280
James Bush (-1115pts)	C	HS	Coshocton, OH	6'1"	278
Andre Moore (-705pts)	DE	HS	Mason, OH	6'1"	247
Manuel Taylor (-1085pts)	WR	HS	Allen, TX	5'11"	190
Cedric Nugent (-1165pts)	WR	HS	Fort Hood, TX	5'10"	184
Mark Jackson (-110pts)	K	HS	Bellwood, IL	6'1"	191
Justin Bergstrand (+195pts)	WR	HS	Goldenrod, FL	6'0"	211
Kevin Turner (+85pts)	WR	HS	Mercedex, TX	6'1"	214
John Henry (-280pts)	WR	HS	Tamiami, FL	6'3"	204
Derrick Ware (-1425pts)	WR	HS	Monahans, TX	6'0	200
Freddie Nance (-200pts)	FB	HS	Lubbock, TX	5'11"	233
Victor George (-10pts)	ATH	HS	Skokie, IL	6'1"	225
David Jackson (-745pts)	OG	HS	New Port Richey, FL	6'1"	309
Calvin Tyler (-345pts)	WR	HS	Washington, OH	5'11"	198
Matt Parks (-510pts)	CB	HS	Highland Park, TX	6'1"	189
Andrew Alexander (-1025pts))	FS	HS	Picayune, MS	5'10"	180
Ben Smith (+420pts)	ATH	JUCO	Blue Island, IL	6'3"	205
Robert Chase (-1035pts)	OLB	HS	Joliet, IL	6'3"	226
Alex Clark (-130pts)	CB	HS	Bridge City, TX	6'2"	185
Jason West (-415pts)	OT	HS	Carrollton, TX	6'7"	300
Jordan Beck (+30pts)	DE	JUCO	Skokie, IL	6'3"	260

07-24-2017, 06:06 PM	#2
slicknick3822 Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wisconsin	Re: Hail to the Chief \| Illinois Fighting Illini Dynasty (NCAA 14) Illinois Fighting Illini Football History The Illinois Fighting Illini football team was founded in 1890, under the direction of Scott Williams, the team's starting quarterback who also served as the team's head coach. The team finished with a record of 1-2.Robert Lackey took over the reins for the program's second season in 1891, and the team finished undefeated with a mark of 6–0. For the next 20 years the Illini found mild success including one conference title. The Robert Zuppke era is probably the most successfull era of Illinois history. Which is sad considering it was from 1913-41. Zuppke led the Illini to 7 conference titles and 4 national championships. His successor Ray Eliot also led the Illini to a national championship in 1951. Since then, it's been a whole lot of nothing for the Illini. They've had only 4 conference titles since 1953 and have been 6-10 in Bowl games with no national championships to show either. Illinois has been in the bottom of the barrel of the Big Ten for a while despite having a good start to the Ron Turner era with a #1 recruiting class in 1999 led by Brandon Lloyd and a team led by him, Kurt Kittner, and others. This group would lead to their most recent Big Ten Championship in 2001 that brought them a bid to the Sugar Bowl, where they would lose to LSU 47-34. Under Ron Zook, they would bring in a new group of guys including Rashard Mendenhall, Isaiah "Juice" Williams, and Arrelious Benn. In 2007, this team would go on to upset a #1 Ohio State team on their way to a Rose Bowl. Once again, they would fall, this time to USC 49-17. After an abysmal 3 years under Tim Beckman, the Illinois Illini would turn to a coach who is a proven winner in the NFL. A team that the state of Illinois is familiar with. The last coach to lead the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl, Lovie Smith. Lovie Smith would see his Illini fall to 3-9 in his first year. But with the best recruiting class since the mid to late 2000's, Lovie Smith looks to turn things around soon. School Records Game leaders Passing Yards: Dave Wilson (621 vs. Ohio State in 1980) Big Ten Record Rushing Yards: Mikel Leshoure (330 vs. Northwestern in 2010) Receiving Yards: A.J. Jenkins (268 vs. Northwestern in 2011) Touchdowns: Howard Griffith (8 vs. Southern Illinois in 1990) NCAA Record Touchdown Passes: Dave Wilson (6 vs. Ohio State in 1980) Receptions: David Williams (16 vs. Purdue in 1985) Tackles: John Sullivan (34 vs. Minnesota in 1977) Interceptions: Mike Gow (4 vs. Stanford in 1974) Sacks: Simeon Rice (5 vs. Washington State in 1994) Season leaders Passing Yards: Chayce Crouch (4,083 in 2018) Rushing Yards: Mikel Leshoure (1,697 in 2010) Receiving Yards: David Williams (1,278 in 1984) Touchdowns: Mikel Leshoure (20 in 2010) Touchdown Passes: Chayce Crouch (35 in 2018) Receptions: David Williams (101 in 1984) Tackles: John Sullivan (202 in 1977) Interceptions: Al Brosky (11 in 1950 and 1951) Sacks: Simeon Rice (16 in 1994), Whitney Mercilus (16 in 2011) Career leaders Passing Yards: Jack Trudeau (8,146) Rushing Yards: Robert Holcombe (4,105) Receiving Yards: David Williams (3,392) Total Yards: Nathan Scheelhasse (10,634) Touchdowns: Howard Griffith (33) Touchdown Passes: Kurt Kittner (70) Receptions: David Williams (245) Tackles: Dana Howard (495) Interceptions: Al Brosky (30) NCAA Record Sacks: Simeon Rice (44.5) NCAA Record Last edited by slicknick3822; 11-29-2017 at 12:47 AM.

07-24-2017, 06:08 PM	#3
slicknick3822 Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wisconsin	Re: Hail to the Chief \| Illinois Fighting Illini Dynasty (NCAA 14) Lovie Smith started his career in football as a Linebacker/Defensive Back at Tulsa. He was a two time All American. He immediately went into coaching after college, first at his former high school, Big Sandy, and then as a Linebacker coach at his alma mater, Tulsa. He moved around the NCAA as a defensive assistant through the 80's and most of the 90's before finally breaking through to the NFL in 1996 as a Linebacker coach for the Buccaneers. Under the guidance of Tony Dungy they developed the Tampa 2 defense, which is still in use all across the league today. He would then move on to become Defensive Coordinator for the St. Louis Rams during their Super Bowl run in 2001 and the two years after before becoming head coach for the Chicago Bears. Upon arriving in Chicago, Smith said he had three goals: beating the Packers, winning the NFC North, and winning a Super Bowl. While Smith struggled his first season going just 5-11, they were able to quickly turn it around with a dominant defense (despite losing QB Rex Grossman early) and go 11-5 in 2005 before losing to Carolina in an NFC Divisional Playoff Game. Grossman would return in 2006. And this was the year. The defense completely dominated the opposition and the special teams was explosive behind record holding return man Devin Hester, including sparking one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history against the Cardinals. The team would finish 13-3 as the top seed in the NFC and would beat defending champion Seattle and New Orleans on their way to the Super Bowl. Lovie Smith would become the first African-American head coach in Super Bowl history and then hours later, the Indianapolis Colts would win the AFC Championship, making Lovie's friend and mentor, Tony Dungy, the second African-American head coach in Super Bowl history. Despite an explosive start returning the opening kickoff for the first time in Super Bowl history the Bears would fall to the Colts 29-17 and Lovie did not capture the Super Bowl. Lovie would continue to coach the Bears until 2012 which included another trip to the NFC Championship game in 2010 where they would fall to the Packers. He would then go to coach the Buccaneers where he was given two years and wasn't able to get up to .500 before coming to the Illini. He would finish 3-9 in his first year with the Illini. Last edited by slicknick3822; 07-24-2017 at 08:16 PM.

07-24-2017, 06:14 PM	#4
slicknick3822 Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wisconsin	Re: Hail to the Chief \| Illinois Fighting Illini Dynasty (NCAA 14) 2017 Spoiler Team Record: 9-4 (6-3) Final Ranking: #19 Bowl Game: Cotton Bowl, W 33-32 vs. Washington St Passing Leader: Chayce Crouch: 3552 yards, 23 TDs, 9 INTs Rushing Leader: Kendrick Foster: 949 yards, 10 TDs Recieving Leader: Mike Dudek: 998 yards, 4 TDs Defensive Leaders: Tre Watson: 87 tackles, Sean Adesanya: 6 sacks, Chris James Jr.: 4 INTs, Jamal Milan/Sean Adesanya: 3 FFs, Del'Shawn Phillips: 2 FRs, James Crawford Jr.: 1 SAF, Cameron Watkins: 1 TD Player Awards: DT Jamal Milan - 1st Team All-American FS Stanley Green - 1st Team All-American WR Carmoni Green - Freshman All-American TE Griffin Palmer - Freshman All-American Heisman Winner: HB Justice Hill - Oklahoma St. National Championship: UCLA def. Ohio St 24-21 in OT 2018 Spoiler Team Record: 13-1 (10-0) Final Ranking: #5 Bowl Game: Sugar Bowl (Playoff Semi-Final), L 39-33 vs. Texas Passing Leader: Chayce Crouch: 4083 yards, 35 TDs, 9 INTs Rushing Leader: Reggie Corbin: 874 yards, 7 TDs Recieving Leader: Carmoni Green: 1009 yards, 6 TDs Defensive Leaders: Tre Watson: 86 tackles, Sean Adesanya: 11 sacks, Cameron Watkins: 7 INTs, Del'Shawn Phillips/Tony Adams/Tre Watson: 2 FFs , Tre Watson/Tony Adams: 2 FRs, Chris James Jr./Julian Hylton/Patrick Nelson/Julian Jones: 1 TD Player Awards: C Nick Allegretti - 1st Team All-American LE Sean Adesanya - 1st Team All-American RE Owen Carney Jr. - 1st Team All-American DT Jamal Milan - Lombardi Award, 1st Team All-American MLB Tre Watson - 1st Team All-American CB Cameron Watkins - Chuck Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award, 1st Team All-American SS Patrick Nelson - 1st Team All-American QB Chayce Crouch - 2nd Team All-American TE Griffin Palmer - 2nd Team All-American DT Tito Odenigbo - 2nd Team All-American CB Chris James Jr. - 2nd Team All-American Heisman Winner: HB Chris Warren III - Texas National Championship: Texas def. Miami(FL), 30-22 Last edited by slicknick3822; 11-29-2017 at 01:00 AM.

07-24-2017, 06:14 PM	#5
slicknick3822 Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wisconsin	Re: Hail to the Chief \| Illinois Fighting Illini Dynasty (NCAA 14) Last edited by slicknick3822; 07-24-2017 at 08:45 PM.

07-24-2017, 06:49 PM	#6
MvPeterson2828 MVP OVR: 0 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Prescott Valley, Arizona.	Hail to the Chief \| Illinois Fighting Illini Dynasty (NCAA 14) I'll be keeping an eye on this dynasty! Looks like it's going to be sweet!! Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports Last edited by MvPeterson2828; 07-24-2017 at 06:54 PM.

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07-24-2017, 05:06 PM	#1
slicknick3822 Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wisconsin	Hail to the Chief \| Illinois Fighting Illini Dynasty (NCAA 14) Game: NCAA Football 14 Platform: Xbox 360 Rosters: jrriv's 2017-18 Roster (WIP so some things will be off but I wanted to start with certain Illinois recruits like Dwayne Lawson and Ricky Smalling) Sliders: OS Community (I used default Heisman for the first game and it was too easy, so it'll get better) Recruiting Rules: JoshC's Rules

07-24-2017, 08:56 PM	#7
thesportsguru11 Cooking With Sauce OVR: 0 Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 5,109 Blog Entries: 1	Re: Hail to the Chief \| Illinois Fighting Illini Dynasty (NCAA 14) I'm a sucker for a dynasty with a section devoted to school records. I like the way you've set this up so far. Nevertheless, Illinois always seems like a fun team to build up. Looking forward to seeing how successful you can be with Lovie! __________________ Check out We have a football team too..Guru's UConn Huskies in Dynasty HQ! 6x Super Bowl Champion Patriots \|Red Sox \| Celtics \| Bruins \|Boston College \| USC \| NASCAR Young Guns OS' biggest game show nut.

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Hail to the Chief | Illinois Fighting Illini Dynasty (NCAA 14)