Illinois Fighting Iliini (NCAA 10)

[R1zzo23]

Illini See This One Through The Whole Way, Hold On For W






Illinois 3-3 (1-3) @ Purdue 4-3 (1-2)
Ross-Ade Stadium
West Lafayette, IN
October 24, 2009


After beating Indiana last week, Illinois looked to get back-to-back conference wins, this time on the road at Purdue. The game started sour as Purdue marched down the field and promptly punched one in the endzone for seven. After a punt by the Illini, the Boilermakers put up three more on a 43-yard field goal.

The second quarter, defense was optional as there were five touchdowns scored in all with both teams alternating scores. The first came on a broken play where all receivers were running deep slants. Juice rolled out of the pocket as all his receivers were covered, found a wide open Jeff Cumberland who took it to the house with a block from Arrelious Benn.

After Purdue added seven more to the board to make it 17-7, Illinois came out looking to pound the rock out of the I-Form Big formation. After seeing the defense stacking nine in the box, Juice Williams checked out of the run, into a pass play from the same formation, getting Benn on a slant. After beating the corner, Benn used his speed to out-run the entire defense to the house for a 75-yard TD. Purdue quickly answered the bell, marching down the field like everyone does against this Illinois defense and running one in from 3-yards out. Luckily, the extra point clanked off the upright and fell harmlessly to the ground. After a 2-yard Jason Ford TD-run with 20 seconds left in the half, Purdue entered the half with a 23-21 lead.

The second half was a defensive struggle with only nine total points scored. After Illinois punted early in the 3rd quarter, the Boilermakers worked the ball down the field, but stalled on the Illini's side of the field, settling for a 50-yard FG to go up by five points. On the ensuing drive, Juice Williams found AJ Jenkins over the middle for a 21-yard TD. After failing on converting the 2-point conversion, it was time to play defense. After getting a stop and a punt, Illinois moved the mall down the field on the ground, chewing up clock the whole way. Finally, it was a 4th and goal just inches from the endzone with only 1:30 left on the clock and a one point lead. Ron Zook decided to go for it, but were stuffed.

On the final drive, Purdue put some serious heat on the Illini defense as they were completing passes underneath, but luckily the defense made some sure tackles to keep them from being large gains. The Boilermakers got to midfield with 50 seconds remaining, but Illinois buckled down and forced three incompletions in a row and a sack to end the game.

Illinois	Team Stats	Purdue
27	Score	26
314	Passing Yards	351
114	Rushing Yards	99
542	Total Yards	583
16	1st Downs	21
10-13	3rd Downs	8-14
0-1	4th Downs	2-3
0	Turnovers	0
4-30	Penalties-Yards	4-30
14:59	Time of Possession	13:08

Illinois Fighting Illini Player Stats

J. Williams - 18/25, 314 Yds, 3 TD, 7 Car, 9 Yds

D. Dufrene - 12 Car, 40 Yds, 4 Rec, 36 Yds
J. Ford - 10 Car, 64 Yds, TD

A. Benn - 8 Rec, 151 Yds, TD
J. Cumberland - 4 Rec, 93 Yds, TD
A. Jenkins - 2 Rec, 34 Yds, TD

N. Bussey - 9 TKLS
D. Hardeman - 9 TKLS
E. Frierson - 6 TKLS (4 TFL), SK
A. James - 5 TKLS (2 TFL), SK
D. Pilcher - 4 TKLS (TFL), SK

M. Eller - 0/0 FG, 3/3 XP


Purdue Boilermakers Player Stats

C. TerBush - 26/39, 351 Yds, TD

R. Bolden - 19 Car, 83 Yds, TD, 3 Rec, 38 Yds

A. Valentin - 7 Rec, 112 Yds, 3 Car, 36 Yds, TD
K. Smith - 5 Rec, 82 Yds, TD
K. Adams - 4 Rec, 45 Yds
R. Adams - 3 Rec, 34 Yds
K. Carlos - 3 Rec, 29 Yds
E. Williams - 1 Rec, 11 Yds

T. Williams - 9 TKLS (TFL)
D. McLean - 9 TKLS (TFL)
J. Holland - 7 TKLS (TFL)
M. Neal - 4 TKLS (TFL), SK
C. Williams - 3 TKLS, SK

C. Wiggs - 2/3 FGs, 2/3 XP

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by Marino

This is looking good.

Thanks! Definitely looks better when we're actually winning games, too. We have #23 Michigan coming to town next week and if I can pull out a win in that one, the season will have some meaning to it.

[BCBF]

Looking very good

[R1zzo23]

Coaches' Poll Top 25 - After Week #8

Rank	LW		Team	Record
1	1		Oklahoma	7-0
2	2		Florida	7-0
3	3		Ole Miss	7-0
4	4		Iowa	8-0
5	5		Ok. State	7-0
6	6		WVU	7-0
7	8		Cincinnati	7-0
8	9		Texas	6-1
9	12		Ohio St	7-1
10	7		Kansas	6-1
11	13		Oregon	5-2
12	14		TCU	6-1
13	15		Clemson	6-1
14	16		FSU	6-1
15	17		USC	5-2
16	18		Wisconsin	6-1
17	19		Cal	5-2
18	10		LSU	5-2
19	11		Penn St	6-2
20	23		Georgia	4-3
21	---		Auburn	6-2
22	---		USF	5-2
23	---		Michigan	6-2
24	20		Miami	4-3
25	24		UConn	5-2

Name	POS	Team	Move
Tim Tebow	QB	Florida	<-->
Sam Bradford	QB	Oklahoma	<-->
Mardy Gilyard	WR	Cincinnati	^^^
Colt McCoy	QB	Texas	<-->
Ricky Stanzi	QB	Iowa	V V V

National Offensive Player of the Week: Jimmy Young, WR - TCU

• 14 Rec, 289 Yds, 3 TD

National Defensive Player of the Week: Bruno LaPointe, RE - Buffalo

• 9 TKLS (6 TFL), 3 SKS, 2 FF, FR

Big 10 Offensive Player of the Week: Juice Williams, QB - Illinois

• 18-25, 314 Yds, 3 TD

Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week: Austin Spitler, ROLB - OSU

• 9 TKLS (TFL), 2 INT, FF

[R1zzo23]

#23 Wolverines Get Picked Off In Champaign





#23 Michigan 6-2 (2-2) @ Illinois 4-3 (2-3)
Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
October 31, 2009


The Fighting Illini get a chance to prove to the nation that they aren't as bad as they looked against Ohio State and Penn State as they upset the #23 Michigan Wolverines! It was a cold, rainy day in Champaign and Illinois decided to pound the rock, and boy did they have great success doing that. After giving up a FG on the opening drive, Illinois got the rock to Daniel Dufrene and on the first play, took it 74-yards to the house. That was just the beginning of the rushing attack from the Illinois offense.

Coach Ron Zook has been trying to split carries between Dufrene and Jason Ford, but likes to ride the hot hand. In this game, he couldn't pick a wrong back (running or quarter) as they all performed at a high level in this game. Leading the attack was Dufrene as he went for 126 yards on 16 carries including the aforementioned 74-yard TD. Jason Ford also got 16 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Juice Williams got in the act with 12 carries of his own for 67 yards and his own touchdown. It looked a lot like a high school offense, but boy was it effective and got the job done!

Michigan	Team Stats	Illinois
23	Score	32
349	Passing Yards	75
100	Rushing Yards	304
588	Total Yards	512
22	1st Downs	17
7-12	3rd Downs	4-10
0-2	4th Downs	1-2
2	Turnovers	0
4-30	Penalties-Yards	4-33
10:37	Time of Possession	17:23

Michigan Wolverines Player Stats

D. Robinson - 26/40, 349 Yds, TD, 2 INT

B. Minor - 11 Car, 112 Yds, TD, 1 Rec, 10 Yds

J. Hemingway - 8 Rec, 111 Yds
G. Matthews - 6 Rec, 68 Yds
D. Stonum - 3 Rec, 41 Yds
K. Koger - 3 Rec, 34 Yds
L. Savoy - 2 Rec, 24 Yds
K. Grady - 2 Rec, 9 Yds
M. Moundros - 1 Rec, 52 Yds, TD

O. Ezeh - 11 TKLS (2 TFL)
C. Roh - 9 TKLS (2 TFL), SK
M. Williams - 7 TKLS (TFL)
S. Brown - 7 TKLS (2 TFL)

J. Olesnavage - 3/3 FGs, 2/2 XP


Illinois Fighting Illini Player Stats

J. Williams - 7/13, 75 Yds, 12 Car, 67 Yds, TD

D. Dufrene - 16 Car, 126 Yds, TD
J. Ford - 16 Car, 110 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Rec, 21 Yds

A. Benn - 3 Rec, 23 Yds
J. Cumberland - 2 Rec, 21 Yds
M. Hoomanawanui - 1 Rec, 10 Yds

E. Frierson - 10 TKLS (TFL)
D. Hardeman - 9 TKLS
G. Edwards - 6 TKLS, 2 INT
A. James - 6 TKLS (4 TFL), SK
D. Pilcher - 4 TKLS (2 TFL), 2 SK
I. Thomas - 3 TKLS (TFL), SK

M. Eller - 1/2 FG, 3/3 XP

[BCBF]

It is always nice to see Michigan loss. Great win.

Looks like my Badgers are doing good.

[R1zzo23]

Coaches' Poll Top 25 - After Week #9

Rank	LW		Team	Record
1	2		Florida	8-0
2	1		Oklahoma	8-0
3	3		Ole Miss	8-0
4	4		Iowa	9-0
5	6		WVU	8-0
6	7		Cincinnati	8-0
7	8		Texas	7-1
8	9		Ohio St	8-1
9	10		Kansas	7-1
10	5		Ok. State	7-1
11	12		TCU	7-1
12	15		USC	6-2
13	13		Clemson	7-1
14	18		LSU	6-2
15	19		Penn St	7-2
16	11		Oregon	5-3
17	24		Miami	5-3
18	---		Rutgers	7-1
19	14		FSU	6-2
20	---		UNC	5-3
21	16		Wisconsin	6-2
22	21		Auburn	6-3
23	---		GTech	5-4
24	22		USF	5-3
25	---		Fresno St	6-2

Name	POS	Team	Move
Tim Tebow	QB	Florida	<-->
Sam Bradford	QB	Oklahoma	<-->
Ricky Stanzi	QB	Iowa	^^^
Colt McCoy	QB	Texas	<-->
Mardy Gilyard	WR	Cincinnati	V V V

Big 10 Conference Standings

	Team	REC	CONF
	Iowa	9-0	5-0
	Ohio State	8-1	4-1
	Michigan St	5-4	4-2
	Penn State	7-2	3-2
	Wisconsin	6-2	3-2
	Northwestern	4-5	3-2
	Illinois	5-3	3-3
	Michigan	6-3	2-3
	Purdue	5-4	2-3
	Indiana	2-7	0-5
	Minnesota	2-7	0-6

National Offensive Player of the Week: Austen Arnaud, QB - Iowa St

• 15-29, 137 Yds, 16 Car, 225 Yds, 3 Total TD

National Defensive Player of the Week: Scotty Bryant, LOLB - FIU

• 20 TKLS (8 TFL), 3 SKs, FF, FR

Big 10 Offensive Player of the Week: Terrelle Pryor, QB - Ohio St

• 28-45, 395 Yds, 4 TD, 14 Car, 30 Yds

Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week: Garrett Edwards, SS - Illinois

• 6 TKLS, 2 INT

[R1zzo23]

Michigan Win Brings Two "Soft" Commits

After getting a big W against the Michigan Wolverines at home, two visiting recruits decide to show some sort of resolution for their recruiting process. Both recruits may not be big names, but they could both pay huge dividends next season.

The first, and much less glamorous, is Justin McCoy, a punter from the state of Illinois. A four-star prospect, McCoy knows that if fans don't know his name next season, he's doing his job right. Current punter Anthony Santella has struggled this season as he has shanked far too many punts to be depended on, and will definitely be battling for his job next season with McCoy.

The second prospect is a burner out of Rose Hill, VA. Dale Fuller (6'5", 183 lbs.) is a three-star receiver that should have an instant impact for the Fighting Illini next season. He is enamored with Memorial Stadium and is a big fan of program tradition, and what better way to build on that than to beat up on the heralded Michigan Wolverines? With the impending departure of Aurrelius Benn to the NFL Draft, Fuller may have a chance to step in as the #3 WR next season. If he wants to see some serious snaps, he'll have to work on his hands. You can't teach speed, but you can develop receivers that have it and that's what Coach Zook plans on doing.