Illinois Fighting Iliini (NCAA 10)

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sacrafice

It's hard to figure out which one was more surprising.... The fact you beat the 6th ranked team or the fact Cincinnati was ranked 6th.. lol, nah Cincinnati is Cincinnati no matter where they are ranked...

I went into the game disregarding the #6 ranking because Cinci's ratings weren't off the charts like Ohio State was, so I knew this would be a very winnable game.

[R1zzo23]

Coaches' Poll Top 25 - After Week #13
Illinios jumps into top-25, ranked #19!

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

Name	POS	Team	Move
Colt McCoy	QB	Texas	^^^
Sam Bradford	QB	Oklahoma	^^^
Tim Tebow	QB	Florida	V V V
Dexter McCluster	WR	Ole Miss	^^^
Terrelle Pryor	QB	Ohio State	V V V

National Offensive Player of the Week: Jevan Snead, QB - Ole Miss

• 30-37, 505 Yds, 6 TD, 13 Car, 31 Yds

National Defensive Player of the Week: Chandler Jones, RE, Syracuse

• 11 TKLS (9 TFL), 4 SKS

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

• 12-21, 168 Yds, 8 Car, 46 Yds, TD

Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week: Evan Frierson, MLB - Illinois

• 9 TKLS (2 TFL), SK

[CanesFan5]

Rizzo! I'll be following...

[R1zzo23]

Another Nail-Biter, Illinois Holds On To Win






Fresno State 8-3 (7-1) @ #19 Illinois 8-3 (5-3)
Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
December 5, 2009

Illinois' first week in the top-25 and they get one hell of a scare from a very dangerous WAC team in Fresno State. This was a back and forth scoring affair between both teams. The Illinois rushing attack was slowed down a bit, but thankfully Aurrelius Benn to the opening kickoff in the 2nd half for a TD. On top of that, Illinois got an interception return for a TD from CB Tavon Wilson as well, alleviating the offensive woes. Juice Williams got shaken up a bit, but came back and ripped off a big 16-yard run to get inside Fresno State territory to set up the game winning FG as time expired. The Fighting Illini or on quite the hot streak heading into bowl season and can't wait to see who they get to play.

Fresno St	Team Stats	Illinois
31	Score	34
258	Passing Yards	146
169	Rushing Yards	156
593	Total Yards	542
14	1st Downs	12
4-11	3rd Downs	4-13
0-1	4th Downs	1-1
1	Turnovers	1
2-10	Penalties-Yards	1-5
12:27	Time of Possession	15:41

Fresno State Bulldogs Player Stats

R. Colburn - 24/32, 258 Yds, 2 TD, INT

L. Miller - 21 Car, 183 Yds, 2 TD, 3 Rec, 16 Yds

D. Wylie - 6 Rec, 62 Yds, TD
R. Skidmore - 6 Rec, 100 Yds
J. Hamler - 3 Rec, 18 Yds
D. Gory - 3 Rec, 31 Yds
S. Ajirotutu - 2 Rec, 25 Yds
M. Moore - 1 Rec, 6 Yds

B. Jacobs - 9 TKLS (TFL)
N. Herron - 8 TKLS (2 TFL), INT
C. Banks - 8 TKLS (3 TFL), 2 SKS
C. Carter - 5 TKLS (TFL), SK
K. Knox - 4 TKLS (2 TFL), SK

K. Goessling - 1/2 FGs, 4/4 XP


Illinois Fighting Illini Player Stats

J. Williams - 10/18, 146 Yds, TD, INT, 12 Car, 54 Yds

D. Dufrene - 17 Car, 46 Yds, TD
J. Ford - 9 Car, 54 Yds

A. Benn - 6 Rec, 27 Yds, KO Return TD
J. Cumberland - 2 Rec, 68 Yds, TD
M. Hoomanawanui - 1 Rec, 8 Yds
J. Fayson - 1 Rec, 43 Yds

E. Frierson - 14 TKLS (3 TFL)
N. Bussey - 5 TKLS (TFL), SK
A. James - 5 TKLS (2 TFL), SK
T. Wilson - 3 TKLS, INT, TD

M. Eller - 2/3 FG, 4/4 XP

[R1zzo23]

Conference Championship Week

ACC: Miami 20, Clemson 3

SEC: Ole Miss 28, Florida 3

C-USA: Marshall 20, Houston 13

Big XII: Oklahoma 31, Kansas 0

MAC: Central Michigan 44, Miami University 17

[R1zzo23]

Sam Bradford Wins Back-To-Back Heisman Trophies!

Player	POS	TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	TOTAL
Sam Bradford	QB	OU	369	256	124	1743
Colt McCoy	QB	Texas	240	279	173	1451
D. McCluster	WR	Miss	99	140	244	821
Mardy Gilyard	WR	Cin	45	70	141	416
Terrelle Pryor	QB	Bucks	24	29	87	220
Bradford's Stats:	295/389, 3864 Yds, 218 Car, 542 Yds, 47 Total TD

[R1zzo23]

Big Ten/ACC Clash for Champs Sports Bowl

After finishing the season 9-3, Illinois knew they were bowl bound, but just needed to see who they would end up playing. It has been announced that the #18 Illinois Fighting Illini will take on the #13 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, FL. Georgia Tech runs a gimmick option offense and Illinois will have plenty of time to gameplan for it.

Illinois Postseason Awards and Accolades

So Juice Williams didn't win the Heisman and Aurrelius Benn didn't win the Biletnikoff, but senior center Eric Block did win the Rimington Award for best center in the nation. He finished the season with 32 pancakes and only 2 sacks allowed. Along with the Rimington came 1st Team All-American honors for Block. Let's take a look at the All-Americans for the Illinois Fighting Illini:

1st Team All-American:
LG - Randall Hunt
C - Eric Block

2nd Team All-American:
RG - Jon Asamoah
FS - Donsay Hardeman

Freshman All-American:
MLB - Evan Frierson

1st Team All-Big Ten:
LG - Randall Hunt
C - Eric Hunt
RG - Jon Asamoah
FS - Donsay Hardeman

2nd Team All-Big Ten:
CB - Joelil Thrash

[R1zzo23]

National Award Winners

Heisman - S. Bradford, QB - OU
Maxwell - T. Tebow, QB - UF
Bednarik - B. Woods, ROLB - Troy
O'Brien - T. Tebow, QB - UF
Walker - N. Devine, HB - WVU
Biletnikoff - D. McCluster, WR - Ole Miss
Mackey - A. White, TE - UGA
Best OL - A. Barrick, RT - GT
Rimington - E. Block, C - Illinois
Lombardi - B. LaPointe, RE - Buffalo
Best LB - B. Woods, ROLB - Troy
Thorpe - E. Berry, SS - Tenn
Groza - J. Mannisto, K - Houston
Best P - J. Hekker, P - Oregon St
Best Returnman - J. Arenas, CB - Alabama