The Orange Tribe || A Fighting Illini Story

[GoldenJet]

Oh my god, 20 yards passing from your quarterback? That's brutal

[Deuce2223]

I am not familiar with BBCF. Is that a PC game.

4/19 20 yds is pretty brutal.

[Zeekesimo]

Dreams crushed for Illini faithful just one week into the season
It doesn't look like this will be the season for the Illinois Fighting Illini to gain their footing in the deep Big Ten conference. Thomas Griffin turned the ball over five times as the air attack offense of Illinios never gained their mojo. Illinois has to get it together quickly, as they have two more games before their Big Ten conference play starts. Can Griffin bounce back? Will the coaching staff give sophomore Philip Stubbs the green light this week? Only a few more days for Taneli and his crew to answer some big questions.


Around the Nation:
#23 40 @ 33
#23 Irish involved in a week one shootout with visiting Boilermakers.
31 @ 73 #14
Badgers put on a beating on Central Michigan to show off their team early in the season.
13 @ 21 #25
After being blanked in the first half, Auburn strings together 21 straight points to top the visiting Tigers of Memphis.

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Sep 6, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Oklahoma	1	0	1602
2	2	Texas	0	0	1537
3	3	Alabama	1	0	1467
4	4	Florida	0	0	1414
5	5	Oregon	1	0	1347
6	6	Ohio State	1	0	1276
7	7	LSU	1	0	1193
8	8	Georgia	0	0	1116
9	9	USC	1	0	1042
10	10	South Carolina	0	0	959
11	11	TCU	1	0	902
12	15	Michigan State	1	0	843
13	12	Texas A&M	0	0	780
14	13	Wisconsin	1	0	726
15	14	West Virginia	0	0	655
16	16	Texas Tech	1	0	585
17	17	Oklahoma State	0	0	533
18	18	Tennessee	1	0	479
19	19	Michigan	0	0	406
20	20	Florida State	0	0	333
21	22	Nebraska	0	0	258
22	23	Stanford	1	0	188
23	24	Notre Dame	1	0	127
24	25	Kentucky	0	0	94
25	--	Auburn	1	0	68

Around the B1G
#23 Notre Dame 40 @ Purdue 33
Missouri 45 @ Illinois 0
Florida International 17 @ Northwestern 26
#6 Ohio State 28 @ Marshall 7
Central Michigan 31 @ #14 Wisconsin 73
Indiana 3 @ #7 LSU 23
Louisiana-Monroe 14 @ Minnesota 28
#12 Michigan State 15 @ Kansas 3


Around Illinois
National Rank: #93
Offense Rank: #85
Defense Rank: #116
Injury Report:
Vern Patrick - Pulled hamstring (2-4 weeks) Probable
Fernando Baxter - Dislocated elbow (5-7 weeks) Doubtful
Peter Calhoun - Shoulder subluxation (2-4 weeks) Doubtful

Academic Probation:
None

[Zeekesimo]

Matchup Preview *|* September 7, 2013
	@
Akron Zips (0-1, 0-0 Away)		Illinois Fighting Illini (0-1, 0-1 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 369 Total Offensive Yards 109 291 Passing Yards 27 82 Rushing Yards 82 Defensive Stats Comparison 437 Total Yards Allowed 530 152 Passing Yards Allowed 317 285 Rushing Yards Allowed 213 Injury Report M. Frank Ankle torn tendon; 0-2 weeks V. Patrick Pulled hamstring; 2-4 weeks T. Delgado Forearm contusion; 1-3 weeks F. Baxter Dislocated elbow; 5-7 weeks H. Anderson Mild concussion; 1-3 weeks P. Calhoun Shoulder subluxation; 2-4 weeks S. Kearns Broken nose; 1-3 weeks Game Notes This afternoon's key matchup will be the Akron secondary vs Ralph Williams if Illinois. The Zips defense has allowed opponents 152 passing yards per game this year and ranks 51 against the pass nationally. Williams has caught 1 of 1 passes thrown his way for 4 yards and 0 touchdowns. This could be the difference maker today, if Illinois can get their passing going.

[Zeekesimo]

Quote: Originally Posted by GoldenJet

Oh my god, 20 yards passing from your quarterback? That's brutal

Tell me about it. I have a freshman on the bench that seems to have good potential, but his stats are awful right now. Hopefully redshirting him will let him develop more and can be a starter next season!

Quote: Originally Posted by Deuce2223

I am not familiar with BBCF. Is that a PC game. 4/19 20 yds is pretty brutal.

Yep, Bowl Bound College Football is a text based college football game on PC.

It was disgusting. I was watching the game, and every time he dropped back to pass, I knew it was either incomplete of going to be picked off!

[Zeekesimo]

Memorial Stadium, IL
"We played three quarters of football out there today. It's as simple as that. We didn't play 60 minutes." coach Taneli, visibly angry after the loss. "My hat goes off to them. They wanted it more than we did. You could blame us for going for two midway through the third, but we were playing for the win." You can't really blame the coach either. At that point in the game, the Illini offense was completely shredding the Zips defense, and it would have sealed the potential comeback had they made it. If they would have just kicked the extra point though, we may have had a different outcome.

Griffin and the passing game finally started clicking after a disappointing showing in week one. Thomas did have to sit out a drive in the fourth quarter after rolling his ankle attempting to scramble away from an Akron defender. Philip Stubbs came in and turned the ball over, aiding the Zips comeback. "We have one more week before conference play starts, and we need to get a win. It's time to rally the troops and quit losing!"

Akron Zips at Illinois Fighting Illini
Sep 7, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Akron Zips (0-1)	3	0	7	13	--	23
Illinois Fighting Illini (0-1)	7	9	6	0	--	22

Team Stats Comparison
	AKR	ILL
Total Offense	310	383
Rushing Yards	77	99
Passing Yards	233	284
First Downs	19	24
Punt Return Yards	49	24
Kick Return Yards	83	114
Total Yards	442	521
Turnovers	0	1
3rd Down Converstion	8-18	7-17
4th Down Conversion	--	1-1
2-Point Conversion	--	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-4	5-5
Penalties	6-35	9-89
Posession Time	28:06	31:54

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		AKR	ILL
06:03	(ILL) K. Martinez, 2 Yd pass from T. Griffin	0	7
00:33	(AKR) L. Russell, 21 Yd FG	3	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		AKR	ILL
12:51	(ILL) K. Hernandez, 27 Yd FG	3	10
08:13	(ILL) K. Hernandez, 22 Yd FG	3	13
00:00	(ILL) K. Hernandez, 36 Yd FG	3	16
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		AKR	ILL
09:15	(AKR) T. Delgado, 9 Yd pass from R. Martin	10	16
05:58	(ILL) D. Evans, 1 Yd run (2 pt failed)	10	22
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		AKR	ILL
11:46	(AKR) L. Russell, 33 Yd FG	13	22
05:17	(AKR) M. Frank, 22 Yd pass from R. Martin	20	22
00:00	(AKR) L. Russell, 29 Yd FG	23	22

Akron Zips PASSING C/A YDS TD INT R. Martin 19/38 233 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD R. Martin 8 39 4.88 0 E. Hanna 11 27 2.45 0 R. Moore 7 11 1.57 0 M. Frank 1 7 7.00 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD T. Delgado 7 102 14.57 1 M. Frank 5 75 15.00 1 I. Cooper 3 37 12.33 0 W. Evans 2 14 7.00 0 R. Marshall 1 4 4.00 0 R. Moore 1 1 1.00 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK J. Walker 3 0 W. Parson 0 1 A. Falk 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Rivera 8-5 1 0 0 S. Kearns 6-1 0 0 0 D. Garcia 6-1 0 0 0 P. Williams 4-2 0 0 0 S. Alvarez 3-3 0 0 0 R. Wilson 3-2 0 0 0 W. Hunt 3-1 1 0 0 J. Watson 1-2 0 0 0 K. Cannon 1-2 0 1 0 G. Welsh 1-0 0 0 0 P. Phillips 1-0 0 0 0 S. Moore 1-0 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG L. Russell 3/4 2/2 11 33 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 T. Williams 7 308 44.00 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Jones 5 83 16.60 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Watson 5 49 9.80 0

Illinois Fighting Illini PASSING C/A YDS TD INT T. Griffin 20/26 249 1 0 P. Stubbs 5/11 35 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. Evans 21 78 3.71 1 J. Marshall 12 23 1.92 0 A. Martin 1 5 5.00 0 T. Griffin 2 4 2.00 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD P. Johnson 6 109 18.17 0 V. Patrick 5 64 12.80 0 K. Martinez 6 59 9.83 1 A. Martin 5 31 6.20 0 D. Evans 1 14 14.00 0 R. Williams 2 7 3.50 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK D. Marshall 2 0 R. Anderson 3 0 K. Anderson 1 0 R. Williams 1 0 R. May 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Hall 6-2 0 0 0 B. Wise 6-1 0 0 0 K. Burkhart 3-1 0 0 0 I. Campos 3-0 0 0 0 D. Warner 3-0 0 0 0 B. Beltran 2-1 0 0 0 C. Howard 2-1 0 0 0 D. Phan 2-0 0 0 0 S. Brinson 2-0 1 0 0 J. Hines 2-0 1 0 0 P. Pacheco 2-0 0 0 0 E. Perez 1-1 0 0 0 F. Wallis 1-0 0 0 0 W. Williams 1-0 0 0 0 R. Riggs 0-1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG K. Hernandez 3/4 1/1 10 36 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 C. Mcgill 6 228 38.20 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C. Howard 4 114 28.50 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Johnson 2 22 11.00 0 A. Martin 1 2 2.00 0

[Zeekesimo]

Offense coming around, but still lacking.
Jengo Taneli and his coaching staff are revamping the offense this week, and heading in a different direction with their game plan. Thomas Griffin performed really well last week, and Taneli and his staff want to give him the ball more as they travel east to face off against UMass. Griffin is on a hot streak, and barring the injury he suffered in the fourth quarter, would have the first win under his belt of his senior campaign. Taneli is looking to move to a more pass heavy offense, and trusts that his quarterback can maintain his focus during the game. Critics are a little worried, as Griffin threw five picks in week one against Missouri, but the staff has faith in him.


Around the Nation:
#1 27 @ 16 #5
Oregon quarterback D. Watson throws for 413 yards, but not enough to knock off #1 Sooners.
#9 23 @ 30 #23
Irish high flying offense proves to be too much for visiting Trojans.
20 @ 10 #19
Unranked Arkansas travels in to Ann Arbor and knocks off #19 Wolverines in front of 105,911 faithful Michigan fans.

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Sep 9, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Oklahoma	2	0	1604
2	2	Texas	1	0	1550
3	3	Alabama	2	0	1492
4	6	Ohio State	2	0	1443
5	4	Florida	1	0	1386
6	7	LSU	2	0	1324
7	8	Georgia	1	0	1237
8	5	Oregon	1	1	1155
9	10	South Carolina	1	0	1094
10	11	TCU	2	0	1024
11	12	Michigan State	2	0	949
12	13	Texas A&M	1	0	892
13	14	Wisconsin	2	0	838
14	9	USC	1	1	775
15	15	West Virginia	0	0	722
16	16	Texas Tech	2	0	671
17	23	Notre Dame	2	0	624
18	17	Oklahoma State	1	0	570
19	22	Stanford	2	0	496
20	18	Tennessee	2	0	429
21	19	Michigan	0	1	341
22	20	Florida State	1	0	292
23	21	Nebraska	1	0	244
24	--	Arkansas	2	0	176
25	24	Kentucky	1	0	111

Others Receiving Votes:
Baylor 84, Clemson 60, Auburn 60, Kansas State 58, Missouri 58, Mississippi State 55, Minnesota 50, Iowa State 49, Utah 49, UCLA 44, Boise State 39, Northwestern 36, Arizona State 36, Penn State 36, Georgia Tech 31, Air Force 26, New Mexico 24, San Jose State 20, Nevada 18, Rutgers 15, Miami 13, Maryland 13, Middle Tennessee State 8, Rice 3, UTEP 3

Dropped from top 25:
Auburn 25

Around the B1G
Akron 23 @ Illinois 22
Clemson 10 @ #6 Ohio State 30
Virginia Tech 10 @ #14 Wisconsin 41
Arkansas 20 @ #19 Michigan 10
Louisville 31 @ Penn State 35
Purdue 23 @ #25 Auburn 17
Cal 28 @ #21 Nebraska 31
Duke 31 @ Iowa 20
#12 Michigan State 28 @ NC State 27
Indiana 17 @ #13 Texas A&M 23
Miami (OH) 24 @ Minnesota 38
Bowling Green 15 @ Northwester 30


Around Illinois
National Rank: #97
Offense Rank: #112
Defense Rank: #88

Injury Report:
Leroy Larking - Broken foot (0-2 weeks) Probable
Fernando Baxter - Dislocated elbow (4-6 weeks) Doubtful
David Warner - Hand laceration (3-5 weeks) Questionable
Peter Calhoun - Shoulder subluxation (1-3 weeks) Questionable
Kevin Burkhart - Dislocated clavicle (6-8 weeks) Doubtful

Academic Probation:
None

[Zeekesimo]

Matchup Preview *|* September 14, 2013
	@
Illinois Fighting Illini (0-2, 0-0 Away)		Massachusetts Minutemen (0-2, 0-1 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 492 Total Yards 756 311 Passing Yards 507 181 Rushing Yards 249 Defensive Stats Comparison 840 Total Yards Allowed 1041 550 Passing Yards Allowed 684 290 Rushing Yards Allowed 357 Injury Report L. Larkin Broken foot; 0-2 weeks C. Cook Toe torn tendon; 1-3 weeks F. Baxter Dislocated elbow; 4-6 weeks O. Gaston Fractured clavicle; 1-3 weeks D. Warner Hand lacerations; 3-5 weeks E. Reynolds Broken foot; 0-2 weeks P. Calhoun Shoulder subluxation; 1-3 weeks K. Dixon Mild concussion; 4-6 weeks K. Burkhart Dislocated clavicle; 6-8 weeks T. Matthews Foot stress fracture; 0-2 weeks Game Notes This afternoon's key matchup is going to be UMass's wide receiver John Rigsby vs the Illini secondary. Rigsby has caught 9 of 17 passes thrown his way for 243 yards and 0 touchdowns. He averages 27 yards per catch. The Illini defense has allowed opponents 275 passing yards per game and ranks 74 against the pass nationally.