The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

[superjames1992]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

Congratulations on the bowl win against the U!

[NoleFan]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

This is nice. I'll definitely be following from here on out!

[marioinblack]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

I forgot to do the final stats of last season. I tend to elaborate more over time anyways. Plus screw stats, it's all about winning.

Fighting Illini 2008 Preview


Roster/Depth Chart

OFFENSE
QB: J. Williams JR 92, B. Garza SR(RS) 82, R. Baise FR(RS) 70, C. Jones FR 64
HB: R. Mendenhall SR 93, W. Mendenhall SR(RS) 79, , T. Pollard FR(RS) 74, D. Dufrene SR 73
FB: S. Gore FR 57 (won't be running any FB plays)
WR: A. Benn SO 87, K. Hudson SR 85, M. Wilkins JR 83, W. Judson SR(RS) 82, C. James SO(RS) 80, J. Parquet FR 76, J. Summers FR 75, E. Holland FR 71
TE: J. Cumberland JR 86, M. Hoomanawanui SO 77
LT: R. Hunt SO(RS) 78, J. Cornell FR(RS) 77
LG: None
C: R. McDonald SR(RS) 87, E. Block SR 75
RG: R. Palmer SO(RS) 80, D. Motuliak SR(RS) 76, D. Carter FR 72, I. Black FR 68
RT: T. Scott FR(RS) 79, W. Bergin JR(RS) 76

DEFENSE
LE: D. Ballew SR(RS) 83, J. Brown FR(RS) 78, M. Hall JR 73, A. Briggs FR 68
RE: D. Walker SR(RS) 87, J. Brent FR(RS) 85, D. Pilcher JR(RS) 82, W. Davis JR(RS) 80, B. Crews FR 69
DT: M. Nabolotony FR(RS) 84, S. Williams SR 82, X. Fulton FR(RS) 80, D. Linquist SR(RS) 79, C. Nurse JR(RS) 77, C. Knuth FR(RS) 75
LOLB: S. Carson SR(RS) 85, R. Pittman JR(RS) 76, M. Battle FR 62
MLB: B. Miller SR 83, R. Smith SO(RS) 82, C. Gillen JR(RS) 78
ROLB: D. Jefferson SO(RS) 76, E. Robertson FR(RS) 74, J. Talley FR 70
CB: V. Davis JR 90, D. Hicks JR 81, C. Duvalt JR 80, A. Gully SO(RS) 77, B. Gamble SO 71, R. Billings FR 72, C. Rogers FR 68
FS: G. Edwards SO(RS) 76, I. Thomas FR(SO) 72, J. Gaither JR 67, D. Jackson FR 67
SS: D. Purcell FR(RS) 80, T. Ballamy SO(RS) 68, D. McCray JR(RS) 54, R. Clarke FR 67

SPECIAL TEAMS
K: R. Smith FR 49 (uh oh, I might kick with the punter)
P/KOS: K. Yelton JR 72
KR/PR: W. Judson
KR: D. Hicks


Schedule
Bold = Big 10 Conference Game
* = Rivalry Game

Scheduled a home and home with Arizona State and Central Michigan

@ Arizona State
Central Michigan
Connecticut
@ Iowa State
Michigan
@ Minnesota
Open
Iowa
@ Penn State
@ Michigan State
Indiana
Ohio State*
@ Northwestern*
Open


Preseason Poll
Coaches only until BCS

1 Texas (33) <--- Holy crap a defending champ ranked #1
2 UCLA (22)
3 USC (1)
4 Florida State (3)
5 Tennessee (1)
6 Louisville (1)
7 Ohio State
8 Michigan
9 Texas A&M
10 West Virginia
11 Florida
12 Auburn
13 Oklahoma
14 Boston College
15 Nebraska
16 Georgia Tech
17 Wisconsin
18 Penn State
19 Notre Dame
20 Iowa
21 Virginia Tech
22 South Carolina
23 Boise State
24 Oklahoma State
25 Hawaii
Illinois is ranked 29th behind Texas Tech, LSU, and USF in the other votes column. They are also ranked 29th in the preseason 119.

Preseason Big 10 Prediction
1 Ohio State
2 Michigan
3 Wisconsin
4 Penn State
5 Iowa
6 Illinois
7 Northwestern
8 Purdue
9 Minnesota
10 Michigan State
11 Indiana


Time to kick some ***!

[marioinblack]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

Preseason All Americans
NCAA 1st team: Rashard Mendenhall, Dere Hicks, Vontae Davis, Will Judson
NCAA 2nd team: Ryan McDonald, Brit Miller, Brian Gamble
Big 10 1st team: Rashard Mendenhall, Ryan McDonald, Daryle Ballew, Sirod Williams, Brit Miller, Dere Hicks, Vontae Davis, Will Judson
Big 10 2nd team: Kyle Hudson, Derek Walker, Brian Gamble, Chris Duvalt



Week 1 Preview (Oh snap a preview)

Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) at Arizona State Sun Devils (0-0)

TEMPE, AZ- The Fighting Illini open up the season against a tough Pac-10 team on the road in Arizona State. Both teams are all about offense so we should see points flying around the board in this one.

The Illini come into this game returning all their key position players like Juice Williams, Rashard Mendenhall, and Vontae Davis. The key for them will be to get out to an early multiple score lead and force the Sun Devils to start forcing passes. The talented secondary for the Illini can then create turnovers and coast to a big road win.

Line: Illinois by 6.5
Lee and Kirk both pick Illinois.




To add on, I'm dropping the games to 7 minute quarters.

[theaub]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

Holy crap its Mario. I like it so far.

BTW set your font to default...I can't read most of it on my black background

[marioinblack]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)



Defensive Domination

Illinois Fighting Illini 44 (1-0), Arizona State Sun Devils 6 (0-1)

TEMPE, AZ- At one point in this game it was 3-0 Arizona State, but that point was very short and it was the only time Arizona State really had a shot. The Illini defense pulled in three first half interceptions and both the first and second team defense kept the Sun Devils out of the endzone.

However, the Illini did lose Juice Williams for 4 weeks after getting injured with a broken toe in the second quarter. However, this did not stop the ground game for the Illini. Rashard Mendenhall had 203 rushing yards and 2 scores, everyone else combined for 125 yards and a score. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils had 20 rushing yards in 21 attempts.

The Illini also cut down on turnovers. Only 2 turnovers in the game and one game very late when the game was already in hand. They also dominated ball control by holding on to the ball 7 minutes longer than the Sun Devils.

The Illini open up their home season next week with Central Michigan.


ILL 14-20-3-7 44
ASU 6-0-0-0 6

Scoring Summary
1st quarter
4:35 ASU FG, Weber 49 yards, 3-0 ASU
3:24 ILL TD, Williams 11 yard run, 7-3 ILL
1:12 ASU FG, Weber 45 yards, 7-6 ILL
0:17 ILL TD, Judson 22 yard pass from Williams, 14-6 ILL

2nd quarter
4:59 ILL FG, Yelton 28 yards, 17-6 ILL
3:37 ILL TD, R. Mendenhall 3 yard run, 24-6 ILL
1:52 ILL TD, R. Mendenhall 4 yard run, 31-6 ILL
0:00 ILL FG, Yelton 25 yards, 34-6 ILL

3rd quarter
4:54 ILL FG, Yelton 42 yards, 37-6 ILL

4th quarter
2:47 ILL TD, Dufrene 16 yard pass from Garza, 44-6 ILL

Team Stats
Illinois
First Downs 23
Total Offense 567
Passing Yards 239
Rushing Yards 328
Turnovers 2
TOP 17:19

Arizona State
First Downs 10
Total Offense 185
Passing Yards 165
Rushing Yards 20
Turnovers 4
TOP 10:45

Key Illini Individual Player Performances
J. Williams 8/10 122 yards, TD; 20 rush yards, TD
B. Garza 7/10 117 yards, TD, INT; 22 rush yards
R. Mendenhall 28 carries, 203 yards, 2 TD
T. Pollard 6 carries, 62 yards
K. Hudson 4 catches, 63 yards
J. Cumberland 2 catches, 51 yards
D. Purcell 6 tackles, TFL, FF
B. Miller 6 tackles, TFL, FR
V. Davis 5 tackles, INT

[marioinblack]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

Big 10 Scores
Indiana 42, Bowling Green 21
#20 Iowa 38, Northern Illinois 10
#8 Michigan 45, Eastern Michigan 10
Michigan State 49, UAB 17
Minnesota 47, FCS East 0
Purdue 45, Toledo 0
#18 Penn State 28, Florida International 9
#7 Ohio State 31, Ohio 17
UL Lafayette 45, Northwestern 40

Top 25 Losses
#12 Auburn 38, #21 Virginia Tech 28
#16 Georgia Tech 35, #19 Notre Dame 7


Top 25
1 Texas (38) (1-0)
2 UCLA (21) (1-0)
3 USC (1) (1-0)
4 Florida State (1) (1-0)
5 Tennessee (1-0)
6 Louisville (1-0)
7 Ohio State (1-0)
8 Michigan (1-0)
9 Texas A&M (1-0)
10 West Virginia (1-0)
11 Auburn (1-0)
12 Florida (1-0)
13 Oklahoma (1-0)
14 Boston College (0-0)
15 Georgia Tech (1-0)
16 Nebraska (1-0)
17 Wisconsin (0-0)
18 Penn State (1-0)
19 Iowa (1-0)
20 South Carolina (1-0)
21 Boise State (1-0)
22 Oklahoma State (1-0)
23 Hawaii (1-0)
24 Texas Tech (1-0)
25 Notre Dame (0-1)
Illinois is ranked 29th behind Virginia Tech Tech, LSU, and USF in the other votes column.

Big 10 Standings
1 Ohio State (1-0) (0-0)
2 Michigan (1-0) (0-0)
3 Indiana (1-0) (0-0)
4 Penn State (1-0) (0-0)
5 Iowa (1-0) (0-0)
6 Illinois (1-0) (0-0)
7 Purdue (1-0) (0-0)
8 Minnesota (1-0) (0-0)
9 Michigan State (1-0) (0-0)
10 Wisconsin (0-0) (0-0)
11 Northwestern (0-1) (0-0)

Injury Report
J. Williams, Broken Toe, 3 Weeks

Up Next
vs Central Michigan (1-0)

[marioinblack]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

Week 2 Preview

Central Michigan Chippewas (1-0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0)

CHAMPAIGN, IL- The Illini are back on course, but this time they're without their quarterback. Now they were without Juice Williams last year, but they managed to lose 4 huge conference games down the stretch. This year Garza has improved though, and Juice should only be out for 3 games against sure wins (Central Mich, UConn, and Iowa State). Today will tell us how well the depth is in the QB scheme though. Garza should put up big numbers against the weak Chippewa defense as they struggled against Kansas last week.

Also, what the hell is a Chippewa?

Line: Illinois by 19
Lee picks Illinois, Kirk is an idiot.

[superjames1992]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

Also, what the hell is a Chippewa?

I was curious myself, so I did a little research and found Central Michigan was named after the nearby Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council.

CLICK HERE for more info.

[marioinblack]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

Holy crap its Mario. I like it so far.

BTW set your font to default...I can't read most of it on my black background

I'll do my best with that, but some of the HTML has gone to hell and I don't like sorting through it.

[marioinblack]

Re: The Quest for Many Trophies. (NCAA 08)

Sometimes you just forget to save, pretend like that ASU game never happened. I'll edit over it.