Illinois Fighting Illini (West Division)
Location: Champaign, IL
Stadium: Memorial Stadium (60,670)
Coach: Tim Beckman (4th year): 12-25 at Illinois, 33-41 overall,
4-20 v B1G, 0-4 v OSU
2014 Results (6-7)(3-5) West Division 2015
Schedule
28 Youngstown State 17 S4 Kent State (Friday Night)
42 Western Kentucky 34 S12 Western Illinois
19 at Washington 44 S19 at North Carolina
42 Texas State 35 S26 Middle Tennessee
14 at Nebraska 45 O3 Nebraska
27 Purdue 38 O10 at Iowa
28 at Wisconsin 38 O17
28 Minnesota 24 O24 Wisconsin
14 at Ohio State 55 O31 at Penn State
14 Iowa 30 N7 at Purdue
16 Penn State 14 N14 Ohio State
47 at Northwestern 33 N21 at Monnesota
18 Louisiana Tech 35 N28 Northwestern
(Heart of Dallas Bowl)
The Illini
hope to continue their upward trend of the last two seasons. 2012 saw them stumble to a horrendous 2-10
record, but they improved to 4-8 and 6-7 in 2013 and 2014, going to the Heart
of Dallas Bowl last year. However, they
will miss several key players and return only seven to a defensive unit that
was mainly hit-and-miss last year.
Wes Lunt
returns as the starting quarterback for Illinois after splitting time with
Reilly O’Toole in 2014. Lunt threw for
over 1700 yards and 14 touchdowns against only three interceptions during an
injury-plagued season. With a strong arm
and some scrambling ability, Lunt is poised to have a very good year as long as
he can remain healthy. This will be key,
as the Illini have struggled under Coach Beckman to mount a consistent ground
game. Senior Josh Ferguson is the only
returning runner with any significant playing time. He gained 735 yards on 146 carries and scored
eight times and fit in well in the passing game, catching 50 passes out of the
backfield. He figures to get some help
from incoming freshman Ke’Shawn Vaughn and JC transfer Henry Enyenihi. These folks should help the Illini improve on
last year’s anemic rushing attack. All
eyes are on do-it-all WR Mike Dudek, who tore his ACL in spring practice and
who they hope will be playing in October.
If so, he will add to a very good receiving corps which includes
Geronimo Allison, second on Illinois with 41 receptions for 598 yards and five
scores. Malik Turner showed speed and
versatility last year as a true freshman, hauling in 25 catches for 256 yards
and a score. The Illini lose experienced
TEs Jon Davis and Matt LaCosse, which clears the way for first-time starter
Tyler White whom the coaches say has great hands to go along with his run
blocking abilities. Once the Illini get
Dudek back from his injury, the receiving unit should be significantly better
than last year. Despite losing three
offensive linemen, the Illini think the line should be improved this year. Anchoring the line is senior guard Ted Karras
with 31 career starts, who comes back from injury, along with senior tackle
Christian Dilauro, perhaps their best offensive lineman. Stepping in at center is junior Joe Spencer,
who has some actual game experience under his belt and should help bolster the
left side of the line with newcomers Zach Heath and Austin Schmidt.
On defense,
the Illini get some welcome news on the line, especially with the return from
injury of DT Teko Powell, whose size and stunting ability made him difficult
for opposing offensive lines to contain.
Along with Powell, the Illini DL also enjoys the return of senior DE
Jihad Ward and junior NT Rob Bain who garnered 29 tackles and three tackles for
loss. Ward was their most productive
defensive lineman, with 51 tackles, three sacks, and 5.5 tackles for loss. Along with the other DE Dawauane Smoot who
got 33 tackles, 2.5 sacks and five tackles for loss, the Illini have a pair of
bookends that will help this unit defend better against the run and apply more
pressure to opposing quarterbacks. While
the Illini have struggled at the linebacker position as of late, this unit
should be the best Tim Boeckman has had here.
The unquestioned leader is senior WLB Mason Monheim with over 100
tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. Monheim is not alone, as next to him is junior
TJ Neil in the middle, who contributed 98 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in
2014. Sophomore James Crawford figures
to take over at the other LB position after seeing action in seven games last
year. The Illini figure to be tough to
throw deep against as they return seven of their top eight defensive backs,
highlighted by senior V’Angelo Bentley who also returns as kick and punt
returner and contributed 46 tackles from his position as their shut down
corner. Recently, Bentley was named to
the Paul Hornung watch list as the nation’s most versatile performer. Senior Eaton Spence returns at the other
corner position and turned in 55 tackles, a tackle for loss and an
interception. Junior Taylor Barton also returns
at strong safety, turning in 100 tackles along with an interception and two
passes broken up (pbu). Senior Clayton Fejedelem is the new starter at
FS, however he contributed 51 tackles last year as a back up.
Punter
Justin DuVernois leaves Illinois as their all-time best punter, but leaves
behind a capable replacement in junior Ryan Frain, who showed much promise in
spring drills. Experienced Taylor
Zalewski returns as the kicker, going 3-6 in field goals with a long of 54,
splitting that chore with junior David Reisner who went 6-11. It is unclear if that arrangement will
continue for 2015.
Illinois has
improved each of the three years Beckman has been at the helm, from 2-10 to 4-8
to 6-7. They showed much improvement the
last two games of the regular season, both wins over Penn State and at
Northwestern before falling in the bowl game.
Illinois has the best overall team under Beckman this year with their 15
returning starters, but also has a tougher schedule with just three B1G home
games against Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. However, they should be able to get an upset on
the road and end up bowl eligible.
2015 Projection: 6-6 (3-5) 5th
in West Division
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