TLOS Preview: #15 Illinois
By Mark Giammarino
Love of Sports Correspondent
(Starting August 1st, The Love of Sports began featuring one college football program each day, breaking down their offense, defense and - most importantly - their food, beverage, cheerleaders, tailgating prowess and all-around campus life! That’s because those are the things we value here the most. College football is all about the atmosphere, and that’s exactly what we’ll give you all season long!)
Today’s Preview: Illinois Fighting Illini
TLOS Preseason Ranking: #15
TLOS Predicted Record: 9-4
2007 Record: 9-4
You know things are strange when the University of Illinois’ football team is actually expected to compete for a conference title.
After an impressive ‘07 campaign which saw the school reach its first Rose Bowl in 24 years, the Fighting Illini come into 2008 as legitimate contenders in the measly Big Ten. Can they live up to the expectations?
Offense
The offense will once again be led by junior quarterback Juice Williams, who had an impressive 20 total touchdowns last season, but will want to improve on his 13:12 touchdown to interception ratio. The bigger question will be the running game. Illinois will try and replace star runner Rashard Mendenhall, who jumped ship early to enter the NFL Draft. He leaves Illinois with a huge hole to fill in the backfield after rushing for nearly 1,700 yards and 19 touchdowns. Junior Daniel Dufrene looks to be the front-runner to fill Mendenhall’s shoes. Hi shining moment came in one of the biggest upsets of the ‘07 season, where he ran for over 100 yards and helped Illinois beat rival Ohio State.
The offensive line will have a new look as the team lost many of its starters to graduation. However, the Illini will welcome back one of the most exciting players in the country, Arrelious Benn, who’ll be Williams’ go-to guy. High expectations will be placed on the junior receiver.
Defense
The defense might be this team’s strength. The defensive line is arguably the deepest and most talented unit on the team. The line will be anchored by senior end Will Davis, who led the Illini in sacks last season with 9.5. However, the team will be hard-pressed to replace Jeremy Leman, who graduated after his senior season. Senior linebacker Brit Miller will try and replace not only Leman’s play, but more importantly his leadership.
While the cornerback situation looks promising, the same can’t be said at safety. The secondary will welcome back two of its starting corners, Vontae Davis and Dere Hicks. However, the team lost two of its safeties to graduation: starters Kevin Mitchell and Justin Harrison. Competition at camp should be intense, as five players vie for the two starting positions.
Schedule
Illinois will be hard-pressed to repeat or surpass last season’s success in the Big Ten. They travel to St Louis for their season opener against the Missouri Tigers, who may possibly be a championship contender. Things don’t get easier from there, as their next two road games are at Happy Valley and at the Big House. Midseason games against rival Indiana and Wisconsin might indicate whether Ron Zook’s team is the real deal or just another pretender. Illinois closes their ‘08 campaign against Ohio State and their hated instate rival, Northwestern.
Homecoming Game
That’ll take place October 11th against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Like any American school, homecoming at Illinois is HUGE! It was founded by two senior societies who wrote a petition to the Illinois Union asking for a particular weekend to be set aside. The weekend events consist of an alumni baseball game, a track meet, a band reunion and the Hobo band parade, where students sport innovative costumes to win prizes.
The Stadium
Illinois plays at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. The stadium was built in memory of all the fallen men and women of World Wars I and II. The capacity is around 69,000. However, there’s one section that stands out alone: the Block “1.” Over 90 years old, this student section has been the most exciting and enticing area in the entire stadium. It started as a pep club for Illinois students during home games which encouraged student interaction at the school’s sporting events. To this day, Block “1” remains No. 1 for students who go watch Illinois home games and is a true representation of the passion, tradition and mystique of Illinois football.
Famous Alumni
--Dick Butkus: Hall of Fame Chicago Bears linebacker
--Jerry Colangelo: President and CEO of the Phoenix Suns
--Gene Hackman: Actor
--George Halas: Hall of Fame Chicago Bears head coach
--Hugh Hefner: Founder of Playboy
--Jesse Jackson: Civil Rights Leader
Predictions
It will be hard for Ron Zook’s Fighting Illini to obtain the same success as last season. I think the loss of Rashard Mendenhall to the NFL will be catastrophic to the team. Although they’ll finish with a winning record, they won’t reach a BCS game like in ‘07. They’ll go 8-4 and play in either the Outback or Capital One Bowl.
Shameless Chearleader Pics
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