Conference play starts for the Illini tomorrow morning as they host the Northwestern Wildcats in Champaign. The Illini are currently 4-0 for the first time since 1951, so you can imagine the excitement at the prospect of starting off the season 5-0.

This game – which results in the highly coveted Land of Lincoln trophy – usually happens at the end of the season because of the alleged rivalry, aka the fight to be Chicago’s team. Thanks to the whole B1G mixup with the Leaders ((Illinois) and Legends (Northwestern) this game is going to just happen whenever it wants.

Sadly, the Illini have lost three straight conference openers since winning at Indiana, 27-14 in 2007, so let’s go ahead and break that streak tomorrow. This is the year that Illinois is shaking things up, so perhaps it won’t be a tough task to accomplish.

This is the105th meeting between Illinois and Northwestern, with Illinois leading the series 53-46-5 overall and 25-20-2 in games played in Champaign. This is  Ron Zook’s 7th head-to-head contest against Northwestern, and he is 2-4. NU coach Pat Fitzgerald is 3-2 against the Illini in his first five seasons as head coach.

Last year’s game against NU at Wrigley was a big ol’ mess, but at least the Illini crushed the Wildcats, 48-27 , despite having to turn around and use just one endzone. However, the NU QB was injured, so they clearly weren’t at their peak condition.

Want a reminder of that fun-filled game?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr91Pq1Z_AM

Here’s hoping for a similar beat down this year. Northwestern is 2-1 this year with wins at Boston College and against Eastern Illinois, and a loss at Army. They took last week off, which could either hurt them or help them. With no big wins and a loss on the road, Illinois is poised to do some damage.

The game will be airing on ESPN2 at 11am.

Not only are the Illini now ranked in BOTH the AP and Coaches Poll (24, 22 respectively – and yeah I’ll have something to say about that soon enough), but two players earned weekly Big Ten Conference honors for their roles in the 23-20 win over Western Michigan on Saturday.

Senior kicker Derek Dimke was named Special Teams Player of the Week, and freshman running back Donovonn Young was named Freshman of the Week.

Dimke made all three of his field goal attempts, including the game-winner in the fourth quarter, and made both of his extra point attempts for 11 total points against the Broncos. Hitting from 39, 35 and 21 yards,  Dimke is still perfect for the season.

Dimke has made all six of his field goals this season and has nine straight dating back to last season, tying him for the fifth-longest field goal streak in school history. He currently is Illinois’ career field goal percentage leader  at .875.  Not to mention the fact that Dimke is a perfect 70-70 on extra points in his career at Illinois (and he’s a senior folks), which is astounding to think about.

Every time Dimke sets up for that extra point, the announcer has to make a comment about this, which is annoying because whenever you point out someone is perfect, then they immediately make a mistake. Not so with Dimke, as he continues to make them even after the announcer notes his perfect record.

This is Dimke’s third career Big Ten weekly honor and his first this season.

Young had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, and had a career-long 59-yard run and a 14-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Young is the second Illini to earn conference Freshman of the Week honors this season, as LB Houston Bates got a shout out week one.

If you’re interested in other B1G honors not related to my team, click here.

In other news, the time for the Illinois/Indiana game in Bloomington has been set for 1:30 pm. This will be the first road game, and I’d be happy for them to drop as many points as they’d like on the Hoosiers.

The next Illini game will be on Saturday at 11am as they start conference play against Northwestern.

For the first time in school history, Illinois volleyball is ranked No. 1 in the  Coaches poll. Illinois is one of just three undefeated volleyball teams in the nation, and moved up from No. 3 with wins at No. 9 Minnesota and Wisconsin.

With a 14-0 start, the team is also looking at the second-best season start in school history. Illinois received 55 of a possible 60 first-place votes, sharing the top 10 with B1G conference buddies Nebraska, Penn State and Minnesota. The rest of the top 10 is filled with Pac-12 teams with Texas as the only outsider (not that they ever mind that).

At No. 12, Purdue is another unbeaten team in the rankings, and Illinois will face the Boilermakers at Huff Hall in Champaign on Saturday.

Before this week, the top ranking for the Illini was No. 2 in the 1988 pre-season poll.

“It’s a nice honor for our program and we appreciate the recognition,” said Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly. “However, our focus is on being there at the end of the season. The Big Ten is loaded with great teams and we want to continue the process of getting better each week. The rankings are great for the fans and the media, but honestly, it’s not something we put a lot of stock in at this point in the season.”

Nathan Scheelhaase, photo by Richard Paul Kane

It was another stressful afternoon in Champaign today, but Illinois pulled off a win against Western Michigan, 23-20. Just like last week against Arizona State, the Broncos took the Illini to the last couple minutes of the game, leaving fans holding their breaths until the clock ran out.

The Illini are now 4-0 for the season, the first time this has happened since 1951. The Illini didn’t look bad per say, but WMU was much more in control. Our defense was strong again, but it took a little while for the offense to take off. Riley O’Toole got into the game a couple times to give Nathan Scheelhaase a break, and inject a little fire into the guys.

It was pretty obvious that WMU came in this game to win, as they should. Apparently no one told them to be slightly afraid of the Illini, and so they weren’t. The Bronco’s quarterback Alex Carder had some great short passes, but seemed to fail when he had to go long. Overall, Carder finished 30 of 48 with 306 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while Scheelhaase went 14 of 20 with 130 passing yards. Scheelhaase did hustle as always, with 40 rushing yards compared to Carder’s -1.

The surprise treat of the night was Freshman RB Donovonn Young, who rushed for 102 yards with a touchdown. RB Jason Ford never really got going, with just 21 yards, and Scheelhaase’s go-to WR A.J. Jenkins didn’t contribute too much either. This doesn’t bother me, as others stepped up to get the job done.

WMU missed a field goal in the first quarter, allowing the Illini to get on the scoreboard first with a TD a little over halfway into the quarter. The Bronocs kicker John Potter made his second attempt, putting the game at 7-3 to end the quarter. Illini kicker Derek Dimke – who by the way is still perfect in extra points since putting on his orange and blue uniform – made a 39-yard field goal to give the Illini some more wiggle room with a 10-3 lead in the second. Potter got another field goal, and then WMU scored to grab the lead at the half, 13-10. A Young TD and Dimke field goal put the Illini up 20-13 in the third, but then WMU had to tie up the game at the beginning of the fourth. I

Illinois had a chance to get another field goal with just a couple of minutes left in the game, but Scheelhaase couldn’t convert a fourth down, and WMU got the ball back with just about a minute to go. At this point it was a waiting and praying game, and the Broncos failed to get anything done. Exhale- Illini win.

Not exactly how you’d want the game to go, but perhaps this was a learning experience? Get the guys ready for when they have to face tougher opponents in conference play?

Couple of notes that I picked up, Paul Hazel is just as bad as ASU’s Vontaze Burfict, as he tried to break Scheelhaase’s neck with a yanking of the facemask. Then Jeff Allen got kicked out of the game at the end of the half, but no one is really sure why and the BTN had nothing to say about the matter. Also a neat tidbit, Illinois’ Ryan Lankford might be the only college player who served as both the punter and the punt returner in the same game.

Other than that, nothing too exciting report, aside from the fact that this was the second game in a row that the Illini won by just 3 points and almost blew it in the end.

It will be interesting to see if they change at all in the rankings, they certainly won’t go up because again they weren’t able to get a blowout win and apparently that’s all that matters. Nevertheless, the guys are 4-0, which means they are just two games away from being bowl eligible, and we haven’t even faced Indiana yet.

Up next the Illini are at home AGAIN, and will face Northwestern in the Homecoming game.

This weekend, the Illini will host Western Michigan at Memorial Stadium. Yes, they’ll be playing at home once again.

While this game should most certainly be a win, it makes me nervous that the guys won’t hit the road until Oct. 8 when they head to Bloomington. At least they’re easing into the road thing with quite possibly the worst football team in the B1G conference.

The Illini are ranked #24 in the AP Poll, which I don’t think will go to their heads because it’s a lower ranking than they deserve, and they didn’t even crack the Coaches Poll. For more on the angry details of this travesty, click here.

If anything, the kick in the teeth of under-appreciation should motivate the guys to go harder and win bigger, to show the nation what they are made of. Defense was strong against Arizona State, so let’s get that offense going again for tomorrow.

While some may fear the Illini will ignore this matchup because it shouldn’t be hard, I don’t think that will be the case. Next week is Northwestern, so it’s not like they’re looking ahead to the next game with more fear than this one. I know, I’m on fire today with the B1G insults. However, let’s not forget the loss in 2008 in Detroit, 23-17. The Illini went in there thinking the game was going to be a cinch, and then left looking dumb. I don’t want that to happen again.

I recall watching that game in some basement bar in DC while visiting friends and family of the ol’ ball and chain; it wasn’t pretty.

The win last week put the Illini at 3-0 for the first time since 2001, and a win tomorrow would give them the first 4-0 start since 1951. This makes me drool, and I hope it makes the team drool as well since it is entirely doable.

Western Michigan is 2-1 this year with their only loss at Michigan, and wins against Central Michigan and Nicholls, which I have honestly never heard of. There isn’t much of a reason to be worried, but that’s exactly when the Illini should be worried. However, since they broke the cycle of being scared off by ranked opponents last week, they’ve restored my faith somewhat.

Defense needs to stay strong, offense needs to get its groove back. I think that the Illini will be able to score a lot more this week, as the ASU defense was stifling thanks to the beast with the awesome name: Vontaze Burfict.

The game will air on BTN at 2:30 central time.

Now for some fun facts:

•The defense has not allowed a point following Illinois’ four turnovers this season, while forcing eight takeaways that have led to 24 points. Following the 19 Illini turnovers in 2010, the defense allowed only 39 points (three TDs and six FGs).

• Illinois has converted all 13 of its red-zone chances into points this season, scoring 10 TDs and three FGs on trips inside the 20. Twenty-six teams remain perfect in the red-zone this season, but only nine of those teams have had at least 13 red-zone chances.

• Illinois ranks third in the nation in third-down efficiency, converting 26-of-42 (.619) third downs during the first three weeks of 2011.

• With only 10 penalties for 70 yards on the season, the Illini rank eighth nationally in fewest penalties committed (3.3 per game) and seventh in fewest penalty yards per game (23.3). The Illini were penalty-free in the opener, the first time in 18 years that the Illini played a game with beingflagged.

Love it.

For the first time since September of 2008, the Fighting Illini Football team is ranked. Hooray!

Though we’re all ecstatic, it shouldn’t be a surprise. Illinois fought hard to beat a ranked Arizona State last week, who was #22 in the AP Poll and #18 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

This week, the Illini earned a #24 ranking in the AP Poll and, let’s see here, other votes received from the Coaches Poll right behind Ohio State. Huh? Didn’t Ohio State lose in an ugly fashion last weekend? How strange.

I’ve got a few questions on that AP Poll (ahem Clemson and TCU), but considering Illinois is at least on the list, I’m not going to complain. Especially since Arizona State was only #22 on that poll and we didn’t blow them out, because that’s apparently the only way to actually win a game.

So let’s take a closer look at who nabbed a ranking above the Illini in the Coaches Poll. Remember, this is the poll where ASU had a pretty solid #18, so wouldn’t a win here be worth more? Not to mention the fact that this is voted on by coaches, who can really appreciate the defensive effort Illinois put forth in the 17-14 win.

First you have #14 Florida State and #13 Oregon, who both have a 2-1 record compared to Illinois’ 3-0 record. Since Oregon lost to a ranked LSU in the season opener, I guess I’ll let that slide. Oregon then killed both Nevada and Missouri State, neither of which are teams that will make any noise, but they were blowouts.

Florida State is in a similar position with a 2-1 record with a loss against  a ranked team (#1 OU) and blowouts against subpar teams (Louisiana Monroe, Charleston Southern). So with this reasoning, if Illinois had perhaps lost to ASU they would be ranked? Or no because ASU was only a top 20 team and not a top 10 team. Again, we’ll let those slide since they did at least face ranked teams.

Here’s what I don’t understand, those guys at the bottom of the list: #22 Clemson, #23, Michigan State, #24 Georgia Tech, and #25 North Carolina (Wha??). Then of course there is that guy receiving votes ahead of us that I mentioned before.

If we were talking about basketball, then maybe I could understand the snub – but it’s football!

Let’s start with Clemson, Georgia Tech and UNC. All of them have 3-0 records. Clemson beat Auburn, who was ranked 19 last week in the Coaches Poll, and then two nobodies. Illinois beat the No. 18 team and two nobodies.  Georgia Tech beat three unranked teams: Kansas  and two nobodies. Again, this is football! Kansas doesn’t get extra points in football for being Kansas. Lastly, North Carolina beat Rutgers by just 2 points, Virginia by 11 points and then beat down James Madison. Are any of these teams ranked you ask? Why no!

So now let’s take a look at my buddies in the Big Ten. Michigan State lost to an unranked Notre Dame, and somehow that means they get to sit pretty up there at #23? Prior to that they beat two football powerhouses Florida Atlantic and Youngstown State. MSU put up a good effort against Notre Dame though, right? The loss was 37-17, and it was Notre Dame’s first win of the season. Makes you think?

Then back to OSU. At least they fell off the rankings, but who gave them more votes than Illinois? Sure they killed Akron in the first game of the season, but they barely scraped by Toledo, and then they got crushed by an equally troubled Miami team! Are these pity votes?

I have a few of these rants each year during basketball season, but I’m not used to paying close attention to the football rankings because it’s been  a few years since it mattered. When I let the rankings get to me, people talk me down off the cliff by saying they make no sense and ignore them, especially since it’s nearly impossible to rank teams before they even play. These pre-season rankings come from last year’s performance, and since Illinois went out on a high note with a bowl win against Baylor (who incidentally is ranked this week), I would think it would have some sort of positive effect. I just want my team to get the credit it deserves.

In the end, the rankings shouldn’t matter to the team anyway. All I can hope for is that Illinois continues to do its job and win and ignore what the coaches and the media have to say. Although, it would be sort of nice if Arizona State were to beat USC next week (this is tough for a USC alum to say, but it would help my cause) and prove that the Illini deserve more attention than they’re getting.

However, maybe it’s better sometimes to just stay under the radar.

If you’d like to gape at the rankings yourself, click here:

I hate stories like this, because it makes us forget all of those football/basketball players who do great things for the university and the community.

However, it’s certainly a story that needs to be told. According to the Chicago Tribune, former Illinois running back Steve Feagin, 41, is being held in lieu of $10 million bail in the Champaign County Jail on charges that he raped three women from 193-95.  DNA evidence have been found linking him to the crimes, which occurred after his career as an Illini had ended.

Feagin played on the team from 1989-1992 and is No. 21 on the Illini’s career rushig list with 1,558 yards. According to the Trib, he stayed in Champaign-Urbaana through 1995 while unsuccessfully attempting to play professionally.

It is believed that Feagin was responsible for at least five sexual assaults in that time period, and he could face up to facing up to 90 years in prison if convicted.

Read the details of the story by clicking here.

As deserved, Jonathan Brown of Illinois was named the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his massive efforts in the win against Arizona State University on Saturday.

The sophomore linebacker from Memphis, Tenn. was honored for his seven total tackles. He also set career-highs in tackles for loss (3.5) and sacks (1.5) in Illinois’ win over nationally ranked Arizona State.

Jonathan Brown

Brown also:

·         Forced Arizona State’s first interception of the day in the first quarter after hitting Brock Osweiler as he threw, leading to a Glen Foster pick

·         Recorded his first interception of the season, halting an 11-play Sun Devil drive

·         Earned his first Big Ten weekly honor.

The last Illinois Defensive Player of the Week was Corey Liuget in December of 2010. Liuget is now playing for the San Diego Chargers.

To see the rest of the B1G Players of the Week, click here.

And now I can exhale. After a tense, low-scoring game the Illini beat #22/#18  Arizona State tonight 17-14.

The game started off well for the Illini who scored first with a Jason Ford rushing TD about 10 minutes into the first quarter. ASU answered back quickly with a TD of their own, and then Derek Dimke made a FG to put the Illini back up 10-7. ASU had a chance to tie but missed a FG. Derek Dimke doesn’t know much about that as he’s made 68 out of 68 extra points and hasn’t missed one in his career at Illinois.

Then nobody scored for a really looooooooong time.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Jolly Green Giant of an ASU QB Brock Osweiler ran up the middle for a TD to put ASU on top 14-10.  Five minutes later, it was Illinois’ turn to answer back with an A.J. Jenkins TD. With about 2 minutes left the Illini were forced to give the ball back to the Sun Devils after a first down call was overturned, and then it got scary. Osweiler (who is the tallest QB in the league at 6’8″) threw three incomplete passes, and with 1:01 to go the Illini got the ball back and time ran out- in a good way.

The game wasn’t pretty, with a total of 13 penalties (8 for ASU, 5 for the Illini), 3 fumbles (2 for Illinois) and 3 interceptions (1 for Illinois) Illinois had many chances to run away with the game, but the offense never really kicked in. Thankfully, the defense was around to clean up the mess.

Defense was the name of the game tonight as the Illini fought harder without the ball than with it. Osweiler was sacked six times, and sophomore LB Jonathan Brown was the standout for the Illini with an interception and a sack that led to another interception.

This is the first 3-0 start for the Illini since 2001 (Zook’s first 3-0 start as the head coach), the team’s first win against a ranked opponent since upsetting No. 1 Ohio State in 2007 and their first win against Arizona State University, ever.

This was an important game, and no matter how it happened the Illini came out on top and the nation is going to start paying attention.

Next week the Illini will face Western Michigan at home yet again, and they will most likely be ranked at that point.  The game will be at 2:30 on the BTN.

Let’s be honest, the last two games were a cinch for the Illini. If they weren’t 2-0 right now we’d have some pretty angry fans on our hands. Luckily, the Illini have gone ahead and done what they’re supposed to do for the past two weeks. Now, thumping the Jackrabbits last weekend with a 56-3 was certainly an added bonus, but far from a surprise.

Tomorrow, the Illini will have their first true test. Arizona State University is the first team to come into Memorial Stadium from a real conference despite the fact that no one is sure how many teams the Pac whatever has right now. (Well, 12 right now, but that might change again.) Also, the Sun Devils come in as the Illini’s first ranked opponent at #22 in the Coaches Poll and #18 in the USA Today poll. As if that weren’t enough, this is the team’s first night game with a 6pm Central kickoff. At least the game will be at home and aired on the BTN so we don’t have to throw high-profile viewing into the mix.

So there are a bunch of different scenarios that could happen. First, the Illini could enter the game with a lot of confidence having easily tackled two opponents in two weeks and play hard to win. Or, the Illini could come in too cocky and make a lot of stupid mistakes now that they realize how different it is to play a team like ASU. Then there is the team we all know and loathe from the past few years that comes into an important game scared and gets trampled thanks to an obscene amount of penalties.

I’m hoping for that first scenario. The guys are going to be at home, they have chemistry, they should have confidence, they seem to have defense, and so they have a chance to win. There is nothing to be scared of if they go out and play the game that they know. The good news is that QB Nathan Scheelhaase (this is the first time I’ve written his name correctly without checking!) has proven to be a lot more consistent than our old friend Juice Williams, so I don’t think he will be rattled by nerves.  They also have to remember that a loss to ASU is not the worst thing in the world. A win is MUCH better for many reasons, but a loss would be respectable – so there isn’t really any pressure!

How about some facts?
• Illinois leads the nation in third-down efficiency, converting 21-of-29 (.724) third downs during the first two weeks.

•After two games, the Illini lead the Big Ten in scoring offense (44.5 ppg), total offense (496.0 ypg) and rushing offense (283.0).

• The Illini defense has allowed only 18 total points (9.0 ppg), including only one touchdown, in 2011. Illinois ranks sixth nationally in rushing defense (42.5 ypg) and 13th in both scoring defense (9.0 ppg) and total defense (223.0 ypg).

• The Illini were penalty-free in the opener, marking the first time in 18 years that an Illinois team did not commit a penalty in a game.

And the bad news:

The Illini have dropped 10 straight games to opponents ranked in the AP poll, with their last win coming on Nov. 10, 2007 at No. 1 Ohio State (28-21). Last season, the Illini beat Northwestern when they were ranked 25th in the coaches poll, but they were unranked in the AP poll. Not to mention that Illinois has not played a ranked non-conference opponent at Memorial Stadium since beating No. 25 Louisville, 34-10, in 2001. And to make matters worse, the Illini have not beaten a Pac-12 opponent since 2001.

Now’s the time to change those stats! This is the first meeting for the two teams on the football field in 23 years, and ASU leads the series 2-0. But this is nothing to be afraid of. True, ASU beat Missouri, but they were at home and it does make a difference. Who knows, maybe this would’ve been the year that Illinois finally beat Missouri if they had played. So of course, if Illinois does win tomorrow, then by extension they have beaten Missouri, which should be enough motivation.

Tomorrow, we will finally see what the Illinois football team is made of!