Nov. 19, 2001
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FOR OPENERS
Illinois is 9-1 for the first time since 1983 when the Illini won the Big Ten title with a 9-0 conference mark and took a 10-1 record into the Rose Bowl ... The Illini will be looking for at least a share of the Big Ten title with a win over Northwestern on Thursday ... It will be the first title since 1990 and 15th in school history ... The Fighting Illini's 6-1 start in Big Ten play is the best since 1989 when they were 7-1 in league play .... With the win over Penn State the Illini advanced to 10th in the Bowl Championship Series rankings and look to improve on that ranking following the 34-22 win over Ohio State ...Illinois' current six-game winning streak in Big Ten play is its longest since winning six in 1983, the Illini won 12 straight conference games over the 1982, 1983 and 1984 seasons ... This is the latest in the season that the Illini have been in first place in the Big Ten since tying for the conference championship in 1990 ... Illinois is 5-0 at Memorial Stadium in 2001 and is shooting for its first perfect home mark since 1984 ... Senior quarterback Kurt Kittner is one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and one of 12 semi-finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award ... Illinois placekicker Peter Christofilakos was named to the 20-man semifinal list for the Lou Groza Award ... Ron Turner has now defeated each Big Ten school except for Michigan State during his career at Illinois ... In the 112-year history of Illinois football, the Illini have won at least nine games seven times with only three of those seasons coming after 1951 ... Illinois has won 10 games three times (1989, 10-2, 1983, 10-2, and, 1902, 10-2-1).
Kittner leads the Big Ten in passing offense with an average of 260.7 yards per game and 19 touchdown passes ... He ranks second in total offense with a 259.9 average ... As a team, the Illini are second in the league in pass offense (262.7 avg.) and rank second in scoring offense (32.2 avg.) ... Teams rushed for 232.5 yards a game against Illinois in 2000, but are averaging just 141.6 in 2001, a decrease in 90.9 yards per game ... Illinois has three of the Big Ten's top-10 leaders in passes defended with Eugene Wilson (1st, 28), Christian Morton (2nd, 25) and Bobby Jackson (10th, 12) ... Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten with 38 quarterback sacks (3.8 avg.), and ranks second with just 12 sacks (1.2 avg.) allowed in 10 games ... The Fighting Illini lead the Big Ten in pass defense efficiency with a rating of 100.1 ... Illinois has the most field goals made by any Big Ten team this year (20), by three different kickers ... Illini sophomore kickers John Gockman (4-5) and Peter Christofilakos (11-12) have combined to make 15 of 17 fields goals on the year ... Sophomore Brandon Lloyd is the first Illini receiver since David Williams in 1985 to top 100 yards in receiving yardage five times in the same season ... Illinois now has six blocked kicks on the season - two field goals, three punts and one PAT ... Senior punter Steve Fitts has his name at the top of every Illini punting career list as the Illini career leader in punting average (42.0 avg.), punting yards (9,949 yards), and in number of punts (237) ... Christian Morton has tied the Illini season record with two interceptions returned for touchdowns ... Kittner is Illinois' career leader with 62 touchdown passes and moved into fifth place on the Big Ten career passing yardage list with 8,073 yards, second on the UI list.
Illinois has faced the two winningest coaches in NCAA Div. 1A history when they each held the top spot with Bear Bryant and Alabama winning 21-15 at the Liberty Bowl in 1982 and Illinois knocking off Joe Paterno and Penn State, 33-28, on Nov. 10, 2001.
THE COACHES' CORNER
RON TURNER, Illinois (25-30 in his fifth year at Illinois, 32-34 overall) - Ron Turner is in his fifth year at Illinois and enters the Northwestern game with a 32-34 coaching record, including 25-30 at UI. Since 1999, Turner is 22-11 at Illinois. Turner is 2-2 against the Wildcats after a 61-23 loss at Evanston last season.
Turner led the Illini to an 8-4 record and a 63-21 thumping of Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl in 1999. For his efforts, Turner finished fourth in the Associated Press Coach of the Year voting. Turner came to Illinois after a four-year stint as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears (1993-96). In 1992, he was the head coach for San Jose State where he turned in a 7-4 record and a second-place finish in the Big West Conference. Turner has served as an assistant at Stanford, Texas A&M, Southern California, Pittsburgh, Northwestern and Arizona working mainly with quarterbacks and receivers during his 20+ years in college coaching. Over the last three seasons, Illinois has a record of 21-11 (.657) under Turner and will be shooting for its first perfect home record since 1984 on Nov. 22 when the Illini host Northwestern.
RANDY WALKER, Northwestern (15-18 in his third year at Northwestern and 74-53-5 in his 12th season as a collegiate head coach) - Walker is facing Illinois for the third time in his career and enters with a 1-1 record against the Illini ... The Wilcats lost to the Illini in 1999, 27-7, in Memorial Stadium and won a 63-21 contest in Evanston in 2000.
SENIOR DAY
On Thursday, 17 Illinois seniors will be playing in their final game at Memorial Stadium. These fourth and fifth-year seniors have seen the Illini program go from 0-11 in 1997 to 9-1 in 2001. The 17 seniors are: #7 Muhammad Abdullah, FS, Barnegat, N.J., #83 Chris Allan, WR, Greenville, Ill., #71 Luke Butkus, C, Stegar, Ill., #72 Dan Cutter, OL, Tampa, Fla., #10 Steve Fitts, P, South Congaree, S.C., #65 Joe Gal, DL, Lemont, Ill., #23 Rocky Harvey, RB, Chicago, Ill., #80 Brian Hodges, TE, Country Club Hills, Ill., #2 Bobby Jackson, SS, Corvallis, Ore., #15 Kurt Kittner, QB, Schaumburg, Ill., #67 Jay Kulaga, OL, Seminole, Fla., #90 Robby Long, DE, Champaign, Ill., #56 Mike Malczyk, LS, Lake Zurich, Ill., #96 Brandon Moore, DT, Gary, Ind., #82 Nick Piazza, S, Frankfort, Ill., #62 Pat Rouse, LS, Champaign, Ill., and #85 Terrell Washington, DE, St. Louis, Mo.
ILLINOIS IN THE BIG TEN RACE
Illinois needs only one win this week against Northwestern to clinch at least a share of the 2001 Big Ten title and could win the championship outright with an Ohio State win over Michigan on Saturday. The title would be the Illini's first since 1990 when they tied with Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa. The program's last outright title was in 1983. Illinois has won the Big Ten on 14 occassions.
NORTHWESTERN/ILLINOIS SERIES NOTES
Thursday's game will be the 95th meeting between Illinois and Northwestern in a series that began in 1892 ... Illinois leads the series 49-40-5 and 23-17-2 in Champaign ... Over the last 10 years, Northwestern has a 6-4 edge over the Illini ... Turner is 2-2against the Wildcats and Walker is 1-1 vs. the Illini.
Coaching Connections: Northwestern offensive line coach James Patton was the tight ends/offensive tackles coach at Rhode Island in 1995 along with Illinois assistant Mike Mallory, who was the defensive coordinator from 1993-95.
Northwestern has 25 players from the state of Illinois on its roster, while Illinois boasts 69 in-state athletes.
The Illini and the Wildcats play each year for the "Sweet Sioux Tomahawk" trophy. Illinois leads the trophy series, 29-23-2, which began in 1945. Staff members from the student newspapers conceived the idea of a wooden Indian trophy. In September, 1946, the "Sweet Sioux" was stolen from a showcase at Northwestern. A Tomahawk Trophy was inaugurated in 1947 to replace the wooden Indian and has been used since. Northwestern won the trophy last season after a two-year reign in the Illini trophy case.
PROLIFIC OFFENSES
Ron Turner is considered one of the best offensive minds in college football and the numbers over the last three seasons at Illinois only reflect that statement. Turner's 1999 offense became the highest scoring offense in school history with 388 points scored and a 32.3 per game average. This season, the Illini have scored 322 points (67 points away from breaking the previous record) and are averaging 32.2 points per contest. Despite a 5-6 record in 2000, the Illini offense still ranked among the Illinois top-10 with 26.7 points per game. The last three seasons, Turner's offenses have ranked in the Illinois top-10 (1st-1999, 2nd-2001, 9th-2000), more than any other head coach in Illinois history.
KITTNER, THE COMEBACK KID
Kurt Kittner won the 12th come-from-behind game of his career Saturday and did it with yet another sterling performance. The Illini fell behind twice at Ohio State only to have the Illinois senior rally them for the fourth consecutive week and fifth time this season. With Illinois trailing at the 5:02 mark in the second quarter, Kittner rallied his team by hitting eight of his last 10 passes in the half. Kittner threw for 179 yards and two TDs during the stretch that saw the Illini turn a 10-7 deficit into a 21-10 halftime advantage.
Kittner wasn't done with his comeback heroics though. After Ohio State stormed back to take a 22-21 lead going into the fourth quarter, Kittner promptly led Illinois back in front on the next drive, hitting 4-of-6 passes for 51 yards including a pair of 3rd down and long conversions to Walter Young. Overall, Kittner completed eight of his 12 passing attempts in the fourth quarter for 66 yards.
The Illini fell behind to Wisconsin by a touchdown in the fourth quarter and put together two drives to beat the Badgers, 42-35. In those two drives, Kittner was 5 of 7 for 92 yards and two touchdowns. The next week, Illinois answered a 13-0 deficit with 38 straight points against Purdue. Following the fourth Illinois turnover, Kittner finished the game 11 of 23 for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Last weekend, Penn State jumped out to a 14-0 lead and Kittner was 13 of 19 for 169 yards and a touchdown to lead Illinois to a 33-28 win. Earlier in the season, the Illini were down 6-3 to Northern Illinois before Kittner put together a run of 8 of 12 passing for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
His total figures in the five comeback wins are: 53 of 83 (64 percent) for 906 yards and nine touchdowns.
ILLINI ON THANKSGIVING
Although the Illini haven't played a game on Thanksgiving since 1963, the Illinois football program is not new to playing on the November holiday. Thursday's game will be the 14th Thanksgiving game for the Illini, who have posted a 7-4-2 record in the previous 13 contests. The last meeting on Thanksgiving was a rescheduled game against Michigan State which was cancelled following the assassination of President Kennedy. The Illini won the game 13-0, earning a bid to the 1964 Rose Bowl.
THE ILLINI SECONDARY
Illinois ranks first in the Big Ten in pass efficiency defense, are tied with the most interceptions in the conference with 17 and rank third in the league in opponent's third down conversions ... Junior CB Eugene Wilson earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for his three-interception game against Penn State. Wilson also leads the nation in passes broken up (28/2.80 per game) ... Of the 356 opponent passes thrown only 78 have been tossed in Wilson's direction (22 percent) and of those 78, 28 have been broken up and five more have been intercepted which is 36 percent of everything thrown at him ... Sophomore CB Chrisitan Morton has three interceptions this season, two returned for touchdowns and ranks second in the league in passes broken up with 25 ... Senior SS Bobby Jackson is one of the team's captains, has six tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions (one touchdown) and 12 passes broken up ... Senior FS Muhammad Abdullah ranks second on the team in total tackles with 82, has three interceptions, four tackles for loss and two sacks ... And last but not least, nickle-back Michael Hall has an interception, a sack, forced fumble and eight PBUs.
TURNER NOTES
Turner has his 9-1 Illinois squad ranked 10th in the nation in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and 10th in the Associated Press after not even cracking the preseason Top-35 in either list.
Turner is one of only three coaches in the Top-10 this season to have one loss or less after a losing season in 2000. Illinois' 9-1 record has the Illini topping the nine-win mark for only the seventh time in school history.
In 1999, Turner led an Illini turnaround from 3-8 the previous season to 8-4 and a 63-21 win over Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl. For his efforts, Turner finished fourth in the Associated Press Coach of the Year voting.
During that same season, Turner became the first coach in Big Ten history to win at Michigan and Ohio State in the same season. The 20-point come-from-behind victory at "The Big House" was the best comeback win in school history. Illinois' 46-20 win at "The Horseshoe" was the worst home loss for the Buckeyes in 50 years.
The 1999 Illinois squad became the highest scoring offense in school history with its win in the Micronpc.com Bowl. The Illini's 388 points surpassed the 1902 team's 380 points scored in 13 games.
Turner was the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears from 1993-96, setting franchise scoring and passing records in 1995. In that season, the Bears had an 1,000-yard rusher and receiver.
Turner has over 20 years experience coaching quarterbacks. Some of his QBs include: Jeff Garcia, Erik Kramer, Jim Harbaugh, Steve Stenstrom, Sean Salisbury, Rodney Peete, Bucky Richardson, Sandy Schwab, John Congemi and Dave Kreig.
Turner founded the "Scoring Against MS" program to raise money for the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Currently the program has raised over $300,000 over the last five years. Money is donated based on the amount of points scored by the Illini during the season.
Turner's brother is Norv Turner, offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers.
Home Cookin'
Illinois has improved its home record at Memorial Stadium each season under Ron Turner. After going 0-6 in his first year, the Illini have improved to 2-4 in 1998, 3-3 in 1999 and 4-2 in 2000. So far in 2001, the Illini are a perfect 5-0 on the home turf. The Illini are looking to improve to 6-0 in Memorial Stadium this season for the first time since 1984 when the 7-4 squad defended the home turf.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
After a 9-1 start to the season, the Illini are ranked 10th by ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press poll, the highest ranking in the Turner era. The last time the Illini were ranked 10th or better was in 1990 when they started the season 6-1. Illinois moved to fifth in the AP poll for a two-week span after defeating No. 25 Michigan State and winning at Wisconsin. The team finished the season with an 8-4 record, a trip to the Hall of Fame Bowl and a final ranking of No. 25.
The team earned its first-ever Bowl Championships Series poll ranking following its win over No. 15 Purdue. Illinois entered at No. 12. The Illini improved to 10th after a win over Penn State. The latest BCS ranking will be unveiled Monday afternoon.
KITTNER SEEKS WINNINGEST ILLINI QB HONORS
With a 34-22 Illini win over No. 25 Ohio State, senior quarterback Kurt Kittner tied Jack Trudeau (1983-85) as Illinois' winningest quarterbacks. The two QBs have 23 wins under their belt and Kittner will have the opportunity vs. Northwestern to earn his 24th.
KITTNER - UNITAS AWARD FINALIST
Kittner was named one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the nation's best senior quarterback. He is also one of 12 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award.
Averaging 260.7 yards per game, Kittner leads the Big Ten in passing offense and ranks second in total offense. He also ranks 22nd in the nation in total offense.
Kittner, with 38 starts under his belt, has amassed over 8,000 yards passing and 62 touchdowns in his career. His four-touchdown performance against the Badgers gave him Illnois' all-time touchdown pass record, passing Jack Trudeau's 55 from 1983-85. Illini teams are 21-5 when Kittner throws a touchdown pass, dating back to 1999.
With 274 yards passing against Purdue, Kittner posted his 21st career 200-plus passing game. He has also topped 2,600 yards for the second time in his career.
For his career-high 401-yard perfomance against Wisconsin, he was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
Kittner is the Big Ten Leader in TD Passes with 19, including touchdowns to seven different receivers. He has also completed 26 passes over 30 yards this season, including a high o67 yards and two 59-yarders.
ILLINI VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Illini defeated their third-ranked opponent of the season following a 34-22 win over No. 25 Ohio State. Illinois also knocked off No. 25 Louisville, 34-10, and No. 15 Purdue, 38-13, while falling to No. 17 Michigan, 20-45. Two of the three wins over Top-25 foes this season came on the road (at Columbus, Ohio and at West Lafayette, Ind.). The last time an Illinois team beat three ranked teams in a season was 1983 when the Illini dropped four Top-25 opponents.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
The Illini are outscoring their opponents in the fourth quarter by 56 points (105-49), more than any quarter. Illinois leads its competition in scoring in every quarter.
The Illinois offense has a chance to pass the 1999 school-record mark for total offense in a season with 779 yards in the next two games. Two seasons ago, the Illini put up 4,887 yards of total offense. This year's squad has 4,108 through 10 games. No Illini squad in recent history (1950-present) has ever topped the 5,000-yard mark.
The Illini are averaging 36.75 points per contest over the last four games and topped the 40-point mark for the second time in 2001 with a 42-35 win over Wisconsin.
Illinois' passing offense ranks second in the Big Ten and 26th in the nation with a 262.7 yards per game average. Although sophomore Brandon Lloyd has topped 100-yards receiving in five games and has 866 yards through 10 games, 11 Illini players have hauled in catches for the other 1,741 yards, including junior Walter Young who caught a career-high seven catches for 133 yards against Ohio State.
The receiving duo of sophomore Brandon Lloyd and junior Walter Young rank 10th nationally in touchdown receptions per game (1.11) and eighth in receiving yardage per game (145.5).
F The Illini offensive line has allowed only 12 sacks in 10 games (1.2 per game), which ranks second in the conference. They have held opponents without a sack in four games (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Louisville and California), including a Wisconsin defense that was averaging 3.5 sacks per contest.
With the loss of junior HB Antoineo Harris to injury, the Illini are relying on senior Rocky Harvey and sophomore FB Carey Davis to carry on the ground attack. Harvey is averaging 48.2 yards per game and has four rushing touchdowns this season. He needs 313 yards in the last two games to become the second all-time leading rusher in Illinois history. Davis rambled into the endzone for his first rushing touchdown of the season (has three TD receptions) in the 50-yard rushing effort vs. Ohio State. He also had four catches for 27 yards against the Buckeyes.
The Illini offense has scored 25 points or more 24 times in the last three seasons (dating back to 1999, 33 games) and has topped the 40-point mark nine times during that same span.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Sophomore linebacker Ty Myers' interception return for a touchdown is the fourth for the Illini team this season (Morton-2, Jackson-1, Myers-1) setting a school record for most interception returns for scores in a season.
The Illini defense is second in the Big Ten in sacks with 38 for a loss of 256 yards through 10 games. Eighteen Illini defenders have recorded sacks (most in the nation) with linebacker Jerry Schumacher leading the team with six. In addition to the 38 sacks, Illinois has 41 other tackles for loss. Ten of 11 starters have sacks for the Illini.
F The Illinois defense has allowed only 20 points this season off the 18 turnovers allowed (4 of 18, 22 percent). In Illinois' 38-13 win over Purdue, the offense turned the ball over four consecutive series setting up the Purdue offense on an average of the Illinois 28 yardline. The defense allowed a total of only nine yards and six points in four drives. They forced the Boilermakers to punt, kick two field goals and held them scoreless at the 1 yardline.
In the past nine games, the Illini have forced 25 turnovers which ranks 26th in the nation. The Illini offense has scored 72 points off turnovers, putting points on the board following 12 of the 25 take-aways.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
For the last three years the Illini have had the threat of the two-headed tailback. Now they boast a trio of kickers that have combined for 20 of 25 field goals on the season, which ranks first in the Big Ten. Sophomore JJ Tubbs began the season as the team's kicker hitting 5-of-8 field goals. After missing field goals against Louisville, sophomore Peter Christofilakos took over as the full-time placekicker and has made 11 of 12 this season and was named a seminfinalist for the Lou Groza Award. Junior college transfer John Gockman is the Illini's long-range kicker hitting 4 of 5 from over 40 yards. Christofilakos and Gockman combined for five field goals in the Illini's win over Wisconsin, tying a school record for field goals in a game. For their effort, they were named Big Ten Special Teams Players of the Week.
Senior punter Steve Fitts is averaging 43.2 yards per punt ranking fifth in the Big Ten and 24th in the nation. He has booted a long of 69 yards this season and has placed 14 inside the 20 yardline, including four of his six punts against Ohio State inside the 10 yardline.
The Illini have blocked six kicks this season (three punts, two field goals and an extra point). The two field goals came against Northern Illinois when senior DE Terrell Washington got a hand on two potential scores for the Huskies. Washington recorded his third blocked kick when he swatted an extra point attempt at Indiana. Wide receiver Dwayne Smith blocked his second punt of the season against Ohio State, which was recovered for a touchdown by Jamaal Clark. The touchdown was the first blocked punt returned for a score since William Morris returned a Tyrone Washington block 10 yards for a score against Wisconsin on Nov. 20, 1993. Senior safety Nick Piazza also blocked one punt this season.
Junior punt returner Eugene Wilson ranks eighth in the Big Ten with his 10.5 average yards per punt this season. He broke free for a 46-yard return in the Illini's win at Indiana, taking the return to the Indiana 5 yardline. Wilson ranks third on Illinois' all-time punt return yardage list.
The Illini kickoff unit forced a fumble (Muhammad Abdullah forced, Jamaal Clark recovered) on the 26 yardline to set up a 7-yard TD by Antoineo Harris in the Illini's 44-17 win over Cal.
GENERAL TEAM NOTES
Through 10 games, the Illini's average starting field position is on the 34.4 yard line and have started 24 drives in plus territory, while opponents are beginning their drives at the 28 yard line and have started 27 drives within their own 20.
With its 34-10 win over No. 25 Louisville, Illinois won its 10th straight game over non-Big Ten foes and registered its third straight season with an undefeated record heading into conference play.
Five true-freshmen have seen action through seven games: FB Cory Flisakowski, S Taman Jordan, DB Sedrick Davenport, LB Matt Sinclair and LB Brian Schaefering.
Redshirt freshman Patrick Babcock and junior college transfers Mario Ivy and Michael Hall are the only first-year players to start for the Illini this season. Babcock is Illinois' starting right guard, Ivy started at linebacker in the first two games before moving to defensive end and Hall made his first start at cornerback against Louisville.
TRAVELING ILLINI
The Illini are 4-1 away from Memorial Stadium following a 34-22 win at Ohio State, 38-13 win at Purdue, 35-14 win at Indiana, 44-17 win at California and 45-20 loss in Ann Arbor. The last time an Illini squad posted a 4-1 record on the road was in 1999. The Illini fell to Indiana 31-34 in overtime early in the season then followed up with wins at Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State (defeated Louisville prior to the Indiana defeat). In 1999, the Illini became the first team to win at Ohio State and Michigan in the same season since the 1952 Michigan State squad accomplished the feat.
Shutting Down the RUN
One of the keys to the Illinois surge atop the Big Ten standings has been the play of its defense, in particular, its play against the run. In the nine games this season, the Illini have shut down their opponent's top-ground gainers and have turned their opponents into one-dimensional offenses. They rank fourth in the conference in rushing defense averaging 141.6 yards allowed per game after finishing the 2000 season ranked 11th.
PURDUE: Against the 15th-ranked Boilermakers, the Illini allowed only 62 yards rushing and 51 of those yards came on a fake punt. The Illinois "D" also stopped Purdue behind the line of scrimmage a school-record 15 times, including another school-record nine sacks. In that game, nine Illini players recorded tackles for loss.
WISCONSIN: In a game against the Big Ten's top rusher, Anthony Davis, the Illini held the Wisconsin Badger offense to only 126 yards on the ground. The Badgers entered the game averaging 180 yards rushing.
Northern IllinoIS: The Huskies' running back Thomas Hammock entered the game averaging 177 yards rushing per game and the Illinois defense held him to 111 yards on 23 carries, 68 yards shy of his average.
Louisville: UL's top back T.J. Patterson had a season average of 70.3 yards per game which was cut short to only 7 yards on 7 attempts (1 yard per carry). As a team, the Illini held the Cardinals to only 29 yards on the ground, instead of their usual 131 yards per game.
Minnesota: In the two previous meetings with the Gophers, the Illini had given up an average of 365.5 yards rushing. However, the 2001 defense held Minnesota to only 149 yards rushing, more than 50 yards below its season average, while also keeping Tellis Redmon under the 100-yard mark.
Indiana: One week after Indiana tailback Levron Williams rushed for 280 yards, the Illini defense stopped him with 91 yards, while also keeping the team rushing numbers 40 yards below their average.
LLOYD'S BACK AND EARNING HONORS
With 112 yards receiving vs. Purdue, sophomore Brandon Lloyd topped the 100-yard mark for the fifth time this season, marking the first time an Illini receiver has has five 100-yard receiving games since All-American David Williams accomplished the feat in 1985 with six. He also sparked the Illini offense to a 38-13 win over No. 15 Purdue with his 47-yard touchdown reception in the first half.
Lloyd is averaging 86.6 yards per game which ranks fourth in the Big Ten and xx in the nation. His 866 total receiving yards also rank 28th nationally.
In the Illini's first game of 2001 and Lloyd's first back after a one-year hiatus, the receiver caught eight passes for 178 yards, the fifth-highest single-game receiving total in Illinois history. For his performance at Cal, Lloyd earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
In 10 games this season, Lloyd has hauled in nine passes over 30-yards bringing his "Big Play" total to 22 in 22 career games played.
BUTKUS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
Butkus started his 33rd consecutive game for the Illini against Ohio State and has helped the Illini become one of the most explosive offenses in the Big Ten. The Illini are second the Big Ten in passing, second in scoring offense and rank fourth in total offense. The offensive line has allowed only 12 sacks in the first 10 games, which ranks second in the Big Ten.
The line has held four defenses without a sack, including All-American Wendell Bryant and the Wisconsin Badgers which came into the game averaging 3.5 sacks per contest. Butkus has 80 knockdowns this season, eight per game.
Illinois senior center Luke Butkus was named to the Scripps Howard preseason All-American team. He has also been selected to the Rimington Award Watch List.
Butkus earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last season in leading Illinois to a second straight 2,000-yard passing, 1,700-yard rushing season.
FITTS - ILLINOIS' ALL-TIME LEADING PUNTER
With five punts against Purdue, senior punter Steve Fitts became Illinois' all-time leader in punts, punting yardage and punt average. With 10,177 yards punting, Fitts ranks seventh on the Big Ten career punting yardage list
Fitts, who has been the team's regular punter for the last four seasons, has been an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection for the last two. He has a season average of 43.2 and has landed 14 punts inside the 20 yardline with a net punting average of 37.6 yards in 2001. He nailed 4 of 6 punts inside the 10 yardline in Illinois' win over Ohio State.
With a 48.7 punting average against Penn State, Fitts recorded his 30th career 40-yard punting average game.
CONVERTED QUARTERBACKS
Three starters on this Fighting Illini team - WR Walter Young, CB Christian Morton and TE Brian Hodges - came to Illinois as quarterbacks and are now making an impact at different positions.
During the 1999 season, Young was competing for a back-up QB spot with senior Kirk
