THE COACHES' CORNER

RON TURNER, Illinois (26-32 in his sixth year at Illinois, 33-36 overall) - Turner's first and only meeting with Southern Mississippi was his first game as head coach of the Illini. The result was a 24-7 USM win. Over the last four seasons, Illinois has a record of 23-13 (.639) under Turner and had its first perfect home record since 1984 last season when the Illini went 6-0 at Memorial Stadium.

• Turner earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 2001 after leading Illinois to the Big Ten championship and a trip to the Nokia Sugar Bowl and its first 10-win season since 1989. The league title was the Illini's first since 1990.
• Known as an offensive genius, Turner has coached Illinois to the school's highest scoring squads in both 1999 (32.3 ppg) and 2001 (32.5 ppg). Those seasons rank 1-2 in the Illinois record books and the 26.7 ppg scored in 2000 ranks eighth. The team topped the 5,000-yard total offense mark in 2001 for the first time in school history.
• Turner has served as quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator or head coach since 1981. During that time he coached quarterbacks such as Jeff Garcia, Erik Kramer, Jim Harbaugh, Sean Salisbury, Rodney Peete and Kurt Kittner.
• 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.
• He 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.

JEFF BOWER, Southern Mississippi (73-52-1 - .583 in his 12th season at USM) - This will be Bower's second meeting with Illinois after a 24-7 win over the Illini in 1997 ... He enters his 12th season as the head coach and 24th as part of the Golden Eagle program ... Bower began his coaching career at USM in 1976 as a graduate assistant before becoming a fulltime quarterback/ receivers coach in 1978 ... He departed for a five year stint at SMU and one season with Wake Forest, before returning as the assistant head coach at Southern for the 1988-89 seasons ... He has led the Golden Eagles to five bowl games (11 years) and three conference titles (in seven years in C-USA).

ILLINOIS/USM SERIES HISTORY

• This will be the second meeting between the two schools, with Southern Miss holding a 1-0 lead in the series.
• The first game in the series, a 24-7 Golden Eagle win, was Ron Turner's first at the helm of the Illini program on Sept. 6, 1997.
• Late in the first half of that game, Illinois running back Robert Holcombe broke the school record for all-time rushing yards. He entered the game with 2,852 yards needing 36 to top Thomas Rook's 2,887 mark from 1982-85. Holcombe gained five yards on a third-and-one play on the sixth offensive drive of the game. He went on to gain 91 yards on 20 carries during that game and finished his career with 4,105 yards.
• In the last meeting, USM placekicker Tim Hardaway struck first with a 20-yard field goals with 7:10 left to go in the first half for a 3-0 halftime lead. The Golden Eagles scored three straight touchdowns before the Illini jumped on the board with a 22-yard TD pass from Mark Hoekstra to George McDonald-Ashford.
• The Illini have no members of the team from the state of Mississippi and Southern Miss sport none from the state of Illinois.

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A CATCH STREAK

• Brandon Lloyd 17 games, last game without a catch vs. Penn State in 2000
• Walter Young 14 games, last game without a catch vs. Ohio State in 2000
• Carey Davis 13 games, last game without a catch vs. Northwestern in 2000

OFFENSIVE TEAM NOTES

• Against Missouri, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd topped the 100-yard mark for the eighth time in his career, improving to third on Illinois' all-time list. He needs eight more this season to tie All-American David Williams' 16-game effort from 1983-85.
• Junior quarterback Dustin Ward became the 12th different quarterback to start a season-opennig game for the Illini since 1980 against the Tigers of Mizzou. Among those 12 signal callers are five NFL draft picks and eight of the top-10 passing yardage leaders in school history.
• From 1999-2001, the Illini offense averaged 30.6 points per game, including eight games over the 40-point mark.
• The Illinois rushing game has topped 1,700 yards in each of the last three seasons, the most in back-to-back-to-back seasons since the 1971-1975 seasons.

DEFENSIVE TEAM NOTES

• Last season, Illinois set a school record with 40 sacks. Contributing to the 40 sacks were 18 different players, 12 of which returned for this season. The Illini defensive line used a rotation of 11 players during the Big Ten Championship run, eight of those are back this season.
• The cornerback duo of Eugene Wilson and Christian Morton are rated by preseason publications as among the best in the country. Wilson led the nation in passes broken up with 30 and Morton finished second with 26. The pair also recorded a total of 10 interceptions last year, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
• Eugene Wilson has intercepted 10 passes in his Illini career, which ranks eighth in the Illinois record books. He needs three to improve to third on the list. Hall of Famer Al Brosky holds the school record with 30 in his three-year career. His 10 picks are also the fourth-most among active defensive backs in the NCAA.

DEFENSIVE PERSONNEL NOTES

• joe bevis, LB, Jr. - Had three tackles and recovered a fumble vs. Missouri ... Former running back in high school ... Third on the team with 78 tackles in 2001 ... Registered seven tackles-for-loss and three sacks ... Had six quarterback hurries including three in the win over Penn State.

• jerry schumacher, LB, Sr. - Team Captain ... Recorded 10 tackles in season opener ... Preseason first team All-Big Ten pick ... Butkus Awards Watch list ... Most experienced front-seven performer with 23 career starts and 34 career games played ... Led team in tackles (125), solo tackles (85), tackles-for-loss (17) and sacks (6) ... Has registered 100+ tackles each of the last-two seasons ... Had a career high 17 tackles vs. Minnesota.

• derrick strong, de, Jr. - Blocked an extra point vs. Missouri ... Had three tackles, one for loss in opener ... "He's one of the best if anybody cares about my opinion. He's ahead of Greg Ellis (No. 8 overall pick in 1998 out of North Carolina) at the same stage as a junior. His first step is as good as anybody, including (Julius) Peppers. He's an explosive guy off the snap." -- Illinois defensive line coach Donnie Thompson and former North Carolina defensive line coach where he coached five first-round draft picks, Ebenezer Ekuuban (1999) Ellis (1998), Marcus Jones (1996), Peppers (2002) and Ryan Sims (2002) ... In his first season as a full-time starter ... Had four sacks and five quarterback hurries despite not playing in third-down situations in 2001 ... Forced three fumbles last season ... Broke up three passes at the line of scrimmage ... Hails from same high school, Mt. Carmel, as former Illini All-American DE Simeon Rice.

• eugene wilson, Cb, sr. - Team Captain ... Registered seven solo tackles and one PBU against Mizzou ... Physical bump-and-run corner ... 2002 Playboy All-American ... Preseason first-team All-American by several publications ... Nation's leader in 2001 with 30 passes broken up ... Also intercepted six passes as a junior ... Returning All-Big Ten selection ... Holds the school record for passes broken up in a career and single season ... National Defensive Player of the Week vs. Penn State with three interceptions ... Finished third on the team with 70 tackles ... Also the team's top punt returner with 626 career punt return yards and one TD.

• brett kautter, dt, Sr. - Front four's most experienced down lineman starting all 12 games in 2001 and playing in 28 career games ... Had four tackles in season opener ... Excellent run defender who had 22 tackles last season, five of which went for a loss ... Registered five quarterback hurries and a sack at Michigan.

• christian morton, cb, Jr. - Blocked a field goal vs. Missouri ... Converted quarterback that started all 12 games in 2001 ... Preseason All-Big Ten selection by several publications ... Second in the nation with 26 passes broken up ... Second on the team with four interceptions last season ... Returned two of those picks for touchdowns, 33 yards vs. Louisville and 62 yards vs. Purdue.

• ty myers, LB, Jr. - Had five tackles vs. the Tigers ... Great coverage linebacker ... Picked off two passes at Ohio State returning one six yards for a score ... Broke up six passes in 2001 ... Had three sacks last season, one vs. Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio State ... Had four quarterback hurries.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• Redshirt-freshman Steve Weatherford drew kickoff duties in the season opener and kicked four for an average starting field position of the 20.2 yard line for the Tigers.
• Illinois used three kickers in 2001, combining for 22-of-28 field goals (.785). JJ Tubbs started the season making 5-of-8 before suffering from a back injury. Peter Christofilakos took over the starting duties vs. Louisville and was near perfect from under 40 yards with 12-of-13 made. John Gockman kicked all field goals over 40 yards, making 5-of-7, including two 50+ yarders.
• The Illinois special teams units picked up right where they left off in 2001 with two blocked kicks vs. the Tigers of Missouri ... Christian Morton batted down a 16-yard field goal attempt and Derrick Strong got a hand on an extra point attempt ... Last season, Illinois blocked a school-record seven kicks (three punts, two field goals and two extra points).
• Punt returner Eugene Wilson needs 126 yards to set the Illinois career yardage record.

SPECIAL TEAMS PERSONNE NOTES

matt minnes, P, so. - Started first game as punter vs. Missouri ... Booted seven punts for a 39.4 average ... Landed one inside the 20 and hit a long of 49 yards ... Sat out the 2001 season after suffering from a near-fatal bacterial infection. He was in critical condition in a hospital in Connecticut when his fever hit 106 degrees and lost 25 pounds.

peter christofilakos, Pk, jr - Lou Groza Award Candidate ... Was 2 for 2 on extra point attempts in season opener ... Did not attempt a field goal ... Has made 31 consecutive PATs dating back to last season vs. Louisville ... Lou Groza semifinalist in 2001.