Illini Set To Host No. 14 Michigan
September 23, 2002 | Football
Sept. 23, 2002
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GAME 5
ILLINOIS (1-3) vs.
#14 MICHIGAN (3-1)
September 28, 2002
2:30 p.m. CT (ABC)
Memorial Stadium (69,249)
Champaign, Illinois
FOR OPENERS
Saturday's game will be the 86th meeting between the Fighting
Illini and the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan leads the series with a
62-21-2 record, including a 30-11-1 mark in Champaign. Illinois head
coach Ron Turner is 1-2 vs. the Wolverines, while Michigan head coach
Lloyd Carr has a 4-1 record vs. the Illini.
The Illini will be facing their first ranked opponent of the season in No. 14 Michigan. Illinois is 24-86-3 vs. teams ranked in the Top-25 all-time and was 3-2 vs. those foes in 2001. The Illini beat then-No. 25 Louisville, No. 15 Purdue and No. 25 Ohio State, while falling to No. 17 Michigan and No. 12 LSU.
The Illini have won seven of their last eight home games, including a perfect 6-0 record in 2001. Illinois is 1-1 in 2002 at Memorial Stadium.
Illinois senior cornerback Eugene Wilson broke the school's career punt return yardage record with his 21-yard return vs. San Jose State. His 757 total yards top Darryl Usher's 756 yards from 1985-87.
Against San Jose State the Illini topped the 600-yard total offense mark for the second straight week, after posting 600 yards vs. Arkansas State and 602 yards against the Spartans. Averaging 462.2 yards per game, Illinois is second in the Big Ten and 11th in the nation in total offense.
The team's passing offense, which averages 286.2 yards per contest is the best in the Big Ten and ranks 15th in the nation. Illinois quarterback Jon Beutjer is second in the conference in passing efficiency, despite playing only two and three quarters games.
Beutjer ranks 10th in the nation in passing efficiency with a 156.14. His efficiency numbers in each of the last two games rank among the best in Illinois history. He recorded a 250.17 vs. San Jose State, the third-best single game performance and his 195.00 vs. San Jose State was the 10th highest. He has thrown for 901 yards in only two and three quarters games, thrown nine touchdowns and only three interceptions. He is completing 60.6 percent of his passes and broke the Memorial Stadium record with 426 yards passing vs. San Jose State.
THE COACHES' CORNER
RON TURNER, Illinois (27-34 in his sixth year at Illinois, 34-38
overall, 15-25 in the Big Ten) - Saturday will be the Turner's fourth
meeting in six years with the Michigan Wolverines, posting a 1-2 mark
in the previous three contests. His sole victory over the Maize and
Blue came in 1999 when the Illini scored 28 second-half points to
win, 35-29, in Ann Arbor.
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 a great offensive mind, Turner 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 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.
LLOYD CARR, michigan (69-21 in his eighth year at Michigan, 43-13 in the Big Ten) - Saturday's contest will be the sixth meeting with the Illini for Carr who has a 4-1 record vs. the Illini. He led the Wolverines to a national title in 1997 and three conference championships. Carr began his career at Eastern Michigan in 1976 before joining the Illinois staff from 1978-79. He returned to Michigan in 1980 and served as secondary coach and defensive coordinator, prior to taking over the program in 1995.
ILLINOIS/MICHIGAN SERIES HISTORY
This is the 86th meeting between Illinois and Michigan with the
Wolverines holding a 62-21-2 advantage overall and 30-11-1 in
Champaign. In the last 10 years, Michigan has won five and tied
another in eight meetings. Illinois won games in 1999 and 1993, both
games were played in Ann Arbor. Illinois' last win in Champaign was
in 1983, 16-6.
In Illinois' last win over Michigan, the Wolverines led 27-7 at halftime before the Illini put together 28-straight points, an Illinois safety gave UM two points in the last seconds of the game, for a 35-29 win. The win led to an Illinois berth in the Micronpc.com Bowl that season.
In 1993, it took a Simeon Rice forced fumble to set up a Jim Klein touchdown reception from QB Johnny Johnson with 0:34 remaining for a 24-21 win at "The Big House."
The last meeting for the two schools was a 45-20 win for Michigan in the 2001 conference opener. It proved to be Illinois' sole loss of the regular season en route to a Big Ten title and trip to the Nokia Sugar Bowl.
The first meeting between the two teams was in 1898 in Detroit, where the Wolverines won a 12-5 ball game. Illinois won four in a row over UM from 1950-53 and then again put together back-to-back wins in 1957 and '58.
The Illini only have one player from the state of Michigan in freshman cornerback Sharriff Gillon (Detroit, Mich./St. Martin DePorres) and the Wolverines have six on the roster from the state of Illinois, most notably starting offensive lineman Tony Pape (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Hinsdale South). Also on the Michigan two deep is starter DE Dan Rumishek (Addison, Ill./Addison Trail) and WR Jason Avant (Chicago, Ill./Carver).
ILLINI CAREER VS. THE WOLVERINES
Brandon Lloyd (2 games, 8 rec., 108 yds) three rec. for 54 yards
in 2001 five rec. for 54 yards in 1999.
Walter Young (3 games, 6 rec., 112 yds, 1 TD) his touchdown began the comeback in 1999 with 3:20 in the third quarter he caught a 31-yard TD reception on a fourth down play best game was three catches for 60 yards in 2001.
Greg Lewis (2 games, 7 rec., 152 yds, 1 TD) Scored on a five yard pass from Dustin Ward in the fourth quarter in 2001 Had 107 yards on four catches in 2000, including a 40-yard grab.
Antoineo Harris (2 games, 24 carries, 84 yds, 1 TD) Scored on a three-yard run in the second quarter of 2001 to even the score at 7 apiece Had 56 yards that game on 17 carries.
