Nov. 1, 2004
Illinois vs. Indiana Live Game Coverage
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FOR OPENERS - Illinois and Indiana will meet Saturday for the 62nd time in the two schools' history. Illinois leads the all-time series with a 40-18-3 advantage since the first meeting in 1899. Illinois also owns a 26-7-1 advantage in games played in Champaign. Illinois carries a nine-game winning streak at home over the Hoosiers into Saturday's game. Indiana's last win at Illinois came in 1979.
Saturday's game is Senior Day. Fourteen seniors will be honored prior to the game -- WR Ade Adeyemo, OL Bucky Babcock, QB Jon Beutjer, LB Mike Gawelek, CB Kelvin Hayden, DB Taman Jordan, OL Bryan Koch, WR Mark Kornfeld, DT Mike Maloney, TE Anthony McClellan, P Matt Minnes, DE Mike O'Brien, C Duke Preston and LB Matt Sinclair.
Four of Illinois' six Big Ten games have been against ranked opponents - Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa. And while Michigan State and Minnesota were not ranked at the time Illinois played them, both schools are currently receiving votes in the polls (Minnesota in the Coaches Poll and Michigan State in the AP Poll). Those six Big Ten opponents own a combined league record of 23-9 (.719), with four of those opponents sitting atop the Big Ten standings. Michigan (6-0) and Wisconsin (5-0) are undefeated in conference play, Iowa is in third place (4-1) and Michigan State is tied for fourth (3-2).
Junior Steve Weatherford is averaging 45.6 yards per punt this season, which ranks fourth in the nation and second in the Big Ten. He is on pace to break his own school single-season punting average record of 44.5 yards that he set last year. Weatherford put together the school's third-best single-game punting performance against Michigan State on Oct. 9 when he averaged 53.2 yards on five punts. Last week against Iowa, he booted a career-long 79-yarder, which ranks as the eighth longest punt in school history.
Weatherford was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance at Minnesota on Oct. 23. Weatherford totaled a career-high 372 yards on eight punts, averaging 46.5 yards per punt. Five of his eight punts were inside the 20-yard line, including three downed inside the 10. Four of Weatherford's punts went for 50 or more yards, highlighted by a 57-yarder. Only one of his eight punts was returned.
The Illini lead the nation with the fewest penalties assessed. The team averages 3.7 penalties per game (33-283) and 31.4 yards per game.
Sophomore Pierre Thomas ranks 24th in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten in all-purpose yardage (1,259), averaging 139.9 yards per game, with 577 rushing, 595 return yards and 87 receiving. He needs just 26 more yards to break into the Top-10 on the Illinois single-season all-purpose yards list.
Thomas also ranks 22nd in the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 25.9 yards per return. He returned the opening kickoff against Western Michigan 99 yards for a touchdown and followed up that performance with a 72-yard return against Purdue. Thomas is just the second player in school history, along with Red Grange, to record two career kickoff returns over 70 yards. His 132 return yards vs. WMU ranked fourth in the school record book and his 121 yards against Purdue ranked 10th. With 595 yards through nine games, Thomas ranks second on the Illinois single-season kickoff return yardage list. He is 141 yards shy of equaling the school record of 736 yards set by George McDonald-Ashford in 1996. Just 15 games into his career, Thomas already ranks ninth on Illinois' career kickoff return yardage list with 729.
Senior offensive lineman Bucky Babcock has the longest tenure on the Illini offense this season. He is in his fourth season as a starter and this week will start his 46th career game, which ranks third in the Illini record books. The school record for starts by any player is 48 by offensive lineman Tim Simpson from 1988-91.
Senior Kelvin Hayden is well on his way to accomplishing a rare statistical feat of leading Illinois in a defensive category one year after leading his team in an offensive category. In 2003 as a starting wide receiver, Hayden led the Illini with 52 receptions. This season as a starting cornerback, Hayden leads Illinois with three interceptions.
Sophomore running back E.B. Halsey needs just 32 yards rushing to become Illinois' 31st career 1,000-yard rusher. Last season, he played in only nine games and recorded 525 yards on 140 carries. In eight games of action this season, he has 102 carries and 461 yards. Thomas is right on Halsey's heels with 810 career yards, needing 190 to reach 1,000.
Seven true-freshmen have played this season - PK Jason Reda, DB Charles Bailey, DB Justin Harrison, FB Brock Bolen, DE Xavier Fulton, LB Russ Weil and LS Kyle Knezetic. In addition to those seven, 20 other first-year players have gotten playing time this season.
THE COACHES' CORNER - Ron Turner, Illinois - (34-56 in his eighth year at Illinois, 41-60 overall, 19-43 in the Big Ten). Turner's 34 wins at Illinois ranks fourth on the all-time coaching list. Turner is 4-3 all-time vs. Indiana, with wins over the Hoosiers in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002.
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.
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.
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 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.
GERRY DINARDO, INDIANA - (59-73-1 in his 12th year overall; 8-24 in his third year at Indiana; 3-16 in the Big Ten) DiNardo is in his third season at the helm of the Indiana football program. He became the Hoosier coach after stints at LSU and Vanderbilt. He took LSU to three bowls during his career and has been a part of two national championship teams with Colorado as an assistant and Notre Dame as a player. DiNardo is 1-1 against the Illini, following a 45-14 loss in 2002 and a 17-14 win last season.
ILLINOIS/INDIANA - THE LAST TIME OUT 4 11/8/03 -- BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Freshman running back Marcus Mason ran for 102 yards on 25 carries and quarterback Dustin Ward threw two touchdown passes, but the Fighting Illini fell 17-14 to Indiana. Ward's first touchdown toss was the end result of a 49-second drive to close out the first half. On first and goal from the six-yard line, Ward floated a pass to the left side of the end zone which McGoey hauled in for his first touchdown catch of the season. In the third quarter, Ward found junior wide receiver Ade Adeyemo from 34 yards out to give the Illini a 14-7 lead. Illinois had a chance to break the game open at the start of the fourth quarter, but a 52-yard punt return for a touchdown by Christian Morton was called back due to a holding penalty. After the penalty, the Illini were held to 27 yards on their next three possessions. Indiana scored on its first possession of the game, but was unable to mount any more substantial drives until the fourth quarter. After an Indiana field goal made the score 14-10, the Illini were forced into two straight three-and-out possessions, with the second one setting up Indiana's game-winning drive that ended with an eight-yard run by quarterback Matt LoVecchio. The Illini had 24 seconds to try and tie the game, but, after moving to their own 38-yard line following a defensive pass interference call, Ward's final pass was intercepted deep in Indiana's territory as time expired. Scoring Summary First Quarter- IND: Green-Ellis, B. 1 yd run (Robertson kick), 9:41 (12 pl. 76 yds., 5:19); Second Quarter- ILL: McGoey 6 yd pass from Ward (Gockman kick), 0:08 (6pl., 62 yds., 0:49); Third Quarter- ILL: Adeyemo 34 yd pass from Ward (Gockman kick), 2:32 (8 pl., 69 yds., 3:34) Fourth Quarter- IND: Robertson 40 yd FG,8:56 (8 pl., 56yds., 2:41); IND: LoVecchio 8 yd run (Robertson kick), 0:24 (12pl., 66 yds., 2:28).
TEAM STATISTICS - First Downs: ILL 19, IND 24; Rushes-Yards: ILL 42-178, IND 51-195; Passing Yards: ILL 163, IND 161; Comp-Att-Int: ILL 15-21-1, IND 17-24-0; Total Yards: ILL 341, IND 356; Punts-Avg: ILL 5-45.2, IND 6-38.8; Kickoff Returns: ILL 3-40, IND 3-44; Penalties-Yards: ILL 9-79, IND 8-92; Fumbles-Lost: ILL 1-1, IND 3-0; Sacks by: ILL 2-15, IND 1-15; Third-down Conv.: ILL 4-of-12, IND 4-of-14; Time of Possession: ILL 27:39, IND 32:21. INDIVIDUAL Leaders RUSHING: ILL- Mason 23-102; C. Davis 12-46; McGoey 3-30; Ward 4-0. IND- Grenn-Ellis 25-98-1; Taylor 11-62; LoVecchio 14-36-1; Team 1 (minus 1). PASSING: ILL- Ward 15-21-1-2-163. IND- LoVecchio 17-24-0-0-161. RECEIVING: ILL- McGoey 7-47-1; Adeyemo 3-52-1; C. Davis 2-31; Kornfeld 2-30; Bryant 1-3. IND- Roby 8-81; Halterman 3-19; Spencer 1-20; Haney 1-15; Taylor 1-15; Thompson 1-5; Pannozzo 1-4; Green-Ellis 1-2. Tackles: ILL - Sinclair 10, 1-14; Mason 10; Strong 8, 1-1; Jackson 7; Williams 6; Moss 4; Matha 3; Gilstrap 3. IND- Killion 10; Meyers 9; Henry 9; Stone 8; Jones 5; Powers 5; Adeyanju 4; Gonzalez 3.
WEATHERFORD-A KICKER FOR ALL SEASONS - In nine games punting this season, junior Steve Weatherford is averaging 45.6 yards, which ranks fourth in the nation and second in the Big Ten. He is on pace to break his own school single-season punting average record of 44.5 yards that he set last year. Weatherford has 17 punts over 50 yards and all but five punts that started in Illinois territory have been for over 40 yards. He has kicked five 60-plus punts, highlighted by a career-long 79-yarder vs. Iowa on Oct. 30 which ranks as the eighth longest punt in school history. 4 He is a strong candidate for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation's best punter. Voting begins Nov. 7. 4 His 53.2 punting average vs. Michigan State was the third-best performance in school history. He had five punts vs. the Spartans of distances of 48, 53, 51, 54 and 60 yards.
Twenty-seven of his 41 kicks on the season have been unreturnable (66%) and 15 have been pinned inside the opponent 20 yardline. Opponents average the start of their drives following punts at their own 20 yardline. Only 17 opponent drives after punts have started past the 20 yardline.
Weatherford also handles all kickoffs and long-range field goals. He has connected on a 48-yard field goal (the first of his career) and averages 62.3 yards per kickoff. He has 15 touchbacks.
Weatherford set the school record for punting average in 2003 when he averaged 44.5 yards per kick, which ranked 12th in the nation. He is currently averaging 43.9 yards per punt for his career, which is on pace to set the Illinois career record.
LONGEST PLAYS OF THE YEAR - Pass: 52, Jon Beutjer to Kendrick Jones vs. Florida A&M (9/4/04)
Rush: 69, Pierre Thomas vs. Michigan State (10/16/04) 4 TD Pass: 28, Brad Bower to Kendrick Jones vs. Western Michigan (9/18/04)
TD Rush: 24, Pierre Thomas vs. Florida A&M (9/4/04) 4 Kickoff Return: 99, Pierre Thomas vs. Western Michigan (9/18/04)
Punt Return: 40, E.B. Halsey vs. Western Michigan (9/18/04)
Punt: 79, Steve Weatherford vs. Iowa (10/30/04)
Field Goal: 48, Steve Weatherford vs. Purdue (9/25/04)
SCORING BY ANY MEANS POSSIBLE - Last season, E.B. Halsey became the first Illini player since 1972 to score a touchdown in three different ways when he reached the endzone rushing, receiving and on a punt return. Sophomore Pierre Thomas has followed in Halsey's footsteps this season, also scoring three ways. Thomas has seven TDs in 2004 with five rushing touchdowns, one touchdown reception, and a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Thomas is the ninth player in school history to score a touchdown three different ways in the same season: Red Grange, 1923 (punt return, rush, reception) Red Grange, 1925 (kickoff return, rush, reception) Don Greenwood, 1944 (kickoff return, rush, interception return) Buddy Young, 1944 (punt return, rush, reception) Paul Patterson, 1944 (punt return, rush, reception) Eddie McGovern, 1943 (interception return, rush, reception) Johnny Karras, 1949 (kickoff return, rush, reception) George Uremovich, 1972 (kickoff return, rush, reception) E.B. Halsey, 2003 (punt return, rush, reception) Pierre Thomas, 2004 (kickoff return, rush, reception)
SUPER SOPHOMORE CLASS - When it's all said and done the incoming class of 2003 may turn out to be one of the most successful in school history. In their first season on campus, eight players saw time either as starters (Lonnie Hurst, Kelvin Hayden, E.B. Halsey, Pierre Thomas and Alan Ball) or in key back-up roles (Adam Wilk, Arthur Boyd, Marcus Mason).
In their second season, 18 of the 24 signees are represented on the depth chart. The following players (7) from that class are starters this season: QB Brad Bower, LG Martin O'Donnell, RB E.B. Halsey, CB Alan Ball, CB Kelvin Hayden, LB Anthony Thornhill and DT Chris Norwell. The following players are also listed on the two-deep and have seen time this year: LT Jim LaBonte, LG Kevin Gage, LB Joe Mele, RT James Ryan, RB Pierre Thomas, FB Brian Grzelakowski, WR Lonnie Hurst (prior to injury), DE Arthur Boyd, DT Charles Myles, LB J Leman and SS Kevin Mitchell.
TRADING PLACES - Head coach Ron Turner shocked his defensive coaching staff one winter day when he opened up the offensive depth chart for the defense to raid. Defensive coordinator Mike Mallory and staff immediately "drafted" former receiver Kelvin Hayden, former running backs Morris Virgil and James Cooper and former left tackle Chris Norwell, for their side of the ball.
Hayden made the move to cornerback this season after leading the Illini in receiving yardage last year with 52 catches and over 500 yards. He isn't a stranger to the secondary position, however, after playing defensive back at Hubbard High School. In his first game on the defensive side, Hayden forced three turnovers, intercepting two passes (one for a 23-yard TD return) and forcing a fumble. All three turnovers resulted in scores (17 points). Hayden is fifth on the team in tackles this season with 57, leads the Illini with three interceptions and has five pass breakups.
A very talented running back as a sophomore and junior, Morris Virgil has started all nine games at strong safety, while James Cooper has played in all nine as a backup at the cornerback position. Virgil is second on the team with 68 tackles on the season, two TFLs, one interception and five PBUs, and Cooper has 21 stops, two sacks, including one forced fumble and a pass breakup.
Redshirt - freshman Chris Norwell was slated to compete at left tackle this spring, but instead lined up at defensive tackle, adding a big 6-7, 280 pound frame to the line. He was recruited by the Illini as a tight end, but as a high school senior had impressive defensive stats, recording 80 tackles and 33 for loss. Norwell has started all nine games at defensive tackle this season, tallying 35 tackles, two TFLs and three hurries. He also has deflected two passes at the line of scrimmage, one which resulted in a Mike Gawelek interception against UCLA.
Offensive Notes - Sophomore running back Pierre Thomas ranks 24th in the nation and first in the Big Ten in all-purpose yards (139.9 ypg). He leads the team in rushing with 577 yards and has recorded 595 kickoff return yards. In the season opener, Thomas rushed for 143 yards vs. Florida A&M and totaled a career-high 188 yards vs. Michigan State. He has put together two 100+ kickoff return games as well with 121 vs. Purdue and 132 against Western Michigan.
Illinois scored 30 points on Purdue's defense, which ranks 11th in the nation in scoring defense. The Boilers' seven other opponents combined have scored only 85 (12.1 per game).
Illini junior wide receiver Kendrick Jones surpassed the 100-yard mark in his first two games as a starter. He caught three passes for 101 yards against FAMU and six passes for 110 yards against UCLA. The last Illinois receiver to put together back-to-back 100-yard days was Walter Young in the 2002 season when he recorded 114 vs. Wisconsin and 144 yards against Ohio State. Jones, through nine games, has five catches for 40-plus yards. He leads the Illini in receiving yardage, averaging 63.8 ypg.
Quarterback Jon Beutjer has completed over 57 percent of his passes through seven games played. In the season opener, he finished the day 16-of-18 passing for 228 yards and one touchdown. His 89 percent passing was the best of his career and his 213.6 passing effeciency was the sixth-best in school history. Beutjer has thrown seven touchdown passes this season to bring his career total to 38, which is tied for fourth with Tony Eason in the Illinois record books.
The Illini rushed for 296 yards vs. Florida A&M, the most by a UI squad since 1999 when Illinois had 325 rushing yards vs. Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl (12/30/99). The Illini then put up 208 yards rushing against UCLA, the first back-to-back 200-yard rushing performances for the team since the 2002 season when they recorded 215 vs. Purdue and 248 against Indiana.
Illini quarterbacks have connected with 16 different players for complete passes this season.
DEFENSIVE NOTES - In his first career start at cornerback, Kelvin Hayden had two interceptions vs. FAMU. He returned a botched extra point attempt by Michigan State 91 yards for a rare defensive two-point conversion. Hayden tallied his third interception of the season against Michigan. With three picks on the year, Hayden has already surpassed Illinois' entire team total of intereceptions (2) last season.
Illinois held Iowa to 76 yards rushing last weekend, marking the first time Illinois has held a Big Ten opponent under 100 rushing yards since Indiana had 81 yards on Oct. 26, 2002.
True freshman Justin Harrison has had an immediate impact on the Illini defense, playing in all nine games and starting the past four at free safety. Harrison is fourth on the team in tackles with 62 and led the Illini in stops against Wisconsin and Michigan State.
The Illini began the Mike Mallory era as defensive coordinator this season. However, Mallory is not new to the coordinator position after holding the same title at Rhode Island from 1993-95 and at Northern Illinois from 1996-99.
Special Teams Notes - The Illini have two special teams touchdowns this season. The first was a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Pierre Thomas vs. Western Michigan. It marked the third time in the Ron Turner era that a half-opening kickoff has been returned for a TD. The 99-yard run is the second-longest in school history (Eugene Wilson and Travis Williams combined for a 100-yard run against Purdue in 2002) and the longest by a single returner. The second score was a blocked punt by Kevin Mitchell, recovered by Sharriff Abdullah in the endzone vs. Michigan State.
The Illini currently rank 10th in the nation in net punting, averaging 40.5 yards per punt.
The Illini rank 20th in the nation in kickoff return average, with 23.3 yards per return.
Jason Reda became the first Illinois true-freshman placekicker to start in his first collegiate game since Dave Finzer in 1977. He currently is tied for the team lead in scoring with 42 points.
