Nov. 15, 2004
GAME 11
ILLINOIS (3-7, 1-6) vs.
NORTHWESTERN (5-5, 4-3)
Nov. 20, 2004 • 11 a.m. CT (ESPN-Plus)
Illinois vs. Northwestern Live Game Coverage
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FOR OPENERS
Illinois and Northwestern will meet Saturday for the 98th time in the two schools' history.
Illinois leads the all-time series with a 51-41-5 advantage since the first meeting in 1892. Illinois
also owns a 26-23-3 advantage in games played in Evanston.
This weekend, the Illini and Wildcats will play for the right to possess the "Tomahawk" in
the 58th game of the traditional trophy series. The story of the Illinois-Northwestern trophy
dates back to 1945 when the staff members of the two student newspapers conceived the idea of
a wooden Indian trophy. In September 1946 "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 ever since. Illinois leads the trophy series with a 31-24-2 record. The trophy has
resided in Evanston for the past season.
Junior Steve Weatherford is averaging 45.6 yards per punt this season, which ranks third in
the nation and second in the Big Ten. He is a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, given to the
nation's best punter. 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. On Oct. 31 against Iowa, he booted a career-long 79-yarder, which ranks as the eighth
longest punt in school history. He also pinned six of eight punts inside the 20 yardline against
Indiana in the team's win over the Hoosiers.
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 (37-317) and 31.7 yards per game.
Seven of Illinois' 10 opponents to date are now bowl eligible. Among them are Big Ten foes
Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa and non-conference opponent
UCLA.
Sophomore Pierre Thomas ranks 23rd in the NCAA and third in the Big Ten in all-purpose
yardage (1,444), averaging 144.4 yards per game, with 762 rushing, 595 return yards and 87
receiving. He currently ranks sixth, but needs just 86 more yards to move up to second on the
Illinois single-season all-purpose yards list (1,530). The record of 1,818 is held by running back
Keith Jones for his performance during the 1988 season.
Thomas also ranks 20th 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 10 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 16 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 47th career game, which
ranks second in the Illini record books. The school record for starts by any player is 48 by offensive
lineman Tim Simpson from 1988-91. Babcock has only missed one game during his four-year
career, when he sat out the 2002 Nokia Sugar Bowl with a broken hand.
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 and the Big Ten with four interceptions.
Sophomore running back Pierre Thomas needs just 5 yards rushing to become Illinois' 31st
career 1,000-yard rusher. Last season, he played in only six games and recorded 233 yards on 43
carries. In 10 games of action this season, he has 115 carries and 762 yards. E.B. Halsey is right on
Thomas' heels with 972 career yards, needing 28 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 - (35-56 in his eighth year at Illinois, 42-60 overall, 20-43
in the Big Ten). Turner's 35 wins at Illinois ranks fourth on the all-time coaching list. Turner is 4-3
all-time vs. Northwestern, with wins over the Wildcats in 1998, 1999, 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.
RANDY WALKER, NORTHWESTERN - (29-40 in his sixth year at Northwestern,
18-29 in the Big Ten; 88-75-5 in his 15-year collegiate coaching career) Walker is in his sixth season
at Northwestern and led the Wildcats to a share of the Big Ten title in 2000. He is 2-3 against the
Illini in his five contests. He came to NU after a nine-year stint as head coach at Miami University.
He served as an assistant at North Carolina, Miami Univ. and Northwestern during the years of
1976-1989.
ILLINOIS/NORTHWESTERN - THE LAST TIME OUT
11/22/03 -- CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --Jason Wright ran for 251 yards and four touchdowns to lead
Northwestern to a 37-20 victory over Illinois in the season finale for both teams. Noah Herron also carried for
163 yards as the Wildcats turned entirely to their running game in the second half. Quarterback Brett Basanez's
only pass attempt after halftime was nullified by an Illinois penalty. The Illini led at halftime 13-7, but the
Wildcats took over in the third quarter behind Wright and Herron. The two carried the ball for 154 yards on the
next two drives as the Wildcats grabbed a 20-13 lead. Brian Huffman kicked a 38-yard field goal and Marvin
Ward returned an interception 69 yards for Northwestern's other scores. Basanez was 3-of-9 for 24 yards. The
Illini scored the game's first points when John Gockman kicked a 37-yard field goal to cap a 59-yard drive with
8:25 left in the first quarter. It was the first time in nine games that Illinois scored first. On the next drive, faced
with third-and-22, Basanez tried a pass to the right flat, but Illini safety Travis Williams stepped in front of the
Wildcats' Roger Jordan to intercept and ran 32 yards for a touchdown. The Illini scored twice within 1:01 for a
10-0 lead, their biggest lead since the second game of the season when they beat Illinois State 49-22. But
Northwestern got things together on the next drive, handing the ball to Wright four times on a seven-play drive.
Wright carried for 55 of the 59 yards on the drive, scoring the touchdown on a 1-yard run. Dustin Ward left in
the third quarter after hitting 14-of-27 attempts for only 93 yards and three interceptions. Freshman Chris Pazan
replaced him and finished 18-of-28 for 188 yards. Fullback Carey Davis rushed for 51 yards and caught 10 passes
for 44 yards for Illinois. E.B. Halsey ran for 49 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown.
