Dec. 25, 2014
QUICK HITS
•Bowl Bound: The Fighting Illini (6-6 overall, 3-5 B1G West) return to a bowl game for the first time since 2011 and will face Louisiana Tech (8-5, 7-1 CUSA West) in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 26 in the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium (Noon CT on ESPN).
•Finishing Strong: Illinois won its last two games and three of its last five to become bowl eligible after an emphatic 47-33 rivalry game win over Northwestern on Nov. 29. Two of those three victories came over No. 25 Minnesota, which is playing in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, and Pinstripe Bowl-bound Penn State.
•The Hat is Back: With their win over in-state rival Northwestern in the regular season finale, the Fighting Illini re-claimed the "Land of Lincoln" trophy, a bronze replica of Abraham Lincoln's stovepipe hat, in the sixth battle for the relatively new rivalry trophy (it replaced the longtime Sweet Sioux Tomahawk trophy in 2009). The Illini last held the trophy in 2011 with a 38-35 come-from-behind win.
•Big `O': Illinois scored 47 points in the win at Northwestern, the highest total of the Beckman Era and most by the Illini since putting up 48 against Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Nov. 20, 2010. The Orange and Blue rushed for a season-high 291 yards, the most since running for 308 yards at Indiana on Oct. 8, 2011.
•Things are looking up: Head coach Tim Beckman has the Fighting Illini trending upward, as Illinois is bowl-eligible with a 6-6 record after going 2-10 in 2012 and 4-8 last season.
•Super Frosh: WR Mike Dudek is having the most prolific season for a freshman receiver in school history. Dudek has 69 receptions for 965 yards this season, which both break Arrelious Benn's previous freshman marks of 54 catches and 676 yards in 2007 and place him in Illinois' season top-10 rankings. He is tied with David Williams for the freshman TD receptions record (6).
»Dudek is a first-team Freshman All-American by ESPN, USA Today, Scout, 247Sports and Phil Steele with more possibly to come.
»Dudek leads FBS freshmen in receiving yards (80.4 ypg), ranking 26th overall and third in the Big Ten.
»Dudek also ranks third in the nation with 354 fourth-quarter receiving yards and with 10 plays of 15+ yards in the fourth quarter.
»Dudek is on the verge of becoming the eighth player in school history to record a 1,000 yard season as a receiver, needing 35 yards in the bowl game to reach the milestone.
•O'Toole Time: After serving as a backup for most of his Illini career, senior QB Reilly O'Toole has put the team on his back down the stretch, leading the Illini to gutsy wins over Minnesota, Penn State and Northwestern in the final five games to lock up a bowl berth. More on O'Toole on page 11.
•Returning History: Junior DB/RET V'Angelo Bentley is the first Illinois player in school history to record a kick return, punt return, interception return and fumble return for TD in his career. He is one of 18 players in the country with two or more defensive touchdowns this season. See page 11 for more on Bentley.
•Punching It Out: Senior STAR Earnest Thomas III and junior LB Mason Monheim both have forced seven career fumbles, tied for for fourth place on UI's career fumbles forced list. The other four players on the list are All-Americans: Simeon Rice (13 FF), Whitney Mercilus (11), Dana Howard (8) and Kevin Hardy (7).
»Monheim leads the Big Ten and is tied for 12th in FBS with four forced fumbles this season.
•Fergy Fast: Junior RB Josh Ferguson is one of only two active FBS players with more than 1,800 career rushing yards (1,828) and 1,000 receiving yards (1,173). Arizona State's D.J. Foster is the other.
•DuVernois a Weapon: Senior punter Justin DuVernois is second in the Big Ten and 14th in the nation in punting average (44.4 ypp), just behind Steve Weatherford's single-season UI record of 45.4. As a team, the Illini lead the Big Ten and rank 14th in the nation in net punting average (40.34 ypp).
•Tough Slate: Illinois' schedule is ranked the 13th most difficult in the nation and strongest in the Big Ten, according to official NCAA statistics. The Illini have faced nine bowl-eligible opponents, including all three FBS non-conference foes, tied for ninth-most in the nation and tied for most in the Big Ten with Purdue.
•Comeback Kids: Illinois has shown great fortitude throughout the season, posting five comeback wins on the year. The Illini trailed entering the fourth quarter in four of their six wins and lost the lead against Penn State early in the final period before coming back to win all five games.
ILLINOIS BOWL FACTS
• The Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl will mark Illinois' 18th bowl appearance.
• Illinois has an all-time record of 8-9 in bowl games.
•Illinois is one of only two Big Ten teams with a bowl winning streak along with Michigan State, as the Illini won the 2010 Texas Bowl over Baylor, 38-14, and the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger over UCLA, 20-14.
•This year ends a string of four straight bowl games where Illinois faced an opponent in its home state. In 2011, the Illini faced UCLA in San Francisco in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl; in 2010, it was Baylor in Houston at the Texas Bowl; in 2008, it was USC in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl; and in 2002, the Orange and Blue faced LSU in New Orleans in the Sugar Bowl. Though it should be noted that Ruston, La., the home of Louisiana Tech, is only 250 miles from Dallas, while Champaign is over 800 miles away.
| All-Time Illinois Bowl Results (8-9) |
Date |
Bowl |
Opponent |
W/L |
Score |
| Jan. 1, 1947 |
Rose Bowl |
UCLA |
W |
45-14 |
| Jan. 1, 1952 |
Rose Bowl |
Stanford |
W |
40-7 |
| Jan. 1, 1964 |
Rose Bowl |
Washington |
W |
17-7 |
| Dec. 29, 1982 |
Liberty Bowl |
Alabama |
L |
15-21 |
| Jan. 2, 1984 |
Rose Bowl |
UCLA |
L |
9-45 |
| Dec. 31, 1985 |
Peach Bowl |
Army |
L |
29-31 |
| Dec. 29, 1988 |
All-American Bowl |
Florida |
L |
10-14 |
| Jan. 1, 1990 |
Citrus Bowl |
Virginia |
W |
31-21 |
| Jan. 1, 1991 |
Hall of Fame Bowl |
Clemson |
L |
0-30 |
| Dec. 31, 1991 |
John Hancock Bowl |
UCLA |
L |
3-6 |
| Dec. 30, 1992 |
Holiday Bowl |
Hawaii |
L |
17-27 |
| Dec. 31, 1994 |
Liberty Bowl |
East Carolina |
W |
30-0 |
| Dec. 30, 1999 |
MicronPC.com Bowl |
Virginia |
W |
63-21 |
| Jan. 1, 2002 |
Sugar Bowl |
LSU |
L |
34-47 |
| Jan. 1, 2008 |
Rose Bowl |
USC |
L |
17-49 |
| Dec. 29, 2010 |
Texas Bowl |
Baylor |
W |
38-14 |
| Dec. 31, 2011 |
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl |
UCLA |
W |
20-14 |
FACTS ABOUT THE ZAXBY'S HEART OF DALLAS BOWL
The Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl is holding its fifth postseason game, and first with Zaxby's as the title sponsor. It will be played at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. Previously, the game was known as the TicketCity Bowl in 2011 and 2012, and the Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank in 2013. The Big Ten has been affiliated with the Heart of Dallas Bowl since its inception in 2010 but did not have a team available in 2014.
Past Heart of Dallas Bowl Results
2014 - North Texas 36, UNLV 14
2013 - Oklahoma State 58, Purdue 14
2012 - Houston 30, Penn State 14
2011 - Texas Tech 45, Northwestern 38
SERIES NOTES VS. LATECH
•Illinois trails the all-time series with Louisiana Tech 1-0, with the Bulldogs earning a 52-24 victory in Champaign on Sept. 22, 2012, just the fourth game of head coach Tim Beckman's tenure with the Illini.
•Louisiana Tech defensive end Houston Bates started all 12 games at Illinois in 2013, ranking second on the team with 12.0 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. The Covington, Louisiana, native transferred to Louisiana Tech following the season with one year of eligibility remaining. Since he earned his undergraduate degree from illinois, Bates was immediately eligitble to play at LaTech.
HIGHLIGHTS AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
•RB Donovonn Young had a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of the 2012 game, pulling the Illini within 21-17 at halftime. Young finished with 78 rushing yards and 30 receiving yards for the game.
•QB Reilly O'Toole took over for an injured Nathan Scheelhaase late in the first quarter of that 2012 contest and posted a solid effort, completing 19-of-25 passes for 120 yards and rushing 12 times for 31 yards and a TD.
•RB Josh Ferguson posted a then-career high 10 catches for 84 yards against the Bulldogs in 2012, also finishing with 27 yards on the ground and four kick returns for 69 yards, for a total of 180 all-purpose yards in the game.
•LB Mason Monheim had seven tackles and a half-TFL against LA Tech in 2012. Monheim, STAR Earnest Thomas III and LB Mike Svetina - who hasn't played this season because of an injury - are the only three defensive players to record a tackle against the Bulldogs in 2012 who are still on the Illini roster.
SEVEN ILLINI GARNER BIG TEN HONORS
Senior punter Justin DuVernois and freshman WR Mike Dudek both earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades following the season, while five more Illini earned honorable mentioin recognition. Sophomore safety Taylor Barton, junior DB V'Angelo Bentley, junior OL Ted Karras, junior LB Mason Monheim and junior DE Jihad Ward all earned honorable mention recognition from the coaches, media or both. Senior quarterback Reilly O'Toole picked up his first Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honor.
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
The Illini have excelled in the classroom under head coach Tim Beckman, a major focus of Beckman's program-building.
•Twelve current Illini student-athletes will earn their degrees in Dec. 2014, including six with eligibility remaining.
•Twenty-one players earned degrees in 2014 after 16 did so in 2013 and 15 in 2012.
•Illinois has broken its school record for Academic All-Big Ten selections in each of Beckman's three seasons in Champaign. Prior to Beckman being hired, the school record was 12 (2000 & 2009). Since then, the Illini have had 18 (2012), 21 (2013) and now 27 in 2014.
•For four consecutive semesters, at least 40 football student-athletes have posted at least a 3.0 grade-point-average. In the same time frame, Illinois' team GPA also has risen steadily.
Semester 3.0+ GPA
Fall 2012 42
Spring 2013 51
Fall 2013 43
Spring 2014 41
Fall 2014 54* (program record)
» Complete Illini Bowl Notes and Media Guide
