1. One thing the media will harp on that is ridiculously off base – Did you know Illinois has a quarterback named Juice Williams? Yes, indeed that’s his name… no one in the media apparently cares that this guy hits the broad side of the barn at about a 50% clip. Can he run? Yes, yes he can. Can he throw? Well he did manage to improve his completion percentage from 39% in ‘06 (wha wha whaaaaa?) up to 57% in ’07, but with only 22 TDs against 21 picks in his career… suffice it to say that by bottling him up, this team will bog down in the offensive department. Don’t expect this to be mentioned though, Illinois had a big turnaround last year, and they feature an athletic QB!!! They’ll show highlights of his unconscious game in Columbus (and what a performance it was!) and ignore the fact that this guy simply hasn’t been that good at throwing the football, nor will he have MANBEAST Mendenhall next to him in the backfield. In fact, they’ll likely base his season outlook off of that game and that game alone… oh… what? They HAVE?
2. One thing the media will completely ignore that is integral to this team's success – How about Ron Zook’s complete and utter ineptitude at managing a football game? Great recruiter? Sure! Solid sideline presence on Saturdays? Uhhhh… no. Too many examples to name; let’s just say that as long as he’s there they will bring in talent and he will make gameday decisions that leave Illini fans very confused. How soon do you think you’ll see the mismanagement of his top two quarterbacks by yanking Williams and throwing in Eddie McGee on a whim? 2nd quarter of the Mizzou game? 3rd?
3. Most important contributors on each side of the ball – Whichever running back not named Rashard Mendenhall steps in will be a big question, but I’m going to say that Arrelious Benn will be one of the most important players in this offense. If he can bail Williams out and be any kind of a reliable target, the way you defend Illinois completely changes, the kid is a star waiting to burst out, they just have to get him the football. On defense, I’ll go with Brit Miller, who despite his name is a linebacker… a four year starter at that!
4. Area that scares you as an opponent – The fact that Juice Williams could black out for 60 minutes and play a game like he did in Columbus last year… they really held that ball for over 8 minutes on the final drive? Really?! Shudder…
5. Area that makes you salivate as an opponent – No Rashard Mendenhall and near as anyone else can tell, a quarterback who isn’t going to be picking you apart any time soon… Defenses game-planning against Illinois will put 23 people in the box… at least that’s what USC appeared to do.
6. Random factor that you think will come into play this season – Two things here: Illinois starts Big 10 play @ Penn State and @ Michigan. Regardless of the current situations at both schools, that’s a tough start to the conference slate, and tripping out of the box may impact this team more than a more experienced squad. Secondly, there’s the chance that Arrelious Benn turns into a wide receiver that should be playing for Michigan or Ohio State and enables Juice Williams to throw Kurt-Kittner-8th-grade-lob-balls and complete them due to Benn’s complete and total level of awesomeness… if this happens, count me as someone who will be highly annoyed.
7. Overall Record – Mendenhall was a beast last year and Illinois caught quite a few people by surprise… including apparently Ohio State. This team was capable of playing quite well, but they lacked consistency, and now they lack their MANBEAST tailback… I think a slight regression towards the mean is on the horizon for the Politically Corrects… call it 8-4 with all four losses coming in-conference… the Mizzou game is a tossup and I’ll lean the Illini way for them on this one, Big 10 solidarity and all.
8. Final Big Ten Standing – Not too hot, not too cold, jusssssssst right, so I say 5th.
9. Bowl Game Destination – Wooo boy, where does the 5th place Big 10 team go? Motor City Bowl? I don’t know… We’ll call it a “Late December Capital One Bowl Week Special” and leave it at that.
Whaddya say Beauford?
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6 comments:
I think the Zookers should beware than final non-conference game against Western Michigan as it comes on the road and right before a showdown with the Buckeyes.
True story Matt - the classic "gotcha lookin'" game.
Fair point Matt, but I just don't quite see the Broncos as being on the same level, Illinois would definitely have to trip over their own two feet in that one.
On a side note, I have to say that I just flat out hate the "non conference game crammed into the middle of the conference slate". The bloat of college football schedules these days is just too much.
It's high time that the Big 10 went to a true round robin and featured 2 out of conference games. You still have your 12 game schedule, there would be no bitching about a stupid "conference championship game" which - by the by - is nothing but a money maker for the conference, it's certainly no more legitimate a way of determining a conference champ than our current setup.
Everyone would still have 6 to 7 home games a year depending on how you scheduled your OOC opponents as well. It just makes too much sense, which naturally means it'll never happen.
If teams still wanted to play creampuff state and the coast guard, they could, and if you wanted to schedule one big matchup and another smaller foe, you could do that too... 4 OOC games is too much.
And with that - we've broken the "Comments" record in a single post at 4! Way to go...guys who write this blog and matt...
Let's pile it on and pad the score!!! Yeah!!!
I suddenly feel like a mid 90's Steve Spurrier team...
Here's #6. Remember the Broncos beat Iowa last year. Of course, I expect even a regression for the Illini makes them better than last year's Iowa team.