Illinois Football: Fighting Illini Midseason Report Card
The Illinois Fighting Illini have reached the halfway point of their season and have been one of the surprises in the Big Ten this year.
Through their first three games in the Big Ten, Illinois has losses to Ohio State and Michigan State to go along with an impressive victory on the road against Penn State.
The Fighting Illini are now entering the soft part of their schedule, with the remaining three home games against Indiana, Purdue and Minnesota.
The Illini need only three more victories to qualify for a bowl game, but should shoot for seven considering one of their victories is over an FCS team (Southern Illinois).
Ron Zook and Illinois look to continue their surprising success in 2010 and qualify for a bowl game.
Here are the grades for the Fighting Illini halfway through the season.
Offense: C+
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Led by redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, the Illinois offense has been inconsistent in 2010.
Despite having arguably one of the best running backs in the Big Ten, the inexperience at the quarterback position has restricted the Fighting Illini offense this season and is one of the main reasons why they rank 114th in the nation in passing yards and 92nd in the nation in scoring.
Scheelhaase’s inexperience has been on full display in each of Illinois’s three losses, throwing all seven of his interceptions during those games.
Mikel Leshoure has been the star of the Illini offense through the first half of the season rushing for three touchdowns and 680 yards, which is good for fourth in the Big Ten.
A.J. Jenkins and Jarred Fayson have been solid options at wide out for Scheelhaase, combining for more than half of the Illini’s receiving yards and receptions.
Despite only receiving a C+ for the first half of the 2010 season, this Illini offense has shown the potential and promise to continue to improve.
Defense: A
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The biggest surprise in 2010 for the Fighting Illini has been their defense.
In 2009, Illinois was one of the worst defenses in the nation.
Through the first six games of 2010, Illinois is ranked 19th in the nation in yards allowed per game.
The return of junior linebacker Martez Wilson and Corey Liuget’s coming out party have been the standouts in new defensive coordinator Vic Koenning’s born-again Illini defense.
Illinois’s defensive success in 2010 has been evident throughout the season, especially against Missouri, Ohio State and Michigan State.
The Fighting Illini have held all three of those ranked teams' offenses, who all average 34 points or more per game, to 26 points or less.
The loss of cornerback Terry Hawthorne and safety Supo Sanni during the preseason seemed to be all but a death sentence for a defense that was walked all over in 2009.
Plan B for Illinois was having some players switch from offense to defense.
Opening the season against Blaine Gabbert and the high scoring Missouri offense figured to be a challenge of epic proportions for the new look Illini defense. Illinois’s defense bent, but never broke against Missouri and has been impressive ever since.
Although Sanni was lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, Hawthorne has been easing his way back onto the field, who figures to make the Illinois defense even better once he is full strength.
Special Teams: A-
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Derek Dimke and Anthony Santella.
That is all that needs to be said when discussing Illinois special teams this season.
Dimke has made 92.3 percent of his field goals this season, ranking second in the Big Ten and 10th in the nation.
Santella, who has been able to bail out an unimpressive offensive, averages 46.7 yards per punt, which is good for first in the Big Ten and fifth in the nation, and was named a midseason All American by Rivals.
Illinois’s punt and kick returns have been another story.
The main returners have been Ramsey and Jarred Fayson, but both have been average returning kicks and punts.
Against Penn State, Jack Ramsey fumbled twice in Illinois territory, but was bailed out twice by the defense, holding the Nittany Lions to two field goals.
Hawthorne’s return is vital for the defense, but his return will also help out the Illini return game.
If Illinois didn’t have so much trouble fielding kicks and punts this rating would have been higher.
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Coaching: B-
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Ron Zook entered 2010 sitting on one of the hottest seats in the nation.
After an offseason where he hired six new assistants, Zook has found new life as the head coach of the Fighting Illini.
The most important hires have been offensive coordinator Paul Petrino and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning.
Those two hires alone have cooled the fire Ron Zook conversation for now, despite recurring question marks in his coaching style.
One of the most questionable decisions that Ron Zook made this season was not going for a 4th-and-7 late in the game against Ohio State, trailing the Buckeyes by seven points. He instead opted for the field goal, the defense failed to stop the Buckeyes offense and the Illini lost 24-13.
Although it is unlikely that the Illini would have converted the fourth down, it was mysterious that Zook did not try for the tie against the No. 2 team in the nation on his home field.
The youth that the Illini have did not leave Zook much choice when selecting starters, especially at the quarterback position.
Their inexperience has been evident in the three losses that the Illini have.
Overall: B
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Despite having a .500 record, Illinois has exceeded expectations in 2010.
Mikel Leshoure is making his name known more each week, and the defensive unit is tougher than expected.
If Illinois works out some of their inconsistency issues on offense and remains strong on defense, they should continue to exceed expectations.
Although a bowl game appearance was not foreseeable before the season, the possibility of Illinois winning at least three, if not more, of their remaining six games is becoming more likely as each week passes.
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