Touchdown Times: Aug. 29, 2013

Touchdown Times A publication of THE DAILY ILLINI Thursday, August 29, 2013

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Offense

Defense

Kory Faulkner 19 QB Mika’il McCall 27 RB Ray Agnew 46 FB MyCole Pruitt 4 TE Josh Sullivan 3 WR LaSteven McKinney 21 WR John Lantz 13 WR Ethan Wirth 77 LT Nate Haremza 9 LG Tanner Crum 65 C Jake Notario 74 RG Victor Craven 68 RT

Passing

Southern Illinois

C-A-INT

191-325-10

Kory Faulkner

Rushing

Carries 130

Mika’il McCall

Tackles

Defense

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2

Bryan Presume Terrell Wilson D.J. Cameron Courtney Richmond Blake Miller

Receiving

78 60 58 25 23

No.

LaSteven McKinney John Lantz

43 26

Yards 1865

Yards 489

Sacks 2 0 0 0 1.5

Yards 363 250

Blake Miller 97 DE T.J. Beelen 51 NT Brandon Williams 82 DE Cory Lee 40 OLB Bryan Presume 9 ILB Jordan Poole 22 ILB Tyler Williamson 24 OLB Terrell Wilson 5 CB D.J. Cameron 6 SS Boo Rodgers 29 FS Courtney Richmond 2 CB

TD

Long

11

74

Avg

TD

3.8

8

TFL

INT

5 3 1 1 2

1 1 2 0 0

TD

Long

3 0

43 33

Offense

Defense

Nathan Scheelhaase 2 QB Donovonn Young 5 RB Ryan Lankford 12 WR Miles Osei 8 WR Spencer Harris 80 WR Evan Wilson 89 TE Simon Cvijanovic 68 LT Michael Heitz 74 LG Alex Hill 52 C Joe Spencer 71 RG Corey Lewis 70 RT

Passing

Nathan Scheelhaase Reilly O’Toole

Illinois

C-A-INT

149-246-8 65-87-4

Yards 1361 564

Tim Kynard 59 DE Jake Howe 95 NT Austin Teitsma 44 DT Houston Bates 55 LEO Jonathan Brown 45 WLB Mason Monheim 43 MLB Mike Svetina 34 STAR V’Angelo Bentley 2 CB Earnest Thomas 9 SS Taylor Barton 3 FS Eaton Spence 27 CB

TD 4 6

Long 64 48

Rushing

Carries

Yards

Avg

TD

Defense

Tackles

Sacks

TFL

INT

131 75

Donovonn Young Josh Ferguson Mason Monheim Jonathan Brown Earnest Thomas Mike Svetina Houston Bates

86 59 69 40 18

Receiving

No. 37 21

Ryan Lankford Spencer Harris

571 312 1.5 2.5 1 0 0

Yards 469 252

4.4 4.2

6 9.5 2 2 0

TD 5 2

3 0

1 0 1 0 0

Long

Schedule

Games in bold are at home

Sat., Aug. 31 vs. Southern Illinois 11 a.m. | Big Ten Network

Sat., Sept. 7 vs. Cincinnati 11 a.m. | ESPN2/ESPNU

Sat., Sept. 14 vs. Washington (Soldier Field) 5 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Sat., Sept. 28 vs. Miami (Ohio) TBD

Sat., Oct. 5 @ No. 18 Nebraska 11 a.m.

Sat., Oct. 19 vs. No. 23 Wisconsin 7 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Sat., Oct. 26 vs. Michigan State 2:30 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 2 @ Penn State TBD

Sat., Nov. 9 @ Indiana TBD

Sat., Nov. 16 vs. No. 2 Ohio State TBD

Sat., Nov. 23 @ Purdue TBD

Sat., Nov. 30 vs. No. 22 Northwestern TBD

64 49

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

3

Illini look to move beyond disastrous 2012 &XELW KRSHV WR JHW 2·7RROH DQG %DLOH\ RQ WKH ÀHOG DW TXDUWHUEDFN

BY STEPHEN BOURBON STAFF WRITER

The Illinois football team is anxious.

A word often associated with head coach Tim Beckman’s demeanor now represents the team’s craving to get back on the football field.

After a 2012 campaign that saw the squad lose its last nine games en route to a 2-10 mark, the Illini are looking to start 2013 off right against FCS opponent Southern Illinois.

“You want to see how far this team, this family has come,” Beckman said. “From

the classroom, to discipline, to being involved in the community, it’s leaps and bounds higher than what it used to be. Now we have to see if it translates to the football field.”

For the Salukis, their offense is headlined by a big pass-catching target at the tight end position: MyCole Pruitt. The 6-foot-3 junior was named second team FCS preseason All-American by Phil Steele as well as The Sports Network. He led the team in receptions (49), yards (577) and receiving touchdowns (four).

“They’ve got an outstanding tight end

DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

GET

Illinois’ Nathan Scheelhaase surveys the defense during a game against Purdue at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 17. Scheelhaase threw for 160 yards and was sacked three times as the Illini fell to the Boilermakers, 20-17.

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in Pruitt,” Beckman said. “He’s definitely a fine talent.”

Pruitt will test the Illini secondary, a unit that lacks depth and experience. Projected starting corners V’Angelo Bentley and Eaton Spence have started a combined two games, while starting safety Taylor Barton will be making his collegiate debut after redshirting the 2012 season.

The secondary experienced its share of success in 2012, ranking 19th in the country in pass defense, but only Earnest Thomas was a consistent starter in that group.

On the other side of the ball, the Illini have familiar faces lining the offense.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase will be at the controls for the fourth consecutive season, although offensive coordinator Bill Cubit said he would like to see backups Reilly O’Toole and Aaron Bailey see action on Saturday.

“I think Reilly sees himself as a starter,” Cubit said. “With Aaron, it’s the same way. He’s a little behind on the X’s and O’s department, but at the same time, he’s working at it and he knows he’s one or two plays away from being the starter.”

While O’Toole is second on the depth chart and has played in 17 games, including two starts, there could be room for Bailey to see the field as well. The true freshman Bailey, who comes as a four-star recruit, according to Rivals.com, was a great runner in high school, racking up 589 yards rushing in his senior season.

Cubit confirmed this week that Bailey would not redshirt, increasing the chance the freshman could see live action Saturday.

Stephen can be reached at sbourbo2@ dailyillini.com and @steve_bourbon.

DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

Backup quarterback Reilly O’Toole throws the ball during a game against Michigan at Michigan Stadium on Oct. 13. O’Toole struggled, throwing for only 25 yards in a 45-0 loss after Scheelhaase left the game with an injury.

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

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4

BY SEAN HAMMOND SENIOR WRITER

W HY A R E YO U N OT

GREAT ?

IT WAS THE STARK TRUTH.

NOT LONG AFTER HE WAS OFFICIALLY HIRED AS ILLINOIS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR ON JAN. 14, BILL CUBIT PULLED HIS NO. 1 BACKFIELD OPTION INTO HIS OFFICE AND ASKED HIM THAT QUESTION. And the answer is something Donovonn Young has been searching for in the six months since.

Why was he not great? Why had he, the go-to running back, scored only three touchdowns in 2012?

Rushed for fewer than 600 yards?

There is no simple answer.

Not all of it was within Young’s control. The offensive line was depleted by injuries. And it’s not like the passing game was alleviating the pressure.

Far from it.

Co-offensive coordinators Billy Gonzales and Chris Beatty were ousted after the season.

And in stepped Cubit, a head coach at Western Michigan for eight seasons and an offensive coordinator for eight years before that.

A proponent of the spread offense with a power running game, he’s a no nonsense guy who will look you in the eye and tell it the way it is. It doesn’t matter who you are — player, opponent, reporter, or Donovonn Young.

Young didn’t have a good answer for Cubit.

“He let me know that I have the talent to be a bigtime player,” Young said. “But that I have to put in the effort and focus. I have to do the little things right, and I wasn’t doing the little things right.”

Turning the page It’s a cliche, but it’s the cliche Young has chosen. He is turning the page on the 2012 football season. Don’t bring it up; he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.

He didn’t perform well. The Illini didn’t perform well. Enough said.

But Cubit wouldn’t let him forget it.

He made Young and running mate Josh Ferguson watch every run from last season. They, like every Illini, had to critique their own work and report it back to the coaches. Young had to figure out the answer for himself.

Why are you not great?

What he saw on the tape was a power running

back leading his team in receptions. The No. 5 in orange and blue on the tape wasn’t reading his blocks properly and was trying to do too much.

Young didn’t fit the offense. He wasn’t getting enough straight handoffs, and when quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase was giving him the ball on the read options, he was often stuffed before anything could get going.

Young might have hit rock bottom on an Oct. 6 loss to Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. The Illini lost 31-14, despite just a 10-7 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.

For the game, Young had just four rushes, totaling 5 yards. After postgame interviews, he picked up the stat sheet, looked it over and simply shook his head.

The numbers spoke for themselves.

He fi nished the season with 571 yards. Only once did he break the 100-yard mark in a game.

He ran for nearly as many (451 yards and six touchdowns) yards when he was the third-string running back his freshman year in 2011.

The season came to an end and Illini nation turned its full attention to the basketball team — but not Young, and certainly not Cubit or the coaching staff.

A new system, another chance When the Illini take the field Saturday, Cubit will be along the sidelines with them, not upstairs in the box.

This is his offense, these are his players. When things go wrong, he wants to be the one on the field straightening them out.

Like Young, Cubit doesn’t want to talk about 2012.

He wasn’t there, he doesn’t know what it was like.

But what he does know is how much effort he has seen from his running backs this spring and summer.

“There’s no, ‘He’s playing, I’m not playing,’” Cubit said. “I’ve seen a cohesiveness between (Young and Ferguson). They’re a little bit different style guys, but they’re both going to get touches.”

Cubit has taken what Young and Ferguson saw on the tape in the spring and helped them see how it should be: A north-to-south running game with one cut and a burst of speed — nothing fl ashy, no bells and whistles.

A minimal gain — 1 or 2 yards — is not a bad run in Cubit’s mind. It’s 1 or 2 yards closer to a fi rst down. It’s the losses in yardage that he doesn’t want to see, something Young and Ferguson saw too often on the tape.

“You never realize some of the things that you aren’t doing to get to the next level until you have somebody that’s been there and that knows what it takes to get to that level,” Young said.

That’s what Cubit is for him.

“Coming from a guy with so much experience,” Young said. “I took it as a challenge for myself to take (Cubit’s) coaching and realize that I can be better if I listen to what he tells me to do.”

Young will be getting the ball with a head of steam this year. It’s up to him to know where to go from there.

Running backs coach Tim Salem says Young is really starting to understand it better. Now when he comes off the field after a bad play in practice, he’s not afraid to question the play calling and make suggestions, something that hadn’t been happening as much last year.

“We’re really teaching them: This is how it’s blocked,” Cubit said. “Not: This is how it’s run.”

And Young has been listening. He’s a year older and a year stronger. The page has turned, 2012 is over and 2013 is here now.

Will Bill Cubit make a difference? It’s simply too soon to tell. But Young thinks he has found his answers. And now is the chance to show that he has made the adjustments, to show that he is great.

Not just that he can be.

Sean can be reached at sphammo2@ dailyillini.com and @sean_hammond.

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5

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Thursday, August 29, 2013

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6

Matchups to watch: 1HZ RIIHQVH H[SHULHQFHG OHDGHUV WU\ WR JHW RQ WUDFN YV 6RXWKHUQ ,OOLQRLV

BY MICHAEL WONSOVER STAFF WRITER

Bill Cubit vs.

Southern Illinois defense

DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Southern Illinois will face an entirely new offense than when the teams last met on Sept. 11, 2010, now that Bill Cubit is coaching the Illini offense.

Bill Cubit will make his debut as Illinois’ offensive coordinator Saturday against Southern Illinois. Cubit utilized a fast-paced, pass-heavy offense during his eight-year tenure as head coach at Western Michigan. The Broncos finished 38th in the nation in total offense in 2012. He will take over an offense that is returning eight starters from last season, while the Salukis will have only four starters on defense from a year ago.

Nathan Scheelhaase vs.

Southern Illinois secondary

DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

Illinois’ Nathan Scheelhaase should have plenty of time in the pocket against the Southern Illinois’ secondary.

No player is more important to Illinois’ new-look offense than senior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase.

Although Scheelhaase enters this season with the thirdmost career starts among NCAA quarterbacks, the fifth-year senior has struggled to improve year-to-year.

Last season, Scheelhaase had career lows in passing yards (1,361) and touchdown passes (four) while missing two games due to an ankle injury. In one of the games Scheelhaase missed, against FCS Charleston Southern, junior quarterback Reilly O’Toole threw more touchdowns passes (five) than Scheelhaase did all season long.

Against Southern Illinois, who is also an FCS opponent, Scheelhaase will have the opportunity to beat the Salukis for the second time in his career after throwing for 229 yards and two touchdowns in the 2010 matchup.

DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

SIU’s secondary will have an easier time now that A.J. Jenkins is no longer on the Illini.

Jonathan Brown vs.

Southern Illinois offense

DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

Illinois’ Jonathan Brown will try to get back on track after an injuryriddled junior year.

Before senior linebacker Jonathan Brown suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last season, he was leading the team with 59 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in only nine games. A healthy Brown will try to disrupt an experienced Southern Illinois offense. The Salukis bring back four of their top five leaders in receiving yards from last season, along with returning senior quarterback Kory Faulkner, who is 10th all time in Southern Illinois.

DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Last time Illinois played Southern Illinois, the Illini notched four sacks on Salukis quarterbacks. Illinois would go on to win 35-3.

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

7

OURPICKS Eliot Sill Sports editor

Sean Hammond Stephen Bourbon Torrence Sorrell Senior writer Staff writer Assistant sports editor

Erik Prado On-air reporter

Michael Wonsover Videographer

35 - 10

35 - 3

Illinois vs.

Southern Illinois 38 - 20

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42 - 17

28 - 7

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No. 1 Alabama vs.

Virginia Tech 41 - 7

48 - 14

31 - 17

35 - 14

42 - 10

41 - 10

No. 5 Georgia vs.

No. 8 Clemson 28 - 16

31 - 28

44 - 37

28 - 21

23 - 20

35 - 32

20 - 17

28 - 14

26 - 10

35 - 31

23 - 17

31 - 14

35 - 14

17 - 14

27 - 14

28 - 14

24 - 7

21 - 17

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LIVE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE

No. 12 LSU vs.

No. 20 TCU

Northern Illinois vs.

Iowa

Thursday, Aug. 29 Friday, Aug. 30

Saturday, Aug. 30

Indiana State at Indiana 6 p.m. | Big Ten Network

UNLV at Minnesota 6 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Western Michigan at Michigan State 7 p.m. | Big Ten Network Buffalo at No. 2 Ohio State 11 a.m. | ESPN2

Southern Illinois at Illinois 11 a.m. | Big Ten Network

Northern Illinois at Iowa 2:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Massachusetts at No. 23 Wisconsin 11 a.m. | Big Ten Network

Purdue at Cincinatti 11 a.m. | ESPNU

Wyoming at No. 18 Nebraska 7 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Central Michigan at No. 17 Michigan 2:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Syracuse at Penn State 2:30p.m. | ABC, ESPN2

No. 22 Northwestern at California 9:30p.m. | ESPN2

anywhere anytime 365 days a year.

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# 8

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After 2012, Illini granted chance to start anew College football can become a slippery slope; will the Illini keep hope alive in Week 1?

ELIOT SILL Sports editor

T

he first day of the college football season is seen by some as a great holiday, like Christmas morning, or the first day of March Madness, or the season premiere of “Breaking Bad”.

It’s a holiday I can get into because though I’m more of an NFL guy, football is football, and it’s always great to watch the opening day of any football season.

There’s an air of freshness, an atmosphere of opportunity — you’re familiar with this I’m sure.

But for as much as high hopes abound, it’s no different from any other week — half the teams still have to lose.

First blood The first defeat in a college football season carries more weight than in any other sport. Unless you’re a team in the SEC, you really need an undefeated season for your national title hopes to carry any

legitimacy, especially while the BCS still stands as the method through which a champion is determined.

If your team is ranked or hovering just outside the top 25, it takes a couple weeks of winning to get over a loss. But by Week 6, most teams know whether they have a shot at the national title. (If you aren’t in the SEC, you should be aware of that before Week 1, but that’s not what the hope of a new season is about.)

Soaked bandages Once your team’s out of the national title running, you begin the process of settling. Your team has two losses, OK, but it can still win the conference. BCS squads can still net big bowl appearances, veritable consolation games that fans still get amped for, and so your goal becomes to make the Rose Bowl Game.

It’s a drop off in excitement, but one fans are used to making year after year.

Lose a couple more, however, and it’s hard to prevent getting deflated.

You stop recognizing the names of the bowls ESPN experts project your team into, you switch from wanting your team to win the conference to rooting against

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that one rival you couldn’t stand to see win. It becomes less about the potential glory of the season, and more about not looking bad, going out on Saturdays and watching a team that will play with pride. It’s not about where your season will finish, but about the next team on the schedule and not losing to those guys.

Drained, dead, depressing But hey, sometimes you keep losing.

Sometimes the bleeding doesn’t stop.

Sometimes your season bleeds to death, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

When your body no longer finds it useful to remain conscious, it shuts down and you pass out.

After all, you’re just a fan. You don’t know what it’s like to go out there and get humiliated.

This is the point where most people stop watching. It’s too hard to watch “your boys” go out and get manhandled.

The deflation becomes cyclical. Fan support falls, team morale follows, results show, fan support falls more, et cetera.

A team siphoned off its fighting spirit is tough to watch. It’s exactly where Illinois was last year.

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Born again The wonderful thing about sports is that there always truly is next year.

And that it’s never the same as last year. At least, not exactly.

Illinois finds itself at the top of the slide once more. Unblemished and still perfect. In contention for the national title. Not really, but technically.

With a first-week match against SIU, Illinois will get what it needs, a chance to flex its talent. If nothing else, SIU is a team that will see a weak Illinois squad as a liable opponent and give the Orange and Blue everything they’ve got. Illinois has a chance to take an opponent like that and break its spirits, or at least turn it away.

Winning for the first time since it last faced an FCS opponent will do wonders on Illinois’ psyche. Losing, on the other hand, would cut deep, twist the blade, and commence the gushing once more.

Fortunately for Illini fans, the bleeding will likely be prevented. At least for now.

Eliot can be reached at sill2@ dailyillini.com and @EliotTweet.

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