Touchdown Times: September 5, 2013

Touchdown Times

A publication of THE DAILY ILLINI Thursday, September 5, 2013

e b am th gr o pro e t t BCS i om s firs innat elc ce inc e 3 W ois fa in C Pag Illin son to

a se rn Tu

ig es gu lea

of

Show Student ID or $2 Roundtrip

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Offense

Defense

Munchie Legaux 4 QB Ralph Abernathy 1 RB Blake Annen 86 TE Alex Chisum 80 WR Chris Moore 15 WR Shaq Washington 19 WR Eric Lefeld 71 LT Austen Bujnoch 76 LG Deyshawn Bond 59 C Sam Longo 60 RG Parker Ehinger 78 RT

Passing

Munchie Legaux Brendon Key

Rushing

Hosey Williams Munchie Legaux

Cinncinnati C-A-INT 13-20-2 4-5-0

Carries 15 6

Yards 145 59

Yards 70 55

Brad Harrah 93 DE Mitch Meador 46 DT Jordan Stepp 94 DT Silverberry Mouhon 92 DE Nick Temple 43 LB Jeff Luc 48 LB Greg Blair 51 LB Trenier Orr 2 CB Adrian Witty 8 SS Arryn Chenault 35 FS Deven Drane 11 CB

TD 1 0

Avg 4.7 9.2

Long 40 51

TD 1 1

Defense

Tackles

Sacks

TFL

INT

Receiving

Catches

Yards

TD

Long

Corey Mason Clemente Casseus Jeff Luc Max Morrison Chris Moore

THE DAILY ILLINI | www.DailyIllini.com

2

5 5 4

3 2

0 0 0

58 58

0 0 0.5

0 0

0 0 0

40 51

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

Rushing

Josh Ferguson Donovonn Young

Defense

Jonathan Brown Mason Monheim Earnest Thomas III Austin Teitsma V’Angelo Bentley

Receiving

Illinois

C-A-INT 28-36-1

Carries 9 8

Tackles 9 8 8 5 4

Catches

Ryan Lankford Josh Ferguson Steve Hull

Schedule Sat., Aug. 31 vs. Southern Illinois W 42-34

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

Sat., Sept. 14 Sat., Sept. 7 vs. vs. No. 20 Washington (Soldier Field) Cincinnati 5 p.m. | Big Ten Network 11 a.m. | ESPN2/ESPNU

Sat., Nov. 2 @ Penn State TBD

Sat., Nov. 9 @Indiana TBD

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

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

Sat., Nov. 16 vs. No. 3 Ohio State TBD

6 4 2

Yards 416

Yards 55 6

Sacks 0 0 0 0 0

Yards 115 103 64

TD 2

Avg 5.4 0.8

TFL 0 0.5 0 0 1

TD 0 1 0

Long 55

TD 0 0

INT 0 0 0 0 0

Long 52 53 55

Games in bold are at home

Sat., Oct. 5 @ No. 22 Nebraska 11 a.m.

Sat., Oct. 19 vs. No. 21 Wisconsin 7 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Sat., Nov. 23 @ Purdue TBD

Sat., Nov. 30 vs. No. 19 Northwestern TBD

[ THIS IS YOUR YEAR ] ...remember it forever. ,Y E AOOLR ...remember it forever.

RBOOK [ THIS IS YOUR YEAR ]

Go to illioyearbook.com to order your yearbook today!

THE DAILY ILLINI | www.DailyIllini.com

Thursday, September 5, 2013

3

Cincinnati 1st true test for Illinois football Secondary will have hands full with Legaux

BY SEAN HAMMOND SENIOR WRITER

This is the first real test. If the Illinois football team has really made any progress since last season, it will show this weekend.

The Cincinnati Bearcats come into Memorial Stadium on Saturday following backto-back 10-win seasons and a 42-7 demolition of Purdue last week.

Nathan Scheelhaase and Co. will face defense that Illini defensive coordinator Tim Banks knows well. Banks spent two seasons at Cincinnati prior to joining head coach Tim Beckman at Illinois last season.

He knows these players; he helped recruit them.

Running back Donovonn Young says he remembers seeing linebacker Jeff Luc on television when he came out of high school in 2010. At the time, Young was still in high school at Katy High School in the Houston area. “(He’s a) big guy ... big guy,� Young said. “I remember watching him on ESPN, and he was a monster. I was like, ‘I would never want to play that guy.’ He’s a big guy and he can move.�

Now Young doesn’t have a choice — he has to play him.

Luc and the Bearcat defense held the Boilermakers to 226 yards last week and 4-of-12 on third-down conversions. “They have a lot of athletes,� Scheelhaase said. “They’re big up front and play well on the outside. You definitely can tell they’re athletic on the defensive side.�

Scheelhaase also said he thought Purdue hurt itself with too many mistakes, committing four turnovers.

But no matter how successful Scheelhaase is in recreating his 400-yard passing performance against SIU, it won’t matter if the Illini can’t shut down an offense that had its way against the Boilermakers.

Quarterback Munchie Legaux threw for 145 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 55 yards and a score. He and fellow quarterback Brendon Kay spread the ball to 12 different receivers.

The ground attack was spread out as well. Along with Legaux, running backs Hosey Williams and Ralph David Aberna-

BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINI

Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase (2) signals to a teammate before the snap during the Illini’s 42-34 win over Southern Illinois at Memorial Stadium last Saturday. Illinois will play Cincinnati, who defeated Purdue 42-7 last week, this week at Memorial Stadium. thy each ran for more than 50 yards.

And if there’s one thing first-year Bearcats head coach Tommy Tuberville was known for in his three years at Texas Tech, it’s high-scoring offenses.

A young defensive secondary will have to improve on a shaky performance in the second half of the season opener. “Cincinnati presents a little bit different issue,� Banks said. “They’re bigger, their backs may be a little bit quicker, stronger.

If we’re sound, we should be OK.�

The combination of cornerbacks V’Angelo Bentley, Eaton Spence and safety Taylor Barton will have to help out safety Earnest Thomas, who was the only player in the secondary Beckman was pleased with following last week’s game.

The Bearcats have held a share of the Big East (now the American Athletic Conference) football championship each of the past two seasons, and won the title outright

in 2008 and 2009. “You’re talking about a program that has been a champion in the last two years,�

Beckman said of Cincinnati. “You’re talking about an offense and a defense that has been successful and is built to be successful.�

You’re talking about exactly what the Illini want to be.

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

•†‘ Š�‘�‡ ‘Œ� $-"44*$ "-5&3/"5*7& .64*$ &7&3: 8&&,%": /00/ 1.

453&". "5 81(6 $0.

!(& J( J-! J +"'$"' J"%%"'"

Thursday, September 5, 2013

4

THE DAILY ILLINI | www.DailyIllini.com

THE DAILY ILLINI | www.DailyIllini.com

Thursday, September 5, 2013

5

CAPTAINING A NEW SHIP AD Mike Thomas faces his old program, Cincinnati

BY STEPHEN BOURBON STAFF WRITER

MIKE THOMAS KNEW HE WOULD BE IN CHAMPAIGN. Dating all the way back to March 2009, Thomas, then the athletic director at Cincinnati, was planning his trip to the University of Illinois. The Bearcats and Illini had just announced the scheduling of a home-and-home football series with Cincinnati hosting in 2009, and Illinois earning a home contest in 2013.

What he didn’t know four years ago is that he would be on the other side of the second contest, donning Illini orange and blue instead of Bearcat black and red. *** Thomas was hired at Cincinnati on Oct. 20, 2005, to head a program that was in a weak power conference for football and a fringe squad in the powerhouse of Big East basketball.

The Bearcats spent 2006 with Mark Dantonio as head coach and held a respectable 7-5 record; however, Dantonio left for Michigan State before the team’s bowl game, leaving a void on the football staff.

Thomas wasted no time and hired a head coach from Central Michigan with a mediocre 19-16 record over three seasons: Brian Kelly. Kelly coached the team to a 27-24 victory in the Motor City Bowl, despite being with the team for just over a month.

“I was only with him a year, but Mark (Dantonio) laid a great foundation in place,” Thomas said. “When Brian came in, he not only maintained it, he elevated it.”

Kelly and the Bearcats exploded onto the national scene right from the first game. Cincinnati notched three consecutive seasons with double-digit wins, highlighted by the 2009 campaign that saw the team win its first 12 games en route to a Sugar Bowl berth.

Although the football team was a winner right away, the Cincinnati men’s basketball program was in disarray. Incumbent head coach Bob Huggins left just before the 2005 season and the Bearcats spent the whole season with an interim head coach.

With low expectations in a loaded Big East, Mick Cronin was hired to take over at his alma mater as head coach. Although it took a while to see success, the Bearcats men’s basketball team improved its win total each season from 2007-11 and has made three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Even with both the “big” programs humming at Cincinnati, Thomas decided it was time to make a change in 2011, when he was brought into Illinois as the athletic director to replace Ron Gunther. *** When Thomas arrived in Champaign in August 2011, the program was different, though the situation wasn’t

entirely unfamiliar. In one corner, he had a football coach who had seen ups and downs, but was respected in the profession. The men’s basketball coach was under fire and fans increasingly demanded a change.

As he had done before, Thomas wasted no time in establishing his own coaches in major sports. Football head coach Ron Zook was fired after the 2011 season despite three bowl appearances in five years, including a trip to the Rose Bowl — the Illini’s first trip to Pasadena, Calif., since 1984.

“You want to feel like you’re a top-25 team and to have a chance to compete for divisional championships and Big Ten championships,” Thomas said. “When that happens, all the other things fall into place. You’re not concerned about other things, things like selling tickets. We do a lot of things with marketing and in-game experience, we talk a lot about that, but at the end of the day, what brings people to Memorial Stadium is winning football games.”

With Zook gone, Thomas brought in Toledo head coach Tim Beckman to take over the program, again drawing from the MAC coaching ranks to lead his program. While Beckman and the Illini struggled through a 2-10 campaign in 2012, the second-year head coach picked up important commitments from transfers Wes Lunt, Geronimo Allison and Tyrin Stone-Davis.

On the hard court, Illini fans grew increasingly impatient with head coach Bruce Weber’s inability to recruit Chicago and his frantic antics on the sideline led to subpar seasons. Weber was fired after missing the NCAA tournament with a 17-15 record.

The Illinois coaching search was rumored to have multiple candidates, but eventually selected Ohio’s John Groce to fill the position — a move that already spawned an NCAA tournament appearance and a top-20 recruiting class in 2013.

“To be successful, you have to have two things. You have to have commitment and you have to have capacity,” Thomas said. “In this department, I sure hope our coaches and administrators and staff are committed, but you need commitment from those up above you, otherwise it can short circuit some things.” *** Now, in his third year at Illinois, Thomas comes full circle when Cincinnati visits Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Though more than half the team was brought in since his departure and the Bearcats are led by a new coach, it’s still easy to see the mark Thomas left on the Cincinnati program.

The Bearcats stumbled to a 4-7 record in 2005 — the team’s inaugural voyage in the Big East — but won at least eight games in five of the six seasons that Thomas spent in Cincinnati.

“Football is difficult from a standpoint that you’re dealing with 105 kids,” Thomas said. “You’re not dealing with 15 basketball players. I’ve said this before, but turning around a basketball team is turning around a speedboat, while turning around football is an aircraft carrier.”

For the Bearcats, they’ve already experienced what effective leadership at the top of the chain can do to a sport, rolling into Champaign as 7.5-point favorites; meanwhile the home underdogs are hoping that Thomas is the right man to direct the aircraft carrier.

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

“Football is difficult from a standpoint that you’re dealing with 105 kids.

You’re not dealing with 15 basketball players.

I’ve said this before, but turning around a basketball team is turning around a speed boat, while turning around football is an aircraft carrier.”

MIKE THOMAS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Thursday, September 5, 2013

THE DAILY ILLINI | www.DailyIllini.com

6

Matchups to watch Two pass-heavy offenses will collide when Cincinnati comes to Champaign

BY ERIK PRADO ON-AIR REPORTER

Nathan Scheelhaase vs.

Cincinnati secondary

BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINI

Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase threw for a career-high 416 yards against Southern Illinois. He will have a tougher time airing it out against Cincinnati.

Scheelhaase had a career day last week, throwing for 416 yards. That’s more than 30 percent of his total 2012 passing yards. Will he continue, and be leaned upon, to carry this team forward if the running game falters again? Purdue managed 161 yards through the air. A big play to start the game Saturday will no doubt help boost his and the offense’s confidence. Bearcats junior safety Adrian Witty is slowly making a name for himself, running back an interception for a touchdown against Purdue.

Illinois running backs vs.

Cincinnati defense Josh Ferguson rushed for a measly 49 yards, while six other Illini combined for a total gain of zero. The team will need better balance but that may be hard to come by after Cincinnati allowed 65 rushing yards to Purdue. Donovonn Young and Josh Ferguson managed some better runs after halftime, but they need to hit the holes early.

JOSEPH LEE THE DAILY ILLINI

Illinois' Josh Ferguson had trouble rushing against Southern Illinois, gaining just 49 yards. The Illini may be in trouble against a top Cincinnati run defense.

Illinois defense vs.

Cincinnati quarterbacks

MAX FAULKNER MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

Former Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville already has his quarterbacks playing well in his first season at the helm at Cincinnati.

Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville has said that the quarterback job is still open between seniors Munchie Legaux and Brendon Kay. Legaux is more of a dual threat while Kay is a prototypical pocket passer. Illinois head coach Tim Beckman said it is difficult to prepare for two different playing styles. Either way, the spotlight will be on the Illini defense after the unit gave up 34 points to FCS opponent Southern Illinois. Against Purdue, the Bearcats put up 425 total yards of offense. The Bearcats also turned the ball over three times last week. Illinois will have to win this battle to better its chances.

THE DAILY ILLINI | www.DailyIllini.com

Thursday, September 5, 2013

7

OURPICKS Eliot Sill Sports editor

(4 - 1)

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

(4 - 1)

Erik Prado On-air reporter

Michael Wonsover Videographer

(4 - 1)

(4 - 1)

(3 - 2)

(4 - 1)

41 - 14

44 - 20

31 - 14

31 - 21

35 - 14

31 - 28

38 - 34

35 - 28

24 - 21

21 - 14

Illinois vs.

Cincinnati 32 - 20

No. 11 Georgia vs.

No. 6 South Carolina 27 - 19

No. 14 Notre Dame vs.

No. 17 Michigan 21 - 10

17 - 13

28 - 24

28 - 21

28 - 14

24 - 21

36 - 7

35 - 24

39 - 17

42 - 14

35 - 17

35 - 10

27 - 12

21 - 10

20 - 13

28 - 14

28 - 10

31 - 21

STREAM

WPGU

107.1

LIVE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE

No. 16 Oklahoma vs.

West Virginia

Northwestern vs.

Syracuse

Saturday, Sept. 4 South Florida @ Michigan State 11 AM | ESPNU Eastern Michigan @ Penn State 11 AM | Big Ten Network Missouri State @ Iowa 11 AM | Big Ten Network Cincinnati @ Illinois 11 AM | ESPN2

Indiana State @ Purdue 11 AM | Big Ten Network

Southern Miss @ No. 22 Nebraska 5 PM | Big Ten Network

Tennessee Tech @ No. 21 Wisconsin 11 AM | Big Ten Network

Syracuse @ No. 19 Northwestern 5 PM | Big Ten Network

San Diego State @ No. 3 Ohio State 2:30 PM | ABC

Minnesota @ New Mexico State 7 PM

Navy @ Indiana 5 PM | Big Ten Network

No. 14 Notre Dame @ No. 17 Michigan 7 PM | ESPN

anywhere anytime 365 days a year.

Search “WPGU” on the Live365 mobile app

Thursday, September 5, 2013

THE DAILY ILLINI | www.DailyIllini.com

8 #

Cincinnati game will set tone for rest of season ELIOT SILL Sports editor

I

thought Illinois was the worst team in the Big Ten before last week, when the Illini escaped an FCS opponent thanks to a lastminute overthrow. Now I don’t think they’re the 12th team in the Big Ten. But it’s not about what the Illini did — they didn’t exactly earn their way up those rankings. It’s about what Purdue did. Or, more accurately, what Purdue had done to it by the team set to play Illinois at Memorial Stadium this Saturday.

The Cincinnati Bearcats obliterated the Boilermakers thanks to a 28-0 second half, landing on a fi nal score of 42-7.

Illinois can’t be that bad, can it?

If we get down to it, the reason Illinois “rose” to No. 11 in The Daily Illini’s Big Ten power rankings this week is because none of us want to see the Orange and Blue suffer a worse fate than what befell Purdue last week. The Illini can’t be that bad.

Even still, we can’t act as though Purdue is 35 points worse than Illinois. The teams speculatively share a cell in the basement of the conference. But there are reasons to suggest Cincinnati won’t hand the Illini a similar drubbing.

The Bearcats won’t be at home like they were last week. Cincinnati’s first win came

in front of 36,007 fans — more than 6,000 fewer than Illinois’ listed attendance number. However, Cincinnati’s smaller stadium only seats about 36,007 people; the crowd was heralded as the largest in stadium history and the energy transferred quite noticeably from the stands to the Bearcats bench.

It was opening week in college football, and the Bearcats had every reason to be excited. If Memorial Stadium is empty enough, maybe the crowd will dampen the spirits of even the visitors, as opposed to the home underdogs who will see scores of unoccupied bleachers and feel motivated.

Probably not, but we can hope.

In his first year coaching Cincinnati, Tommy Tuberville restructured his offense a little bit — this was a surprise for Purdue, but Illinois has a week to prepare for it.

Six-foot-five quarterback Munchie Legaux has probably the best name in football (last name is pronounced leh-go, as in the Eggo Waffles tagline) and appears to have control of the starting spot in the quarterback battle, as Brendon Kay was relegated last week to spot duty in a role similar to Aaron Bailey’s. Kay is 1 inch shorter and about 25 pounds heavier than Legaux.

Legaux is a playmaker with his arms and legs, as he had 145 yards passing and 55 yards rushing Saturday.

And Cincinnati dominated on the ground.

Ralph David Abernathy and junior college transfer Hosey Williams (again, the names!) got 15 carries and one touchdown each for a

combined 122 yards as the Bearcats handily won the time-of-possession battle. Illini offensive coordinator Bill Cubit is probably salivating at the thought of a running back tandem like that.

Abernathy is just a little guy, at about 5-foot-7, 160 pounds. Williams is bigger, an even 6 feet and weighing 200 pounds.

Cincy will be able to change the pace in the backfield between quick-and-light and quicker-and-lighter.

So yes, in many ways, Cincinnati has what Illinois wants. A stable quarterback situation, an effective running tandem, a packed home stadium and a victory over a Big Ten opponent. Not to mention the sack and two interceptions the Bearcats defense notched against the Boilermakers.

Mike Thomas’ old program is something of a model for his new, only now he’s on a bigger stage, with more seats to fill.

This game against Cincinnati, a real FBS opponent, should act as a great litmus test for the rest of the season. A huge loss, and we can expect more huge losses. A competitive game, and we can expect more competitive games. A win, and we can stop pretending to have expectations.

The only hope for Illini fans this weekend is for their team to come out looking more like Cincinnati, and much less like Purdue.

This game against Cincinnati, a real FBS opponent, should act as a great litmus test for the rest of the season. A huge loss, and we can expect more huge losses.

A competitive game, and we can expect more competitive games. A win, and we can stop pretending to have expectations.

Eliot is a senior in Media. He can be reached at sill2@dailyillini.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotTweet.

Win 1 of 5 $100 VISA Gift Cards**

*(7 025( )520 <285 %$1.

Open your new checking account today at the Illini Union and get entered to win 8, &5(',7 81,21 1 of 5 $100 VISA Gift Cards. A better checking account, & without all the fees and hassles from a Big Bank.

KRUL]RQWDO

t .PSF $BNQVT "5.T t /BUJPOXJEF "DDFTT t 'FXFS 'FFT Find out more and get started today at %$1.,1* <285 :$<

8,(&8 25* 678'(17

uiecu.org/student.

*Free 2 GB Illini USB while supplies last for anyone opening an I-Checking account at the Illini Union UIECU Branch. **All I-Checking accounts opened at the Illini Union between August 1, 2013 and September 30, 2013 will be entered to win one of five $100 VISA gift cards. Odds of winning are dependent on number of eligible entries. Accounts must be in good standing at time of drawing. Drawing will occur in October 2013 and winners will be notified via phone or email. UIECU reserves the right to reject any checking application, other restrictions may apply. UIECU reserves the right to modify or discontinue this promotion without notice.

Free 2 GB USB*

For First 100 New Student Accounts