Will See You On The Flip Side

Friends,

After tonight's Chargers loss to the Raiders, I have decided to take a leave of absence from sports.

I will see you all again soon.

Best,

Bormo

The Illini Versus The Buckeyes

First, great photo of Whitney "Nine Piece" Mercilus by John Dixon of the News-Gazette.

Second, the Illini have only defeated the Buckeyes 12 times in Champaign. The teams have played there 46 times since their first meeting in 1902. I'd like to have more victories at home against any team, especially a bitter Big Ten foe, but that low win total will help to make today's victory - and I'm sure it will be a victory - even more special.

Here's a quick list of the Illini victories against Ohio St. in Champaign:

October 12, 1991: Illini 10 - Buckeyes 7
October 7, 1989: Illini 24 - Buckeyes 14
October 5, 1985: Illini 31 - Buckeyes 28
October 15, 1983: Illini 17 - Buckeyes 13
October 8, 1966: Illini 10 - Buckeyes 9
November 18, 1950: Illini 14 - Buckeyes 7
November 16, 1946: Illini 16 - Buckeyes 7
October 13, 1934: Illini 14 - Buckeyes 13
November 24, 1928: Illini 8 - Buckeyes 0
November 22, 1924: Illini 7 - Buckeyes 0
November 16, 1918: Illini 13 - Buckeyes 0
October 17, 1914: Illini 37 - Buckeyes 0

My conclusion from this list: the Illini are due for a win. Against Ohio St. In Champaign.

Who Would Dare Match Wits With The Zooker? (My Second Try To Finish The Post)

Yesterday I celebrated the beginning of the Illini football season by starting a blog post looking at the 12 coaches Ron Zook will stare down - and no doubt intimidate - on the opposite sideline this season. Unexpected fatherly duties prevented me from finishing that post before the start of yesterday's game.

Today I'll complete the post, starting with the third game of the season.

3. Sept. 17 v. Arizona St. - Dennis Erickson

Erickson likely needs no introduction. He's twice coached in the NFL (for the Seahawks and the Niners) but hasn't done all that well (40-56). His greatest stretch came as the head coach for Miami (so dirty) in the early '90s where he won two national championships. Still, as anyone who watched The U knows, those were really Jimmy Johnson's teams. His more impressive accomplishment is turning around the Oregon St. Beavers in the late '90s-early '00s, leading them to a top 5 finish in the 2000 season. He has ASU clicking on many cylinders at the moment and will present a strong challenge to the Zooker. In dispatching Erickson, the Zooker might actually break a sweat.

4. Sept. 24 v. Western Michigan - Bill Cubit

Cubit played WR for Delaware in the '70s before starting his coaching career in the mid-80s as defensive backs coach at Central Florida. He bounced around for awhile, eventually rising to offensive coordinator for several D-1 schools (Mizzou, Rutgers, Stanford) before taking the head job at Western Michigan in 2005. Cubit has been a nemesis of Zook's in the past, drawing blood with a victory over the Illini in 2008. No doubt Zook is now wise to Cubit's non-BCS guerilla tactics, and can counter them with the might of his BCS-bred heavy cavalry (Ford, Young, Ferguson, Prosch, Pocic, Thornton, Cornell).

5. Oct. 1 v. Northwestern - Pat Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald, the second-youngest coach in all of D-1 football, rose to fame as a stud LB for Northwestern in the mid-90s. After serving 5 seasons as Northwestern LB coach, he was promoted to head coach in 2006 following the sad death of Randy Walker. He's had marginal success at Northwestern, primarily the result of cupcake non-conference scheduling. He suffered a near-mortal wound at Zook's hands last November at Wrigley Field, as Zook's boys ran up over 300 yards rushing in a dominant Illini victory. With that beatdown fresh in his mind, I wouldn't be surprised if Fitzgerald doesn't even show up for this season's game.

6. Oct. 8 at Indiana - Kevin Wilson

The long-time assistant at several schools, Wilson is in his first year as head coach at Indiana. He apprenticed for 19 years at various schools under the now-deceased former Miami (OH) and Northwestern coach, Randy Walker, and more recently worked under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. In his short tenure at Indiana he has shown both steely resolve (winning the recruiting battle for Gunnar Kiel) and total ineptitude (losing yesterday to Ball St.). Knowing Zook, he will not show any mercy on Wilson, even if it is the guy's first season at the Hoosier helm. I wish Wilson luck.

7. Oct. 15 v. Ohio St. - Luke Fickell

I won't deny this fact: Fickell looked impressive on the sideline Saturday during the Buckeyes win over Akron. Fickell played nose guard for the Buckeyes in the mid-90s, starting 50 consecutive games, including the '97 Rose Bowl where he played despite having a torn pectoral muscle. Not only that, he seems to be handling the current adversity in Columbus with aplomb. The Zooker may have his hands full with this young warrior from the Land of Buckeye.

8. Oct. 22 at Purdue - Danny Hope

Hope spent several years jumping around as an offensive line coach (including time at Purdue) and then five years as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky before joining the Boilermakers for the 2008 season as Joe Tiller's assistant head coach. He took over for Tiller a year later and now, in his third season, has basically run the program into the ground. Yes, that is an exaggeration, but the Zooker should have little trouble with Hope this season.

9. Oct. 29 at Penn St. - Joe Paterno

Who? I don't think I've heard of this guy. And I can't find anything written about him online or elsewhere in the press. This guy is a total unknown.

10. Nov. 12 vs. Michigan - Brady Hoke

A round, pudgy-looking guy, Hoke has never coached a game for Michigan (at least as the head coach) that wasn't called due to severe weather. Hoke is an old school guy who spent 8 years as a Michigan defensive assistant before taking head coaching jobs at Ball St., San Diego St., and now Michigan. I've said from day one that this was a good hire for Michigan, and nothing I saw yesterday changed that fact. Except for the fact he apparently can't control lightning. Zook can control lightning. Advantage Zooker.

11. Nov. 19 vs. Wisconsin - Bret Bielema

I'm going to go ahead and announce Bielema as the Zooker's archnemesis. Bielema played LB for Iowa, and then joined the Hawkeyes as an assistant coach for nine years. He spent one year as the co-DC at Kansas St. before joining Wisconsin as the DC in 2004. Barry Alvarez named Bielema as his successor in 2005, and Bielema has been riding the coattails of Alavarez's work for the past five years. Bielema may be an okay coach, but he has no business running a program as successful as Wisconsin has been the past few years. It's time for Bielema's wake up call and the Zooker is just the man to do it.

12. Nov. 26 at Minnesota - Jerry Kill

This guy won at Saginaw Valley St., he won at Southern Illinois, he won at Northern Illinois, and he almost pulled the upset in his debut game for Minnesota on the road at Southern Cal. He also beat kidney cancer. And his last name is "Kill." I like this guy. I may feel the slightest bit of remorse when Zook steps on his neck this coming Thanksgiving weekend.

It's going to be a great season.

Who Would Dare Match Wits Against The Zooker?

Today begins another season of Illini football. To mark this momentous occasion, I thought I would look at the twelve coaches who would dare take the opposite sideline against Ron Zook this season. These gentlemen must be very brave, or very stupid, to challenge our Champion - the Zooker - in pitched battle. So who are these guys?

1. Sept. 3 v. Arkansas St. - Hugh Freeze

First-year college head coach, better known as the guy who coached Michael Oher in high school. I don't know much about Freeze's coaching philosophy, but if he is anything like how the actor Ray McKinnon portrayed him in The Blind Side movie ("Hold it in here, between the tits!"), I like Zook's chances.

2. Sept. 10 v. South Dakota St. - John Stiegelmaier

Like Freeze, Stiegelmaier was a former high school coach before becoming a graduate assistant at Wisconsin, and eventually moving on to South Dakota St. He became the head coach in 1997 and has a career 83-60 record. But whatever his merits as a coach, you have to question the decisionmaking of a man would spend 14 years coaching a team called the Jackrabbits. It's safe to say Zook can handle this guy.

Oh my. Just spent the last couple hours on unexpected Dad duty. Didn't get a chance to finish this before heading out to watch the Illini game. I'll finish this post before next week.

Go Illini!

Oh. My. Goodness.

A.J. did it.

He really did it.

Will A.J. Go Liuget?

What a headline. I'm sure no one else around the country thought of writing something like that.

Looking past yesterday's Padres game, in which Mat Latos was served with his 9th consecutive loss, tonight is the first round of the NFL Draft. I expect big things out of A.J. Smith and the Chargers.

The draft is deep with powerful DE and OLB types, precisely the position the Chargers need. But if I can make a quick plea to A.J.: take Corey Liuget, good sir. You won't regret it. He has the speed, strength, and mean streak to immediately add to the Bolts defense that which they have lacked since the demise of Shawne Merriman, namely the inspiration of fear and dread in opposing offenses.

It's time for the Chargers to draft a monster. Corey is that beast.

April Is Football Weather At Wrigley Field

Game-time temperature of Padres-Cubs Game 1 yesterday at Wrigley: 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

Game-time temperature of Illinois-Northwestern football game last November at Wrigley: 43 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Padres won Game 2 to split the doubleheader. Ryan Ludwick went 5-8 with 2 doubles on the day. His batting average after 70 plate appearances is an even .200.

J Leman Is A Bolt!

I was just perusing the Chargers list of recent transactions and noticed that on January 12 they signed former Illini monster, J Leman, to a Reserve/Future contract. So choice.

What really blew my mind though is that this is J's third stint with the Bolts. I somehow missed that the Bolts signed J to the practice squad twice before, first in November 2009, and then again at the end of November 2010 for the duration of the season.

You know I love crossovers between and among the Padres, Chargers, and Illini, and J is the perfect ambassador between the teams. As the #6 all-time tackler in Illini history, and a captain on the 2007 Rose Bowl team, no doubt J has regaled his Bolts teammates with tales of Champaign and the Zooker's antics.

Well done, AJ. Well done.

S-S-S-Siiiigning Day!

Quite a day.

A few late additions - Darrius Caldwell from Atlanta and Jon Davis from Louisville - to an already strong nucleus of quality players, including the above-pictured Reilly O'Toole, give Ron Zook a promising 2011 recruiting class.

The consensus among the recruiting sites, mainstream media, and bloggers is that Zook's class, while not one of the top rated in the country, fills a lot of the Illini needs and adds depth at every position.

The Illini have a great opportunity to win in 2011 with 8 home games, including their first five games of the season. They no longer play Mizzou and could be 5-0 before their first real challenge. Hopefully some of these freshmen will contribute to the cause.

Everything's Coming Up Zooker!

Or at least I hope it is.

Tomorrow is signing day in the world of college football. Based on the list of players who have committed to play for the Illini, the Zooker's class ranks in the middle-to-lower half of the Big Ten. About 30th to 40th nationally depending on what recruiting site put together the rankings.

But why would anyone, let alone the Zooker, care about rankings? What's more important is getting coachable atheletes into the program that Petrino and Koenning and the boys can mold into stellar beasts.

A few recruits I'll be excited about when they send in their LOI's tomorrow include:

- Tony Durkin, a 6'3" 270 pound C from Tinley Park Andrew outside Chicago;

- Ralph Cooper, a mean-looking middle linebacker prospect from the great state of South Carolina;

- Reilly O'Toole, the QB who led Wheaton Warrenville South to two state championships; and

- Donovonn Young, an underrated running back prospect out of Katy, Texas.

I'm also real excited for Jordan Frysinger, an unheralded prospect out of Corning, New York who spent most of his high school career playing lacrosse and was not many (any?) recruiters' radar. I like him because I think Corning Incorporated, based in Corning, New York, is a solid company worth your investing dollars. But I also like him because you know who else was an unheralded prospect from upstate New York?

Jimmer Fredette.

I'm just saying.

Adios to Mr. Liuget

Corey Liuget is joining Martez Wilson and Mikel LeShoure and tossing his hat into the NFL Draft ring. It's a shame because the guy is a monster run-stuffer and dominant play-disrupter on the defensive line, but it is not a surprise. He looked like an NFL lineman in the Texas Bowl win over Baylor.

I've seen two early mock drafts that have him going in the first round (22nd to Indy or 25th to Seattle). Obviously that's very speculative - Seattle might not even pick in that spot - but Liuget likely will be a mid-to-late first rounder.

The Chargers draft in the middle of the first round. They need a defensive lineman with a mean streak.

Make it happen A.J.!

Martez and Mikel To The NFL

Today Martez Wilson declared for the NFL Draft. Tomorrow Mikel Leshoure will follow suit.

Martez is an athletic freak who could have used another year of seasoning. Mikel is a dominant back who could have a similar career to former Illini Rashard Mendenhall.

I'll miss them both very much. I'd throw them a going away party if I knew them.

No Shortage Of News

There's obviously been no shortage of news relevant to the PCI Blog of late.

- Adrian traded to the Red Sox;

- the Bolts rolling on a four-game win streak, only to be embarrassed at home against Oakland;

- the Illini hoops squad playing a couple games in Manhattan (I was there!), then sweeping North Carolina and Gonzaga last week; and

- the Illini football team not only playing the highest scoring game in Big Ten history at Ann Arbor (I was there!), but also playing at Wrigley where Mikel Leshoure rushed for 330 yards (I wasn't there!), and qualifying for a Texas Bowl matchup against Baylor.

Whew!

It's been a busy month and I haven't been here to write about it.

I may not be around much of the rest of December either, but know that the PCI Blog isn't going anywhere.

Have a great holiday!

Invading East Lansing

The Illini take the field in East Lansing in about 45 minutes time.

Can the defense stop the MSU running game? Can Martez, Bussey, and the boys get to the MSU quarterback? Can the Illini corners protect against the deep ball? Can Scheelhaase complete the majority of his passes and limit turnovers? Can Dimke and Santella maintain their elite kicking games? Can the three-headed monster - Leshoure, Pollard, Ford - find running holes and gallop for huge chunks of yardage?

So many questions.

Let's get this dun.

Anthony Santella: Mid-Season All-American

In the sport of American Football, the punter is the equivalent of the "cleaner," the guy killers send in to hide the evidence of a dead body. You don't necessarily want to see him involved, but if he does need to be out there, you hope to God he does his job well and erases any evidence of your mess. In Anthony Santella, the Illini have finally found their Winston Wolf.

Santella has been dominant this season. He is third in the nation in punting average at 47.9 yards per punt, and six of his punts have landed inside the 20-yard line. If not for the greasy hands of his coverage team, he would have had at least one more punt downed inside the 2-yard line last Saturday at Penn St. Santella's stellar performance was rewarded today when he was named to the Rivals.com Mid-Season All-America squad. That's well-deserved recognition.

As you well know, the all-time leader in Illini punting history is current Jets standout, Steve Weatherford. Steve finished his Illini career with a 43.5 average, including three of the top four best single-season punting averages in Illini history, his best being 45.4 in 2004. Anthony's current average would top that by over two yards per punt. He has some work to do catch Steve's career record - Anthony currently sits at 40.4 on his career - but if he keeps up his current pace, he will at least be known as one of the top 2 punters in Illini history.

No doubt he'll bring that big boot to East Lansing on Saturday.

Illini Running Game, Defense A Saving Grace

In a week of heinousness - the Padres don't make the playoffs, the Bolts lose to the Raiders, Tony Gwynn announces he has cancer - the Illini victory in State College was some kinda nice. Zook's boys dominated both sides of the ball on their way to a 33-13 drubbing of Joe Pa and his Nittany Lions.

Props especially go to the defense and the running game. On the D side, Nate Bussey had a choice pick at a key spot early in the 2nd quarter, and the defense as a whole held Penn St. freshman quarterback Robert Bolden to a 38.1 completion percentage. The team also picked up a couple sacks and held Evan Royster, soon to be Penn St.'s all-time leading rusher, to 35 yards on 11 carries.

And the running game was unstoppable. Mikel Leshoure ran 27 times for 119 yards, Nathan Scheelhaase 8 times for 61 yards, Troy Pollard 8 times for 55 yards, and Jason Ford 9 times for 47 yards. Even Bud Golden had a carry, finishing off the game with a 3-yard run. All told the Illini netted 282 yards rushing at 5.2 yards per rush.

Derek Dimke also deserves special mention. He was perfect on field goals in a hostile, "white-out" environment, hitting 4 out of 4 field goals, including a 50-yarder.

Oh and Scheelhaase, a redshirt-freshman starting in his first real road game, completed 15 of 19 passes for 151 yards and no picks. Clutch.

Many thanks to the Illini for doing their part to save the week.

Rashard Mendenhall, Brandon Lloyd ... Former Illini Beasts

I'm no fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I may even hate the Denver Broncos, but when two former Illini monsters play for those two teams, I have to give them props.

As one of my advisors Adam Daleyoney pointed out to me this morning, Rashard is currently the #4 rusher in football, while Brandon is currently the #2 receiver. Rashard has 64 carries for 332 yards, good for a 5.2 yard-per-carry average, and Brandon has 14 catches for 339 yards, a robust 24.2 yards-per-catch. And that's with Kyle Orton as his quarterback.

Both players can thank dominant games last Sunday for their current statistical prowess. Brandon caught six balls for 169 yards and a touchdown in the Broncos loss to Indy. Meanwhile, 'Shard ran for 143 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries as the Stillers pounded Tampa Bay. Quite a Sunday for the ex-Illini.

Here's hoping that they continue to dominate while their current NFL teams falter and struggle.

Illini Need To Notch Another W

Today the Illini face Northern Illinois in a tough in-state matchup at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

The Illini can't sleep on the Huskies. Northern has a tradition of producing NFL-caliber beasts - current and former Bolts Larry English and Michael Turner come immediately to mind - and are more than capable of going back to DeKalb with in-state bragging rights.

I'm looking for a big game from Mikel Leshoure today. Through two games Mikel has 224 yards on 32 carries, averaging out to 6.4 yards per carry. He's a monster, folks, and just needs that one big game to get national notoriety. Today could be that day.

Kickoff in Champaign in about 5 minutes

A Few Thoughts On Illinois - SIU

The Salukis come to Champaign-Urbana tonight for a primetime showdown with the Illini. I don't have many thoughts on the game, but I have a few:

1. Pressure from Nurse and Liuget. The Illini defense looked solid for most of last week's game against Mizzou. Only a few small hiccups in the second half allowed Gabbert to get touchdowns on the board. But now starting Bandit Michael Buchanan is suspended for underage boozing and driving, and the secondary is still depleted with injuries to Supo Sanni and Terry Hawthorne. That's all the more reason why pressure from Clay Nurse, who will take over at Bandit, and Corey Liuget, the Illini's best defensive lineman, is critical to stopping the Saluki offense.

2. O-Line Improvement. Hugh Thornton and the rest of the offensive line looked like a swinging door for much of the second half last week. Nathan Scheelhaase was scampering for his life, resulting in errant and poorly timed throws. Hugh and the boys need to give Nathan a semblance of time so he can relax and make some throws from the pocket.

3. Scheelhaase's touch. This relates to point 2, but Nathan needs to put the ball in his receiver's hands. He missed Eddie McGee twice in the second half last week on crucial third-down plays. We know Nathan can run, but completing those third-and-short pass plays can make all the difference between winning and losing. Between LIVING AND DYING!

4. Halftime adjustments. It might not matter much tonight, but once the Big Ten starts, Zook, Koenning, Petrino and the rest of the coaches can't keep getting out-strategized at halftime. Gary Pinkel watched the first half last week, made adjustments, and came up with a plan that completely shutdown the Illini in the second half. Zook and his team need to counter those moves going forward.

Kickoff at 7:30 EDT. Big Ten Network.

Nathan Scheelhaase And The Illini Play Today

Nathan,

I hope your quarterbacking skills are as good as your debate skills, because you're taking the field against Mizzou in about ten minutes time.

Get it dun today, Nate, and you'll be a hero to all.

Best,

Bevormo