so um... we might be decent this year

from FightingIllini.com

NationalChamps.net has named Vontae Davis, Ryan McDonald, and Will Davis to their preseason All-American team.

Vontae Davis was named a 3rd team all-american corner, while McDonald and Davis received honorable mention listing.

Overall, they rated Illinois to be the 18th best team in the country.

Program trends... since the 1890's.

Ok, so you are probably wondering, WTF is that picture above?

Well, its a chart showing the strength of all 12 current and former Big Ten teams since 1896, the first year of league play.

The chart uses a 4-year rolling average, where the value for each school is the average place in the Big Ten standings for the previous four years (so if a school finishes 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 3rd over a 4 year period, its value will be "4.0").

The idea is to show how programs have risen and fallen over the previous 112 years.

If the above chart is way too confusing, each individual Big Ten school is listed out below. In the chart below, the red dots are how the team finished each year in the final big ten standings, and the blue line is a 4-year rolling average.

In case you are wondering, only conference games are included. If two teams finished with the same Big Ten record, they are tied in the standings regardless of their non conference record.


also, if you want year-by-year Big Ten standings, the final standings each year from the 1890's until the present are now on this site... click here.

Illinois:


Indiana:


Iowa:


Michigan:


Michigan State:


Minnesota:


Northwestern:


Ohio State:


Penn State:


Purdue:


Wisconsin:


Chicago:

2008 Fighting Illini Season

Check back later for more:

Schedule:

Date	Opponent	Stadium	City
8/30/2008	Missouri	Edward Jones Dome	St. Louis, MO	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
9/6/2008	Eastern Illinois	Memorial Stadium	Champaign, IL	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
9/13/2008	Louisiana-Lafayette	Memorial Stadium	Champaign, IL	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
9/27/2008	Penn State	Beaver Stadium	State College, PA	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
10/4/2008	Michigan	Michigan Stadium	Ann Arbor, MI	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
10/11/2008	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium	Champaign, IL	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
10/14/2008	Indiana	Memorial Stadium	Champaign, IL	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
10/25/2008	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium	Madison, WI	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
11/1/2008	Iowa	Memorial Stadium	Champaign, IL	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
11/8/2008	Western Michigan	Ford Field	Detroit, MI
11/15/2008	Ohio State	Memorial Stadium	Champaign, IL	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score
11/22/2008	Northwestern	Ryan Field	Evanston, IL	Pregame - Postgame - Highlights - Box Score

Illini Football Archive

This is a "static" page that will be linked to the right.

One thing I've found when searching the internet, is that year by year Big Ten standings are a real pain to find, the Big Ten website has basically no archival football information, and there really aren't any sites out there that show year by year standings. What there is, however, is record information online in each school's media guide. So what follows is the year-by-year Big Ten football standings.



Big Ten Standings by Decade:
2000's
1990's
1980's
1970's
1960's
1950's
1940's
1930's
1920's
1910's
1900's
Before 1900

More to come.

Uniform Number Assignments

The Roster:

Here's Our Current Roster Situation:

Scholarship Athletes: (63 of 85 Scholarships)

1	Vontae Davis
2	Martez Wilson
3	Marques Wilkins
5	Mikel LeShoure
6	Chris James
7	Juice Williams
9	Arrelious Benn
10	Eddie McGee
11	Jarred Fayson
13	Will Judson
14	Marcus Thomas
15	Chris Duvalt
16	Michael Hoomanawanui
17	Jeff Cumberland
18	Nate Bussey
20	Garrett Edwards
21	Kyle Hudson
22	Daniel Dufrene
26	Brian Gamble
27	Antonio Gully
28	Dere Hicks
29	Troy Pollard
30	Rahkeem Smith
31	Travon Bellamy
32	Ashante Williams
35	Darius Purcell
37	Kyle Yelton
38	Ian Thomas
43	Sam Carson III
44	Brit Miller
45	Rodney Pittman
52	Jon Asamoah
53	Dustin Jefferson
55	Anterio Jackson
56	Sirod Williams
57	Mike Garrity
60	Ryan McDonald
62	Eric Block
65	Mike Nabolotny
66	Randall Hunt
68	Xavier Fulton
71	Jeff Allen
72	Reggie Ellis
73	Jack Cornell
74	Brandon Jordan
75	Mark Jackson
76	Graham Pocic
78	Ryan Palmer
79	Craig Wilson
81	Will Davis
82	Fred Sykes
85	C.J. Jackson
85	Whitney Mercilus
86	Greg McClendon
90	Antonio James
91	Derek Walker
92	Josh Brent
93	D'Angelo McCray
94	David Lindquist
95	Doug Pilcher
97	Clay Nurse
98	Daryle Ballew
99	Jerry Brown

Signed Recruits: (21 Scholarship, 1 Walkon... 84/85 Scholarships Committed)

Jacob Charest

Hubie Graham

A.J. Jenkins

Cordale Scott

Donsay Hardeman

Tavon Wilson

London Davis

Jason Ford

Russell Ellington

Supo Sanni

Justin Staples

Tyler Sands

Glenn Foster

Ryan Sedlacek

Jack Ramsey

Nate Palmer

Evan Frierson

Corey Lewis

Corey Liuget

Patrick Nixon

Ugochukwu Uzodinma

Derek Dimke (Prefered Walk-On)

Walk Ons

10	Cody Stunkard
14	Sean Anderson
22	Andrew Harweger
23	Jack Eastman
24	Bo Flowers
30	Mike Locksley, Jr.
33	Mike Mucha
33	Mark Burgess
35	Michael Cklamovski
36	Jared Bosch
38	Matt Brandabur
39	Conor Gillen
39	Tad Keely
43	Nick Levanti
49	Tyler Pacha
51	Wisdom Onyegbule
58	Bryson Whalen
61	Cole Knuth
80	Alex Reavy
84	Matt Eller
87	Anthony Santella
88	Jaon McGoey
89	Tom Sullivan

Players Not Returning: (33)

5	Rashard Mendenhall	Left for Pro's
8	DaJuan Warren	Graduated
11	Joe Morgan	Not On Roster
12	Billy Garza	Graduated
13	Jason Reda	Graduated
14	Ryan Baise	Left Team
16	Mark Venegoni	Graduated (WO)
18	Kevin Bailey	Left Team
19	Tony Petruzzello	Left Team
19	Phil Haig	Left Team
23	Drew McMahon	Graduated (WO)
25	Justin Sanders	Graduated
32	Justin Harrison	Graduated
34	Walter Mendenhall	Graduated
36	Maurice Haney	Left Team
40	Antonio Steele	Graduated
41	Russ Weil	Graduated
42	Kevin Mitchell	Graduated
42	Justin Ijei	Graduated (WO)
46	Tyler Rouse	Graduated (WO)
47	J Leman	Graduated
48	Erique Robertson	Left Team
49	Kyle Knezetic	Graduated (WO)
51	Anthony Thornhill	Graduated
58	Dan Motuliak	Graduated
63	Will Bergen	Left Team
64	Martin O'Donnell	Graduated
69	Akim Millington	Graduated
76	Charles Myles	Graduated
76	Mike Ware	Graduated
82	Frank Lenti Jr.	Graduated
83	Jacob Willis	Graduated
96	Chris Norwell	Graduated

Breakdown of Players not Returning:

• Graduation: 24 players (19 Scholarship). this number includes 3 players who did not have their scholarships renewed for a 5th year (Walter Mendenhall, Billy Graza, & Dan Motuliak)*
  
• NFL Draft: 1 - Rashard Mendenhall
  
• Left Team: 8 (Including 3 scholarship players: Phil Haig (will play baseball), Will Bergen (no clue) and Erique Robertson (douchebaggery)
  
• Not on Roster: Joe Morgan (he may be gone, but I have heard he could come back, so he is in limbo)
  

* Note: Graduation doesn't mean a player actually earned a diploma, I hope they did. It means they have been here for at least 4 years and either used up their eligibility... or were not asked back for a 5th)

So it turns out writing about football

is kinda difficult during the offseason.

well, huzzah for Spring Football.

Pics from the spring game yesterday:


Driving up I-57 to Champaign


Coming up Neil St. in Champaign.. you can see the Stadium and Assembly Hall off in the distance


West Side of Memorial Stadium... the new press box/luxury seating tower is taking shape.


Memorial Stadium, and Assembly Hall to the right


The "I-Hotel"(right) and conference center (left), which will feature a Houlihans restaurant, located just South of Assembly Hall, it will be open this fall. (memo to DIA, have a beer garden in the conference center before basketball/football games)


again with the hotel/conference center.


Assembly Hall


OK, the game itself


This is all we saw of Regis Benn yesterday, as he is still recovering from shoulder surgery.

The game is available on bigtennetwork.com, and will be rebroadcast on the Big Ten Network in the coming weeks.


Recruits sat in the student section for the game


This guy found a spot to watch the game during his break.


Isiah Williams about to receive a snap... Juice went 17-of-31 for 210 yards.


Eddie McGee, lined up with Mikel Leshoure behind him. McGee went 8-of-14 for 127 yards, including a 54 yard TD to Brian Gamble


The new Press Box rises over the stadium.


Cranes brought in steel for the center section of the press box as the game progressed.


Juice lined up with Daniel Dufrene at HB. The running game had issues yesterday. Mikel Leshoure and Jared Faysen each fumbled the ball on exchanges.

Handoffs need to be tightened up, but hopefully the lack of any long runs is more of a tribute to the D-Line (which might be the best in the Big Ten) and not a sign of ba



Inside the East Great Hall... most of the concession stands have been ripped out, and will be replaced by this fall...


eventually all the ramps will be ripped out and replaced with a walkway/staircases... I don't know if that will be done in time for the fall, however.


12,521 was the announced attendance. Decent crowd, especially since the Spring Game has never been a huge draw at Illinois, although if rain wasn't in the forecast I would imagine it would have been much more






The first ~50 rows of the lower bowl will remain intact on the west side... the upper part of the West Main Stands is now an outdoor club. This fall the "Colonnades Club" will feature over 1,000 seats with an indoor club room located behind it.

13 rows remain in the upper bowl, above it will rest 3 levels of suites, a 200 person indoor club, and spaces for coaches, the press, announcers, broadcasters, and Ron Guenther.


Illinois tightens up the formation as Juice surveys the defense.



It will cost $50,000 for you and a dozen or so of your friends to rest your ass on this beam during games this fall...








Two back set


a fullback in the game.




After the game, the view from what used to be Section M of the balcony, now Section 207.... this is where I will call home 6 Saturdays next fall.


view of the new luxury seating tower/press box from the east balcony.


Looking out over the north endzone and Champaign... in retrospect I should have gotten a shot of the "new" campus skyline...





"can't lower the field 5 feet because of sightlines"... my ass.

still, the view from the balcony is great.


Looking up at the balcony from about row ~65-70 of the lower bowl.





Out and About Champaign after the game:
While waiting for my Papa Dels Pizza to cook (drool)... took a walk down Green Street...

all I have to say is, I've been gone about 300 days, and I don't recognize it anymore, good lord.
\
This is the Burnham towers, which will be a 14 story condo building, with grocery store, built on Springfield Avenue 2 blocks north of Green Street. City planners hope this building will help connect Campustown and Downtown Champaign... the University had to move a radio transmitter because the tower was blocking the WILL signal.


309 Green Street in the front, this will be the tallest building in Champaign, and to the best of my knowledge the second tallest building in downstate Illinois (outside of Watterston Towers at Illinois State University)... 8 floors will be parking garage, with a pool on top of it, and 16 floors of high end student apartments.

another new building in the background... I'm not sure what the "name" of it is... but its being built in the parking lot that used to be across from Legends.


309 Green is slowly catching up to The Tower on Third, Presidential Tower, University Inn, Century 21, whatever that building is called now...


it was announced this week that 309 Green Building will have a second building build on the east (opposite side from this picture) side of it...


campus town, this is at 5th and Green


from 4th and Green Street I could see 4 new large commercial/residential buildings that simply didn't exist 12 months ago...