- Illinois is 80-33-5 all-time in home openers and has won its last 10.
- Juice Williams was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Missouri in the season opener. He exploded for career highs of 451 passing yards and five touchdowns to nearly rally Illinois from a second-half deficit against nationally ranked Missouri. The junior quarterback also established career highs with a 61.9 completion percentage, 26 completions and 42 attempts. His five scoring strikes are tied for second in school history and are the third-highest total in Big Ten annals. Williams' 451-yard effort rates third in the Illini records book and topped his previous career-best by more than 200 yards. Illinois fell behind 45-20 in the third quarter, but Williams broke loose for almost 300 yards through the air and four touchdowns in the second half to nearly pull off the win. The Chicago native completed a 65-yard scoring toss early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 10 points before Missouri held on for the win. This is the second career weekly accolade for Williams after being honored on Nov. 12, 2007.
- Illinois' 42-point performance is tied for the second-highest in the Ron Zook era and marks the third time in the Illini's last five games that they have topped the 40-point mark.
- The 94 total points scored by Missouri and Illinois (52-42) marks the highest combined scoring game in school history.
- Ten Illini true freshmen saw the field in the opener: Mikel LeShoure, A.J. Jenkins, Cordale Scott, Jason Ford, Tavon Wilson, Supo Sanni, Russell Ellington, Fred Sykes, Hubie Graham and Corey Liuget. In addition, redshirt-freshmen Matt Eller, Ian Thomas and Daryle Ballew all saw the field for the first time in their careers.
- Last season, Illinois played the 42nd toughest schedule according to the final Sagarin ratings. This season doesn't offer any relief as the Illini prepare for six teams on the schedule that went to a bowl game last season. Also among those are three teams ranked in the top-15 -- No. 2 Ohio State, No. 6 Missouri and No. 13 Wisconsin, as well as No. 22 Penn State.
- The Big Ten Network original series Illinois Football: The Journey debuts at 8:30 p.m. CT/9:30 PM ET Tuesday. The season premiere begins with the Illini's preseason preparations at Camp Rantoul and follows the team through its season opener against Missouri.
- The first episode of Illinois Football: The Journey includes exclusive interviews with head coach Ron Zook, senior linebacker Brit Miller, junior quarterback Juice Williams, sophomore wide receiver Rejus Benn and others. The Journey cameras were there for the first preseason practice in pads and the intense, spirited one-on-one "Oklahoma Drill."
- New episodes will air at 8:30 p.m. CT/9:30 p.m. ET every Tuesday during the football season, with the previous week's show preceding the new episode. Viewers can follow The Journey online with a producer's diary, bonus video clips, photos, archived segments and a five-minute video preview of the season premiere by visiting www.BigTenNetwork.com/Journey.
- Junior quarterback Juice Williams needs 135 total yards to pass Jon Beutjer and 335 to pass Johnny Johnson and move into fifth place on the Illinois career total offensive yardage list.
- Williams needs 201 rushing yards to move into the top-20 of the the Illini career rushing list.
- Williams already holds the career record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,341 in his first three seasons.
- Senior defensive end Will Davis needs half a sack to crack the top-10 of the career quarterback sacks list.
- Saturday's game against EIU is the Illinois Renaissance Celebration, marking the re-opening of historic Memorial Stadium after the recent two-year, $121 million renovation.
- The renovation included luxury seating on the west side and a new north end zone seating structure. In all, renovations and refurbishments were completed in the Great West Hall, West Main Stands, West Balcony, Press Box, East Hall, North End Zone Seating, and football offices and performance complex.
- As part of the Renaissance Celebration, Illinois will honor the 10 greatest players in school history from each position during the game. For a complete list of players being recognized and for those who are returning, see page 2.
- Illinois will wear Dick Butkus-era throwback uniforms for the Sept. 6 game, honoring the greatest lineback in football history. The game-worn jerseys will then be auctioned off on FightingIllini.com from Sept. 5-15. Approximately 100 authentic, game-worn uniforms, including helmets, will be available for fans to bid on. In addition, at least one No. 50 Butkus jersey and one No. 77 Harold "Red" Grange jersey will be auctioned. Fans can locate the auctions by clicking the "Auctions" link under the "Multimedia" menu on FightingIllini.com.
The 2008 edition of the Ron Zook TV Show has seen a complete overhaul. Not only will it be seen on a brand-new network, WICD/WICS, but will sport a format unlike any other coaches' show. The Ron Zook Show will feature that latest and best in graphics and creative video. Each week, Zook and the show's host Brian Barnhart will discuss the previous week's game, issues in college football and the current Illini team in a Sportscenter-like format. The show will begin with a recap of the game and end with a quick-hitting music video. This year's show is sponsored by Dish Network.
- Despite a distance of just 40 miles from one campus to the other, Saturday's game marks just the second meeting between the University of Illinois and Eastern Illinois University. Illinois won first and only meeting with the Panthers, 42-17, two years ago in the season opener at Memorial Stadium.
- EIU has two former Illini defensive lineman on its current roster, Jeff Sobol and D'Angelo McCray. Sobol transferred from Illinois after the 2005 season and begins his third season with the Panthers as a starting defensive tackle. McCray joined the Panthers this fall after one season at Illinois as is listed as a second-team DT behind Sobol. Both players saw action in EIU's season opener at Central Michigan, with Sobol recording two tackles and McCray one tackle for loss.
- Cory Leman, brother of former Illini All-American J Leman, is a redshirt freshman linebacker for EIU. He is listed as a second-team LB?on the depth chart and recorded one tackle in the Panthers' opening-week loss to Central Michigan.
- Two current NFL head coaches have ties to both Eastern Illinois and the Illini -- Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress played at Eastern before coming to Illinois as an assistant coach from 1981-84; and New Orleans' Sean Payton is EIU class of 1987 and spent time as an assistant with Illinois in 1996.
- Several current Illini played big roles in Illinois' 2006 victory over EIU. Juice Williams made his Fighting Illini debut as a true freshman, hitting 2-of-4 passes for 25 yards and rushing for 26 yards on four carries late in the game. Vontae Davis intercepted his first career pass and had two tackles and one TFL in his first collegiate game. Then-sophomore Brit Miller had his first career interception and added 1.5 TFL against the Panthers.
- Illinois racked up 519 total yards vs. EIU in 2006, including 345 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
- Three true freshman started the 2006 season opener vs. EIU - cornerback Vontae Davis, then-tight end Jeff Cumberland and punter Kyle Yelton.
Eight Illini football players have been named to preseason watch lists for national awards:
- Vontae Davis - Thorpe, Nagurski, Bednarik: Davis had five tackles and two pass break-ups to open the season against Mizzou on Saturday. Last year, he was the only sophomore on the the semifinal list for the Jim Thorpe Award. He recorded four interceptions and eight additional passes defended last season, which ranked sixth in the Big Ten in both categories. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2007 and earlier this year was named to the Playboy All-America team.
- Arrelious Benn - Biletnikoff, Maxwell, Walter Camp: Benn had a team-high seven catches for 92 yards and turned four kicks for 67 yards in Illinois' opener against Missouri. Last season, he earned freshman All-America honors and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in. He broke Illinois' freshman receiving and receptions record, which were previously held by Brandon Lloyd and Ty Douthard, respectively. Also returned kicks in 2007 and will add punt returning to his repertoire.
- Juice Williams - Davey O'Brien: Williams had a career performance in the season opener against Missouri going 26-of-42 for 451 yards and five touchdowns to earn co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors. The totals were all career highs, his 451 yards rank as the third-most in school history for a single game and his five TDs tie for the second most. Williams led the Illini to the 2008 Rose Bowl his sophomore year after improving his passing accuracy from 39 to 57 percent in one season and leading an offense that posted the best total offensive numbers in school history with 5,500 yards. He broke into the Illinois all-time rushing list with over 1,000 yards rushing, the first quarterback in school history to do so.
- Will Davis - Hendricks, Lombardi: Davis had three tackles and 0.5 TFL last week against Missouri. He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2007 after leading the team in tackles for loss with 12.5 and sacks with 9.5.
- Ryan McDonald - Rimington: McDonald is in his fourth year as a starter on the offensive line. He helped pave the way for Illinois' 532 total yards in Saturday's season opener against Missouri. Last season, he started every game for an offensive line that posted the best rushing and total offensive numbers in school history and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. The line also set a school mark for fewest sacks allowed in a year with 1.23 per game. In his two years as starting center for the Illini, the offense has led the Big Ten in rushing.
- Xavier Fulton - Lombardi: Lombardi: Fulton is in his second year as a starter on the offensive line. He helped pave the way for Illinois' 532 total yards in Saturday's season opener against Missouri. In 2007, he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in his first year on the offensive line. He played a team-high 997 offensive snaps last year and led the team with 109 knockdowns. He also was instrumental in protecting QB Juice Williams and allowing only 1.23 sacks per game.
- Martez Wilson - Butkus: Wilson had a monster game against Missouri on Saturday, totaling 11 tackles, 2.5 TFL, one sack and one PBU. Prior to the season, he was added to the Butkus Watch List before even starting a game at Illinois. His athleticism has earned him the nickname of "Freak 2" and he runs a 4.4 40. He played in all 13 games last year and recorded 29 tackles, three for loss.
- Brit Miller - Lott: Miller led Illinois with 12 tackles and also had 0.5 TFL against Mizzou on Saturday to open the season. It was his first game as a middle linebacker after starting at OLB for the past three seasons, a move geared toward maximizing his experience, stability in play calling and leadership on the defense. His nomination for the Ronnie Lott award combines athletic excellence with off the field character. Miller is a staple in the Champaign and Decatur communities, volunteering an average of four hours per week with elementary and middle schools, military veterans and children's hospitals.
Illinois entered the 2008 season ranked in the top-25 in several national polls for the first time since 2002. The Illini are ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press poll, No. 19 in the USA Today/Coaches poll and No. 15 in the Football Writers poll.
Entering the 2008 season, the Big Ten boasts eight career 1,000 yard rushers. Illinois quarterback Juice Williams ranks sixth among active players and is tops among quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Indiana's Kellen Lewis is the only other signal-caller on the list.
- Tyrell Sutton, RB, Sr., Northwestern -- 3,140 yards
- P.J. Hill, RB, Jr., Wisconsin -- 3,015 yards
- Javon Ringer, RB, Sr., Michigan State -- 2,842 yards
- Beanie Wells, RB, Jr., Ohio State -- 2,296 yards
- Kory Sheets, RB, Sr., Purdue -- 2,210 yards
- Kellen Lewis, QB, Jr., Indiana -- 1,362 yards
- Juice Williams, QB, Jr., Illinois -- 1,341 yards
- Jaycen Taylor, RB, Sr., Purdue -- 1,237 yards
- Marcus Thigpen, RB, Sr., Indiana -- 1,008 yards
With his outstanding performance against Missouri, Juice Williams broke two Illinois season opening records -- Passing Yards: 451 by Juice Williams vs. Northwestern, 9/1/84; Touchdowns Passing: 5 by Juice Williams vs. Missouri, 8/30/08.
Illinois senior center Ryan McDonald has started 37 consecutive games during his four-year career. That number is among the best in the nation, ranking as the fourth-longest active streak. Below is the list of consecutive starts among Division I collegiate football players.
| 40 | Cody Lubojasky, LB, Houston
Andrew Hartline, OL, Central Michigan
Andrew Gardner, OL, Georgia Tech |
| 39 | Jason Phillips, LB, TCU
Dallas Reynolds, OL, BYU
Kraig Urbik, OL, Purdue |
| 38 | Kenneth Fontenette, S, Houston
Pat Brown, OL, UCF
Matt Kroul, DL, Iowa
Sean Sester, OL, Purdue
Clint Sintim, LB, Virginia |
| 37 |
Ryan McDonald, OL, Illinois
Maurice Crum, LB, Notre Dame
Robbie Felix, OL, UTEP
Jervonte Jackson, DL, Florida Atlantic
Dan Gerberry, OL, Ball State |
- Junior quarterback Juice Williams made big strides between his freshman and sophomore seasons and similar improvement is anticipated for his third season. Williams increased his completion percentage by nearly 18 percentage points (39.5 to 57.3) from 2006 to 2007. In one game of 2008, Williams continued that improvement with a 26-of-42 performance, which is 61.9 percent.
- Williams had a career day for the Illini in the season opener against MU, throwing for a career-high five TDs as well as a career-best 451 yards on a career-high 26 completions. His 451 passing yards rank third all-time at Illinois behind Wilson's 621 yards (11/8/80) and Tony Eason's 479 (10/23/82). Williams now holds the Illinois records for passing yardage and TDs in a season opener. He out-passed Chase Daniel 451 yards to 323 and threw two more TDs than the Missouri senior. Williams' performance also marked the second-straight year that Illinois has thrown for more than 250 yards against the Tigers.
- Williams became just the fourth quarterback in Illinois history to throw for five or more touchdowns in a game, joining Dave Wilson (6), Tom O'Connell (5) and Jeff George (5), with his five-touchdown performance against Missouri.
- Williams accounted for 91.7 percent of Illinois' first downs vs. Missouri. In all, Williams engineered 22-of-24 first downs. He rushed for five and threw for 17. The other two were runs by Daniel Dufrene.
- In his last five games (dating back to the final four of 2007), Williams has averaged 252 yards passing per contest and has thrown 12 touchdowns, while also rushing for 66 yards per game and scoring three touchdowns with his feet.
- Williams moved up the career total offense record list with his 461 yards against Missouri, surpassing Jeff George and moving into seventh place with 5,024 yards. He needs 135 yards to surpass Jon Beutjer and move into sixth place.
- Williams ranks eighth on Illinois' all-time passing yardage list with 3,683 yards. The next rung on the ladder is Jeff George's 5,189 yards compiled from 1988-89. Williams will need 1,506 to move up a spot.
- In 2006, his first season as a starter, Williams set school records for rushing yards by a quarterback in a season as well as in a career. In 2007, he surpasssed his own single-season numbers and hit the 1,000-yard career mark as a rusher. He currently ranks 23rd on Illinois' all-time rushing list, just 440 yards from breaking the top-15. For his career, he as compiled 1,341 yards on the ground with nine rushing TDs.
- In the season opener, Williams set two records season openers with 451 passing yards and five touchdown passes.
- There is no doubt that Williams has matured from his sophomore year. He is not only being looked on to be one of the main leaders on this Illinois team, but he also now has a daughter who looks up to him. LaChez will turn one on Sept. 3. While some college athletes become parents during their college years, Williams has taken parenting one step further. He and his high school girlfriend, Chez, have decided to continue their full-time student schedules at Illinois while raising LaChez. The trio lives together in Champaign year-round as one happy family.
Five of Illinois' 2008 starters came to Illinois on a different path than the one they currently find themselves.
- Wide receiver Chris Duvalt spent his first two seasons as an Illini at cornerback. He played a key role on special teams, but was spending too much time behind other players. This spring, he gave offense a try and the rest is history. He immediately made an impact in an offense where receivers are a valuable resource. In his first game on offense, he had two catches for 46 yards and both were touchdowns.
- Junior Rahkeem Smith played a season as a linebacker before seeing a straight shot to a starting role at fullback.
- Senior Will Davis came to Illinois as a 235-pound receiver, but quickly saw a chance at success on the defensive side of the ball with his addition of 40 pounds and a move to defensive end. In three seasons, he has totaled 16.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 quarterback sacks and 17 hurries.
- One of the most immediately effective moves came before the 2007 season when former defensive end Xavier Fulton switched to offensive tackle and earned All-Big Ten honors that same season. In his only year as a starter, the offensive line set new school records for total offense and rushing yards.
- Jeff Cumberland moved from tight end to receiver in the middle of last season. As a receiver in his final four games, he caught 11 passes for 221 yards, including 131 yards against Northwestern.
Illinois defensive end Will Davis' family are natives of the Republic of Liberia. He has spent his entire life in the United States, and was able to visit Liberia as a young child before civil war broke out. Now that the war has ended, his mother, Pearine Davis-Parkinson, recently returned home to become the Deputy Minister in the Ministry of State office. The Ministry of State supports the work of the President of the Republic of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The major departments of the Ministry of State are the Office of the President, Administration, and Public Affairs and Communications Technology. Davis' mother played basketball for the Liberian national team and at the University of Liberia. His uncle, John Davis, played soccer for Liberia. She should be in town in the month of October to attend Illinois football games.
- Juice Williams was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Missouri in the season opener. He exploded for career highs of 451 passing yards and five touchdowns to nearly rally Illinois from a second-half deficit against nationally ranked Missouri. His five scoring strikes are tied for second in school history and are the third-highest total in Big Ten annals. Williams' 451-yard effort rates third in the Illini records book and topped his previous career-best by more than 200 yards. Illinois fell behind 45-20 in the third quarter, but Williams broke loose for almost 300 yards through the air and four touchdowns in the second half to nearly pull off the win.
- Illinois led the Big Ten in rushing in both 2006 and 2007, however, in its first game of the season, the Illini lead the conference in another offensive category. In one game, Illinois passed for 451 yards which is best in the Big Ten through the first week.
- The Illini passed for 451 yards against Missouri marking the third-best passing performance in Illinois history.
- Despite the loss of first-round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall, returning running backs Daniel Dufrene (6.3 ypc) and Troy Pollard (6.4 ypc) both averaged over six yards per carry in 2007, while quarterback Juice Williams averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Although the Illini only rushed for 81 yards against Missouri, Dufrene still put up 75 yards on 13 carries for a 5.8 yard per carry average. In his career he is averaging 6.25 yards per touch.
- Against the Tigers in 2007, the Illini rushed for only 119 yards with 33 yards coming from Mendenhall and 55 from Dufrene. At the end of the 2007 season, the Illini were averaging 256 yards per game on the ground.
- In Illinois' first game, the offense put together 10 big plays over 20 yards, including three over 40 yards. It is the most plays of 20 or more yards compiled by the offense during the Ron Zook era. Among those 10 were nine big passing plays and one run of 41 yards.
- Senior receiver Will Judson made the most out of his first collegiate start on Saturday, hauling in five catches for 177 yards. His performance was the best for an Illini receiver since Walter Young's 178 yards against LSU?in the 2002 Nokia Sugar Bowl. Judson got his yards from receptions of 10, 19, 30, 53 and 65, all five for first downs.
- Judson and Chris Duvalt each hauled in two touchdown receptions, marking the first time since the 2002 Sugar Bowl that Illinois has had two receivers with two TDs (Walter Young and Brandon Lloyd vs. LSU).
- Sophomore wide receiver Arrelious Benn earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-America honors last season despite the fact that he was hampered by an injured shoulder for the entire season. Benn broke Illinois freshmen records with 54 receptions and 676 yards and also made his presence felt on special teams, returning a kickoff 90 yards for a TD against Penn State. After off-season surgery to fix the shoulder, Benn is back at 100 percent for his sophomore season. In his first game, he caught a career-high seven passes for 92 yards.
- Illinois returned three of five starters on the offensive line from the 2007 season, including 2007 All-Big Ten selections Xavier Fulton at left tackle and Ryan McDonald at center, and left guard Jon Asamoah. Last season, the line set a school record for fewest sacks per game with 1.23 while posting the best numbers in total offense and rushing with 5,585 and 3,338 yards, respectively. The line blocked for the Big Ten's best rushing offense in 2006 and 2007. The offensive line paved the way for Rashard Mendenhall to break eight individual records, including single-season rushing, season yards per carry, total touchdowns, rushing touchdowns and all-purpose yards.
