2011 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

2011 Illinois Fighting Illini football

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl Champions
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl vs. UCLA, W 20–14
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	Leaders Division
2011 record	7–6 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ron Zook (fired November 27, 2011) Vic Koenning (interim)
Offensive coordinator	Paul Petrino
Defensive coordinator	Vic Koenning
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 60,670)

2011 Big Ten football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Legends Division
#11 Michigan State x		7	–	1		11	–	3
#12 Michigan %		6	–	2		11	–	2
#24 Nebraska		5	–	3		9	–	4
Iowa		4	–	4		7	–	6
Northwestern		3	–	5		6	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6		3	–	9
Leaders Division
#10 Wisconsin xy$		6	–	2		11	–	3
Penn State x		6	–	2		9	–	4
Purdue		4	–	4		7	–	6
Ohio State		3	–	5		6	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6		7	–	6
Indiana		0	–	8		1	–	11
Championship: Wisconsin 42, Michigan State 39
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of January 10, 2012; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2011 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Illini, who were led during the regular season by seventh-year head coach Ron Zook, are members of the Big Ten Conference in the Legends Division and played their home games at Memorial Stadium. Zook was fired after the team lost the final six games of its regular season.^[1] Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning was appointed as interim head coach led the team in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. On December 9, Illinois hired Tim Beckman as their new permanent head coach.

The Illini set a record that season, becoming the first NCAA FBS team to start their season off 6–0, but finish 6–6. The team's failure was largely due to the weakness of their schedule, with just four of their six wins coming against teams that ended up going to a bowl game (Arizona State, Arkansas State, Northwestern, and Western Michigan). All of their six losses came against Big Ten Conference opponents.

Before the team's appearance in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, nearly all of their assistant coaches were fired, as well as head coach Ron Zook.

The 2011 season ended with a 7–6 overall record, 2–6 in Big Ten play to finish 5th in Leaders Division, with a victory over UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	2:30 PM	Arkansas State*		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	W 33–15	45,154^[2]
September 10	11:00 AM	South Dakota State*		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	W 56–3	42,212^[2]
September 17	6:00 PM	No. 22 Arizona State*		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	W 17–14	50,843^[2]
September 24	2:30 PM	Western Michigan*	No. 24	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	W 23–20	43,684^[2]
October 1	11:00 AM	Northwestern	No. 22	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy)	ESPN2	W 38–35	53,243^[2]
October 8	1:30 PM	at Indiana	No. 19	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	BTN	W 41–20	41,665^[2]
October 15	2:30 PM	Ohio State	No. 16	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)	ABC/ESPN	L 7–17	55,229^[2]
October 22	11:00 AM	at Purdue	No. 23	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Purdue Cannon)	ESPN2	L 14–21	45,146^[2]
October 29	2:30 PM	at No. 19 Penn State		Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC/ESPN2	L 7–10	97,828^[3]
November 12	2:30 PM	No. 22 Michigan		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ABC/ESPN	L 14–31	60,670^[2]
November 19	11:00 AM	No. 15 Wisconsin		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ESPN2	L 17–28	54,633^[2]
November 26	2:30 PM	at Minnesota		TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 7–27	41,549^[2]
December 31	12:30 PM	vs. UCLA*		AT&T Park • San Francisco, CA (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl)	ESPN	W 20–14	29,878^[4]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time^[5].

Game notes

Arkansas State

Arkansas State at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Arkansas State	0	8	0	7	15
• Illinois	7	10	13	3	33

Date: September 3
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
Game start: 2:37 PM CST
Elapsed time: 3:10
Game attendance: 45,154
Game weather: 96°, Sunny
Referee: Mike Cannon
TV announcers (BTN): Tom Hart, Chris Martin & Rebecca Haarlow

Illinois opened the year at home for the first time since 2006. The opener was the first of eight home games for the Illini. After a slow start and falling behind 8–7 with 2:50 left in the 2nd quarter, the Illini scored a touchdown and a late field goal to take a 17 8 halftime lead. The offense continued to roll in the 2nd half as Illinois extended the lead to win the contest 33 15.

Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase led the Illini offense, finishing 16 for 23 on pass attempts totaling in 267 yards and two touchdowns. A.J. Jenkins was a favorite target for Scheelhaase, grabbing 11 receptions for 148 yards and 1 TD. Darius Millines also hauled in a TD and finished with 119 yards on 5 receptions. Jason Ford led the rushing attack with 86 yards on 22 carries and 2 touchdowns.

South Dakota State

South Dakota State at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
South Dakota State	0	3	0	0	3
• Illinois	21	14	14	7	56

Date: September 10
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
TV announcers (BTN): Kevin Kugler, Kelly Stouffer & Tony Banks

Arizona State

Arizona State at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Arizona State	7	0	0	7	14
• Illinois	10	0	0	7	17

Date: September 17
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins, Chris Martin & Dionne Miller

Western Michigan

Western Michigan at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Michigan	3	10	0	7	20
• #24 Illinois	7	3	10	3	23

Date: September 24
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
TV announcers (BTN): Wayne Larrivee, Jon Jansen & Lisa Byington

Northwestern

Northwestern at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	0	14	14	7	35
• #24 Illinois	7	3	7	21	38

Date: October 1
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth Mowins & Mike Bellotti

Scoring summary

1	2:28	ILL	A.J. Jenkins 14-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (Derek Dimke kick)	ILL 7-0

2	12:31	NW	Drake Dinsmore 6-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick)	Tied 7-7

2	2:08	NW	Jeremy Ebert 3-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick)	NW 14-7

2	0:00	ILL	Derek Dimke 49-yard field goal	NW 14-10

3	11:42	NW	Jeremy Ebert 39-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick)	NW 21-10

3	7:11	NW	Jeremy Ebert 4-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick)	NW 28-10

3	3:51	ILL	A.J. Jenkins 33-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (Derek Dimke kick)	NW 28-17

4	14:53	ILL	A.J. Jenkins 50-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (run failed)	NW 28-23

4	6:53	ILL	Donovonn Young 1-yard run (Nathan Scheelhaase to Spencer Harris pass)	ILL 31-28

4	1:15	NW	Jacob Schmidt 6-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick)	NW 35-31

4	0:13	ILL	Nathan Scheelhaase 1-yard run (Derek Dimke kick)	ILL 38-35

^[6]

Indiana

Illinois at Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #19 Illinois	14	13	7	7	41
Indiana	10	3	0	7	20

Date: October 8
Location: Memorial Stadium
Bloomington, IN
TV announcers (BTN): Eric Collins & Chris Martin

Ohio State

Ohio State at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio State	3	0	7	7	17
#16 Illinois	0	0	0	7	7

Date: October 15
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Bob Wischusen, Bob Davie & Heather Cox

Purdue

Illinois at Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
#23 Illinois	0	0	0	14	14
• Purdue	7	14	0	0	21

Date: October 22
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium
West Lafayette, IN
TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth Mowins & Mike Bellotti

^[7]

Penn State

Illinois at Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	7	0	7
• #19 Penn State	0	0	0	10	10

Date: October 29
Location: Beaver Stadium
University Park, PA
TV announcers (ABC/ESPN2): Carter Blackburn & Brock Huard

Michigan

Michigan at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #22 Michigan	7	7	3	14	31
Illinois	0	0	7	7	14

Date: November 12
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
TV announcers (ABC/ESPN): Justin Kutcher & Craig James

Wisconsin

Wisconsin at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Wisconsin	0	7	14	7	28
Illinois	0	17	0	0	17

Date: November 19
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth Mowins & Mike Bellotti

Minnesota

Illinois at Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	7	0	7
• Minnesota	0	20	7	0	27

Date: November 26
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, IL
TV announcers (BTN): Tom Hart, Derek Rackley & Lisa Byington

UCLA (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl)

Illinois at Bruins

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Illinois	0	3	7	10	20
Bruins	0	7	0	7	14

Date: December 31
Location: AT&T Park
San Francisco, California
TV announcers (ESPN): Carter Blackburn & Brock Huard

The Bruins, with a losing record, were granted a waiver to play in a bowl game by the NCAA on November 30, 2011 since their seventh loss was played in the post-season Pac-12 Championship Game.^[8] The Bruins will be coached by interim head coach Mike Johnson, who replaced Rick Neuheisel.

Second Quarter scoring: UCLA – Taylor Embree 16-yard pass from Kevin Prince (Tyler Gonzalez kick); ILL – Derek Dimke 36-yard field goal

Third Quarter scoring: ILL – T. Hawthorne 39-yard interception return (Dimke kick)

Fourth Quarter scoring: ILL – Dimke 37-yard field goal; ILL – A. J. Jenkins 60-yard pass from N. Scheelhaase (Dimke kick); UCLA – Nelson Rosario 38-yard pass from Prince (Gonzalez kick)

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	NR	NR	NR	24	24	19	16	23	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches'	NR	NR	NR	RV	22	16	15	21	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Harris	Not released						14	20	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released
BCS	Not released							23	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released

References

↑ Goudie, Chuck (November 28, 2011). "Big Price Tag Attached to Zook's Firing". WLS. Chicago. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Cumulative Season Statistics". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
↑ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Box Score". ESPN. October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
↑ Harris, Flint (December 23, 2011). "2011-2012 Bowl Game Attendance". HolyTurf. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
↑ "2011-2012 Schedule". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
↑ "Illinois Completes Comeback in Final Minute to Defeat Rival Northwestern". ESPN. October 1, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
↑ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Purdue Boilermakers Box Score". ESPN. October 22, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
↑ UCLA Bowl Waiver Approved By NCAA , UCLABruins.com, November 30, 2011

Illinois Fighting Illini football

Venues	Illinois Field (1890–1922) Memorial Stadium (1923–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Missouri Northwestern: (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, 1945–2008; Land of Lincoln Trophy, 2009–present) Ohio State (Illibuck) Purdue (Purdue Cannon) Michigan

Culture & lore	Illinois Loyalty "Oskee Wow-Wow" Marching Illini Gene Honda Fighting Illini Sports Network Chief Illiniwek

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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