Illini Prepare For Sugar Bowl

Seventh-ranked football squad kicks off against LSU New Year's day at 7:30 p.m.




Ron Turner leads the Illini in their first-ever BCS appearance New Years Day after coaching Illinois to it's first Big Ten title in 11 years.
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Dec. 20, 2001

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The seventh-ranked Fighting Illini football squad will be playing in the school's first-ever appearance in both the Nokia Sugar Bowl and the Bowl Championships Series...The Illini will be looking for their second bowl win under head coach Ron Turner, following a 63-21 win over Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl in 1999...Illinois won its first outright Big Ten title since 1983 and first since 1990 with its win over Northwestern, 34-28...It is the 15th conference title all-time for an Illinois squad...The Illini also won their 10th game for only the fourth time in school history (2001, 10-1; 1989, 10-2; 1983, 10-2; and, 1902, 10-2-1) and have a chance to reach 11 wins for the first time in the school's history...The Illini are ranked No. 7 in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches and Associated Press polls, the team's highest ranking since being No. 5 after jumping out to a 6-1 start in 1990...The last time an Illinois team finished the season ranked in the Top-10 was in 1989 when the 10-2 Illini were No. 10... The Illini have the second-longest active winning streak, behind Miami's 19 games, with seven-straight wins...The Illini haven't lost to a non-conference team since 1998 when Illinois fell to Louisville, 35-9 (10-game winning streak)...Illinois finished the season 6-0 at Memorial Stadium in 2001, the first perfect home mark since 1984.

Ron Turner has now taken an Illinois team that went 0-11 in his first season to its first-ever appearance in a BCS bowl and 10-1 record to earn unanimous Big Ten Coach of the Year honors...He was also named the AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year...The Illini averaged 32.4 points per game this season, currently the highest scoring offense in school history (besting his 1999 effort of 32.3 points per contest)...Turner has now defeated each Big Ten school except for Michigan State during his career at Illinois.

THE COACHES' CORNER
RON TURNER, Illinois: Turner is in his fifth year at Illinois and enters the Nokia Sugar Bowl with a 33-34 coaching record, including 26-30 at UI...Since 1999, Turner is 23-11 at Illinois...Turner is the architect of one of the greatest program turnarounds in college football...He took a team that went a combined 3-19 in its first two seasons to a team winning its first Big Ten title in 11 years and a 10-1 record...The Illini are ranked eighth in the BCS with a strength of schedule ranked 37th, defeating three ranked teams in the process (No. 25 Louisville in Champaign and No. 15 Purdue and No. 25 Ohio State on the road).

In 1999, Turner led the Illini to an 8-4 record and a 63-21 thumping of Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl. For his efforts, Turner finished fourth in the Associated Press Coach of the Year voting. Turner came to Illinois after a four-year stint as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears (1993-96). In 1992, he was the head coach for San Jose State where he turned in a 7-4 record and a second-place finish in the Big West Conference. Turner has served as an assistant at Stanford, Texas A&M, Southern California, Pittsburgh, Northwestern and Arizona working mainly with quarterbacks and receivers during his 20+ years in college coaching.

NICK SABAN, LSU: Nick Saban is in his second season at the helm of the LSU program and has led the Tigers to a 16-7 record and back-to-back bowl game appearances. Last season, Saban led LSU to a 28-14 win over Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl to finish the year with an 8-4 record. In his career, Saban has compiled a 59-33-1 record overall in seven seasons as a college coach and has guided six of his seven teams to bowl eligibility. Last year's Peach Bowl triumph was the first post-season win of his career, after losing in his previous-four attempts. In 1999, he coached the Michigan State Spartans to a second place Big Ten finish and a berth in the CompUSA Citrus Bowl but resigned before the game to take the job at LSU.

While this will be the third meeting between Saban and Turner at the collegiate level, the two also squared off in the professional ranks when Turner was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears and Saban was the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Saban's stint at Cleveland lasted from 1991-94, while Turner tutored the Chicago offense from 1993-96. The two teams never met during the regular season, but they often did battle in training camp scrimmages.

ILLINOIS/LSU SERIES NOTES

  • This is the first meeting in school history between Illinois and Louisiana State. In fact, Illinois has never played against a team from the Bayou State and is playing its first game in the in the state of Louisiana.
  • While the Illini and Tigers are hooking up for the first time, Illinois does have five games under its belt vs. teams from the SEC. Illinois is 1-4 all-time vs. the SEC although it has been over a decade since the two have hooked up. Ironically, the last meeting came in 1988 when Florida slipped past the Illini 14-10 at the All-American Bowl. Illinois' lone win came in 1913 when the Illini shut out Kentucky 21-0.
  • While the teams are meeting for the first time, the coaching staffs won't. Nick Saban spent four seasons at the helm of the Michigan State program and led the Spartan to three bowl games. During his time Saban was 4-0 vs. Illinois including wins over the Illini in 1997 and 1998, Ron Turner's first two seasons at Illinois.

    KITTNER RECORDS TO WATCH
    Quarterback Kurt Kittner needs 266 yards to set the all-time passing record at Illinois. He currently has 8,460 career yards passing which is just shy of Jack Trudeau's 8,725 (1983-85). He would also move to fourth on the Big Ten career passing yardage list as well ... He also needs 201 yards of total offense to pass Trudeau's career record (8,640) ...With 17 pass attempts, Kittner will become No. 1 on that career list ... Two more touchdown passes will break his own single-season record he set in 1999 with 24 ... He already holds the career record for touchdown passes with 66 and the single-season touchdown pass record with 24.

    ABOUT THE SUGAR BOWL/SUPERDOME

  • While the football team will be making its first appearance in the Sugar Bowl, the basketball team is no stranger to the event. The Illinois hoops team went 1-1 at the Sugar Bowl Classic in 1972 defeating Temple 82-77 before falling to No. 1 UCLA (led by Bill Walton) 71-64. The games were played at the Tulane Gymnasium.
  • This will be just the fifth time that a member (Penn State played prior to joinning the conference) of the Big Ten Conference has played in the Sugar Bowl. Ohio State defeated Texas A&M 24-14 in the 1999 game, while dropping a 31-14 decision to Florida State in 1998. Michigan dropped a 9-7 decison to Auburn in 1984 and Ohio State lost 35-6 to Alabama in 1978. The Big Ten is 1-3 in the Sugar Bowl all time. This will also be the first time that the outright Big Ten Champion has played in the Sugar Bowl.
  • The Louisiana Superdome will be home to Super Bowl XXXVI. It's the sixth time that the Superdome will host the event, the most of any other arena in the country.
  • As a structure, the Superdome is the world's largest steel-constructed room unobstructed by posts. It is also the first privately-managed, publicly-owned arena. The total land area for the arena is 52 acres and the structure stands 273 feet high.

    ILLINOIS WINS BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
    With a 34-28 win over Northwestern on Thanksgiving Day and a 26-20 Ohio State victory over Michigan the following Saturday, Illinois won its 15th Big Ten title in the school's history. It is the first conference title for Illinois since 1990 and first outright since 1983.

    MORE MILESTONES
    Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Lloyd needs two touchdown catches to tie the single-season school record with 10 (three to set the record). Lloyd has hauled in eight scoring receptions this season, the most for an Illini receiver since 1989...With 273 yards receiving, Lloyd could break the single-season record for receiving yardage (151 would give him the second-most and 63 yards improves him to third)...The Illinois offense needs 322 yards to pass the 5,000-yard mark for total offense, something that hasn't been done in recent history (1950-present)...With 33 points scored, the Illini would break the school record for most points scored in a single-season. The record was set in 1999 by Ron Turner's squad after a 63-21 win in the Micronpc.com Bowl.

    PROLIFIC OFFENSES
    Ron Turner is considered one of the best offensive minds in college football and the numbers over the last three seasons at Illinois only reflect that statement. Turner's 1999 offense became the highest scoring offense in school history with 388 points scored and a 32.3 per game average. This season, the Illini have scored 356 points (33 points away from breaking the previous record) and are averaging 32.4 points per contest. Despite a 5-6 record in 2000, the Illini offense still ranked in the Illinois top-10 with 26.7 points per game. The last three seasons, Turner's offenses have ranked in the Illinois top-10 (1st-1999; 2nd-2001, 9th-2000), which is more than any other head coach in Illinois history.

    ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS

  • Following a 10-1 regular-season finish, the Illini are ranked No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today/Coaches poll and Associated Press poll, the highest ranking in the Turner era. The last time the Illini were ranked No. 7 or better was in 1990 when they started the season 6-1. Illinois moved to fifth in the AP poll for a two-week span after defeating No. 25 Michigan State and winning at Wisconsin. The team finished the season with an 8-4 record, a trip to the Hall of Fame Bowl and a final ranking of No. 25.
  • Illinois earned its first-ever Bowl Championships Series poll ranking following its win over No. 15 Purdue on Nov. 3. By continuing their winning ways, the Illini improved to No. 8 in the final BCS rankings, however winning the outright Big Ten title earned the school's first-ever bid to a Bowl Championship Series game.

    ILLINOIS IN BOWL GAMES
    Illinois' record is 6-7 in its 13 bowl appearances ...Ron Turner has a perfect 1-0 record in bowl games after leading Illinois to a 63-21 win over Virginia in the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl, the team's last postseason trip...The Illini will be making their first appearance in the Nokia Sugar Bowl and first appearance in any of the BCS bowls other than the Rose Bowl...Illinois has been to the Rose Bowl on four occasions (1947, 1952, 1964 and 1984)...The Illini had a stretch of five straight bowl games from 1988-1992 led by head coach John Mackovic (four seasons) and Lou Tepper (one season), playing in the All-American, Citrus, Hall of Fame, John Hancock and Holiday Bowls.

    KITTNER COMPARED TO THE HEISMAN FINALISTS
    He led his team to a 10-1 record in 2001, a No.7 national ranking, the school's first-ever Bowl Championship Series bid, Illinois' first Big Ten title in 11 years and in the process led the Big Ten in passing yardage and touchdown passes. However, senior quarterback Kurt Kittner was not considered a Heisman Candidate or even the conference's MVP. He was second only to Florida's Rex Grossman in passing yards, total offense and yards per completion. He was tied with Dorsey and Harrington for touchdown passes thrown this season and his total yardage outgained his next competitor (behind Grossman) by over 30 yards per contest.

    ILLINI VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

  • With its 34-22 win over No. 25 Ohio State, Illinois defeated its third ranked opponent of the season. The Illini beat No. 25 Louisville, 34-10, on Sept. 15 at Memorial Stadium then handed No. 15 Purdue only its fourth home loss in four years in a 38-10 victory. The only loss of the season for the Illini was to No. 17 Michigan at Michigan Stadium.
  • The team will be looking for its fourth victory this season over a Top-25 opponent when it takes on No. 12 LSU. The last time an Illinois squad beat four ranked opponents in a season was in 1983 with wins over No. 19 Michigan State, No. 4 Iowa, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 8 Michigan.

    KITTNER BECOMES WINNINGEST ILLINOIS QUARTERBACK
    With a 34-28 win over Northwestern, senior quarterback Kurt Kittner recorded his 24th win as Illinois' starting quarterback (24-14) to beat Jack Trudeau's (1983-85) previous record of 23-11-1. Along the way, Kittner passed such legendary signal-callers as Jeff George, Tony Eason and Dave Wilson.

    KITTNER, THE COMEBACK KID

    Kurt Kittner won the 12th come-from-behind game of his career and fifth of the season against No. 25 Ohio State. The Illini fell behind twice at Ohio State only to have the senior rally them for the fourth consecutive week. With Illinois trailing at the 5:02 mark in the second quarter, Kittner rallied his team by hitting eight of his last 10 passes in the half. Kittner threw for 179 yards and two TDs during the stretch that saw the Illini turn a 10-7 deficit into a 21-10 halftime advantage. Kittner wasn't done with his comeback heroics though. After Ohio State stormed back to take a 22-21 lead going into the fourth quarter, Kittner promptly led Illinois back in front on the next drive, hitting 4-of-6 passes for 51 yards including a pair of third down and long conversions to Walter Young. Overall, Kittner completed eight of his 12 passing attempts in the fourth quarter for 66 yards.

    The Illini fell behind to Wisconsin by a touchdown in the fourth quarter and put together two drives to beat the Badgers, 42-35. In those two drives, Kittner was 5 of 7 for 92 yards and two touchdowns. The next week, Illinois answered a 13-0 deficit with 38 straight points to win 38-13 at Purdue. Following the fourth Illinois turnover of the game, Kittner finished 11 of 23 for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Against the Nittany Lions, Penn State jumped out to a 14-0 lead and Kittner was 13 of 19 for 169 yards and a touchdown to lead Illinois to a 33-28 win. Earlier in the season, the Illini were down 6-3 to Northern Illinois before Kittner put together a run of 8 of 12 passing for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

    His total figures in the five comeback wins this season are: 53 of 83 (64 percent) for 906 yards and nine touchdowns after Illinois fell behind

    TRAVELING ILLINI
    The Illini are 4-1 away from Memorial Stadium this year following a 34-22 win at Ohio State, 38-13 win at Purdue, 35-14 win at Indiana, 44-17 win at California and 45-20 loss in Ann Arbor. The last time an Illini squad posted a 4-1 record on the road was in 1999. The Illini fell to Indiana 31-34 in overtime early in the season then followed up with wins at Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State (defeated Louisville prior to the Indiana defeat). In 1999, the Illini became the first team to win at Ohio State and Michigan in the same season since the 1952 Michigan State squad accomplished the feat.

    O-LINE NOTES

  • Three Illinois offensive linemen were named to either the first or second teams of the All-Big Ten list. Offensive guard Jay Kulaga and tackle Tony Pashos earned first-team honors, while center Luke Butkus was named to the second team. Those three linemen will be starting their 35th consecutive game in this year's Sugar Bowl.
  • The Illinois offensive line has started the same group of five players in all 11 games this season (LT-Sean Bubin, LG-Kulaga, C-Butkus, RG-Bucky Babcock, RT-Pashos). However, Babcock will miss the 2002 Nokia Sugar Bowl with a broken hand. Junior utility lineman David Diehl will start in his place after playing in over 380 snaps, alternating with Bubin at tackle.
  • The offensive line has allowed only 13 sacks in 11 games, which ranks second in the Big Ten. The line has held four defenses without a sack, including the Wisconsin Badgers and All-American Wendell Bryant who entered the game averaging 3.5 sacks per contest.
  • The Illini offense is once again one of the most prolific in school history and with 33 points the 2001 squad could pass the all-time scoring record set in 1999. The team also has a chance to top the 5,000-yard total offense mark for the first time in recent school history with 322 yards against the LSU Tigers.
  • There have been three "Butkus" who have lettered at Illinois,

    FITTS - ILLINOIS' ALL-TIME LEADING PUNTER

  • Senior punter Steve Fitts now owns every career punting record at the University of Illinois following a season in which he averaged 42.4 yards per punt and pinned 17 of 53 inside the 20 yardline. In the last two games, Fitts has nailed 7 of 10 inside the 15 yard line. This season, 54 percent of his punts were unreturnable.
  • Fitts, who has been the team's regular punter for the last four seasons, has been an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection for the last three. He has a career average of 41.7 and has landed 52 career punts inside the 20 yard line with a net punting average of 37.6 yards.
  • With a 48.7 punting average against Penn State, Fitts recorded his 30th career 40+ yard punting average game.

    UNDER THE ROOF
    This will be Illinois' first contest in a domed stadium this season and its first since playing the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sept. 30, 2001. Overall, Illinois has compiled a 5-4-1 record in domes, with all but three of those contests coming at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The last non-conference game for Illinois indoors was on Sept. 19, 1992, when the Illini fell 31-13 to the Houston Cougars at the Astrodome.

    PRO PARKS
    While this number will jump dramatically with the arrival of the Chicago Bears to Champaign, Ill., next season, the Illini are making their 26th appearance in a professional stadium. Last season, Illinois split its two games in NFL/MLB stadium, beating San Diego State 49-13 at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif., and losing to Minnesota 44-10 in the Metrodome. Ron Turner's squad also played the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl in a professional setting, beating Virginia 63-21 at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Fla.

    CONVERTED QUARTERBACKS

  • Three starters on this Fighting Illini team - WR Walter Young, CB Christian Morton and TE Brian Hodges - came to Illinois as quarterbacks and are now making an impact at different positions.
  • During the 1999 season, Young was competing for a back-up QB spot with then-senior Kirk Johnson. To get some playing time on the field, Young worked out part-time with the receivers. During that season, he caught 14 passes for 267 yards and a key touchdown at Michigan. In 2000, he moved to the position permanently, recording 403 yards receiving and a 14.9 yard per catch average. This season he is the team's second-leading receiver with 712 yards on 44 catches and six touchdowns, including a career-high 133 yards against Ohio State.
  • Morton had dreams of being an NFL quarterback, but was competing behind Kittner and current QB back-ups Dustin Ward and Mark Kornfeld. After talking with head coach Ron Turner, Morton decided the best way to get on the field was to go to the opposite side of the ball, making the secondary the best in the Big Ten. In 2001, his debut season, he was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns (school record), broke up 26 passes (2nd in the Big Ten) and has 63 tackles (4th on the team).
  • Senior tight end Brian Hodges also reported to Illinois as a future quarterback, but was moved to tight end during his freshman season. He started 11 games as a redshirt freshman and notched nine starts this season. He recorded 9 catches for 90 yards this season, three for touchdowns, including the game-tying catch against Wisconsin.

    Block Party
    The Illini have blocked six kicks this season (three punts, two field goals and an extra point). The two field goals came against Northern Illinois when senior DE Terrell Washington got a hand on two potential scores for the Huskies. Washington recorded his third blocked kick when he swatted an extra point attempt at Indiana. Wide receiver Dwayne Smith blocked his second punt of the season against Ohio State, which was recovered for a touchdown by Jamaal Clark. The touchdown was the first blocked punt returned for a score since William Morris returned a Tyrone Washington block 10 yards for a score against Wisconsin on Nov. 20, 1993. Senior safety Nick Piazza also blocked one punt this season.

    SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

  • The Illini have boast a trio of kickers that have combined for 22 of 28 field goals on the season, which ranks first in the Big Ten. Sophomore JJ Tubbs began the season as the team's kicker hitting 5 of 8 field goals. After missing field goals against Louisville, sophomore Peter Christofilakos took over as the full-time placekicker and has made 12 of 13 this season. He was named a seminfinalist for the Lou Groza Award and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. Junior college transfer John Gockman is the Illini's long-range kicker hitting 5 of 7 from over 40 yards. Christofilakos and Gockman combined for five field goals in the Illini's win over Wisconsin, tying a school record for field goals in a game. For their effort, they were named Big Ten Special Teams Players of the Week.
  • Senior punter Steve Fitts is averaging 42.4 yards per punt ranking fourth in the Big Ten and 32nd in the nation. He has booted a long of 69 yards this season and has placed 17 inside the 20 yardline, including seven of his last 10 punts in games against Ohio State and Northwestern, inside the 15 yardline.
  • Junior punt returner Eugene Wilson ranks eighth in the Big Ten with his 10.5 average yards per punt this season. He broke free for a 46-yard return in the Illini's win at Indiana, taking the return to the Indiana 5 yardline. Wilson ranks third on Illinois' all-time punt return yardage list.
  • The Illini kickoff unit forced a fumble (Muhammad Abdullah forced, Jamaal Clark recovered) on the 26 yard line to set up a 7-yard TD by Antoineo Harris in the Illini's 44-17 win over Cal.

    THE ILLINI SECONDARY
    Illinois boasts one of the best secondaries in the Big Ten Conference. It ranks first in the Big Ten in pass efficiency defense, is tied with the most interceptions in the conference with 18 and ranks third in the league in opponent's third down conversions... Junior CB Eugene Wilson earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for his six-interception season. Wilson also leads the nation in passes broken up (29/2.63 per game)...Of the 397 opponent passes thrown only 86 have been tossed in Wilson's direction (22 percent) and of those 82, 29 have been broken up and six more have been intercepted, which is 36 percent of everything thrown at him...Sophomore CB Chrisitan Morton has four interceptions this season, two returned for touchdowns and ranks second in the league in passes broken up with 25, which earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors...Senior SS Bobby Jackson, one of the team's captains, has six tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions (one touchdown) and 12 passes broken up. He also was named All-Big Ten second-team...Senior FS Muhammad Abdullah ranked second on the team in total tackles with 82, had three interceptions, four tackles for loss and two sacks to receive honorable mention all-conference honors.

    TURNER NOTES

  • Turner has his 10-1 Illinois squad ranked seventh in the nation in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches and Associated Press polls after not even cracking the preseason Top-35 in either list.
  • Turner is one of only two coaches in the Top-10 this season to have one loss or less after a losing season in 2000. Illinois' 10-1 record has the Illini topping the 10-win mark for only the fourth time in school history.
  • In 1999, Turner led an Illini turnaround from 3-8 the previous season to 8-4 and a 63-21 win over Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl. For his efforts, Turner finished fourth in the Associated Press Coach of the Year voting.
  • During that same season, Turner became the first coach since 1952 to win at Michigan and Ohio State in the same season. The 20-point come-from-behind victory at "The Big House" was the best comeback win in school history. Illinois' 46-20 win at "The Horseshoe" was the worst home loss for the Buckeyes in 50 years.
  • The 1999 Illinois squad became the highest scoring offense in school history with its win in the Micronpc.com Bowl. The Illini's 388 points surpassed the 1902 team's 380 points scored in 13 games.
  • Turner was the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears from 1993-96, setting franchise scoring and passing records in 1995. In that season, the Bears had an 1,000-yard rusher and receiver.
  • Turner has over 20 years experience coaching quarterbacks. Some of his QBs include: Jeff Garcia, Erik Kramer, Jim Harbaugh, Steve Stenstrom, Sean Salisbury, Rodney Peete, Bucky Richardson, Sandy Schwab, John Congemi and Dave Kreig.
  • Turner founded the "Scoring Against MS" program to raise money for the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Currently the program has raised over $300,000 over the last five years. Money is donated based on the amount of points scored by the Illini during the season.
  • Turner's brother is Norv Turner, offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers.

    THIS "KITT" CAN PLAY

  • Illinois senior quarterback Kurt Kittner, with 38 starts under his belt, has amassed over 8,400 career yards passing and 66 touchdown passes (Kittner accounts for 73 touchdowns in four years). His four-touchdown performance against the Badgers gave him Illnois' all-time touchdown pass record, passing Jack Trudeau's 55 from 1983-85. Illini teams are 22-5 when Kittner throws a touchdown pass, dating back to 1999.
  • Kittner was named one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the nation's best senior quarterback. He was also one of 12 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award.
  • Averaging 272.2 yards per game, Kittner leads the Big Ten in passing offense and ranks second in total offense. He also ranks 16th in the nation in total offense.
  • With 387 yards passing against Northwestern, Kittner posted his 22nd career 200-plus passing game. He has also topped 2,900 yards in a single-season for the first time in his career.
  • For his career-high 401-yard perfomance against Wisconsin, he was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
  • Kittner is the Big Ten Leader in TD Passes with 23, including touchdowns to seven different receivers. He has also completed 37 passes over 25 yards this season, including a high of 67 yards and two 59-yarders.

    OFFENSIVE NOTES

  • After the 2000 season in which the Illini lost four games in the fourth quarter, Illinois is finishing in the final quarter in 2001 by outscoring its opponents 105-64. The Illini also have a large scoring margin on their foes in the second quarter, 102-66.
  • With 322 yards of total offense in the Sugar Bowl, Illinois can do what no other squad in recent history (1950-present) has ever done - pass the 5,000-yard mark for the season.
  • The Illini are averaging 36.2 points per contest over the last five games and topped the 40-point mark for the second time in 2001 with a 42-35 win over Wisconsin.
  • Illinois' passing offense ranks second in the Big Ten and 21st in the nation with a 275.0 yards per game average.
  • The Illini offensive line has allowed only 13 sacks in 11 games (1.18 per game), which ranks second in the conference. They have held opponents without a sack in four games (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Louisville and California), including a Wisconsin defense that was averaging 3.5 sacks per contest.
  • The Illini offense has scored 25 points or more 25 times in the last three seasons (dating back to 1999, 34 games) and has topped the 40-point mark nine times during that same span.
  • Illinois' running game hopes to see the return of tailback Antoineo Harris for the 2002 Nokia Sugar Bowl. Harris missed the final two games of the regular season with a broken hand. He still leads the team in rushing with 69.6 yards per game. His partner in crime, Rocky Harvey, took up the slack, along with fullback Carey Davis while he was gone. Harvey barely missed 100 yards in the season finale with 96 yards against Northwestern. Harvey rushed for a two-game total of 178 yards, while Davis compiled 129 yards in the final two contests.

    DEFENSIVE NOTES

  • Sophomore linebacker Ty Myers' interception return for a touchdown against Ohio State was the fourth for the Illinois team this season (Morton-2; Jackson-1, Myers-1) setting a school record for most interception returns for scores in a season. That number ranks second in the nation.
  • The Illini defense is second in the Big Ten in sacks with 39 for a loss of 262 yards. Eighteen Illini defenders have recorded sacks (most in the nation) with linebacker Jerry Schumacher leading the team with six. In addition to the 39 sacks, Illinois has 46 other tackles for loss. Ten of 11 starters have sacks for the Illini. The defense also set a school record with nine sacks in a single-game in Illinois' win over Purdue.
  • The Illinois defense has allowed only 27 points this season off the 21 turnovers allowed (5 of 21, 23 percent). In Illinois' 38-13 win over Purdue, the offense turned the ball over four consecutive series setting up the Purdue offense on an average of the Illinois 28 yardline. The defense allowed a total of only nine offensive yards and six points in four drives. They forced the Boilermakers to punt, kick two field goals and held them scoreless at the 1 yardline.
  • During the regular season, the Illini forced 26 turnovers which ranks 27th in the nation. The Illini offense scored 79 points off turnovers, putting points on the board following 13 of the 26 take-aways.

    DEFENSIVE COMPARISON
    While the Illinois offense has been stifling this season, the Illinois defense has quietly become one of the country's most improved units. In just one year, new defensive coordinator Mike Cassity has transformed Illinois into an aggressive defense that has shut down its opponents at the point of attack. This season, Illinois defenders have allowed 1,263 fewer rushing yards than a season ago, while allowing 13 fewer rushing scores. Overall, the Illinois defense is allowing 85.5 less yards per game on the ground and are allowing 50.9 yards less per game.