2011 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

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2011
Memorial Stadium
Seasons
2011 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Legends Division
No. 11 Michigan State x   7 – 1     11 – 3  
No. 12 Michigan %   6 – 2     11 – 2  
No. 24 Nebraska   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Iowa   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Northwestern   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Minnesota   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Leaders Division
No. 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
Rankings from
AP Poll

The 2011 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the

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. 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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 32:30 pm
Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
    		• BTNW 33–1545,154[2]
    September 1011:00 amSouth Dakota State*
    • Memorial Stadium
    • Champaign, IL
    		BTNW 56–342,212[2]
    September 176:00 pmNo. 22 Arizona State*
    • Memorial Stadium
    • Champaign, IL
    		BTNW 17–1450,843[2]
    September 242:30 pmWestern Michigan*No. 24
    • Memorial Stadium
    • Champaign, IL
    		BTNW 23–2043,684[2]
    October 111:00 am
    Land of Lincoln Trophy)
    		ESPN2W 38–3553,243[2]
    October 81:30 pmat
    Memorial Stadium
  • Bloomington, IN
    		• BTNW 41–2041,665[2]
    October 152:30 pm
    Illibuck)
    		ABC/ESPNL 7–1755,229[2]
    October 2211:00 amat
    Purdue Cannon)
    		ESPN2L 14–2145,146[2]
    October 292:30 pmat No. 19
    University Park, PA
    		ABC/ESPN2L 7–1097,828[3]
    November 122:30 pmNo. 22 Michigan
    • Memorial Stadium
    • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
    		ABC/ESPNL 14–3160,670[2]
    November 1911:00 amNo. 15 Wisconsin
    • Memorial Stadium
    • Champaign, IL
    		ESPN2L 17–2854,633[2]
    November 262:30 pmat
    Minneapolis, MN
    		BTNL 7–2741,549[2]
    December 3112:30 pmvs.
    AT&T Park
  • San Francisco, CA (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl)
    		• ESPNW 20–1429,878[4]
    • *Non-conference game
    • daggerHomecoming
    • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
    • All times are in Central time

    Game summaries

    Arkansas State

    See also: 2011 Arkansas State Red Wolves football team
    Arkansas State at Illinois
    1 234Total
    Arkansas State 0 807 15
    • Illinois 7 10133 33

    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

    See also: 2011 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team
    South Dakota State at Illinois
    1 234Total
    South Dakota State 0 300 3
    • Illinois 21 14147 56

    Arizona State

    See also: 2011 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
    Arizona State at Illinois
    1 234Total
    #22 Arizona State 7 007 14
    • Illinois 10 007 17

    Western Michigan

    See also: 2011 Western Michigan Broncos football team
    Western Michigan at Illinois
    1 234Total
    Western Michigan 3 1007 20
    • #24 Illinois 7 3103 23

    Northwestern

    See also: 2011 Northwestern Wildcats football team
    Northwestern at Illinois
    1 234Total
    Northwestern 0 14147 35
    • #24 Illinois 7 3721 38
    Scoring summary
    12:28ILLA.J. Jenkins 14-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (Derek Dimke kick)ILL 7-0
    212:31NWDrake Dinsmore 6-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick)Tied 7-7
    22:08NWJeremy Ebert 3-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick)NW 14-7
    20:00ILLDerek Dimke 49-yard field goalNW 14-10
    311:42NWJeremy Ebert 39-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick)NW 21-10
    37:11NWJeremy Ebert 4-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick)NW 28-10
    33:51ILLA.J. Jenkins 33-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (Derek Dimke kick)NW 28-17
    414:53ILLA.J. Jenkins 50-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (run failed)NW 28-23
    46:53ILLDonovonn Young 1-yard run (Nathan Scheelhaase to Spencer Harris pass)ILL 31-28
    41:15NWJacob Schmidt 6-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick)NW 35-31
    40:13ILLNathan Scheelhaase 1-yard run (Derek Dimke kick)ILL 38-35

    [5]

    Indiana

    See also: 2011 Indiana Hoosiers football team
    Illinois at Indiana
    1 234Total
    • #19 Illinois 14 1377 41
    Indiana 10 307 20

    Ohio State

    See also: 2011 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
    Ohio State at Illinois
    1 234Total
    • Ohio State 3 077 17
    #16 Illinois 0 007 7

    Purdue

    See also: 2011 Purdue Boilermakers football team
    Illinois at Purdue
    1 234Total
    #23 Illinois 0 0014 14
    • Purdue 7 1400 21

    [6]

    Penn State

    See also: 2011 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
    Illinois at Penn State
    1 234Total
    Illinois 0 070 7
    • #19 Penn State 0 0010 10

    Michigan

    See also: 2011 Michigan Wolverines football team
    Michigan at Illinois
    1 234Total
    • #22 Michigan 7 7314 31
    Illinois 0 077 14

    Wisconsin

    See also: 2011 Wisconsin Badgers football team
    Wisconsin at Illinois
    1 234Total
    • Wisconsin 0 7147 28
    Illinois 0 1700 17

    Minnesota

    See also: 2011 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
    Illinois at Minnesota
    1 234Total
    Illinois 0 070 7
    • Minnesota 0 2070 27

    UCLA (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl)

    See also: 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (December) and 2011 UCLA Bruins football team
    Illinois at Bruins
    1 234Total
    • Illinois 0 3710 20
    Bruins 0 707 14

    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.[7] The Bruins were 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

    See also: 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
    — = Not ranked RV = Received votes
    Week
    PollPre1234567891011121314Final
    AP
    		———2424191623RV———————
    Coaches———RV22161521RV———————
    HarrisNot released1420RV——————Not released
    BCSNot released23———————Not released

    References

    1. ^ Goudie, Chuck (November 28, 2011). "Big Price Tag Attached to Zook's Firing". WLS. Chicago. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
    2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Cumulative Season Statistics". University of Illinois Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
    3. ^ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Box Score". ESPN. October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
    4. ^ Harris, Flint (December 23, 2011). "2011-2012 Bowl Game Attendance". HolyTurf. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
    5. ^ "Illinois Completes Comeback in Final Minute to Defeat Rival Northwestern". ESPN. October 1, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
    6. ^ "Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Purdue Boilermakers Box Score". ESPN. October 22, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
    7. ^ UCLA Bowl Waiver Approved By NCAA , UCLABruins.com, November 30, 2011
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