Touchdown Times: Sep. 14, 2012

Touchdown TIMES A publication of The Daily Illini | Friday, September 14, 2012

e m a g d a b e t i s p ’ s e l e o D o T ’ O , e p m g n i w in Te o r g e c n e d fi con

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Friday, September 14, 2012

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Photo of

THE GAME

The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com

Editor’s note: This page is a place to run a photo each week that is relevant in some way to the upcoming game.

The photo could be from last year’s matchup or the Illini’s game from the previous week — whatever. As long as it gets you ready for this week, it’ll be here.

Arizona State’s Alden Darby (4) runs an interception for 34 yards, chased by Illinois’ Spencer Harris (80) and Justin Hardee (84) during the game Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.

One week after throwing an interception and struggling in his first collegiate start, Reilly O’Toole looks to rebound against Charleston Southern to overcome last week’s 31-point loss.

Follow the Daily Illini Twitter accounts for this Saturday’s action: @di_sports amd @DailyIlliniFB.

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Friday, September 14, 2012

Illini plan to use FCS foe as learning opportunity

BY CHAD THORNBURG STAFF WRITER

Saturday’s home game against Charleston Southern couldn’t come any sooner for the Illinois football team.

After a 45-14 thrashing by Arizona State, the Illini can’t wait to get back on the field and put that game behind them.

“Definitely a good feeling to get that out of the way and start a new game plan and everything against a new team this week,” running back Josh Ferguson said. “We just want to make corrections and get better.”

After struggling against Arizona State in all facets of the game, the Illini (1-1) face a much less daunting task this week against FCS opponent Charleston Southern (0-2).

The Buccaneers went winless last season and haven’t won a game since Nov. 13, 2010.

Illinois is 11-0 all-time against FCS opponents, but head coach Tim Beckman said the Illini won’t be taking it easy at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

“Our team needs to get better,” Beckman said. “So we’re going to do what we need to do to be successful.”

Although Beckman said the Illini will not call the game any more conservatively than usual, the score could be tilted in Illinois’ favor very early, which will likely lead to a rush-heavy offensive attack — an opportunity for inexperienced running backs Ferguson and Donovonn Young to continue to build on last week’s performance.

Ferguson rushed for 101 yards on 14 carries, and Young pitched in 65 yards and a touchdown.

Both running backs credited their improved production — they managed just a combined 40 yards against Western Michigan in Week One — to the offensive line.

“We just got a lot of movement up front, and that’s what counts,” Young said. “Once we get the movement up front, me and Josh can do what we do.”

If the Illini build a big lead, the running backs — Young, Ferguson and freshman Dami

Ayoola — could see a lot of touches Saturday, especially if the Illini are without starting quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase for a second straight game.

Scheelhaase sprained his ankle in the third quarter of the Sept. 1 season opener against Western Michigan and sat out in the loss in Tempe, Ariz.

The junior quarterback said he expects to play Saturday until the coaching staff tells him otherwise.

“It was a frustrating week not being able to practice as much as I wanted to,” Scheelhaase said of last week. “But through that frustration, you just have to get it treated, get it right, because it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. At the end of the day, missing one game is a whole lot better than missing two, three or however many more.

“That’s hopefully the last one I’ll have to miss.”

Chad can be reached at thornbu1@dailyillini.com and on Twitter @cthornburg10.

DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

Illinois’ Josh Ferguson runs the ball against Western Michigan at Memorial Stadium on Sept.

1. With starting quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase’s health in question, Ferguson and the other running backs may get a lot of carries against Charleston Southern.

Friday, September 14, 2012

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Friday, September 14, 2012

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“I feel like I’m a lot more confident out there. I feel a lot more comfortable in the huddle and playing the game.”

REILLY O’TOOLE, quarterback

T R A T S E S L FA e t a t S a n o iz r A r e ft a

e v o r p o t h c u m s a h O’Toole still

BY SEAN HAMMOND

STAFF WRITER

F

or a quarterback who was defeated only once as a starter in high school, a 31-point loss was not what Reilly O’Toole had in mind for his fi rst collegiate start. As the signal caller at Wheaton-Warrenville South High School in Wheaton, Ill., O’Toole navigated his team to back-to-back IHSA class 7A championships in 2009 and 2010.

But it was a different story at Arizona State last week when O’Toole completed just 10 passes for just 54 yards , threw a touchdown and an interception , and was sacked four times.

O’Toole, who did receive some playing time as the backup to fi rststring quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase in 2011, hadn’t been on the football field that much since defeating Glenbard West to cap a perfect senior season with a championship at Memorial Stadium.

“It’s different being out there so early in the game,” O’Toole said Tuesday. “I haven’t played that much in a while. It was fun being back out there, but at the same time, you want to do well.”

Until Scheelhaase injured his left ankle in the Sept. 1 season opener against Western Michigan , it didn’t appear O’Toole was going to see much time on the field in 2012.

Unlike former Illini head coach Ron Zook, Tim Beckman made it clear before the season that the quarterback position belonged to Scheelhaase.

Beckman brings a spread offense unlike the pro-style attack Zook used. Scheelhaase’s mobility and experience were central to the decision to stick with him over O’Toole.

But even in the victory over Western Michigan, the Illini offense was unimpressive.

O’Toole played in 10 games for the Illini last season, completing nearly 60 percent of his passes, although struggling to fi nd a rhythm at times. A lot has changed since 2011 — including the entire offensive coaching staff — but O’Toole feels like he has made strides since his freshman year.

“I feel like I’m a lot more confi dent out there,” he said. “I feel a lot more comfortable in the huddle and playing the game. I feel like the game’s slowed down just a little bit.

It’s still moving pretty fast, but it’s slowed down.”

O’Toole’s play on the field has not reflected his self-described confi dence. Against Arizona State, he showed poise at times but was often flushed out of the pocket with the ball still in his hands. After watching the fi lm, he said he needed to release the ball quicker.

Even though O’Toole is less mobile than Scheelhaase, the coaching staff has been adamant that the game plan does not change with O’Toole at quarterback. The stats reflect this as he carried the ball 12 times against the Sun Devils.

With the possibility that Scheelhaase won’t be 100 percent against Charleston Southern, there’s a chance O’Toole may see significant time Saturday. Against an FCS opponent on a 14-game losing streak, there will be few excuses for a poor performance. And despite last week’s struggles, his teammates are not losing confidence in No. 4.

“It’s tough any time you lose,” wide receiver Ryan Lankford said.

“It was tough for me, and I wasn’t quarterback. He did what he could do. It wasn’t a quarterback thing that let the offense down. It was a total offense thing.”

Scheelhaase has had a chance to get to know O’Toole since he arrived last year and says he enjoys competing with him in practice.

O’Toole is a soft-spoken guy, who Scheelhaase says was easy to get along with from the beginning. He admitted he learns as much from O’Toole in practice as O’Toole learns from him. Scheelhaase thinks O’Toole’s confidence is as high as it has ever been, and he didn’t think his backup would be fazed by the debacle at Arizona State.

Scheelhaase compared O’Toole’s game to those of the five NFL rookie quarterbacks who started in Week One: With the exception of Redskins quarterback Robert Griffi n III, none of them had particularly impressive numbers.

“I remember my fi rst start,” Scheelhaase said. “My fi rst start I threw three interceptions. I didn’t have the day I wanted to have, for sure.”

Scheelhaase’s fi rst start was a 23-13 loss to Missouri in St. Louis. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, according to Rivals.com. He had started 27 straight games for Illinois until last week .

Although not as highly touted as Scheelhaase, O’Toole was seen with more of a pocket presence at the quarterback position and a proven winner.

His abilities will be tested in the coming weeks, especially if Scheelhaase’s injury lingers. Unlike high school, O’Toole’s fi rst loss at Illinois likely won’t be his last.

Sean can be reached at sphammo2@ dailyillini.com and @sean_hammond.

Friday, September 14, 2012

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BALTIMORE RAVENS

SECOND CHANCE IN THE NFL

BY JAMAL COLLIER STAFF WRITER

As

Jack Cornell watched the 2012 NFL Draft in April, he saw teammate after teammate realize his dream of being drafted to play professional football.

First, it was Whitney Mercilus, followed by A.J. Jenkins, Jeff Allen and Tavon Wilson. He watched and waited, still hanging on to the chance that his name may be called.

But it wasn’t.

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound former Illini offensive lineman didn’t let that sway his hope and determination to play in the NFL. So when the Baltimore Ravens called him two weeks after the draft, Cornell was ecstatic for the chance to play at the next level.

Four months later, Cornell has officially made the Baltimore Ravens practice squad.

“It doesn’t really matter how you get there,” Cornell said in a phone interview. “I was just fortunate enough to get a call and take advan-

tage of every opportunity I can get.

That’s what got me to this point.”

Cornell has made the most of his situation throughout his football career. He played only sparingly at Illinois his first two years before playing in all 13 games in his junior year, helping the Illini to the top rushing attack in the Big Ten. He became a team captain his senior year and started every game for the first time in his Illini career, receiving the Red Grange Award for dedication. He calls himself blessed, saying it has all been a whirlwind with just how far he’s come in his career.

He still keeps in contact with players like former Illinois offensive lineman Jeff Allen and current linemen Hugh Thornton and Graham Pocic, who mentioned the two talk at least every other day. Cornell still feels like they are all brothers.

“He’s having a great time, and he’s really worked his ass off,” Pocic said.

“He deserves it.”

Cornell played right guard for much of his time in college — all 19

of his starts in college were at that position — but injuries to the Ravens offensive line shifted him to right tackle, allowing him to line up with the Raven’s first-team offense, an experience that he called humbling.

“To run with the ones and block for (Ravens quarterback) Joe Flacco, or make holes for (running back) Ray Rice, it definitely makes you step your game up. It forced me to focus in on every little detail of my job.”

It gave him a chance to line up next to right guard Marshal Yanda at times, the teammate the Ravens player development program assigned as Cornell’s mentor in his rookie season. Yanda hasn’t just taught Cornell about technique on the football field, but many things off the field, from taking care of his body to carrying himself around the locker room. And Cornell said he’s trying to emulate the type of player Yanda is.

As a member of the practice squad, Cornell is presented with a different challenge — trying to match up against the likes of line-

backer Ray Lewis and the vaunted Ravens defense. It’s something that even the most veteran of linemen struggle with, and Cornell said he’s had the chance to see a lot of Pro Bowl defensive lineman Haloti Ngata.

“I just want to take advantage of it,” he said, with a reminder that if he’s not getting better, then he’s getting worse. “Getting to learn how to play professional football against the best in the world at what they do, I really try to focus on my technique, and it makes me work that much harder.”

Even though it may not have looked like it months ago, Cornell is doing exactly what he’s been doing his whole life at this time of year: playing football.

“My entire life, all I wanted to do is play in the National Football League,” Cornell said. “And now I’m living it. It’s so awesome.”

Jamal can be reached at collie10@ dailyillini.com and @JamalCollier.

“I was just fortune enough to get a call and take advantage of every opportunity I can get. That’s what got me to this point.”

JACK CORNELL, former Illini and Ravens right guard on the practice squad

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Friday, September 14, 2012

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GO FIGHTING ILLINI! Stop by After the Game Enjoy a Sundae, Thick Shake, Snowstorm or Waffle Cone

SEAN HAMMOND

SPORTS WRITER

JAMAL COLLIER

CHAD THORNBURG

SPORTS WRITER

SPORTS WRITER

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OUR PICKS Tane (7-3)

Hammond (6-4)

Collier (6-4)

DAN WELIN

FOOTBALL COLUMNIST

PORTRAIT BY DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

Kirshman (7-3)

Thornburg (6-4)

Welin (5-5)

49-7

Charleston Southern at Illinois 48-21

35-0

45-10

45-6

42-9

35-21

31-10

31-23

35-17

34-14

24-0

24-20

28-24

21-20

17-10

28-20

34-21

38-24

42-24

28-13

45-21

24-21

24-20

24-21

24-21

No. 1 Alabama at Arkansas 42-28

No. 18 Florida at No. 23 Tennessee

No. 2 USC at No. 21 Stanford 38-20

No. 20 Notre Dame at No. 10 Michigan State 23-14

28-17

Friday, September 14, 2012

Playing easy FCS teams doesn’t help Illinois

Illini Drive

THREE AND OUT

DAN WELIN Football columnist

Illini Drive goes “three and out� every Monday on WPGU. Here are the highlights.

NATIONAL QUESTION — What is your opinion of these “check games�? (These are) teams bringing in lower FCS opponents to beat up on.

Thomas Bruch — I mean, it’s kind of the way this business goes.

I don’t know how much resistance there is to not happening. The Savannah States like doing it because they get paid. And they need money. And if they are willing to go get kicked all around and up and down the field, it’s fine.

BIG TEN QUESTION — Can it get much worse (for the Big Ten)?

Jamal Collier — The Big Ten has just looked awful. Michigan gets embarrassed on a national stage against Alabama. (The Big Ten) goes 0-3 against the Pac-12. Michigan just kind of looks suspect here. They just cannot compete, at all, against rest of the world. ...

They want to get their kicking game and running backs (in order).

Hey, this is 2012, it’s all about offensive points here. And the Big Ten is way behind the curve. And you’re embarrassing me.

ILLINI QUESTION — Which position group needs to most improvement this week?

Max Tane — I’m going to go with the group that didn’t have a bad game but still has room to grow and get better, and that’s the offensive line. Four delay-of-game penalties (against Arizona State), and that goes back to the communication with the quarterback and the center.

P

aycheck games are stupid.

A paycheck game is when an FBS team pays an FCS team to come play at its stadium, basically creating an easy victory for the FBS team.

As with many matchups of the like, Charleston Southern’s trip to Champaign has Illinois fans asking, “Who are the Illini playing, again?�

This Saturday makes it seven years in a row the Illini have played an FCS team during the regular season, and as I’m sure you could assume, Illinois is 11-0 all-time in those games.

In each of the last two seasons, the Illini finished the regular season with 6-6 records and went on to play in a bowl game.

One victory from each of those 6-6 seasons came against an FCS opponent − 35-3 over Southern Illinois in 2010 and 56-3 over South Dakota State in 2011.

Illinois is also scheduled to play the Salukis again in 2013, Youngstown State in 2014 and Western Illinois in 2015.

According to the USA Today, Michigan paid Delaware State $550,000 in 2009 to basically forfeit a conference game to play the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. That

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payday was equivalent to two seasons’ worth of football revenue that Delaware State dispersed throughout the rest of its athletic department, according to that same article.

If you’re an FCS school and can generate an astronomical amount of revenue for one measly road trip, you’d be stupid not to go.

This doesn’t affect the Michigans and Alabamas of the world because those are the same teams that tend to win more than six games each season.

As far as Illinois is concerned, until it can win six games against FBS-level competition − something the Illini have only done once in the last 10 years (2007 Rose Bowl season) — they should keep FCS opponents off the schedule.

At the same time, Illinois would be stupid to do that as long as the NCAA keeps the current bowl eligibility requirement of six wins in place.

To put the past two seasons in perspective, the 2010 victory over Southern Illinois took the place of close losses at Michigan and at Fresno State, as well as the embarrassing loss at home to Minnesota. For 2011, the lopsided win against South Dakota State helped relieve the Illini in their 0-6 finish to the season, which was capped off with another embarrassing loss to Minnesota.

What the NCAA should do is change the eligibility requirement to six victories over FBS opponents.

That would thin out the list of bowleligible teams and further validate the teams that qualified for the postseason with wins over stronger opponents.

Until that’s done, paycheck games will continue to happen, as these agreements benefit both parties involved.

What doesn’t make sense is how head coaches react when they are asked about the lesser competition they’ll face in the FCS opponent. “Why? Why would you do that?� head coach Tim Beckman said when asked if the Illini would play more conservatively against Charleston Southern. “We’ve got to get better as a team, so we’re going to do what we need to do to be successful and help ourselves achieve those things.

We’re not to that level yet.�

They should really be outraged that they are in a meaningless game that their players can get injured in. Not to mention the dip in ticket sales and the overall boredom fans have to stomach.

The victory FBS schools record does little for their program. If it makes the news, then something went wrong. Ask Michigan or Colorado what that’s like.

If the Illini scheduled opponents to actually better themselves, fans wouldn’t need to research their opponent to find out that Charleston Southern hasn’t won a game since Nov. 13, 2010.

Dan is a senior in Media. You can reach him at welin1@dailyillini.com and @welinanddealin.