INSIDE SLANT

With a ninth-place Big Ten finish already in the bag—and a bowl berth out of the question—Illinois continues the longest regular season in school history with Friday’s game at No. 5 Cincinnati before finishing with the Dec. 5 home game against Fresno State.

After taking Thursday through Saturday off during their bye week, the Illini began to tackle the Bearcats on Sunday. Coach Ron Zook claimed his team is treating these last two weeks like bowl practices—which suggests they’ll get their reserves lots of work in preparation for the 2010 season—but Zook didn’t mean bowl practices in the traditional sense. He plans to get his veterans their usual work and keep them in their usual roles.

What does that mean? Senior Juice Williams, if his ailing left ankle is OK, will regain the starting quarterback job from redshirt freshman Jacob Charest.

“I think we owe it to these seniors to do whatever we can do to win these next two games,” Zook said. “Obviously we’re going to play the guys we feel give us the best opportunity to win. When Juice can go, Juice is going to go.”

Illinois’ best use of its time might be to put its secondary under all types of pressure. Cincinnati’s passing attack ranks No. 7 nationally in yardage and No. 1 in passing efficiency, which could be a problem considering Northwestern just riddled the Illini for 305 yards and a touchdown. Illinois’ secondary has been in flux much of the year as senior safety Donsay Hardeman has missed the equivalent of three games with a neck problem, junior safety Garrett Edwards has missed a game or two with a neck injury and sophomore cornerback Tavon Wilson’s inexperience has been exploited.

Zook hopes undefeated Cincinnati’s status will encourage his Illini—at every position—to try to rise to the Bearcats’ level.

“They’ve got an opportunity to play an awfully good football team and still make a name for themselves,” Zook said. “Let’s see if we can be what we thought we could be.”

NOTES, QUOTES

• Illinois’ awkward 2009 schedule has drawn criticism from several corners, but its peculiar finish with two non-conference games after Thanksgiving can be attributed to factors both in and out of the school’s control. The Illini were stuck with the final-week bye on the Big Ten schedule. Coach Ron Zook initially scheduled Fresno State for Nov. 21, but moved the game back to Dec. 5 once he realized the Illini would be playing on short rest at Cincinnati on Friday (while the Bearcats would be coming off a bye week).

Illinois could have avoided that whole rigamarole by scheduling a non-conference game on Sept. 19, but Zook preferred to have a bye going into the team’s Big Ten conference opener at Ohio State. Zook does say there’s a plan in effect. “The whole thing here that we’re trying to get done,” Zook said in the Daily Herald, “is we’re trying to get 7 or 8 home games in this stadium. To do that, sometimes you maybe have to do some things that you’d rather not do. The schedule is what it is. You’ve never heard me complain about the schedule. It’s just the way it is and we’ve got to play it, you know?”

• Illinois’ offensive line, which includes true sophomore Jeff Allen at left tackle and true freshman Hugh Thornton at right tackle, will be tested by a Cincinnati defense that ranks third nationally with 3.2 sacks per game. It’s not a good matchup for the Illini as they rank 103rd nationally with 2.8 sacks allowed per week.

Series History:   First meeting

Scouting The Offense:   Illinois’ spread-option offense averages a Big Ten-worst 20.2 points per game, though it has been a little better in recent weeks. Senior QB Juice Williams figures to make his 43rd career start, but redshirt freshman Jacob Charest should make an appearance. After a sluggish beginning when he made his first career start on Nov. 14 against Northwestern, Charest led the Illini to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. Illinois boasts two tackle-busting runners in sophomores Mikel Leshoure and Jason Ford and several potentially game-breaking receivers, though those receivers (including Arrelious Benn) don’t seem to get as many touches as everyone would like.

Scouting The Defense:   Illinois has one of the most generous defenses in the nation, especially through the air. That’s not a good sign when the Illini are facing the nation’s No. 7 passing attack in Cincinnati. Most opponents choose to pick on sophomore CB Tavon Wilson, though they also like the way Illinois’ safeties stay in the middle of the field. Northwestern was among the teams that found big yardage throwing to the deep corners. To prevent this scavenging, Illinois needs its blue-chip defensive line (including DE Clay Nurse, DT Josh Brent and DT Corey Liuget) to get after Tony Pike.

Quote To Note:   “The whole idea is this would be a great time to stay focused on what we had to do and get better.”—Illinois coach Ron Zook telling Gatehouse Media about the team’s practice strategy for the final two weeks of the 2009 season.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

This Week  ‘S GAME: Illinois at Cincinnati, Nov. 27—Nothing can salvage a 2009 season that was supposed to end in a bowl, but the Illini would feel better about themselves if they shocked the undefeated and fifth-ranked Bearcats in the first meeting between these schools. Both teams will be operating on two weeks’ rest, so you’d like to think Illinois would be ready to bring its best effort.

Keys To The Game:   Illinois ranks ninth in the Big Ten and 85th in the nation in pass-efficiency defense. Cincinnati, especially with QB Tony Pike healthy again, boasts one of the nation’s top five passing offenses. Moreover, the Bearcats rank among the nation’s top 10 teams in fewest sacks allowed. This suggests Illinois’ linebackers and secondary are going to have to bring their finest effort of the year in order to keep the Illini in the game.

Players To Watch:  

QB Juice Williams—After missing a game for the first time in his career on Nov. 14 against Northwestern, Williams is on target to make his 43rd career start on Friday against Cincinnati. Williams hasn’t been too good this year (102 for 177, 1,139 yards, 6 TDs, 5 INTs), but he was enjoying a fine run against Michigan and Minnesota before injuring his left ankle.

WR Arrelious Benn—While the junior told the Chicago Tribune he won’t decide whether to declare for the NFL draft until after the season ends, Benn still looks like an obvious early-entry despite his modest statistics this year. Injuries and Illinois’ inconsistent passing game have led to just 33 catches for 370 yards and 1 TD.

RG Jon Asamoah—The senior has zoomed up the NFL draft charts despite Illinois’ uneven season. Most draft web sites suggest the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Asamoah will go no later than the second round. The Cincinnati game will mark his 36th consecutive start. After the season, scouts will get a look at him at the East-West Shrine Game.

Roster Report:  

• QB Juice Williams (left ankle sprain) didn’t play on Nov. 14 against Northwestern, but Ron Zook expects him to make his 43rd career start at Cincinnati.

• WR Arrelious Benn continues to play despite injuries all over his body. In Zook’s words, Benn has “dinged” his head twice this month. He also has been fighting shoulder and ankle issues.

• TE Michael Hoomanawanui (high ankle sprain) hasn’t played in three weeks even though Zook says each week that he’s confident “Uh-Oh” will play. Perhaps with the bye week, Hoomanawanui can get into the mix on Friday. He’s an important player as judged by his recent acceptance of an East-West Shrine Game bid.

• TE Hubie Graham has missed the last three games as well, but a family funeral explained his more recent absences. It seems like the sophomore should be able to play.

• S Donsay Hardeman tweaked his neck against Northwestern on Nov. 14. Zook said X-rays were negative, so Hardeman might be back on the field for Cincinnati. Zook will be careful with the senior, though, as Hardeman missed two games earlier this year with a neck problem and underwent offseason surgery.

• MLB Martez Wilson (neck) and CB Miami Thomas (knee) are out for the rest of the year after undergoing surgery.