University of Illinois football coach Ron Zook looks to build on last years bowl win in the Texas Bowl. This year the Fighting Illini have eight of their twelve games at home. Among those home games are Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State. They have road games against Penn State, Purdue, Northwestern and Minnesota.
2011 Schedule
Sep 3 Arkansas State
Sep 10 South Dakota State
Sep 17 Arizona State
Sep 24 Western Michigan
Oct 1 Northwestern (Homecoming)
Oct 8 @ Indiana
Oct 15 Ohio State
Oct 22 @ Purdue
Oct 29 @ Penn State
Nov 12 Michigan
Nov 19 Wisconsin
Nov 26 @ Minnesota
Dec 3 Big Ten Title Game in Indianapolis
Returning Players
Illinois returns their starting quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase. Last year, he threw for 1825 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also ran for 1048 yards. AJ Jenkins returns at wide receiver. He had 746 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. He is listed on the Biletnikoff Pre Season watch list. Jason ford will return at running back. He had 480 yards on 99 carries, along with seven touchdowns. The defensive unit will return Trulon Henry and Martez Wilson.
Outlook
With eight home games, one would think that Illinois should be in for a good season. Outside of conference games, the schedule isn’t very strong. Seven or eight wins could easily get Illinois into their second straight bowl game.