A year ago, Illinois headed into the Big Ten portion of its schedule perceived as an up-and-coming team that might, just might, make life tough on the contenders.
The Illini had this weekend off and will get to work Monday preparing for Saturday night’s conference opener at Penn State in a different mood from a year ago.
“We have a lot more confidence,” defensive end Doug Pilcher said. “We know this year we’re not sneaking up on any team. We’re not coming off a 2-10 record, we’re coming off 9-4.”
The Illini went 2-1 in non-conference games, losing only to Missouri in St. Louis. They clobbered Eastern Illinois 47-21 after a slow start but escaped with only a 20-17 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
“Everyone is more confident after what we did last year,” tight end Michael Hoomanawanui said.
“We look at this as a big challenge. We play in one of the best conferences, but we have to take care of ourselves, and we didn’t play our best ball the last two weeks.”
Ranked 22nd, the Illini are not heading to No. 16 Penn State with the momentum they had envisioned.
“We definitely put pressure on ourselves to show that last year wasn’t a one-year thing,” Hoomanawanui said. “We’re here to contend for a conference championship.”
The schedule-makers didn’t do the Illini any favors this year. After Penn State, they head to traditional power Michigan.
However, the Wolverines are going through some growing pains in the first-year under coach Rich Rodriguez.
Illinois also has to play Oct. 25 at No. 8 Wisconsin. The only ranked Big Ten team that will come to Champaign is the defending champion and preseason league favorite, No. 13 Ohio State, on Nov. 15.
That game could have a lot to do with the league’s title and a berth in the Rose Bowl, where Illinois played last season after the Buckeyes were chosen for the national title game.
“Last year we knew we’d be better, but we didn’t know by how much,” defensive end Derek Walker said. “We want to repeat the Rose Bowl, or do even better.”
In the first three games, junior Daniel Dufrene established himself as the starting tailback while rushing for 300 yards and averaging 6.7 yards per carry. In the loss to Missouri, he had 125 total yards (75 rushing, 50 receiving).
Quarterback Juice Williams has been uneven with five interceptions in three games and is coming off a disappointing performance against Louisiana-Lafayette. He should get more help against Penn State as receiver Jeff Cumberland is expected to be at full speed after recovering from a foot injury.
The defense has listened to lectures from coaches about the basic issues of tackling but could get a boost from the addition of safety Donsay Hardeman, a junior college recruit who suffered a training camp knee injury.
“I think we’re a better team now and we haven’t proven that yet,” coach Ron Zook said.
“I’ve also said that being a better team, I don’t know what that means exactly because there’s more to play.”
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tabannon@tribune.com
