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The 2011 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Illini, who were led during the regular season by seventh-year head coach Ron Zook, are members of the Big Ten Conference in the Legends Division and played their home games at 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. The team's failure was largely due to the weakness of their schedule, with just four of their six wins coming against teams that ended up going to a bowl game (Arizona State, Arkansas State, Northwestern, and Western Michigan). 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
| Date |
Time |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
| September 3 |
2:30 PM |
Arkansas State* |
|
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL |
BTN |
W 33–15 |
45,154[2] |
| September 10 |
11:00 AM |
South Dakota State* |
|
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL |
BTN |
W 56–3 |
42,212[2] |
| September 17 |
6:00 PM |
#22 Arizona State* |
|
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL |
BTN |
W 17–14 |
50,843[2] |
| September 24 |
2:30 PM |
Western Michigan* |
#24 |
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL |
BTN |
W 23–20 |
43,684[2] |
| October 1 |
11:00 AM |
Northwestern |
#22 |
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy) |
ESPN2 |
W 38–35 |
53,243[2] |
| October 8 |
1:30 PM |
at Indiana |
#19 |
Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN |
BTN |
W 41–20 |
41,665[2] |
| October 15 |
2:30 PM |
Ohio State |
#16 |
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Illibuck) |
ABC/ESPN |
L 7–17 |
55,229[2] |
| October 22 |
11:00 AM |
at Purdue |
#23 |
Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Purdue Cannon) |
ESPN2 |
L 14–21 |
45,146[2] |
| October 29 |
2:30 PM |
at #19 Penn State |
|
Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA |
ABC/ESPN2 |
L 7–10 |
97,828[3] |
| November 12 |
2:30 PM |
#22 Michigan |
|
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL |
ABC/ESPN |
L 14–31 |
60,670[2] |
| November 19 |
11:00 AM |
#15 Wisconsin |
|
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL |
ESPN2 |
L 17–28 |
54,633[2] |
| November 26 |
2:30 PM |
at Minnesota |
|
TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN |
BTN |
L 7–27 |
41,549[2] |
| December 31 |
12:30 PM |
vs. UCLA* |
|
AT&T Park • San Francisco, CA (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl) |
ESPN |
W 20–14 |
29,878[4] |
| *Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time[5]. |
Game notes
Arkansas State
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Arkansas State at Illinois
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Arkansas State |
0 |
8 |
0 |
7 |
15 |
| • Illinois |
7 |
10 |
13 |
3 |
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
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South Dakota State at Illinois
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| South Dakota State |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| • Illinois |
21 |
14 |
14 |
7 |
56 |
|
Arizona State
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Arizona State at Illinois
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| #22 Arizona State |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
14 |
| • Illinois |
10 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
17 |
|
Western Michigan
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Western Michigan at Illinois
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Western Michigan |
3 |
10 |
0 |
7 |
20 |
| • #24 Illinois |
7 |
3 |
10 |
3 |
23 |
|
Northwestern
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Northwestern at Illinois
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Northwestern |
0 |
14 |
14 |
7 |
35 |
| • #24 Illinois |
7 |
3 |
7 |
21 |
38 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|
| 1 |
2:28
|
ILL |
A.J. Jenkins 14-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (Derek Dimke kick) |
ILL 7-0 |
|
| 2 |
12:31
|
NW |
Drake Dinsmore 6-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick) |
Tied 7-7 |
|
| 2 |
2:08
|
NW |
Jeremy Ebert 3-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick) |
NW 14-7 |
|
| 2 |
0:00
|
ILL |
Derek Dimke 49-yard field goal |
NW 14-10 |
|
| 3 |
11:42
|
NW |
Jeremy Ebert 39-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick) |
NW 21-10 |
|
| 3 |
7:11
|
NW |
Jeremy Ebert 4-yard pass from Dan Persa (Jeff Budzien kick) |
NW 28-10 |
|
| 3 |
3:51
|
ILL |
A.J. Jenkins 33-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (Derek Dimke kick) |
NW 28-17 |
|
| 4 |
14:53
|
ILL |
A.J. Jenkins 50-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase (run failed) |
NW 28-23 |
|
| 4 |
6:53
|
ILL |
Donovonn Young 1-yard run (Nathan Scheelhaase to Spencer Harris pass) |
ILL 31-28 |
|
| 4 |
1:15
|
NW |
Jacob Schmidt 6-yard run (Jeff Budzien kick) |
NW 35-31 |
|
| 4 |
0:13
|
ILL |
Nathan Scheelhaase 1-yard run (Derek Dimke kick) |
ILL 38-35 |
|
[6]
Indiana
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Illinois at Indiana
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| • #19 Illinois |
14 |
13 |
7 |
7 |
41 |
| Indiana |
10 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
20 |
|
Ohio State
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Ohio State at Illinois
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| • Ohio State |
3 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
17 |
| #16 Illinois |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
|
Purdue
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Illinois at Purdue
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| #23 Illinois |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
14 |
| • Purdue |
7 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
|
[7]
Penn State
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Illinois at Penn State
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Illinois |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
| • #19 Penn State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
10 |
|
Michigan
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Michigan at Illinois
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| • #22 Michigan |
7 |
7 |
3 |
14 |
31 |
| Illinois |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
|
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin at Illinois
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| • Wisconsin |
0 |
7 |
14 |
7 |
28 |
| Illinois |
0 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
|
Minnesota
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Illinois at Minnesota
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| Illinois |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
| • Minnesota |
0 |
20 |
7 |
0 |
27 |
|
UCLA (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl)
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Illinois at Bruins
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| • Illinois |
0 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
20 |
| Bruins |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
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.[8] The Bruins will be 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
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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
|
Week |
| Poll |
Pre |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
Final |
| AP |
NR |
NR |
NR |
24 |
24 |
19 |
16 |
23 |
RV |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
| Coaches' |
NR |
NR |
NR |
RV |
22 |
16 |
15 |
21 |
RV |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
| Harris |
Not released |
14 |
20 |
RV |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
Not released |
| BCS |
Not released |
23 |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
Not released |
References
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|
|
| Venues |
|
| Bowls & rivalries |
|
| Culture & lore |
|
| People |
|
| Seasons |
|
|
National championship seasons in bold
|
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ UCLA Bowl Waiver Approved By NCAA , UCLABruins.com, November 30, 2011
