The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

Illini look to down Huskies, move above .500

Nov. 1, 2008, was the last time the Illinois football team had a winning record. With a win Saturday against Northern Illinois, though, the team could move back above .500 for the first time in nearly two years.

“I think they understand the importance of this game, they understand the importance of it for the season,” Illinois head coach Ron Zook said.

However, if the Illini want to move above, they will have to earn it against a Northern team that upset Purdue last season and is no stranger to Big Ten football.

“It’s a really good MAC program … They do a great job of recruiting, they do a great job of evaluating, and their goal is to come down here and beat us. And when I was in the MAC that was our goal, we’d slip in the Big Ten and slip out and we had a lot of success doing it,” Zook said. “They’re like a Big Ten team, they really are.”

For Zook, one of the most important things for the Illini is remembering to concentrate on their own play as well as the opponent’s.

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“For us to have the kind of year we want to have, it’s going to be important we improve. Not only do we have to be concerned about our opponent, we have to be concerned with us, we have to improve. We have to play with the same intensity, the same aggressiveness, the same way we played this past week,” Zook said.

In order for the Illini to repeat the success of last weekend’s 35-3 victory against Southern Illinois, they may once again have to depend on redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, who is coming off his first career 200-yard passing performance.

“With how good our running backs are and how good our running attack is, teams are going to put an extra guy in the box every once in a while, which will free up our receivers,” Scheelhaase said. “We just gotta make that connection.”

“They’re going to get their eighth guy in the box, I don’t think there’s any question,” Zook added. “They’re going to try to stop the run and try to force you to throw the football. They’re tough.”

That doesn’t mean Illinois will abandon the run, though, as both successful running and passing are vital to overall success, said offensive coordinator Paul Petrino.

“We just gotta make sure we throw the ball good enough so they have to play both, the run and the pass,” Petrino said. “The best thing you can be on offense is you can be balanced.”

The Illini defense will also have its hands full trying to contain an NIU rushing attack that has amassed 520 yards in its first two games. The Huskies’ runners are led by senior tailback Chad Spann, who currently ranks 25th in the country with 220 yards on the ground and enters Saturday’s contest with 1,748 career rushing yards, placing him 15th among active FBS players.

“We’re going to have to prepare with a stingier mindset than what we’ve got right now,” Illinois defensive coordinator Vic Koenning said. “We’ve gotta find something inside of us to get up and play another game as fast as we can play. They’ve got a lot to play for and I think our guys do if we can get them to understand that.”

However, the Illini will also be faced with another challenge this week, one that they have yet to encounter this season: a running quarterback. NIU signal-caller Chandler Harnish enters this weekend’s game averaging nearly 90 yards per game on just 21 total carries, with an average of 8.5 yards per rush.

“Anytime you have a running quarterback it’s a concern,” Zook said. “We have had a little bit of practice at camp but we are going to see running quarterbacks throughout the Big Ten schedule. There is no question that the defense will be tested.”

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