Hard to believe the Illini end their football season this Saturday.  It seems like yesterday when we were talking about how great the offense was going to be and if was fun trying to figure out where Illinois was going to play their bowl game.  After a poor showing against Missouri, all of those thoughts of exciting things to come turned into thoughts of another underachieving season.  All in all, that thought hasn’t changed.  At 3-8, it has been a sad and disappointing season.  Who would have thought the offense would struggle as much as it did?  Who would have thought that after a decent first season, Matt Ellar would have no idea which way his field goal kicks were going?  Who would have thought that our most exciting cornerback would be a four star freshman recruited as a wide receiver?  A lot has happened in 2009, and unfortunately most of it wasn’t worth remembering.

Senior day brings along mixed emotions from fan.  Some will focus on how these seniors helped the Illini get to the Rose Bowl in 2007 while others will focus on the last two season where Illinois couldn’t make a bowl game.  One thing we can all agree on is that this was a special class.  These guys have been through so many ups and downs, from the rapid rise to the Rose Bowl, then the rapid fall to an underachieving team.  They will be missed at Illinois, so lets win one and send them out on a good note.

NCAA 10 on the XBOX 360

ILLINOIS 26       FRESNO STATE 15

This game was never really in doubt as the Illini built a 19-point lead by halftime.  QB Juice Williams was a monster, going 27-39 for 404 yards and 2 TDs.  RB Jason Ford had 109 rushing yards on 29 carries.  As a team, the Illini piled up 540 yards of offense.

The receivers were busy and put up some nice numbers.  WR Chris Duvalt had 7 catches for 101 yards and a TD.  WR A.J. Jenkings had 6 catches for 102 yards, and WR Jarod Fayson had 4 receptions for 92 yards and a TD.  Defensively, DL Doug Pilcher led the way with five tackles, two for loss and a sack.  K Derek Dimke made four of his six field goal attempts. 

As for the Fresno State Bulldogs, there wasn’t a whole lot going on.  QB Ryan Colburn was 10-27 passing for 132 yards.  Stud RB Ryan Matthews was held in check, only rushing for 49 yards on 15 carries.  Their leading receiver was WR Seji Ajirotutu had three catches for 56 yards. 

The defense put up some big numbers since they were on the field for most of the game.  LB Ben Jacobs had 11 tackles and an interception, while LB Dami Whittington had 10 tackles.

My Prediction

ILLINOIS 31      FRESNO STATE 30

This game is a tough one, and the reason it’s tough is because of this Ryan Matthews guy.  Have you seen what he’s done this year?  He has close to 1,500 yards while averaging 7.0 yards a carry!  I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s impressive.  As a team, Fresno is averaging 231 yards rushing a game.  The one advantage for the Illini on defense (if they have one) is the fact that Fresno runs, and the quarterback isn’t one of their runners.  The Illini have been okay at run stoppage, but will that matter when they go against a team that specializes in keeping it on the ground?  I don’t know.

(I initially had Fresno State winning this game, but reason why I switched to the Illini is because of the paragraph below.  This stat is amazing.)

Juice played well against Cincinnati, and I expect that to continue against Fresno, especially if he runs.  While Fresno runs for more than 200 a game, they also allow more than 200 rushing yards a game and more than six yards per carry!  I bet LeShoure and Ford are licking their chops right about now.  They both could have big finishes to the season.  Juice shouldn’t throw the ball more than 20 times in this game.  If he does, then things probably aren’t going the way we want them to.

Time to update the prediction standings.  With one week to go, three of us still have a chance to win.  What do you win?  How about a pat on the back?  That’s about all I can offer unfortunately, but it has been fun this year.  Maybe if more people take notice we can get some prizes with this thing.  It’s an idea for the future.  Anyways, Cincinnati beat Illinois 49-36, so Cincinnati was +13 on the real score difference.  Now for the standings…

NAME                                                            W                    L                      RSDT*

Tom Young (CIN 38-14)                               7                      4                         154

Jshaw (CIN 42-17)                                         7                      4                         187

NCAA 10 (CIN 37-3)                                     7                      4                         225

Jweeks (CIN 45-10)                                        6                      5                         238

chrispatton33 (CIN 34-16)                            5                      6                         128

Combatmedic44 (DNP)                                  5                      3                         148

dave1956 (CIN 48-10)                                    5                      3                         160

cnichols401 (CIN 41-20)                                1                      0                         8

Dropintheknowledge (DNP)                         0                      1                         20

kfj (DNP)                                                          0                      1                         41

* - Real Score Difference Total

It’s time now for your predictions.  Will Illinois end the season on a high note, or will Fresno State be the one singing a happy tune?  As of the time this was written, Illinois is a 3-point favorite at home vs. Fresno State.  I really don’t care how it’s done, they just need to win this game.

After another entry to wrap up football, it will be time to shift gears to basketball.  I was planning on doing a prediction game with that as well.  I like hearing what everyone has to say.  Remember this is a “For the Fans” blog, so your comments, bashes and insults are welcome.  Talk to you guys later. 

I-L-L…