Illinois enters YSU game with question marks

August 28, 2014 at 12:08a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

They lost a four-year starter at quarterback from a dynamic offense but return a good group of running backs. They struggled on defense in 2013, but they’re confident they’ll be better this year, particularly in the secondary. Their head coach could come under fire from the fan base if this season doesn’t go well.

Sound familiar? It’s the story of this year’s Illinois Fighting Illini, who are 6-18 under third-year coach Tim Beckman, a former cornerbacks coach under Jim Tressel at Ohio State.

Offense

Oklahoma State transfer Wes Lunt takes over at quarterback for departed senior Nathan Scheelhaase, who helped the Illini average 29.7 points per game last year. Leading rusher Josh Ferguson (779 yards, 7 TDs, 50 catches, 535 yards and four TDs) returns, but Illinois lost its top three receivers. The offensive line, however, has four starters back.

“They have a high-tempo offense,” YSU senior safety Donald D’Alesio said. “They snap the ball every 16 to 18 seconds, so that in itself is a challenge for a defense.”

Defense

The Illini return eight starters from a defense that gave up more than 35 points and 480 yards per game, which put them outside the top 100 nationally in both categories.

“Based on last year, it seemed like they gave up a lot of yards and their defense was low [in the rankings] but you watch it on film, it doesn’t always show,” senior WR Christian Bryan said. “They got a lot of athletic guys in the secondary. They’ll be a lot better this year without a doubt.”

Illinois ran a lot of help defenses last year (Cover 3, Cover 4, etc.) but Bryan is expecting more man-to-man press coverage on Saturday.

“A lot of times when you’ve got a big-time opponent, a Big Ten opponent or a I-A opponent against a I-AA opponent, they like to press a lot, so we go in there with the mindset of ‘Expect that, expect the unexpected,’” Bryan said. “They want to push us around a little bit, bully us.

“It’s gonna be a tough challenge for us but I know our coach is going to put us in the right position to make some plays.”

Special teams

Illinois is strong on special teams, returning kicker Taylor Zalewski (12 of 17 field goals, 38 of 38 extra points in 2013) and punter Justin DuVernois, a 2013 Ray Guy semifinalist who averaged more than 41 yards per kick the last two years.

V’Angelo Bentley is one of the nation’s most dangerous returners, leading the Big Ten last year with a 15.8-yard average on punts. He also had a 100-yard kickoff return in the opener against Southern Illinois.

Outlook

The Illini are 13-0 against FCS schools, although they survived a scare in last year’s game against the Salukis. Trailing 42-34 in the final minute, Southern Illinois drove to Illinois’ 3 before the Illini defense held on.

Illinois finished 4-8 — a two-win improvement over Beckman’s first season — although the Illini lost seven of their last eight games.

This is the first meeting between Illinois and the Penguins, who upset Pitt on the road two years ago and believe they can compete with FBS teams. The Penguins are 20-26-1 all-time against FBS foes.

“We see it all the time in college football; there’s a lot of FCS teams and there’s a bunch of teams in our conference that probably have a chance to win this weekend,” YSU coach Eric Wolford said. “And we need that for our conference.”