2008 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

2008 Illinois Fighting Illini football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
2008 record	5–7 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ron Zook
Offensive scheme	Spread Option
Captain	Arrelious Benn
Captain	David Lindquist
Captain	Brit Miller
Captain	Juice Williams
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 62,870)

2008 Big Ten football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#8 Penn State $+		7	–	1		11	–	2
#9 Ohio State %+		7	–	1		10	–	3
#24 Michigan State		6	–	2		9	–	4
Northwestern		5	–	3		9	–	4
#20 Iowa		5	–	3		9	–	4
Wisconsin		3	–	5		7	–	6
Minnesota		3	–	5		7	–	6
Illinois		3	–	5		5	–	7
Purdue		2	–	6		4	–	8
Michigan		2	–	6		3	–	9
Indiana		1	–	7		3	–	9

$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Ron Zook. The Illini played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. This was Ron Zook's fourth season as the Illini head coach.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:30 PM^[1]	vs. #6 Missouri*	#20	Edward Jones Dome • St. Louis, MO (Arch Rivalry)	ESPN^[1]	L 42–52	66,441
September 6	11:00 AM^[2]	Eastern Illinois*	#24	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN^[2]	W 47–21	60,131
September 13	11:00 AM^[2]	Louisiana-Lafayette*	#24	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN^[2]	W 20–17	58,632
September 27	7:00 PM^[3]	at #12 Penn State	#22	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC^[3]	L 24–38	109,626
October 4	2:30 PM^[4]	at Michigan		Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ABC/ESPN2^[4]	W 45–20	109,750
October 11	11:00 AM^[5]	Minnesota		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ESPN^[5]	L 20–27	62,870
October 18	7:00 PM^[6]	Indiana		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN^[6]	W 55–13	62,870
October 25	11:00 AM^[7]	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN2^[7]	L 17–27	81,241
November 1	2:30 PM	Iowa		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ABC/ESPN	W 27–24	62,870
November 8	11:00 AM^[8]	vs. Western Michigan*		Ford Field • Detroit, MI	ESPN+	L 17–23	12,865
November 15	12:00 PM	#10 Ohio State		Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Battle for Illibuck)	ESPN	L 20–30	62,870
November 22	2:30 PM	at Northwestern		Ryan Field • Evanston, IL (Battle for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	BTN	L 10–27	32,166
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

Game notes

Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	6	7	15	14	42
Tigers	7	24	14	7	52

Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	0	0	14	21
Fighting Illini	7	19	14	7	47

Louisiana Lafayette

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rajin' Cajuns	3	0	0	14	17
Fighting Illini	10	7	0	3	20

In the first quarter, Matt Eller kicked a 51-yard field goal. Brit Miller recovered Michael Desormeaux's fumble for a 27-yard touchdown. Drew Edmiston kicked a 24-yard field goal for Louisiana Lafayette. Juice Williams passed to Daniel Dufrene for a 10-yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter.

In the second half, Desormeaux rushed for a 34-yard touchdown and passed to Erick Jones for an 11-yard touchdown. Matt Eller kicked a 27-yard field goal for the Fighting Illini.

Penn State

The Illini lost on the road to the Nittany Lions 38–24 in a nationally-televised, prime time, "White Out" game at Beaver Stadium. Illinois jumped out to a 14–7 lead, becoming the first team to take a lead on the Nittany Lions and the first to score points against them in the first quarter this season. However, the Nittany Lions responded with two touchdowns en route to a 21–14 halftime lead. The Illini wouldn't score again until kicking a field goal on the final play of the third quarter after recovering a Stephfon Green fumble, but Derrick Williams returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.

The loss was head coach Ron Zook’s first as a head coach against a ranked opponent. The Illini's 24 points were the most allowed by Penn State this season as were their 189 total rushing yards.^[9]

Penn State wide receiver Derrick Williams became the first player under PSU head coach Joe Paterno to score a rushing, a receiving, and a kick return touchdown in the same game.^[9]^[10] Williams was selected the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week.^[11]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	14	0	3	7	24
Nittany Lions	14	7	3	14	38

Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	3	14	7	21	45
Wolverines	14	0	0	6	20

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	7	0	7	13	27
Fighting Illini	0	3	3	14	20

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hoosiers	7	0	3	3	13
Fighting Illini	14	14	13	14	55

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	0	10	7	0	17
Badgers	3	7	7	10	27

The Fighting Illini fell to the Badgers 27–17 for Wisconsin's first Big Ten win of the year. The Badgers outscored Illinois 17–7 in the second half.

Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hawkeyes	0	6	3	15	24
Fighting Illini	7	3	7	10	27

Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	7	0	3	7	17
Broncos	3	17	0	3	23

Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buckeyes	9	14	0	7	30
Fighting Illini	7	6	0	7	20

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	0	0	7	3	10
Wildcats	6	7	3	11	27

Rankings

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	15	Final
AP	20	24	24	22	22	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches'	19	25	RV	23	21	RV	RV	NR	RV	NR	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Harris	Not released						RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released
BCS	Not released								NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released

References

1 2 "Kick Time Changed For 2008 Opener". University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana Department of Athletics. May 22, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
1 2 3 4 "Game Times And Future Schedules Set For Illinois Football". University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana Department of Athletics. July 2, 2008. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
1 2 "Big Ten Announces Five Prime-Time Football Games to Appear on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 During 2008 Season". Big Ten Conference. April 16, 2008. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
1 2 "Time, Television Set for U-M Homecoming Tilt vs. Illinois". Michigan Sports Information. May 12, 2008. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
1 2 "Illinois Homecoming Game Time Set". University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana Department of Athletics. May 12, 2008. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
1 2 "Illinois-Indiana Game Set For Prime Time". Illinois Athletics. May 21, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
1 2 "Welcome home:Badgers, Illini kickoff set". Wisconsin Badgers Sports Report. May 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
↑ "Illinois-WMU game time set". Illinois Athletics. June 13, 2008. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
1 2 Thomas, Eric (September 29, 2008). "Not Just Getting by Anymore". The Sentinel (Carlisle). Retrieved September 29, 2008.
↑ "Penn State Remains Unbeaten, Tops Illinois, 38–24". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 27, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
↑ "Michigan, Northwestern and Penn State Football Players Honored After Big Wins". Big Ten Conference. September 29, 2008. Archived from the original on October 1, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2008.

Illinois Fighting Illini football

Venues	Illinois Field (1890–1922) Memorial Stadium (1923–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Missouri Northwestern: (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, 1945–2008; Land of Lincoln Trophy, 2009–present) Ohio State (Illibuck) Purdue (Purdue Cannon) Michigan

Culture & lore	Illinois Loyalty "Oskee Wow-Wow" Marching Illini Gene Honda Fighting Illini Sports Network Chief Illiniwek

People	Head coaches NFL draftees

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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