LA Illini News

Illinois and Charleston Southern are meeting for the first time on Saturday.  In fact, the game will mark the first time the Fighting Illini have squared off against a Big South Conference foe. CSU, which had the most victories in the Big South from 2005-09, is in the midst of a 14-game losing streak.  Illinois is 11-0 all-time against FCS teams (formerly I-AA), with an average margin of victory of 29 points per game. All but one of those wins have been by at least 21 points, including last year’s 56-3 drubbing of South Dakota State.

Last week was a tough game but here are a few highlights from the game against Arizona State:

• The Illini running game got back on track at Arizona State, as the Illini ran for 231 yards on 50 carries (4.6 ypc against the Sun Devils. The ground attack was led by redshirt freshman RB Josh Ferguson, who had his first career 100-yard game with 101 yards on 14 carries (7.2 ypc).
• Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten and 18th nationally in fewest yards penalized per game (30.5). In 2011, the Illini ranked 27th in fewest penalty yards per game (42.2).
• Illinois controlled time of possession in both games this season, owning a margin of more than 11 minutes against both Western Michigan (35:02 – 24:58) and Arizona State (35:15 – 24:44). The Illini are ranked sixth nationally and second in the Big Ten (Michigan State) in time of possession after week two (35:09).

See you at Sharkeez!!