Illini are bowled over by USC
By: Bob Asmussen
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
PASADENA, Calif. – Lesson learned. Courtesy of the Southern Cal Trojans.
Sometime today, maybe on the long flight home to Willard Airport, Juice Williams will start to cheer up. He'll start to think, "Next time, we'll be on the right end of a lopsided bowl score."
"I'll probably smile in a couple of minutes," the sophomore quarterback said. "It's still a feeling that I'm going to always remember.
"Hopefully, it's going to motivate me to do better in the offseason."
On Tuesday, Williams and the Illini found out that the bowl business isn't all fun. Southern Cal, which considered itself a national title contender at the end of the season, looked like one in a 49-17 Rose Bowl victory.
"I think we were shell-shocked out there," Williams said. "We were kind of thinking, 'It's the Rose Bowl. It's USC. Let's go out there and try to do some things that will impress everybody else,' instead of running our normal offense and operating and not making silly turnovers."
"The score will be a mantra during the offseason," Illinois offensive guard Martin O'Donnell said. "We'll have to earn people's respect again."
After falling behind 21-0, the Illini briefly got back in the game in the second half, cutting the gap to 11 and driving deep into Southern Cal territory.
But a fumble into the end zone by Jacob Willis stopped the Illinois momentum and the Trojans dominated the remainder of the game.
"We usually don't do things like that," Williams said. "We usually don't turn the ball over in the red zone."
Ron Zook has been saying all season that his team has work to do. That the Illini are far from a finished product. That the team needs to continue to recruit aggressively and raise the overall talent level.
"We made it here," Zook said. "Obviously, we didn't play the way we're capable of playing."
Tuesday's game gives Zook plenty of coaching points for the offseason. If a practice starts to go south, he can shout the score of the Rose Bowl.
"We'll get back here and it will be a different story," Zook said.
The first question for the Illini as they look to 2008 is who will be the starting tailback? Junior Rashard Mendenhall is expected to announce that he will give up his final season and enter the NFL draft. If that's the case, the Big Ten MVP will leave a huge void, one the Illini will try to fill with players on campus (Daniel Dufrene, Troy Pollard) and incoming recruits (Mikel Leshoure, Jason Ford).
Mendenhall made himself extra money early in the second half with a 79-yard burst, pulling away from speedy Southern Cal defenders and giving NFL scouts something to drool about.
While Mendenhall will be gone, Williams is coming back with the idea of bumping his numbers again in 2008. He'll work on his accuracy during the offseason. He'll become a stronger leader.
The Illini return three offensive line starters and tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. That's a good base for whoever plays tailback.
"I think the starters that we've got coming back, I don't need to say anything to them," departing All-American O'Donnell said. "They've played great all year. There are a lot of young guys coming in, so they'll be good competition come spring ball."
At receiver, Arrelious Benn will be healthy after offseason shoulder surgery. So will Chris James, who is recovering from a knee injury. And incoming freshman Cordale Scott is considered among the top prep receivers in the country, adding another weapon.
On defense, J Leman, Antonio Steele, Justin Harrison, Kevin Mitchell and Chris Norwell will be hard to replace. But Brit Miller had a big game against Southern Cal and Martez Wilson is ready to start.
"This score isn't indicative of the program that we are and definitely not of the program that we're going to be in the future," Miller said. "J laid the foundation. I think that's what great programs are is guys who are willing to pay the price. And he did. So did that senior class. Those guys stuck it out.
"Hopefully, we take this as a lesson of how to deal with a bowl game, how to deal with the crowds, how to deal with a great opponent on a great stage."
The secondary loses experience but gains athleticism. The defensive line has all but Norwell and Mike Ware back from the regular rotation.
Harrison thinks the Illini will return to the big stage. Soon.
"The sky's the limit for these guys," Harrison said. "They have so much talent. These guys have the world in front of them."