DPR Sports & Racing News

The next time the Illinois Football team takes the field in 2008, they will still be able to recognize the stadium where they played since 1923.

A week after leading his team to an upset of Ohio State, Illinois quarterback  Juice Williams led the Illini a step closer to a New Year's Day bowl with a 41-22 win Saturday over Northwestern.

Williams ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 220 yards and another score.

The 20th-ranked Illini (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten) are considered a strong candidate for the Capitol One Bowl, where coach Ron Zook could face his former team Florida.

Northwestern (6-6, 3-5) started the day with a good possibility of landing in a bowl. But with 10 Big Ten teams eligible, the Wildcats needed a seventh win to improve their case.

The Wildcats, though, couldn't stop the Illini offense, which piled up 541 yards, scored on each of its first two possessions and capitalized on mistakes that plagued Northwestern in the first half.

Wildcat quarterback C.J. Bacher was intercepted by safety  Kevin Mitchell with nobody else within 10 yards of him on their first possession. Illinois went 71 yards the other way, capped by a Rashard Mendenhall touchdown for a 7-0 lead.

The next Northwestern drive was undone by a false start penalty that turned a third-and-1 situation into a third-and-6, which the Wildcats couldn't convert.

Again, Illinois responded with a touchdown, this time a sneak by Williams.

Northwestern had seven penalties for 57 yards by halftime, and had the ball on offense eight minutes less than the Illini.

When Illinois scored on its opening possession of the second half - a one-handed 42 yard TD catch by tight end Jeff Cumberland- the score was 28-7 and the game was out of reach.

Bacher completed 29 of 49 passes for 310 yards and touchdowns with two interceptions.

Northwestern's most effective weapon Saturday might have been punter Stefan Demos, who pinned Illinois deep several times with low, rugby-style punts that rolled with precision toward the Illinois end zone.

The Wildcat defense never capitalized on the work of the freshman punter, though. Illinois scored on drives of 97, 94 and 84 yards.

Mendenhall, the Big Ten's leading rusher, finished with 124 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns. Cumberland was Williams' favorite target, catching four balls for 131 yards and a score.

The Big Turnaround…

Third-year head coach Ron Zook has begun an incredible turnaround for the Illini football team, which has the squad improving in the win column by six wins over last year's record. That turnaround is the best in college football this season. (1. Illinois - +6; 2. Kansas, Virginia, UConn, Air Force - +4)

Ron Zook Selected to Coach 2008 Hula Bowl All-Star Game

"This is a great honor to be selected to coach in the Hula Bowl," Zook said. "I really look forward to the opportunity to work with the best college football has to offer. The Hula Bowl has such a rich tradition, and I feel privileged to be a part of this year's game."

Zook is in his third season at the helm of the Illinois football program. After two two-win seasons, Zook has led the Fighting Illini to a 9-3 record (6-2 in the Big Ten), marking the biggest turnaround in college football this season. He also has Illinois bowl eligible for the first time since 2001. Zook, in his sixth year as a head coach, has produced four bowl eligible squads (three at Florida, one at Illinois).