Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
top players coming back, including jun- ior quarterback Wes Lunt. The Oklaho- ma State transfer had his moments last year despite missing games with knee and leg injuries. He completed 59.2 per- cent of his passes for 1,344 yards, with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Illini also return four players who caught 25 or more passes in 2014, no- tably running back Josh Ferguson, who caught 50 passes for 427 yards coming out of the backfield (in addition to rush- ing for 741 yards). But there's a caveat here: Wideout Mike Dudek, whose record-setting freshman season includ- ed 76 catches for 1,038 yards, tore an ACL in spring practice and won't be back till midseason at the earliest. DEFENSE To help speed the defense's development, Illinois hired longtime NFL assistant coach Mike Phair as co-defen- sive coordinator. He'll have a lot of re- turning talent to work with, as nearly every player of note in the front seven is back. Jihad Ward and Dawuane Smoot combined for 16 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last year, so the Illini are glad to have them back. The linebacker corps is nearly intact from last year, with senior weakside 'backer Mason Monheim (77 tackles, 6.5 TFL, two interceptions) lead- ing the way. The Illini do have some holes to fill at safety, but they're deep and ex- perienced at both cornerback spots. SPECIAL TEAMS David Reisner and Taylor Zalewski combined to hit only 9 of 17 field goal attempts last season, and they also missed four PATs. The Illini will need to be much better in that de- partment. They also have a vacancy at punter, where Justin DuVernois must be replaced after averaging an impressive 44 yards per attempt last year. V'Angelo Bentley is a solid kick/punt returner. OUTLOOK Tim Beckman has seem- ingly been on the hot seat from the mo- ment he arrived in Champaign. The Illini have yet to enjoy a winning season under the fourth-year coach, and his tenure has been marred by off-field controver- sies. The most recent: an accusation by former Illini lineman Simon Cvijanovic that Beckman forced him to play hurt. If he's cleared by the in-house investiga- tion that Illinois has undertaken, the key to Beckman's longevity will be to keep building. The Illini have gone from two wins to four to six over the past three years. If they take the next step in 2015 and finish with a winning record for the first time since 2010, it'll likely be viewed as a sign that the school's pa- tience is being rewarded. If not, Illinois may well decide it's time to move on. 2014 RECORD 5-7 (3-5 Big Ten) SERIES RECORD Penn State leads, 13- 4. MOST RECENT MEETING The Wild- cats dealt Penn State its first loss of the James Franklin era, as Trevor Siemian threw for 258 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns in a 29-6 romp at Beaver Stadium on Sept. 27, 2014. OFFENSE Northwestern produced only 34 plays of 20 or more yards last season to rank near the bottom of the FBS. If the Wildcats are to return to postseason contention, that number will have to improve significantly. They have some strong skill players, including run- ning back Justin Jackson, who rushed for 1,187 yards as a freshman, and receivers Dan Vitale (113 yards vs. Penn State last year), Cameron Dickerson and Miles Shuler. The Wildcats also hope to have Christian Jones back, but that may not be a sure thing. Jones, the team's leading pass-catcher in 2012 and '13, has con- tinued to have problems with the injured left knee that forced him to sit out last fall. They've also got questions at quar- terback, where senior Zack Oliver, soph- omore Matt Alviti and redshirt freshman Clayton Thorson are vying for the va- cant starting spot. DEFENSE The only part of North- western's defense that was hit hard by graduation was the linebacker corps. The Wildcats will need two new starters to complement sophomore middle line- backer Anthony Walker. The defensive line is back pretty much intact, with senior end Dean Lowry (eight TFL, four sacks and eight pass breakups in 2014) leading the charge. The secondary should be one of the better units in the Big Ten, with cornerbacks Matthew Harris and Nick VanHoose and safety Traveon Henry returning. SPECIAL TEAMS Junior kicker Jack Mitchell hit 14 of 18 field goal attempts last year, including 11 of 12 from inside 40 yards. Sophomore Hunter Niswander will most likely be the punter after see- ing limited action as a backup last fall. OUTLOOK After reaching the postsea- son five consecutive seasons – and win- ning their first bowl game in 64 years with a 34-20 victory over Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl – the Wildcats didn't just seem poised for a break- through; they seemed to have already broken through. They hadn't. Since go- ing 10-3 in 2012, they've put together consecutive 5-7 seasons, going 4-12 in Big Ten play during that span. With a number of promising young players on both sides of the ball, this could be the year Northwestern starts trending back upward. But it didn't make things easy on itself in the nonconference season. Its opener is against Stanford, and two weeks later it heads to Duke. True, Ohio State and Michigan State are nowhere to be found on this slate, but bowl eligibili- ty is far from assured in Pat Fitzgerald's 10th season as head coach, especially with the quarterback position in flux. 2014 RECORD 5-7 (3-5 Big Ten) SERIES RECORD Michigan leads, 11-7. MOST RECENT MEETING The W E E K 1 0 NORTHWESTERN T i m e T BA , N o v. 7 @ R ya n F i e ld 2 0 1 5 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L W E E K 1 1 MICHIGAN T i m e T BA , N o v. 2 1 @ B e av e r St a d i u m