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Assistant coach salaries are on the rise throughout college football, and the Big Ten is no exception. If you're interested in how much coin Big Ten assistants are making, be sure and bookmark this excellent list put together by Joe Rexrode of the La...

When Illinois decided to retain head coach Ron Zook after a miserable 2009 season, it gave him a nice allowance to hire new coordinators. Paul Petrino, who Zook hired to run Illinois' offense, became the Big Ten's highest-paid assistant in 2010 at...

Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase views the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl as the start of a new season. It's hard to blame him. The Illini offense needs a fresh start after flat-lining in its final six games. According to Scheelhaase, the unit wil...

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI Record: 6-6 (2-6 Big Ten) Even the most cynical observers and Ron Zook disbelievers couldn't fathom Illinois being in its current predicament back on Oct. 14. The team was off to a 6-0 start, its best since 1951. Illino...

We've had some time to digest the bowl selections and examine the Big Ten's bowl lineup for this season. Here are some thoughts after looking over the bowl landscape: As usual, the Big Ten's bowl lineup will be challenging, but not as daunting...

Illinois is playing inspired football, and Penn State is loving every minute of it. An Illinois upset of Wisconsin in Champaign would give Penn State the chance to clinch the Leaders division later today against Ohio State in Columbus. The Illini ...

Ten things to watch around the Big Ten as a pivotal Week 11 slate of games kicks off on Saturday. 1. Penn State with no JoePa: For the first time since 1965, Penn State will play a game without Joe Paterno as its head coach. Paterno's firing Thurs...

Illinois offensive coordinator Paul Petrino entered the season brimming with confidence, and for good reason. His unit had set team records for scoring (423 points) and points per game (32.5) in 2010 and returned most of its key pieces, namely qua...

Illinois set team records for points scored (423) and points per game (32.5) in Paul Petrino's first season as offensive coordinator. Here's the scary part: Petrino thinks the unit can be even better this fall. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is...

By the end of the day, all 12 Big Ten preseason camps will be under way. The weekend featured practices, players reporting and several media days around the league, so we wanted to get caught up. We already hit on some of the bigger items, such as...

The Big Ten preseason Top 25 player rankings, based on past performance and potential impact for 2011, continue with ... No. 21: Nathan Scheelhaase, QB, Illinois, So., 6-3, 195 2010 numbers: Started all 13 games; completed 155 of 264 passes for...

You know the season is getting closer when the position rankings are under way. By now, you've likely seen the group rankings for Big Ten running backs. Now it's time to rank the individual players. These rankings are based in part on past perform...

The Hope and Concern series marches on with the Illinois Fighting Illini. Biggest reason for hope: QB Nathan Scheelhaase Scheelhaase turned in a very impressive freshman season and ended it on a high note against Baylor in the Texas Bowl. By al...

Quite a lot of folks will miss Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther, who announced Monday he will retire from his post after 19 years when his contract expires June 30. But quite possibly no one will miss Guenther more than Illini football coac...

The sleeper team. If it's not your favorite offseason topic, it's pretty high on the list. I can't keep track of how often I get asked to name the Big Ten surprise team or sleeper team for the coming season. Now I'm putting the question to you. Al...

Illinois 2010 overall record: 7-6 2010 conference record: 4-4 (T-4th) Returning starters Offense: 7; defense: 6; kicker/punter: 1 Top returners QB Nathan Scheelhaase, LT Jeff Allen, WR A.J. Jenkins, C Graham Pocic, CB Tavon Wilson, ...