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2006 Illinois

2–⁠10 (1–⁠7 Big Ten), coached by Ron Zook.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2006, game by game: won vs. Eastern Illinois 42–17; lost at Rutgers 0–33; lost vs. Syracuse 21–31; lost vs. No. 14 Iowa 7–24; won at Michigan State 23–20; lost vs. Indiana 32–34; lost vs. Ohio 17–20; lost at Penn State 12–26; lost at No. 17 Wisconsin 24–30; lost vs. No. 1 Ohio State 10–17; lost vs. Purdue 31–42; lost at Northwestern 16–27+25−33Won 42–17 vs. Eastern Illinois+25Eastern IllinoisLost 0–33 at Rutgers-33RutgersLost 21–31 vs. Syracuse-10SyracuseLost 7–24 vs. No. 14 Iowa-17No. 14 IowaWon 23–20 at Michigan State+3Michigan StateLost 32–34 vs. Indiana-2IndianaLost 17–20 vs. Ohio-3OhioLost 12–26 at Penn State-14Penn StateLost 24–30 at No. 17 Wisconsin-6No. 17 WisconsinLost 10–17 vs. No. 1 Ohio State-7No. 1 Ohio StateLost 31–42 vs. Purdue-11PurdueLost 16–27 at Northwestern-11Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsEastern IllinoisW 42–⁠1760%
Sep 9atRutgersL 0–⁠3326%
Sep 16vsSyracuseL 21–⁠3158%
Sep 23vs14IowaL 7–⁠2420%
Sep 30atMichigan StateW 23–⁠2018%
Oct 7vsIndianaL 32–⁠3455%
Oct 14vsOhioL 17–⁠2048%
Oct 21atPenn StateL 12–⁠2613%
Oct 28at17WisconsinL 24–⁠308%
Nov 4vs1Ohio StateL 10–⁠178%
Nov 11vsPurdueL 31–⁠4230%
Nov 18atNorthwesternL 16–⁠2724%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 27–⁠16; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 132nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 10th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
235–⁠321
Coach
Ron Zook
Elo
1303 −66 this season
SP+ rating
-2.8 No. 70 of 119; offense No. 81, defense No. 57, special teams No. 75
SRS
−6.1 No. 81 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 27
Offensive coordinator
Mike Locksley
Defensive coordinator
Vince Okruch
Captains
[[Alan Ball, E.B. Halsey, J Leman, Josh Norris and [[Pierre Thomas
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense62nd of 119
  • Defense19th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0237%0.9362nd of 119
Defense-0.0239%0.8919th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 262% allowed
Defense-0.3own 372% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2006 class

Isiah Williams PRO★★★★No. 71
Jeff Cumberland TE★★★★No. 131
Chris James WR★★★★No. 157
Marques Wilkins WR★★★No. 314
Chris Duvalt CB★★★No. 314

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.970
Receivers43.30.885
Offensive line22.50.789
Defensive line13.00.833
Defensive backs22.50.825
Athletes and specialists13.00.799
Whole class113.00.852

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2007

The 2007 draft
Rd 7Alan Ball DBDallas Cowboys

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2006 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2006 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠12
Wisconsin7–⁠112–⁠17
Michigan7–⁠111–⁠28
Penn State5–⁠39–⁠424
Purdue5–⁠38–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠56–⁠7
Indiana3–⁠55–⁠7
Iowa2–⁠66–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠8
Michigan State1–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.