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2010 Illinois

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Ron Zook.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2010, game by game: lost vs. Missouri 13–23; won vs. Southern Illinois 35–3; won vs. Northern Illinois 28–22; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 13–24; won at Penn State 33–13; lost at No. 13 Michigan State 6–26; won vs. Indiana 43–13; won vs. Purdue 44–10; lost at Michigan 65–67; lost vs. Minnesota 34–38; won vs. Northwestern 48–27; lost at Fresno State 23–25; won vs. Baylor 38–14+34−20Lost 13–23 vs. Missouri-10MissouriWon 35–3 vs. Southern Illinois+32Southern Illino…Won 28–22 vs. Northern Illinois+6Northern Illino…Lost 13–24 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-11No. 2 Ohio StateWon 33–13 at Penn State+20Penn StateLost 6–26 at No. 13 Michigan State-20No. 13 Michigan StateWon 43–13 vs. Indiana+30IndianaWon 44–10 vs. Purdue+34PurdueLost 65–67 at Michigan-2MichiganLost 34–38 vs. Minnesota-4MinnesotaWon 48–27 vs. Northwestern+21NorthwesternLost 23–25 at Fresno State-2Fresno StateWon 38–14 vs. Baylor+24Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsMissouriL 13–⁠2336%
Sep 11vsSouthern IllinoisW 35–⁠352%
Sep 18vsNorthern IllinoisW 28–⁠2260%
Oct 2vs2Ohio StateL 13–⁠2426%
Oct 9atPenn StateW 33–⁠1322%
Oct 16at13Michigan StateL 6–⁠2628%
Oct 23vsIndianaW 43–⁠1367%
Oct 30vsPurdueW 44–⁠1064%
Nov 6atMichiganL 65–⁠6749%
Nov 13vsMinnesotaL 34–⁠3879%
Nov 20vsNorthwesternW 48–⁠2743%
Dec 3atFresno StateL 23–⁠2543%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsBaylorTexas BowlW 38–⁠1454%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Baylor 38–⁠14 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The tied 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Led the nationMikel Leshoure: points per game (13.6)

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
423–⁠305
Coach
Ron Zook
Elo
1575 +120 this season
SP+ rating
8.6 No. 41 of 120; offense No. 48, defense No. 40, special teams No. 35
SRS
8.7 No. 31 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 61
Offensive coordinator
Paul Petrino
Defensive coordinator
Vic Koenning
Captains
Jeff Allen, Corey Liuget, Eddie McGee and Martez Wilson
Most valuable player
Mikel Leshoure
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense32nd of 120
  • Defense24th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted31st of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted20th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0842%0.8332nd of 120
Defense0.0040%0.8824th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.01 def		42% off
39% def		—31st off
20th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 322% allowed
Defense-0.2own 323% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsNathan Scheelhaase QB1,825 yds
Passing touchdownsNathan Scheelhaase QB17 TD
Rushing yardsMikel Leshoure RB1,697 yds
Rushing touchdownsMikel Leshoure RB17 TD
Receiving yardsA.J. Jenkins WR746 yds
Receiving touchdownsA.J. Jenkins WR7 TD
InterceptionsTrulon Henry DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2010 class

Darius Millines WR★★★No. 402
Earnest Thomas S★★★No. 701
Ryan Lankford WR★★★No. 928
Alex Hill OG★★★No. 954
Michael Heitz OT★★★No. 954

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

The 2010 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.853
Running backs22.00.767
Receivers63.00.842
Offensive line43.00.845
Defensive line32.30.791
Linebackers13.00.833
Defensive backs23.00.847
Whole class192.80.827

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 2011

The 2011 draft
Rd 1Corey Liuget DTSan Diego Chargers
Rd 2Mikel Leshoure RBDetroit Lions
Rd 3Martez Wilson OLBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Nathan Bussey OLBNew Orleans Saints

Roster 97

The 2010 roster

97 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2010 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2010 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2010 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠112–⁠15
Wisconsin7–⁠111–⁠27
Michigan State7–⁠111–⁠214
Iowa4–⁠48–⁠5
Penn State4–⁠47–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠47–⁠6
Michigan3–⁠57–⁠6
Northwestern3–⁠57–⁠6
Purdue2–⁠64–⁠8
Minnesota2–⁠63–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠75–⁠7

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