A week off will provide Illinois players with a mini-vacation. There will be no practice from Thursday through Sunday.
“I want them to get away from football,” coach Ron Zook said. “We’re squeezing all we can out of them. They need some time off.”
During the players’ down time, seven of Zook’s assistants will be hitting the road on out-of-state recruiting trips. . . .
The Illini forced a season-high three turnovers in Saturday’s 36-13 loss at Indiana. The 72-yard drive preceding Jason Reda’s 27-yard field goal that opened the Illini scoring was keyed by cornerback Alan Ball’s interception. The drive for their first TD began after linebacker Remond Willis stripped the ball and cornerback James Cooper recovered at the Hoosiers’ 6-yard line. In the closing minutes a hit by linebacker J Leman produced a fumble, and safety Justin Harrison recovered at the Illinois 1-yard line.