University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Big Ten Champs Are Next
9/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Big Ten Champs Are Next
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss continues to prepare for Saturday's game against Illinois, a game that will start at 11 a.m., in Roberts Stadium and will be televised on ESPN2.
It's an Illinois team Head Coach Jeff Bower says the average fan doesn't appreciate. "I'm just not sure that our average fan realizes just what Illinois represents," Bower said. "If they did, someone would already have told me the game was a sellout. You go through the Big Ten and win a championship, and have 15 starters back, you have to know they're a really good team. You beat such teams as Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, this is a really good football team.
"I was surprised that they lost to Missouri last week, but the more look at the tape, it's easy to see that Missouri is better than most people thought. They've got an athletic quarterback, and Illinois hurt itself with a couple of crucial turnovers that played a major part in the eventual outcome of the game."
Bower says his team has been busy preparing for a team that runs a lot of different defenses. "They run a lot of different defensive looks, a lot blitzes, so it takes some time to get ready for all that," he said. "This was our first day working against all those looks. We had some mistakes, but we'll be better tomorrow and even better Thursday.
"I thought we had a good day and practiced hard. The players have done a good job of picking up a lot of material, the concentration was good, and I think our players are really looking forward to the game."
Bower also said that starting linebacker Joe Henley had an MRI today, "just to make sure there's nothing there," Bower said. Results should be available before practice Wednesday.
Following the Illinois game, Southern Miss stays at home for a Sept. 14 game against Memphis, a game that will end the first season-opening, three-game home-stand since 1920. The
Eagles then play at Alabama (Sept. 21) and Army (Sept. 28) before finally taking a week off Oct. 5.
