Illini remember what happened last year against Syracuse

Illinois put together quite a performance when it hosted Syracuse last September.

Five false starts. Four holding calls. Four dropped passes. The Orange recovered 2 fumbles (1 on offense and 1 on defense) and ran them in for touchdowns.

All of that ugliness, which helped the Orange build a 31-7 lead en route to a 31-21 victory, explains why the Illini won't take Saturday's visit to hapless Syracuse (11 a.m., ESPNU) for granted.

"That's why I don't think it'll be tough to get up for them," said senior middle linebacker J Leman, who ranks third nationally with 15.5 tackles per game. "They beat us last year and they were the better team."

Or, at least, Syracuse was the less-worse team. That can't be said this year, at least in Las Vegas where Illinois finds itself listed as much as a 13-point favorite.

Washington and Iowa outscored the Orange 77-12 in their first two games. Not only does Syracuse rank No. 117 out of 119 FBS teams in total offense (155.0 ypg), but it's No. 118 in scoring offense (6.0 ppg) and sacks allowed (13).

Ron Zook knows all these numbers, but he also knows his players.

Last year, after the Illini bounced Michigan State on the road, they regressed and lost a pair of winnable home games against Indiana and Ohio.

Zook wants to avoid that scenario as the Illini settle down from Saturday's 21-0 victory over Western Illinois.

"It's like a little baby learning to walk," Zook said. "They walk and then they begin to jog or whatever. Since I've been here, when we've begun to have a little bit of success -- or feel like we're having a little bit of success -- we haven't handled it well.

"I think that's the next step. We've got to take care of us. Believe me, Syracuse will give us all we can handle. That's why I think it's very, very important that we go there and prove to ourselves that this program is continuing to improve."

Rejus' time: In addition to earning prep All-American honors for his skills as a receiver, freshman Arrelious "Rejus" Benn made his reputation as a stellar punt and kick returner.

Benn expected to do both for Illinois when he came to town, but that plan changed once he suffered his "strained" shoulder in an Aug. 11 scrimmage.

Illinois has struggled terribly on kick returns in his absence (17.5-yard average, plus 2 lost fumbles), but junior Kyle Hudson has done a solid job in his first action as a punt returner (5 for 55 yards).

Regardless, Illinois wants the ball in Benn's hands more frequently and he wants the ball more than his current pace of 7.5 touches per game, so expect him to join the return unit soon.

"I feel I'm 100 percent right now to do what I'm doing," Benn said. "I told Zook as soon as I'm 110 percent, I'm back there. So get ready."