Illini line challenged to raise its game

CHAMPAIGN - Illinois' practice inside Memorial Stadium ended as advertised at 6:05 p.m. Wednesday.

Except for one group.

As the sun dropped behind the West stands and everyone else on the Illini gradually called it a day, first-year offensive line coach Eric Wolford and his charges worked under the lights for an extra 50 minutes.

What gives? The stats say everything's swell heading into today's game at winless Syracuse (11 a.m., ESPNU).

Illinois' offense has posted back-to-back 400-yard games for the first time since the start of the 2005 season.

On the plays when the Illini call for a designed run (as opposed to a scramble or a sack), they're averaging 5.8 yards a pop with 5 touchdowns.

And, when you throw in quarterback Juice Williams' scramble for a score last week against Western Illinois, the Illini's 6 rushing scores so far this season are more than the 2003 team managed in a 12-game schedule.

Yet the 35-year-old Wolford, a four-year starting guard at Kansas State with no shortage of wild-man charisma and colorful language to share, was snorting and reprimanding and teaching his guys as if they'd done nothing this year.

Which, in Wolford's gleaming eyes, they haven't. Especially in the running game, where Illinois has a reputation to uphold as the Big Ten's defending rushing champ.

"I don't think it's where it needs to be," Wolford said. "I'm not happy with what we're doing right now as far as getting on blocks and finishing blocks. To me, those are fundamental things that we hit hard this week in practice and we've got to get better at.

"Fundamentally, we are not playing anywhere near our expectations. We may be blocking a guy as in being on him, but in my mind we're not blocking him correctly.

"If you take the wrong step, you have the wrong hat (helmet) placement, the wrong hand placement ... they may not even call holding, but I'm going to call holding."

With junior left tackle Xavier Fulton, junior center Ryan McDonald and sophomore right guard Jon Asamoah already starting - and seven redshirt and true freshmen waiting in the wings - Wolford wants to impose his standards as quickly as possible.

"I don't think it's a question of quality as far as their work ethic," Wolford said. "I don't think it's a question of quality in terms of their attentiveness. I don't think it's a question of them being students of the game.

"It's more us being better fundamentally. And when you want to take about being better fundamentally, you have to demand perfection."

Using Wolford math, here's why: If each lineman grades out with just five "minuses" in 75 plays, that's 25 minuses as a unit and a failing grade overall.

"That's 25 of our 75 plays that we probably had a lost-yardage play, a no gain, a pressure on the quarterback or whatever the case may be," he said. "You'd say (5 out of 75) was pretty good, but realistically it's not.

"If a guy gets behind you (on the line), it's a catastrophe. And I'm not into catastrophes."

Illinois (1-1) at Syracuse (0-2)

When: 11 a.m. at the Carrier Dome

TV: ESPNU Radio: WIND 560-AM Series: Illinois leads 8-2.

Coaches: Ron Zook (5-20, third year at Illinois; 28-34 overall); Greg Robinson (5-20, third year at Syracuse).

Players to watch: Look for Illinois to pound its running-back tandem of Rashard Mendenhall (34 carries, 172 yards, 3 TDs) and Daniel Dufrene (15 for 109 yards, 1 TD) against a Syracuse defense surrendering 210 rushing yards per game. Defensively, MLB J Leman looks to maintain his No. 3 ranking in the national tackle stats (15.5 stops per game).

Syracuse, which beat Illinois 31-21 in Champaign last year, is trying to get sophomore QB Andrew Robinson comfortable on the fly. It's not working as he's barely hitting 50 percent of his passes and getting sacked once every five times he drops back to throw. Explosive WR Taj Smith put up two scores at Illinois last year, while Zook says to watch out for senior sackmaster Jameel McClain (No. 52).

The skinny: For the second of three times this season, Illinois takes its act indoors. History suggests that's not a good thing, since the Illini have lost 7 straight dome games since a win at Minnesota in 1994, but this will be about Illinois' increasing ability to control the line of scrimmage. Heading into this season, the Illini had surrendered at least 1 rushing touchdown in 41 of their last 43 games. This year, they've allowed no rushing scores and 2.3 yards per carry. That dovetails nicely with Syracuse's stunningly poor 32 yards in 59 carries so far.