NU joins praise party for Illinois

Illinois has been the toast of college football since Saturday, receiving tributes from all over the country after its upset of Ohio State.

Six days before his team faces the feted Fighting Illini, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald kept his glass raised.

Here's a sampling of Fitzgerald's comments Monday about the 20th-ranked Illini:

• On the upcoming game: "It's going to be our greatest challenge of the season. If not the most improved team in the country, (Illinois is) definitely the most improved team in the Big Ten."

• On Illinois junior running back Rashard Mendenhall: "He's the best back in the country. He's physical, he's fast, he's got great vision. He's the full package."

• On Illinois' offensive playmakers: "I don't know how much sleep I'm going to get this week. They've got weapons all over the place. (Coordinator) Mike Locksley's doing a great job of involving the playmakers in multiple ways."

Asked if Illini senior J Leman is the toughest linebacker Northwestern will face this season, Fitzgerald replied, "Without a doubt. He's a very physical player. It's going to be very challenging."

The purple praise for the Illini isn't only coming from Fitzgerald. Senior wide receiver Tonjua Jones has watched a chunk of Illinois highlights on the Big Ten Network this season.

"We certainly respect them," said Jones, one of four co-captains who will be the only players allowed to speak to the media this week. "What they've been doing all year, it's been great. It's been fantastic.

"They're really dominant at this point."

Conteh improves: Backup running back Omar Conteh practiced Monday and is on pace to play at Illinois after missing the last two games with a sprained ankle. Conteh tapered his rehab late last week in hopes of returning to full strength for the Illinois game.

The junior can be a major asset in the red zone, where he has scored 5 of his 6 touchdowns (3 rushing, 2 receiving). NU has converted just six of 10 red-zone scoring chances in its last two games without Conteh.

"It's just great to have a player of that caliber back, from a depth standpoint and from a playmaking standpoint," coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "It just gives us another weapon."

Message received: After the Indiana win, NU quarterback C.J. Bacher said the coaches "took our leashes off" by putting less emphasis on the fourth quarter in practice last week. Pat Fitzgerald didn't agree that the focus changed, but he liked the results on the field.

"We didn't overemphasize anything that we don't usually emphasize," Fitzgerald said. "We stayed the course. I'm glad to hear that (Bacher) heard my message because that's what we did. We operated and executed."

Inches to go: Four NU players -- quarterback C.J. Bacher, receiver Eric Peterman, defensive tackle Adam Hahn and long snapper Phil Brunner -- were named first-team Academic All-District selections by the College Sports Information Directors Association. … NU has risen to 16th nationally in third-down conversion percentage (47.2) despite attempting the second-most third downs (180) among FBS teams.