Focus off Iowa's Illinois recruits, on Zook's Illini

If Illinois fans are making a list of people to thank for Ron Zook's hiring, then Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz deserves to be high on the list.

Ferentz and his staff did such a thorough job of coming into Illinois and rustling away five-star prospects in the summer and fall of 2004, athletic director Ron Guenther couldn't help but notice Ron Turner's recruiting ability had been irreparably compromised.

Now, just three years later, Illinois rides a Zook-inspired high into sold-out Kinnick Stadium, while the Hawkeyes' Land of Lincoln recruits are suffering as much as their team.

Here's how Iowa's "Fab Illini Five" are faring these days:

• Tony Moeaki (Wheaton Warrenville South), a junior tight end and preseason Mackey Award candidate, started out red-hot with 14 catches for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns.

But early in Iowa's Big Ten opener at Wisconsin, Moeaki broke his hand and dislocated his elbow. He might be back in two weeks.

• Dace Richardson (WW South), a junior left tackle who has nine career starts, is scheduled for knee surgery next week that will cost him the rest of the year.

• Dan Doering (Barrington), a redshirt sophomore guard and a five-star recruit, has yet to start a game. He has come off the bench for brief appearances in four games.

• Ryan Bain (Bolingbrook), a defensive lineman, transferred to Akron last summer. That apparently was unrelated to being charged with public intoxication and related offenses during the school year.

• That leaves redshirt sophomore quarterback Jake Christensen (Lockport) as the only Chicago-area native who figures to have a significant impact on today's game.

Christensen, who has started every game as Drew Tate's successor, has completed 54 percent of his passes for 1,152 yards, 10 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. It would be interesting to learn how good his stats might become if he didn't run for his life so often.

A revolving and youthful offensive line has Iowa ranked 118th (out of 119 teams) in sacks allowed (25).

Overall, Iowa has suffered through so many significant injuries (and off-field problems) that Ferentz has trotted out 11 true freshmen. That's four more than in any of his previous eight years in Iowa City.

These factors help to explain why the Hawks have dropped eight consecutive Big Ten games -- the program's worst run since Ferentz lost his first nine conference games in 1999-2000.

But Zook doesn't want to hear anything about Iowa's struggles. At least, he doesn't want any of his players to hear about them.

As the Illini bask in national acclaim after back-to-back wins over No. 21 Penn State and No. 5 Wisconsin, Zook tries desperately to steer their focus back to Iowa.

"It's important that we keep in mind, it's Iowa," Zook said. "We told our team, 'That's all we talk about is Iowa. If somebody asks you about something outside of Iowa, it's about Iowa.

" 'Because all the things you want to be able to enjoy in January or February or in the off-season, all those things are for nothing if we don't continue to do the things we've done.' "

Illinois (5-1, 3-0) at Iowa (2-4, 0-3)

When: 11 a.m. at Kinnick Stadium

TV: ESPN2 Radio: WIND 560-AM Series: Illinois 37-28-2

Coaches: Ron Zook (9-20, third year at Illinois; 32-24 overall); Kirk Ferentz (57-47, ninth year at Iowa; 69-68 overall).

Players to watch: Illinois junior Rashard Mendenhall ranks seventh nationally in rushing (772 yards, 10 TDs), but the country's fifth-best rushing offense really flies when QB Juice Williams is at the controls. He's expected to play despite hyperextending his knee last week against Wisconsin. Freshman receiver Arrelious Benn (right shoulder) should be OK to play, too. … Iowa boasts the Big Ten's third-best defense, and it all starts upfront with four stellar linemen: Ends Kenny Iwebema and Bryan Mattison and tackles Matt Kroul and Mitch King. The Iowa offense is last in the Big Ten in rushing, total yards and points.

The skinny: ESPN GameDay is thinking about making its first visit to Champaign next week for the showdown with Michigan, but that won't happen if the Illini don't snap their four-game losing streak to Iowa. The Hawks are tops in the Big Ten in turnover margin (plus-8), which has been a recent Illini strength, and they're strong against the run. Illinois needs to reverse at least one of those trends to come out on top.

-- Lindsey Willhite