Illinois notebook: Defensive Davises combine for big day
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- If you were named Davis, you had a big game Saturday for Illinois in a 27-14 victory over Indiana.
While star sophomore cornerback Vontae Davis ended with a punt block, interception and nine tackles, junior defensive end Will Davis -- the other Davis on the Illini defense -- had four sacks and five tackles for a loss.
Will Davis came within one sack of tying the school's single-game record set by Simeon Rice in 1994. He has 5.5 sacks in the last two games, and Davis spearheaded an Illinois defense that held Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis to a season-low 35 yards rushing.
"We contained him about as well as he can be contained,'' Illinois coach Ron Zook said.
Defensive end Doug Pilcher recorded his first career sack. Safety Justin Harrison had a sack, and former walk-on Mike Ware, a transfer from Wheaton College, had one sack for the second straight game.
"One on one, (Will) Davis is tough to block,'' said Illinois co-defensive coordinator Dan Disch. "When we let him go and turn him loose, he's hard to block. If you get after (Lewis) too much, he can run around. But when we had our success, we got after him.''
Vontae Davis spent most of the day on Indiana receiver James Hardy, who caught a 7-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Davis bounced back and snagged an interception in the end zone with 1 minute 10 seconds left by jumping in front of Hardy.
"Vontae did a great job on him,'' Zook said. "I told Vontae, 'This guy will play in the NFL. If you think you're good enough to play in the NFL, you have to go get him.' ''
Hardy had six catches for 42 yards. Vontae Davis' interception sealed the win.
"Coach Zook said the best players have to play,'' Vontae Davis said. "For us to come out on top, I have to stay on the field and play to the best of my ability.''
GO FOR TWO: As Illinois stretched its lead, Zook chose not to go for a two-point conversion to extend the lead to 14 points rather than 13. Illinois lost 34-32 to Indiana last season when the Illini missed an extra-point kick, then failed on a two-point conversion try later in the game.
"I remembered back to last year,'' Zook said. "That's not the reason we didn't do it. In the first half, we were moving the ball. The chart said go for two. I just felt we should get the point and go from there.''
KICKOFFS: Illinois used placekickers Jason Reda and Michael Cklamovski on kickoffs, attempting to keep the ball from Marcus Thigpen. The Indiana junior led the nation with 30.1 yards per kickoff return last season. He had a 98-yard return for a touchdown against Illinois.
Cklamovski boomed one into the end zone for a touchback, and Reda popped short, high kicks that were easy to cover while giving up some yardage.
"I wasn't going to take a chance,'' Zook said. "He's the type of guy who can take it back if you're not careful.''
INJURY REPORT: Freshman running back Troy Pollard left the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury. His status was unknown. Left tackle Xavier Fulton suffered an ankle sprain but returned to the game. Running back Daniel Dufrene may have also tweaked his previously sprained ankle.
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more Illini coverage, see Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com> .