The Illini Go on the Road

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In This Issue

Thoughts from the Sidelines

Player Awards

Illini QBC

Corporate Partners

The Illini Quarterback Club would like to thank our Corporate Partners for their continued support. If you or your business would like information on how to become a corporate partner please contact Michael Byrd at mrb228@aol.com.

ORANGE PARTNERS

BLUE PARTNERS

WHITE PARTNERS

Provident Financial Group

Round Barn Banquet Center
SteveAndPamHomes.com
Marine Bank

Eastland Suites

Midwest Pottyhouse

Illini QBC Partner of the Week

Founded in 1985 as a way to fill a significant need in the North American RC marketplace, Horizon Hobby continues to grow and creatively adapt to changes in the industry nearly a quarter of a century later.

Realizing a need for proprietary product and the creation of its own brands, the company purchased Hobby Dynamics in 1992, gaining the exclusive rights to several leading RC product lines. This expansion was followed in 1998 by the acquisition of Indy RC, a mail-order company that was converted into the Horizon Hobby Catalog Division. This allowed Horizon to place a strategic focus on marketing directly to the consumer.

Stripe the Stadium for OSU Game

Okay, we striped the stadium. Have you spent time on the internet trying to confirm that you were actually at the game?

If not here is the link.

Illini Fan Cam

Have You Ordered Your Illini QBC Gameday Apparel?

Place Your Order

Here

Gameday was opened as a sporting goods store in Campustown in 1986, and is the Gameday Spirit is the only Official Fan Store of the Fighting Illini. We now operate as the premier Illini Spirit Shop on campus. Gameday is locally owned and operated by 3 Illinois alumni and fans, and are proud of our orange and blue heritage. Our focus is Illinois athletics. Our mission is to provide every Illini fan and alumni with the best value and selection of Illinois merchandise available.

Coaches Radio Show

Plan to attend this weeks Coaches Radio Show in the Colonnades Club.

Dinner served at 5:30 and reservations are required. Coaches Show starts at 7:00 p.m.

Cash Bar from 5:00 until 9:00 p.m.

Purdue Next on Illini Schedule

Illini Continue in National Spotlight While Ranked in Top 25

Greetings!

"To be what you have never been .....

You must first go where you have never gone"

Dana Howard

Illini Quarterback Club October 2011

Some have reminded me that Dana Howard was not the first to speak those words. Maybe not. But, it was the first time that those words made an impact on this writer. Last Friday, former Illini player Dana Howard was a featured speaker at the Quarterback Club. Dana spoke of his years as a player, his All-American honors, his Butkus Award, his professional career, his business career and his family. When asked a question about this year's Illini, he paused for a minute. He

acknowledged that this is a very good team. Not a great team, but a very good team. He spoke of what it means to be a winner. He spoke of the discipline and focus that it takes to become a winner. In fact, he shared with us that the pieces are on the table for this team to become a great team. The players, the coaches, staff, everything is in place.

So what's left. Dana assured us that all that is left is to play the game. Play the game with everything you have to give.

Play in the moment. Leave nothing on the field. Don't worry about the last play, or the last game. When asked how he rose to his level of success on the playing field he responded that it was simple. Go for the ball. Never quit. Never give up. Never take your eye off the moment. That's right, go for the ball! If you do that, good things will happen. Thank you Dana Howard. I thought about that all weekend. I believe this program will become great, because all of the pieces are there. All teams loose games. It just happens when you travel to someplace that you have never been.

This week we travel to East Lafayette, to take on Purdue. A victory there makes us 7-1 and sets the stage for an exciting game at Penn State. The future looks good, and for now, good is a great thing. Good luck to the Fighting Illini. We await your return .......

This week the Quarterback Club will be in the Colonnades Club hosting the Coaches Radio Show. We want to remind everyone that there will be road closures around First and Peabody.

So, everyone should plan to park in the Northwest Lot at The Assembly Hall. Champaign West Rotary will be attending the Radio Show and checking out the QBC. Introduce yourself and invite those you speak with to consider joining our Club.

We continue to hear from current and past members who tell us they can feel the energy in this year's Quarterback Club. Our web site and eNewsletter allows us to communicate regularly with more people on a regular basis. The apparel line is starting to catch on and the Tailgate Tent is turning out to be a lot of fun. Once again, our Bus Trips to away games have been popular and the Fan Appreciation Day and The Annual Coaches/Players Meet and Greets were a big success. Our annual Ladies Day and Golf Outing events were once again very popular. But to keep things going, we need our memberships continued support. Each year, five Board members step down and are replaced by five new members. Please consider submitting your name for Board selection. Or if you have any questions, email current President Jim Vasica at obs1452@outback.com.

Thoughts from the Sidelines
and the Horseshoe

It was great to have Dana Howard at the Quarterback Club luncheon on Friday. Dana made a special trip, with his father, to Champaign just to speak and then drove home and back to Champaign on Saturday for the game and other Varsity I activities. Truly a very special "Illini".

How many of us in Illini Nation really believed that Ohio State could lose three BIG games in succession? Can you really believe that a team could complete one pass and still beat us? There is probably a message in there about our "being ready to play". As Coach Zook stated, "we needed to match their intensity and we didn't do that".

I agreed with Coach Zook concerning his decision to go for it on 4th and 2 rather than kick a field goal. In reflecting on the way the game had gone to that point I felt our chances for a touchdown were greater at that point than after recovering an on-side kick and moving the ball 40 yards to the goal line. Yes, a field goal would have kept our hopes alive but could we have recovered the onside kick and then scored from 40 yards out?

How do we respond from our first loss? We have two options, permit the OSU loss to linger in our hearts and mind or make Purdue pay for our effort vs. Ohio State. I choose the second option and I am certain all of our players do also. Sometimes that is a huge challenge to accomplish. As Coach Henson stated many times, "It is not who you play but when you play them".

Our defense continues to play very very good. They were put into some long odds with the two turnovers. We defended a field of 30 yards and OSU defended a field of 60+ yards. That is a no-brainer when trying to figure out our "problem". The two huge plays which hurt us the most were the quarterback's long run up the middle and the touchdown pass. From my seat in the south end zone I could see the touchdown pass coming. Steve Hull's only chance was to tackle the guy before he caught the pass. That would only have delayed the scoring. As the saying goes, "sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield".

Go Illini! Beat Purdue!

Special Recognition

Player Awards for
Ohio State University Game

Each year, the Quarterback Club presents awards in five (5) categories based on the previous week's performance. These players are presented with a plaque as a sign of support from the Illini Quarterback Club and it's members.

There were no awards presented after the OSU game

Offensive Player of the Game:

Defensive Player of the Game:

Spec Team Player of Game:

Scout Team Player of the Week:

Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week:

The Quarterback Club still has tickets available for the Michigan and Wisconsin games. Please contact Jim Vasica at obs1452@outback.com, if you are interested in these tickets. Activity at last weeks Tailgate Tent was up considerably over previous games. Consider buying a couple of tickets for friends and family.

Just a reminder for those of you who are considering a Board position. Check with any Board member and they can answer any question you might have. See you Thursday night.

Go Illini!

Sincerely,

Board of Directors

Illini Quarterback Club