Bill, we assume the decision is a combination of coaches and players, with limitations based on who is home and who is away. Illinois was the road team Saturday. Sorry, that's not something I pay much attention to. Others aspects of the team are of greater concern. Loren

Tim, to the best of my knowledge, Zook doesn't play golf.
Why, Tim, do you bother asking questions of someone that you obviously dislike? If it was me, I wouldn't bother. On the Guenther subject, I have a belief, which happens to coincide with past presidents like Ikenberry, and past chancellors, and members of the Board of Trustees, that Guenther is the man they want in place. If that doesn't please you, look elsewhere, please. I can handle your insults but I just don't need them. Thanks, Loren

Tim, I don't recall making excuses. Yes, Illinois is an underachiever. That is obvious to everyone. What is past doesn't concern me near as much as what lies in the immediate and long-distance future.
Guenther is among the highest paid ADs because of his value, in the eyes of his superiors, to the overall athletic program. And he has provided football with facilities and other assets to be successful. You may deem the football failures as his fault. I don't. Loren

Dave, expectations always follow what has happened in the recent past, with the addition of recruiting. Right now, it doesn't look good in any aspect. The UI can't expect fans to get excited after what we've seen. Games are supposed to be fun, and they cease to be fun when the team loses so frequently (like all six in St. Louis). I don't have a solution for the problem. Illinois is down and may or may not get up.
Let me add one thing. If some fans want to take an ever-optimistic approach, regardless of the obvious problems, that is OK with me. For those of us in the media, we have to report what we see and, to some extent, what we anticipate. Loren

Doug, with regard to Scheelhaase, there are always doubts about a first-time quarterback. Most recruited quarterbacks fail. That's a fact. Can he succeed? Sure. He has excellent running instincts. Is he a good enough passer to be better than Juice? That remains to be seen. If he goes 9 for 23 with three interceptions every game, Illinois is doomed. So he has to get better, and he very well might. It is hard to be an effective leader unless you are productive.
I don't think the Illini came out flat in the second half. I just think the obvious superiority of Mizzou's aerial game buried. Teams will crowd the line to force Illinois to pass, and if Illinois can't pass, well ...
As to whether the team "believes," I have no idea. The players always talk a good game. Zook talks a good game. To me, that means nothing. I'll wait and see how they play. Loren

GHD, No. 1, I didn't assail the basketball team. I just pointed out that Illinois won't be ranked in the Top Two in the conference, and faced a five- to six-way battle for the Big Ten championship. Is such an obviously realistic approach "assailing" them? Come on, grow up. Face reality.
And if a 20-0 second half in which Illinois made four first downs and was thoroughly dominated is reason to be optimistic, fine. Be optimistic. Don't let me dissuade you.
Yes, I cover Illinois sports, but I try to use common sense. The nursing home will come soon enough without you rushing it. Wow. Who are you people?
Loren

Illini cubbie blues, sure, Mizzou made adjustments, NORMAL ADJUSTMENTS that everyone will make. Opponents are going to stack the line to limit runs by Leshoure and Scheelhaase, with the intention of forcing Scheelhaase to win the game with his arm. The only surprise I saw what that Mizzou didn't do that sooner. Or maybe they tried and hadn't found a way to make it work earlier. But, clearly, Illinois must develop its passing game in order to be successful against comparable teams. Question is, can the Illini do it?
No, there doesn't seem to be anything like alternating quarterback on the horizon. Loren

Bruce, you may have a point. I go along with the idea that the timeouts should be called as early as possible in the final minutes. Like you, I think you save more time that way. Loren

John, you fall in what is developing as a minority in your complaints against playing SIU and NIU. Most people seem to believe Illinois should play four games against Little Sisters of the Poor. Were you just joking?
In their present condition, it doesn't appear Illinois can compete against Top 20 teams. Loren

Alfred, In talking to Koenning as we walked away from Saturday's post-game press conference, he said that he was very impressed by the job Zook did in "talking up" and inspiring the team, and in keeping them energized during the game. Koenning made a special point of emphasizing that me. I think Koenning said that because he was impressed and believed it. As for who the players are most inspired by, I have no idea. Loren

Bill, the first problem with the Assembly Hall is that you can't tear it down.
With that as a given, you can't build another one close to it because it wouldn't make sense. So the UI is caught in a bind. The building needs to be brought up to date. We'll see whether Guenther can raise the money. It seems impossible from where I sit, but he has already built some buildings that I didn't think he could. Loren

David, good question but I don't know the answer. If the O-line was tipping plays, the coaches should be able to find it out in the tape review.
On the other side, we knew Gabbert was going to pass (48 times) and we couldn't stop it. He could have announced the plays in advance, and it wouldn't have made a difference. Missouri could pass, Illinois couldn't, and therein likes the problem. Loren

RonG, what kind of stuff are they passing out in Dresden. I think Illinois will have a very good basketball team. I watched them practice last week and I'm impressed. Tisdale is improved, McCamey looks sharp, Richmond is versatile and very talented, Paul could be better. That doesn't change the fact that Michigan State and Purdue will be ranked in the nation's Top 5, and at least three other Big Ten teams are comparable to Illinois. Does it turn me into a ogre to remind people of that. Do you want me to live in some kind of dream world? Come on, be realistic. Nowhere did I say that Illinois can't be successful. They could even win it. But it's a five- or six-team race with MSU and Purdue clearly holding the advantage.
Oh my goodness, I did it again. I didn't pick Illinois to win all their games. What I need is someone to send me pom-pon so I can be a better cheerleader. Loren

Sam, I think Guenther made a mistake in that regard, and I can't explain it other than to say he is sometimes too loyal, but not always. Loren

jkbigstuff, let me explain something. I don't entirely control what I write. I try to follow Jim Rossow's lead. If I had my way, I would write entirely about football for Sunday's paper. But Jim wants me to skip around, do the Old-Young thing ... and I will tell you that (1) he is a lot smarter than I am, (2) he knows better what the newspaper needs and (3) he wants me to be more personal and write things for Sunday during the week on a variety of subjects. I am trying to follow his directions. I didn't write the headline and I didn't mean to favor basketball. I just thought it was interesting that a writer (Gottlieb) would pick Illinois to win the Big Ten when most everyone is picking Purdue or MSU.
Of the last 100 suggestions Rossow has given me, 99 of them have been right on. I will continue to follow his lead and, if he is satisfied, I don't care what anyone else thinks (except John Foreman).
As for quarterback, unless Scheelhaase fails, he'll be the quarterback. What ultimately transpires will be obvious to everyone as we go forward.
Loren

Chris, I wrote about this last week. The Illini lost three key DBs through the completion of their elibigility, lost Flowers and 11-game starter Edwards for other reasons, lost two more by injury, another by disqualification from school, and the judgment was made by the coaches that Green and Hull, in particular, would be better than the others who were already back there. Evidently Hull did pretty well, and so did Green, although 34-for-48 passing would leave some doubt. But consider, a lot of teams have trouble defending accurate passers. Michigan's Robinson went 19 for 22 against U-Conn, Northwestern's QB had a similar percentage, and Penn State's new QB went 20 for 29. It will forever be impossible to stop the perfectly executed pass. Let me repeat. It will forever be impossible to stop the perfectly executed pass. Loren

Ron, as I just said, the coaches always had it in mind that Green was recruited by Ohio State and others as a DB, but they had to wait until he thought it was a good idea to switch. Hull had similar talents and inclinations, and now that move has been made. But you are correct, the defensive backfield was a weakness before these injuries happened. It was the area that Koenning was most worried about, and he was correct in his analysis.
Loren

Bryce, I was so disappointed that there was no flyover that I didn't notice the bands. I was trying to work at halftime and the computer kept balking. Maybe there was a pigeon flyover and I missed it. I'll be more alert next time. Loren

Joe, darn, I've been on here an hour, and I actually got a compliment. Please, no more. I'm not good as accepting them. I like the criticisms more. Pile it on. I am loathsome and need to retire or, better yet, burned at the stake. Loren

Jeff, to be honest, I prefer the miserable jerks. Maybe they need someone to take out their frustrations on, and I'm happy to be that person.
Abrams is, as Paul Klee has pointed out, a work in progress as a point guard. I'm not sure he, as a freshman, can beat out Bertrand, but then we just have to wait and see what kind of a backup point guard Bertrand is this season. You are correct that Illinois has no natural point guard on the squad next season, but Abrams has a year to improve and is a very mature, aggressive athlete. He just needs to improve his ballhandling. Loren

Jim, well, to be honest, just about everyone. Certainly Scheelhaase and the secondary. But the keys, as a see them, are (1) prevailing in the next two games against SIU and NIU, (2) hanging in against Ohio State and Penn State and (3) maintaining enthusiasm through likely losses to meet the remainder of the schedule with a positive approach. Hopefully, Hawthorne and Becker will be back by then, and Illinois won't have lost anyone else. I'm just stupid enough to think Illinois can compete favorably in the last seven games ... not win them all, understand, but win enough to put a positive spin on next season when the first eight games are either home or in Indiana, and all are "do-able." Loren

John, I'm running out of time. Already over. I agree that Petrino appeared pretty conservative because he had no deep threat, but that doesn't explain why he didn't throw to the tight end or running back (except for the last toe-on-the-line catch by Leshoure. Loren

DA, I think it might be McGee for a short stint. If longer, there are rumors it might to Osei. Petrino definitely wants to stick with Scheelhaase. Loren

John, that's funny, I don't feel any different than I did 20 or 40 years ago.
You probably think I've changed because all this is coming out on the internet, but really I haven't. I've always been a bad guy. Ask Stoner. Ask Moeller.
I don't think the fan base is on me more than normal. That's always been the case when Illinois loses and, for the most part, Illinois has tended to lose in football.
If I was admired, I would be doing something terribly wrong. I don't want to be admired. As for retirement, I'm 78 and who knows? I may be here another year, and I may be here another 10 years. I've known writers who have gone to their 90s. My problem is, I love doing it. Here I am, responding to whoever for an hour and half, and doing it for nothing. You see, I'd rather do it for nothing than do nothing. I apologize for not having a brain hemorrhage. Maybe I will. Loren