Guess Who's Back?.....Back Again?.... DETLEF'S BACK!!!!!..... Don't Tell CentralIlliniFan...

Hey, it is Illinois football season again! It feels great to be excited about Fighting Illini football and my "Those Were the Days" column returns for more tales of yesterday. Since my last column, Illinois got a beating in the Rose Bowl (attending the game and seeing Jacob Willis fumble and the calamity that followed, ugh), men's basketball had its worst season on and off the court, the Mendenhalls and Ron Zook divorced in bitter fashion, and Coach Guenther scheduled a game in Detroit.

Despite those setbacks, the level of excitement around Illinois football is at its highest level in years. Ron Zook continues to bring big-time talent to the 217. Fans are buying tickets in droves and renovations to Memorial Stadium should be completed this fall. Whether you think playing in St. Louis is a good idea or not, whether you want to play Top 25 teams for nonconference games or have eight home games against cupcakes, whether you miss Neale Stoner or think Ron Guenther should be beatified, all members of the Illini Nation share a common goal: a "consistently consistent" winning football program for the University of Illinois. BEAT MISSOURI.

September 17, 1977: Gary Moeller took over the football program from Bob Blackman, whom Athletic Director Cecil Coleman (worst AD in UI history) unceremoniously fired. Blackman did a solid job at Illinois, considering the brutal nonconference schedules he faced yearly and the "Big 2/Little 8" status of the Big 10 in those days. This included a winning record in 1974, the first since 1965. Regardless, Coleman hired Moeller who promptly installed a Michigan-style power running game offense. This made for some hard feelings among team members whom Blackman recruited to play a totally different style of football. There would be growing pains for the team.

This is my earliest memory of Illinois football. I had just started kindergarten at good old Taft Grade School in Joliet (ironically, nicknamed the Tigers). I sat in a lawn chair in the backyard listening to the game on the radio with my father, a loyal UI alumnus who has seen as much bad UI football as Loren Tate. My father did yard work, drinking Olympia beer and muttering "Michigan man at Illinois" and "darned Bo Schembechler protégé." Illinois played Michigan the prior week and lost 37-9.

Quarterback Kurt Steger opened the scoring with a three-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. The extra point made for interesting strategy. "Coach told me to kick the extra point," said kicker Dave Finzer. "But the ball was snapped directly to [holder] Charlie Weber and he ran over for the two-point conversion. I got the idea that coach didn't appreciate it at the time, but I guess he"s happy now." The play stunned his teammates also. "I still don't think we were supposed to run for the extra point," said guard Gary Jurzyk.

Now with an 8-0 lead, Illinois then scored on a Finzer 22-yard field goal to make the score 11-0. Missouri then scored a touchdown before halftime, making the score 11-7. Finzer starred this day, with two punts in the scoreless second half that Illinois downed inside the Missouri three yard-line. He finished his day by avoiding a block attempt and booming a 67-yard punt. The game ended 11-7 with 12 fumbles, eight by Missouri. No work of art, but the Illini took the win and Gary Moeller had one of his six wins as Illinois head football coach. After the game, everyone remained puzzled by the extra point. Did Moeller call that play or was there a mix-up as Finzer and Jurzyk claimed? Weber claimed that he called the play. Finzer said "The coach tells me whether to kick it, or fake it. I take the play in." Moeller played things close to the vest. "Frankly, I'm evading your questions. Let's just say that the situation was suddenly there, and we took advantage of it."

Sources: "Illini mystery play helps whip Missouri" by David Condon. Chicago Tribune: September 18, 1977. Credit to Detlef's parents for the research and to Mrs. Detlef for copy editing.