Ohio State 30, UI 20

Illinois's Will Judson lets a Juice Williams pass slip through his hands as he's pressured by Ohio State's Malcolm Jenkins. By Holly Hart/The News-Gazette

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Recent "Fourth-and-blog" entries

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Then there was one

2008-2009 Illini Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time	Stations
Aug.30	vs. Missouri* L: 52-42	7:30 pm	ESPN, WDWS, WHMS
Sep.06	vs. Eastern Illinois W: 47-21	11 am	Big Ten Network, WDWS, WHMS
Sep.13	vs. Louisiana-Lafayette W: 20-17	11 am	Big Ten Network, WDWS, WHMS
Sep.27	at Penn State L: 38-24	7 pm	ABC, WDWS, WHMS
Oct.04	at Michigan W: 45-20	2:30 pm	ABC, WDWS, WHMS
Oct.11	vs. Minnesota L: 27-20	11 am	ESPN, WDWS, WHMS
Oct.18	vs. Indiana W: 55-13	7 pm	Big Ten Network, WDWS, WHMS
Oct.25	at Wisconsin L: 27-17	11 am	ESPN2, WDWS, WHMS
Nov.01	vs. Iowa W: 27-24	2:30 pm	ABC, WDWS, WHMS
Nov.08	vs. Western Michigan# L: 23-17	11 am	WDWS, WHMS
Nov.15	vs. Ohio State L: 30-20	11 a.m.	WDWS, WHMS, ESPN
Nov.22	at Northwestern L: 27-10	2:30 p.m.	WDWS, WHMS, BTN

* = at St. Louis; # = at Detroit

By Bob Asmussen

Saturday, November 15, 2008 8:17 PM CDT

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CHAMPAIGN – While the thought of missing a lower-tier bowl will certainly bother Illinois fans, it could get worse.

Lose to Northwestern on Saturday and Illinois becomes the first Big Ten team since Michigan in 1965 to follow a Rose Bowl appearance with a losing record.

The Wolverines were 9-1 in 1964 and dropped to 4-6 the next season. With a loss in Evanston, Illinois will fall from 9-4 to 5-7.

Ohio State pushed the Illini to the brink of postseason extinction with a workmanlike 30-20 win Saturday at Memorial Stadium. On a day better used for kite flying than pass throwing, the Buckeyes put the ball in the air just 10 times. They tried 52 runs, gaining 305 yards and scoring three touchdowns. Averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

None of that matters now to the Illini, who need a win against Northwestern in Evanston to go to a second consecutive bowl. In a strange twist, Saturday's loss to Ohio State actually makes a bowl for a six-win Illinois team more likely than had the Illini beat the Buckeyes.

The Illinois players might not understand the different bowl scenarios, but they do know they don't want to finish under .500.

"We've played well with our backs against the wall," senior linebacker Brit Miller said. "It's one of those games I think Juice (Williams) will play well, which means we'll play well."

Unless Ohio State loses to heavy underdog Michigan, a win against Northwestern will clinch a bowl bid for Illinois.

"It could make everything all right," Miller said.

What if the Illini don't win against Northwestern? What if they finish the season under .500 and home for the holidays?

"I'm not even going to fathom what that's going to feel like," senior defensive tackle David Lindquist said. "That's not going to happen. This game's going to mean everything. It's the most important game of my life. It's the most important of the season. And for the rest of these seniors, probably the most important game of their lives, too."

NON-STORY OF THE GAME

Quarterback controversy? Hardly. The Illinois coaches made it clear that Juice Williams remains in charge of the offense. But like at times in 2007, Williams was benched in favor of sophomore Eddie McGee. Illinois coach Ron Zook said he considered a switch against Western Michigan.

NUMBERS GAME
36
That's how many career interceptions Williams has after throwing one against the Buckeyes. He has eight in the past four games and moved within seven of Jack Trudeau's Illinois career record. The future Illinois total offense leader doesn't want to be at the top of the pick list.

WHAT IT MEANS

That IIlinois isn't able to beat the big guys year after year. Ohio State hasn't lost to the Illini in consecutive seasons since the early 1990s, and the Buckeyes maintained their strong hold at Memorial Stadium. Sure, Illinois beat down Michigan this season, but it lost again to the Buckeyes and Penn State.

WHAT'S NEXT

Bowl-eligible Northwestern, which would like nothing better than to keep Illinois out of the postseason. The Wildcats have plenty to play for, with nine wins putting them in position for a Jan. 1 game. The last time Illinois went to Evanston needing a win to get into a bowl, it got beat 61-23.

Comments

This team doesn't deserve a bowl. They need to start over in the QB slot and in Zook's lack of coaching fire power to "make everything alright". The fans are giving up on coaches and players that only get up for a game when "their backs are to a wall". Zook needs to produce a consistent top tier winner and the fans need to make that standard clear.

Posted by LoyalIllini on November 16, 2008 at 7:41 AM | Suggest Removal

Zook's reputation as a "great recruiter, bad coach" is starting to surface again. The current issue of The Sporting News ranks him #33 of the 60 coaches in BCS conferences. Quote from the magazine: "The Illini's regression this fall continues the 'Coach February' talk. He gets elite players but hasn't gotten them to play to their potential."

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Posted by illinifaningeorgia on November 16, 2008 at 9:11 AM | Suggest Removal

Get ready for more of the same next year. Poorly coached and undisciplined. With even more weaknesses to come on the defensive side next year, along with Juice feeling the need to turn the ball over at least 2x a game, this Illini team will be lucky to get to 5 victories next year.

Posted by IlliniHimey on November 16, 2008 at 10:52 AM | Suggest Removal

I don't know why we don't schedule more "patsies" in the non-conference. Most teams play at least 3, if not all 4 of these games at home. We usually go 2 and 2; also Missouri and Fresno State (the next 2 years) are tougher opponents than we need to face as a middle-of-the pack Big Ten team. Let's take a cue from Minnesota and Northwestern and schedule teams that we can at least go 3-1 against. We would then need a conference mark of only 3-5 to be bowl-eligible.

Posted by illinifaningeorgia on November 16, 2008 at 4:31 PM | Suggest Removal

Scheduling patsies is unfair to the fans who pay tickets to attend games. If you want to be the best, you beat the next best. Ever hear of Minnesota under Glen Mason?

Posted by jjohnson on November 16, 2008 at 8:20 PM | Suggest Removal

First of all, I think expectations at Illinois are not in the same class as Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. The committment is not there to be the best.

Secondly, you prove my point by mentioning Glen Mason. In 10 years at Minnesota, he took them to 7 bowl games. Three of those teams had 3-5 conference records. Look it up.

Posted by illinifaningeorgia on November 17, 2008 at 3:16 PM | Suggest Removal