Pieces are in place to solve Missouri

Got a question about Saturday's opener? Send it to beat writer Bob Asmussen here.

Listen to Ron Zook's Monday morning radio appearance here

CHAMPAIGN – Missouri owns four straight football wins against Illinois in St. Louis, and has run up 92 points against two Ron Zook teams.

So it is appropriate to ask: Does Mizzou's past success provide the Tigers with a psychological advantage Saturday? Is this a reversal of basketball circumstances in which the UI basketball team won its eighth straight, 75-59, against a Mizzou team that turned out to be clearly better, winning 31 games?

"You guys bring up that psychological stuff," harrumphed Zook. "We weren't even here for the first two games. There's nothing to it."

Dan Disch, co-defensive coordinator and largely responsible for quieting the Tigers attack, says simply:

"If you're good enough, you'll break through that barrier, and if you're not, you won't. We don't make a big deal out of that. If we're the better team that day, we'll go out and win the game. It's the same in every sport. You see teams breaking those barriers. Two years ago we went against a bunch of teams that had been beating us, and we came through. It's all about doing your job and being good enough. Our kids believe they're good enough.

"It's a new year so, until a team gets rolling, I'm not sure that (psychology) has an impact. Our guys have been around when we've won and when we've lost, and we know we can do it. We just have to do it."

Numbers game

With expectations so high for the UI offense – a deep receiving corps and a record-breaking quarterback – there are suggestions that Illinois must try to win almost in spite of its defense. Take note:

– Illinois gave up more yards in the 9-4 Rose Bowl season of 2007 (4,898) than in last year's 5-7 season (4,204). So while nobody would believe it, you could make a case that the defense made a tiny improvement.

– For all the explosiveness of Juice Williams and the attacking unit, some of these games, for whatever reason, evolve into low-scoring, field-position battles. Even as the Illini topped 5,000 yards for the fourth time in history, they scored 20 points or less on six occasions (half the games). It's hard for Illinois or most anyone to win these days with 20 points. So the blame for a 5-7 record must be shared.

But we worry about the defense. And we ask again, what happened against Missouri last year and can the shortcomings be corrected?

"We didn't tackle well," said Disch, echoing Zook's complaint. "And we gave up some big plays. They moved fast and we didn't communicate the way we needed to. Those were the things that stood out. We've studied it and we think we're prepared, but we won't know for sure until we get out there and do it.

"Missouri uses wide splits of three, four and five feet, and everybody struggles with it. They create seams that they try to exploit. We don't face anything like it the rest of the season. You have to combat it with speed and pursuit as best you can. We'll zero in this week on the things we think they'll do, and we'll concentrate on that."

Defense can't rest

Missouri's rushing total of 226 yards was topped last season only by UI foes Penn State (241) and Ohio State (305), a significant concern since they comprise three of the UI's first four opponents. And Missouri is likely to emphasize the ground game again with a 1,000-yard rusher in Derrick Washington, and the absence of Tiger greats Chase Daniel at quarterback, Chase Coffman at tight end and Jeremy Maclin at flanker ... primary movers in producing 76 touchdowns in 14 games.

"If we're going to have a chance, we have to stop the run," Disch said. "That is always our first responsibility. We need consistency. Last year we led the Big Ten in tackles for loss, and we had too many breakdowns. It boils down to each guy doing his job, taking great angles to the ball and pursuit. If all 11 guys do their job and do it fast, we'll be improved."

Three sturdy linebackers graduated. How does Martez Wilson stack up in the middle?

"Everybody asks who is stepping up this year," Disch said. "We won't know until it gets live. We are an athletic bunch, and the attitude and work ethic are good. These guys want to hold up their end of the bargain. But you don't want to say, 'Oh, man, he's really playing good' until we see what happens.

"Martez has had a good off-season and has followed it up this fall with a good camp. He has put himself in position to play his best. Ian Thomas has been in the program two years and has paid his dues. He has traveled with us, but didn't play a lot of snaps. He's an Illinois guy and he wants to be a part of this. I'm excited to see what he does."

Disch mentioned earlier that, because of Mizzou's multi-receiver spread system, he'll probably use a two-linebacker formation about 70 percent of the time.

"We have a bunch of athletic kids and a lot of competition for playing time. Competition makes guys push every day, and grow and get better," Disch said.

But like everyone else, he won't know how much better until Saturday afternoon.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.

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