CHAMPAIGN – Two-a-days were getting old and Tony Francis' left hamstring was hurting. But he couldn't afford to stay away.

In the old days (1997), Francis might have skipped a couple days of Illinois' practice and still kept his starting job. Not now.

   Todd Schultz''s replacement at Michigan State, lefty Bill Burke, was so erratic (11 of 21 for 73 yards) Saturday that, with Colorado State still within reach 23-16, Nick Saban inserted a freshman for the final futile series.

   And Purdue, missing Billy Dicken, passed for no long gainers in a 27-17 loss to Southern Cal on Sunday, Drew Brees averaging 8.3 yards per completion and 4.8 yards per throw.

CHAMPAIGN – Shortly after Ron Turner took over as Illinois coach, his staff started to go through tapes of the returning players.

No coach had as much fun as defensive coordinator Tim Kish. His list included future starters Danny Clark, Eric Guenther and Michael Young. And he found a fourth he liked about as much as the other three, Robert Franklin.

Here's an overview of what some of the specialty football pubilcations are saying about Illinois this season:

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – He wasn't gloating or taunting or anything like that, but Howard Griffith made sure Henry Jones saw his new Super Bowl ring.

The two former Illini – class of 1990 – were together at fellow alum Mike Bellamy's wedding this summer, and everyone was admiring Griffith's new jewelry. It came courtesy of Denver's win over Green Bay last winter.

NEW POSITION? Illinois coach Ron Turner has said he wants his best players on the field. On offense, that means Steve Havard and Jameel Cook in the same backfield.

Havard has worked some at fullback with Cook lined up at tailback.

"A little bit like we did with (Robert) Holcombe and myself the last two games last year," Havard said.

CHAMPAIGN – Ron Turner doesn't claim to be a master gardener, but he knows when grass doesn't look right.

After returning from a family vacation in early August, Turner decided to check out the area east of Memorial Stadium. The grass didn't look right.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – First it was the New York Giants. A year later, the Buffalo Bills. Then the Indianapolis Colts.

All National Football League teams. All interested in Michigan State football coach Nick Saban.