If the grace period is not over, then it is late in thefourth with no timeouts left.
Illinois has had five games – nearly half a season – to get things straight on the football field. By now the first-year coach and his first-year plans should be second nature to the players.
We'll excuse the mistakes leading up to today's game at Wisconsin. It is a new system. And they are, for the most part, the same down-on-their-luck players who contributed to last year's 2-9 freeway pileup. Even the smartest dog needs a few months of training.
So does an underdog like Illinois, which has learned a few tricks. Like how to roll over.
But that's old news. Beginning today, consider their slate clean, their record exonerated. There are six games left for the Illini to show us what they've learned.
Be worried if it isn't much.
Be worried if ...
... Illinois doesn't give the Badgers a game. Wisconsin is as young as the Illini and has slipped past subpar teams by slight of hand. Ron Turner must coax his team into keeping it close.
... Illinois engages in a group hug after it gives the Badgers a game. Near misses can't be celebrated. Narrow wins can.
... another kick sails wide left. Illinois has missed 4 of 5 field goals and an extra point, as sorry a ratio as you'll find this side of junior high football. One more miss today and Turner might as well go for it on every fourth down.
... another pooch punt sails into the end zone. This should have been fixed during two-a-days.
... Tim Lavery lines up behind left guard again. He did it at Iowa, but the lefty was a nervous wreck in his first college start. By now he should be comfortable. By now he should know who his center is.
... Lavery sees stars (and not the Ron Dayne variety). The quarterback's been tossed about in his first two starts. Iowa sacked him seven times when he held on to the football too long. Penn State got to him four times. Wisconsin has Big Ten sack leader John Favret licking his chops.
... Mike Samuel acts like Ryan Leaf. It's time Illinois, last in pass efficiency defense and 10th in pass defense, starts keeping track of opposing receivers. Especially with pass-happy Purdue and Indiana on deck.
... Robert Holcombe leads the team in receptions (he's third right now). His job is to run the football, not the routes. That's for receivers, who can't seem to get open. The UI is completing 44.3 percent of its passes, by far the worst in the Big Ten. Even the Bears are better.
... Holcombe leads the team in tackles. He's had opportunities, the Illini turning the football over 11 times.
... former two-way wonder Brent Taylor returns to running back. There isn't a Big Ten backfield with as little depth as Illinois, which is two sprained ankles away from using a walk-on at tailback.
... Taylor returns to defense. The Illini are just as thin at defensive end, where injuries have made a mess of things.
... Trevor Starghill spends tonight in a Madison hospital room. That'll happen if the tiny cornerback is called on to get in front of the 261-pound Dayne in the Illinois secondary after long runs. Want to know how it feels? Go outside and tackle the nearest fire hydrant. The Illini's front seven can't let the bulky Badger sneak past them and gain steam too often.
... Turner's in the bed next to him. As intense as he is, Turner can't let the losing streak turn into a mental or physical strain. Not this early in his tenure.
... Northern Illinois beats Vanderbilt and Iowa State beats Texas A&M. That'd leave Illinois with the nation's longest losing streak, 12.
... if recruits are counting.

Jim Rossow is sports editor of The News-Gazette.