For Illinois, there are worse things than losing to Middle Tennessee State.

A letter of inquiry comes to mind. So does Digger Phelps as your commencement speaker. How about Marcus Griffin committing to Iowa the second time around?

That's about it.

Lose tonight, and the Illini should close their season, not just their practices. The outcome is that critical.

To this point, Ron Turner has not coached a must-win game at Illinois. Every loss has been justifiable.

Southern Miss? First-game jitters.

Louisville? Chris Redman.

Washington State? Ryan Leaf.

Iowa? Tim Dwight.

Penn State? Joe Paterno.

Wisconsin? Ron Dayne.

Purdue? Too many receivers to cover.

Indiana? Too many interceptions to throw.

Northwestern? Too many distractions (4-H Day and Siblings Day).

Ohio State? Too much talent.

Michigan State? Too much at stake (Spartans needed a win for bowl eligibility).

Washington State? Bogus travel plans.

Against all odds

In fact, an Illinois team under Turner never has been favored.

Until tonight, when excuses no longer will be honored.

It took a Division I-AA outfit from another region to pull it off, but Illinois is supposed to win. Haven't heard that for a couple years.

Nothing against Middle Tennessee State.

The Blue Raiders have a respected coach in Boots Donnelly, the best tailback on the field in Torin Kirtsey, a national ranking and a history of beating schools with more scholarships to hand out (they have whipped 25 Division I-A teams).

They rent more reliable buses than Illinois (no breakdowns to report during Friday's trip from Murfreesboro). Their practice fields look a whole lot better than Illinois'. They even sell as many tickets as Illinois. Almost 28,000 fans showed up last weekend to watch the Blue Raiders beat Tennessee State. Memorial Stadium won't be much more crowded tonight.

So who's the Division I-AA team again?

Still, the Illini should win. Handily. Players demand it. Fans demand it. Potential recruits demand it. Media demand it.

The Big Ten, already shaken by a number of nonconference disasters, should demand it.

Little room for error

Critical games at the UI used to involve postseason positioning. Now they involve visits from the Ohio Valley Conference. The 18-game losing streak is to blame.

But the Illini must start somewhere. Even if it's on a Saturday night in a half-empty stadium on radio only. The turnaround, as we have been reminded, will take time.

Wasn't baseball dead a few years ago? Now try to find a sports section missing a McGwire headline.

Beating Middle Tennessee State, of course, doesn't pack the punch of a home run record. More like a passed ball record.

But it'd represent something positive. If not a step forward, a big toe forward.

When was the last football positive for the UI, anyway? Playing Penn State close? Winning the Liberty Bowl?

Since then, it's been Eric Jefferson this, Connie Moore that. If it's not an offensive coordinator getting canned, it's the head coach. Losses to good teams, bad teams and ... Division I-AA teams?

It could happen. And it couldn't get much worse.

Jim Rossow is sports editor of The News-Gazette.