EAST LANSING, Mich. – Like a haymaker to the chops, Ron Turner's Illini absorbed one last stunning reminder Saturday as to the size of the mountain they have to climb.

In 1996 at Spartan Stadium, we saw the beginning of the end for Lou Tepper's regime, Michigan State destroying the UI 42-14 to kick off what ultimately would be an 18-game losing streak.

Dominating every phase and capitalizing on five grievous UI turnovers, Nick Saban's Spartans did it again, 41-9, by laying bare an overabundance of Illini shortcomings.

So if the wins over Northwestern and Indiana are important, they carry less meaning in the wake of what we saw Saturday. We head toward Thanksgiving with the following realizations:

– There has been no resolution to the quarterback problem as six starters "played themselves out" in a two-year period, partly because of their own inadequacies and partly because of a lack of supportive talent. Furthermore, yet another untested prospect, Jeff Ziegler, has elected not to return, as has happened with Tim Lavery, Justin Cella and any number of others, dating from Jeff Hecklinski and J.J. O'Laughlin, in the past.

– With little or no pass rush, the Illini were helpless as another deadeye passer, Bill Burke, picked them apart for 263 yards, including 13 completions to two tall, talented receivers (Plaxico Burress and Gari Scott) running wild in the UI secondary. Illinois gave up 2,385 yards through the airways this season.

– Ball security was again sub-par, the UI finishing minus 11 in the turnover category this season. An early fumble by fullback Elmer Hickman on a first-down run near midfield was the first in a series of UI miscues that were turned into Spartan points.

So, if you are caught in a season where you can't pass (46 percent completions on mostly short ones), can't stop the pass and can't hang onto the ball (29 turnovers), the best you can hope for is 3-8 ... and those eight losses came by an average point margin of nearly 28 points.

Where do the Illini go from here? How do they repair the damage?

A step forward

Turner remained upbeat after the latest thrashing, calling the quarterback situation "highly promising" and citing progress across the board.

"We've learned how to prepare and how to fight," he said, "but we still need to execute, upgrade our talent, and get bigger and stronger. We can't make turnovers and dumb penalties against good teams and expect to be successful."

While Turner takes a third shot at sorting out the QB and receiver problems, not to mention replacing three seniors in the offensive line, defensive coordinator Tim Kish will search for more athleticism up front.

"We'll emphasize one-on-one techniques in the spring," Kish said. "We've got to put more pressure on the quarterback.

"We aren't going to panic, but we may make some personnel adjustments. We'll want to look at (injured freshman) Tim McGill at defensive end, and we might move Rameel Connor inside (from end to tackle). We might make some adjustments within the linebacker corps."

Work in progress

Trouble is, the two-deep chart shows gaping holes just about everywhere except linebacker, where Danny Clark was the UI's best football player (118 tackles) for the second straight year, and where the return of injured Eric Guenther will further solidify that unit.

"We have to regroup as a team and come back a lot stronger," Clark said. "I'm ready to assume the responsibility of leading this team. I look forward to it."

Clark maintains a postseason goal and is determined not to bow out without a bowl opportunity.

But this is a vast repair job that UI coaches are undertaking. They have nothing to hang their hat on, no established playmaker to spark the offense, no linemen who are one jump short of the NFL.

Frankly, it appeared Saturday the Spartans could win any way they wanted, either via the rushes of Sedrick Irvin and Lloyd Clemons or the passes of Burke. They had 12 double-digit gains in the first half alone, the UI five. And that was before it really got ugly.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette.