DETROIT – A season that started with so much promise is two weeks away from being over.

Western Michigan delivered the latest bruise to the Illinois football ego, outplaying the Illini in a 23-17 victory at Ford Field.

"These guys have got to decide what they want, too," Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "I told the seniors, 'You guys are going to determine what kind of legacy you're going to leave here.' These next 14 days are going to be crucial. We can fold our tent and put it away if that's what they want to do.

"We've kind of slipped back a little bit. We can be a good football team. But we're going to have to put a lot of things aside and put the team first. Then, we'll see if we're the type of people that we think we are."

How hard has this season been on Zook?

"It's like any other job, sometimes it has its tough days," Zook said.

Just 12,865 showed at the 65,000-seat stadium. It was the smallest crowd to see the Illini play since 1945. The Illini didn't choose to use that as an excuse.

"We could play them naked in a gymnasium," Illinois co-defensive coordinator Dan Disch said. "If you're a competitor, I don't think it matters. There's great teams out there that play with a chip on their shoulder and they've got goals and they go out and fulfill them. We're not to that point yet."

It was the second loss to a MAC team in three years for the Illini, who dropped a home game to Ohio in 2006. But that Illinois team wasn't coming off a Rose Bowl season. That Illinois team hadn't built expectations for its fans, the kind where a game against a MAC team is considered a lock.

Now, it's a two-game season for the Illini if they want to make a 13-game year. Unless they beat Ohio State or Northwestern, the Illini will stay home for the holidays.

As it is, the bowl prospects are diminishing. A New Year's Day game was likely out after the loss at Wisconsin. Saturday's game might have taken care of the Alamo Bowl, too. It's down to the Champs Sports, Insight and, you won't want to hear this, Motor City bowls for the Illini.

STORY OF THE GAME

Illinois continued a disturbing trend of win one week, lose the next. Fresh off the excitement of a last-second victory against Iowa, the Illini couldn't keep it going. Despite being favored and despite playing against a team it should beat nine times out of 10. Saturday was the one.

NUMBERS GAME
12,865

That's how many fans "crammed" into Ford Field on Saturday. Illinois gets $300,000 for its trip to Detroit, but you wonder how much more money could have been made with a seventh home game. No matter who the opponent, the crowd would have been triple or better than Saturday's gate.

WHAT IT MEANS

It's 2002 all over again. Ron Turner's 2001 Illini won the Big Ten and played in the Sugar Bowl. The next year, they went 5-7 and stayed home for the holidays. A year after playing in the Rose Bowl, Ron Zook's team faces the same prospect. Unlike the 2002 team, the ‘08 squad returned its starting quarterback.

WHAT'S NEXT

An angry Ohio State visits Memorial Stadium, seeking revenge for last year's loss in Columbus. Don't ask Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel about it, though. He's a bit testy over the Ray Small suspension and outcry, cutting short a media session during the week. Sound familiar? But he should be feeling better after Saturday's romp against Northwestern.