Check out our interview wiith Joey Elliott's brother here

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. – It hasn't been the kind of season anybody expected for Illinois. Seventeen Associated Press voters had the team in the preseason Top 25, including one who picked it 12th. College football expert Phil Steele predicted a bounceback season and a possible run at a perfect record.

The fans bought in too, gobbling up tickets and filling the message boards with their hopes and dreams. It was difficult to find folks who didn't believe.

Everybody was wrong. Instead of being in the Top 25, the Illini have found their way to the Bottom 10. Ron Zook's team is 1-5 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten.

There is time to turn it around. Six games remain. But the midterm grades aren't pretty.

Right now, the Illini are on their way to the principal's office. And Mom and Dad are being called in from work. Here's the grades for the first half:

Quarterbacking: F

Juice Williams set the school career total offense record. And got benched. It wasn't the wrong call.

As a senior, you are supposed to make progress. Not in his case. He is completing a lower percentage of his passes than in 2007 and 2008. His yardage and touchdown totals are way down, on pace to be his worst season since his freshman year. And he isn't running like he has in the past, his per-carry average a full yard lower than last season.

Maybe losing Mike Locksley was a bigger deal than anyone anticipated. Williams and Mike Schultz sure sounded comfortable with each other before the season. But you couldn't tell how it was going to work until the games started.

Eddie McGee started against Michigan State and struggled. He is now playing receiver.

There's a strong chance you will see Jacob Charest in today's game. If he plays well, then the grade will go up. Wonder why we didn't see him sooner?

Rushing: B

You're going to have to be patient, because the grading system on this is complicated. First, the team had a huge game against Division I-AA Illinois State (384 yards). That was like a practice test and doesn't count.

In the five games against I-A schools, Illinois has averaged 128 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry, which would rank eighth in the Big Ten. But the Big Three running backs – Mikel Leshoure, Daniel Dufrene and Jason Ford – have done better than that. They are averaging 4.8 yards per carry, which would rank near the top of the Big Ten. No reason to punish the running backs because the quarterbacks have taken a league-high 19 sacks. Leshoure has been the best of the three, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.

Receiving: D

Only Ohio State has fewer catches than the Illini. Nobody has fewer than Illinois' five touchdowns and one of those belongs to a running back (Leshoure). The unit, considered one of the best in the country going into the season, has failed.

Of course, a big chunk of it is the quarterbacking. And a lesser piece has been injury, with Arrelious Benn on the sideline for most of the Missouri game and Jarred Fayson missing the Indiana trip.

But the guys have dropped too many passes. Way too many. You would think when you get the ball thrown in your direction so rarely, you would treat it like you were catching a bag full of gold.

Blocking: F

This one could improve if Hugh Thornton continues to play the way the coaches hope he will. The freshman figures to be the starting right tackle the remainder of the season and for the next three years.

You can't say the same for Jeff Allen, who has struggled after making the switch to the left side. Jon Asamoah is said to be having a good year and hasn't been whistled for a bunch of penalties.

The sack numbers are the reason for the bad grade. Nobody in the Big Ten has allowed more and the team is 110th nationally. Yikes.

There will be a major overhaul on the line before next season. Two senior starters will be gone and everything else will be open.

Tackling: F

Here's the number that sums it up: 98. That's where the Illini rank nationally in run defense, giving up 180 yards per game. Take away the good night they had against Illinois State, giving up 44 yards, and the number goes up to 207.

The Illini were at their worst against Missouri, with the Tigers breaking tackle after tackle. In the next few games, it seemed to improve. But it turned bad again against Penn State, which averaged better than 8 yards per carry.

Sure, the team is missing a pair of talented players: Martez Wilson and Miami Thomas. But only Wilson would have a major impact on the tackling.

Covering: F

Opponents have hit 62 percent of their passes against the Illini. They have thrown nine touchdown passes and three interceptions. Quarterbacks circle their calendars when they know Illinois is coming. There is little fear in throwing against the unit. And the best passing teams the Illini face are on the way.

The Illini are 92nd in passing yards allowed and 94th in passing efficiency defense. When the run defense is failing too, it means any system will work against the Illini. Spread, wishbone, single-wing, they are all going to like their chances against this defense.

Booting: B

It's the universal grade for punting, kicking and coverage. And it's better than you might expect. Illinois promised to get better at punting and it has. Though Anthony Santella is 58th nationally in punting average, the team is 27th in net punting, the number that really matters.

Illinois ranks 18th nationally in kickoff coverage, not that it gets many chances.

Matt Eller is 3 of 6 on field goals, but two of the misses are from 45 yards and beyond. Again, he isn't getting many chances, a victim of a poor offense and turnovers inside the red zone.

Attitude: C

What do fans want to see when their team is losing? Anger. Sadness. Disappointment. Frustration. There has been a heavy supply of all of those.

Have some of the players started to shut it down? Probably. Though we can't see inside of them. But the ones we have access to have put on a good game face. They are saying the right things. And it looks like it matters to them.

Check back in a couple of weeks, when this grade could drop precipitously.

Self control: D

The NCAA does a nice thing on its Web site when it comes to penalties. It doesn't have a statistic for most penalized. At least, not technically. But it does rank all 120 teams by least penalized. Illinois isn't on the first page. Or the second.

You've got to get down to No. 84 to find Zook's team, which is giving up 63 yards per game. Late hits and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties are a part of it. A.J. Jenkins catches a long pass and shushes the crowd. And gets a penalty. That's a lack of self control. To his credit, Jenkins kept playing and later scored a touchdown.

Attendance: A

Pat yourselves on the back. You've been showing up in droves to watch a team that has underachieved at a major level. You basically filled Memorial Stadium for the first three home games. And Michigan and Northwestern will be full or close to it.

Fresno State? Not so much. Even a winning Illinois team was going to have trouble drawing fans to a game in December. Unless the weather is perfect that day, the actual crowd will be a lot less than capacity. Maybe half.

A positive sign for the state of the program is the level of anger over the 1-5 start. In past coaching eras, the fans might not have cared as much. But the level of anticipation is up.

Coaching: F

When things go wrong, somebody gets blamed. When the economy tanks, we blame the president or the government. When a movie bombs, you blame the director. And when a football team can't beat a I-A team, you point at the coach.

It's reality. When the team wins, they can do no wrong. When the team loses, they get called names.

We forget, of course, that there are people in those offices, with families in your schools. In a perfect world, it wouldn't turn personal. But it does. And that's unfortunate.

The coaches couldn't have anticipated Williams struggling, but they needed a better backup plan. Maybe Charest should have gone in earlier. Or maybe the coaches should have prepared Nathan Scheelhaase to play this season. There are first-year freshman quarterbacks at Southern Cal and Michigan who are playing pretty well. Why not Illinois?

Recruiting: C

As of now, the nine players who have made commitments remain on the list. Though some are said to be wavering. The full impact of the season won't be known until signing day. If Illinois has a full class with a handful of blue-chippers, then it went well. If the defections pile up and Illinois goes to players on the C and D lists, then it adds to the problems.

Overall: F

And not far from a G.