When Ron Zook was fired as Florida football coach in 2004, his players didn't let up.

A shocking loss to Mississippi State did him in, but he stayed through November as the Gators won three of the last four, including a 20-13 finale against rival Florida State.

There was no such response by his Illini players Saturday in windy, chilly Minnesota. They appeared leaderless and lost, and particularly inept on offense where they failed to score in the first half for the fifth time in six games ... no first downs until the last minute of the half.

The 27-7 outcome was only the third win for a Minnesota team that improved dramatically after losing early to New Mexico and North Dakota State. Jerry Kill's club finished on the upswing, while Illinois becomes the only team in BCS history to finish 0-6 after starting 6-0.

If new athletic director Mike Thomas doesn't pull the plug, it'll hit Illini Nation like a thunderbolt. The fans have seen enough, and need something to grab ahold of. Yes, they're bowl eligible but, if you thought they hit bottom against Purdue and Michigan, Saturday was "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." That's two straight losses to mediocre Minnesota, and nine in the last 12. For Zook, this is the point of no return.

"We're not the same team we were when we started," he said, adding familiar words: "We've got to get it fixed."

It doesn't appear likely that he will get that chance. The culture surrounding the program has turned from sour to ugly. Thomas stated Saturday that he will quickly evaluate the program, adding that this is normal policy that will also include upcoming evaluations of the successful soccer and volleyball programs. The meeting with Zook will be awaited with great anticipation. It is presumed that one of the assistants will be in charge of the bowl game.

Who's the quarterback?

It was just a week earlier that the Illini ripped Wisconsin for 15 first downs in the first half before turnovers proved their undoing.

When Zook recognized that "this isn't the same team," he tried to make changes.

Freshman Reilly O'Toole replaced Nathan Scheelhaase at quarterback in the second quarter, and the latter was in for just three plays thereafter. It appears they'll compete for the starting role in the spring but neither will be effective if the Illini don't revamp their offensive line.

Ryan Lankford used his rugby-style punt nine times as a replacement for the season-long starter, Justin DuVernois. And, believe it or not, the Illini used a fake punt to spark their only TD march of the day.

Further proof of the offensive slump, Derek Dimke didn't record a field goal for the sixth time in seven games. Minnesota's Jordan Wettstein banged across two big ones prior to halftime.

How about Skip Holtz?

So here we go, almost certainly into another search into what some consider a shallow pool of candidates.

When Skip Holtz's South Florida team upset Notre Dame on Sept. 3, long-range thinkers automatically recognized Lou's son as upwardly mobile ... like, maybe, in a conference more stable than the bubbling Big East.

He had been considered for various jobs, and was interviewed by Mike Thomas when the AD chose Butch Jones at Cincinnati two years ago.

But South Florida has fallen on hard times after a 4-0 start, the three-point losses to Cincinnati, Rutgers and Miami putting the Bulls at 5-6 ahead of their finale with West Virginia.

Holtz went 34-23 at UConn, 38-27 at East Carolina and a current 13-11 at USF. He's still a hot item, particularly in the Carolinas, but his numbers don't jump out like those of Chris Petersen at Boise and Kevin Sumlin at Houston. Sumlin played and coached at Purdue but has found a home in the southwest.

Who else is available?

As with Holtz, some of the names in this segment may or may not have a relationship or an interest in the UI. Consider this scuttlebutt from the football coaching merry-go-round:

— Can Mike Leach shake the reputation of being unmanageable as he seeks to return to coaching this year? Nobody would cause a bigger buzz on campus, but Texas Tech insiders say he is as hard to handle as Bobby Knight.

— Among offensive coordiators poised to move up are Wisconsin's Paul Chryst and Oklahoma State's Todd Monken, the latter recently declining Tulane in hopes of landing something larger. Monken comes from a celebrated Illinois coaching family with 12 members in the business. Monken spent four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars before going to Oklahoma State, where the team averaged 51 points this year in a 10-0 run before blowing a 24-7 lead to Iowa State last weekend. Monken recruited the state's top quarterback, Wes Lunt of Rochester.

— With Howard Schnellenberger retiring at age 77, Florida Atlantic may be interested in Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee. Wonder who Bobby Petrino might like in that slot if McGee goes?

— Glenbard West's star tackle, Tommy Schutt, committed to Penn State but the scandal has him looking elsewhere. He favored Michigan but the Wolverines are full and boasting one of the nation's top classes. By the time all the coaching moves are completed, dozens of recruits will be changing horses.

— Ole Miss is hitting blockades in its coaching search, which apparently includes the inability to sway Larry Fedora (and defensive coordinator Dan Disch) from Southern Miss.

— Mike Bellotti, who had a great run at Oregon (116-55), still gets overtures to return to coaching but doesn't appear to be interested. And rumors are emanating from Miami that Hurricane coach Al Golden views Penn State as too messy to return there.

Mood check

Why I Feel YOUNG ...
Big Thanksgiving! Kathy hosted, Melinda came down from Chicago and Lori took time off from learning lyrics for her Dec. 10 show at Parkland. Eight of us attended the unique four-star movie, “Hugo.” It’s always exciting to get together with the three daughters. We’re planning a Christmas movie, maybe “The Descendants.”

Why I Feel OLD ...
Call me lazy. Or is it the bad economic times? The Cancun basketball trip was one of a tiny few I’ve missed in 46 years, and I depended on TV for Saturday’s Minnesota football game. Bob Asmussen drove from a family affair in Nebraska, and I shied from driving it by myself. That’s a big change in me from a few yeara ago.
 

Loren Tate writes for The News- Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com