OK, a show of hands.
How many of you honestly – HONESTLY – thought Ron Zook’s post-game press conference Saturday would begin with an apology for the manner in which his football team jabbed an Illini flag into the Block “S” at the center of Spartan Stadium, then danced like they’d won the lottery?
How many of you knew Illinois would shrug aside its status as a 26-point underdog and play a sharp, effective game start to finish and defeat Michigan State 23-20?
The list of those stunned by this performance can start with me, and I think I’ve been relatively positive about what I perceived to be an improving Illini football team. I have to confess. It’s been so long since I sat through an Illini Big Ten football game that included fourth-quarter drama I practically didn’t know how to react.
This was a very impressive effort by Illinois. I’m especially struck by the consistent play of the defense, because for whatever flaws Michigan State might have, this is a team that can hurt you offensively. They can run and pass and Illinois was physically in charge of this football game most of the day.
The key to the improving defense is Illinois’ ability to put pressure on the quarterback. Illinois sacked Drew Stanton five times Saturday and knocked him out of the game with seven minutes to go with bruised ribs. Kudos to Derek Walker, Doug Pilcher, Will Davis, Chris Norwell, Josh Norris, David Lindquist and the rest of the defensive front for a relentless effort. The linebacker play was solid. Safety Justin Harrison forced an early fumble that kept Michigan State out of the end zone.
Pass coverage, although not where it needs to be, is improving. This was the best game of his very young career for freshman cornerback Vontae Davis.
Offensively, no one can doubt that freshman QB Juice Williams has a chance to be someone truly special. He’s a monster talent who is quickly gaining poise and confidence and in whom this team deeply believes. Yes, he threw a bad interception that could have proved costly. It reminded me of the ball Rex Grossman threw last week for the Bears. But Juice also threw another eye-popping pass to Jacob Willis for a long touchdown after fumbling the center snap from the shotgun.
Illinois should now be favored to win the next two games. If Illinois beats Indiana and Ohio University, both at home, it will be 4-3. And although what I’m going to say next is probably crazy, Illinois appears to be a better football team than Northwestern and will have at least a fighting chance at home against a Purdue club that is very poor defensively.
Six victories, which not long ago seemed absolutely out of the question, is now at least worth dreaming about. Is it a long shot? Of course. Probably a completely wacky long shot. And I don’t want anyone saying I’m predicting a bowl game. I’m not predicting anything. But talking about winning four of the remaining games (all at home) seems no more crazy than believing Illinois could walk into Spartan Stadium as a 26-point underdog and win by going toe-to-toe with Michigan State.
For a day at least, Illinois was a pretty darn good football team. For those of us who have been watching for a long time, that was a pleasant surprise indeed.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
Can’t post much, gotta go to dinner.
Having Crow tonight…
GO ILLINI!
September 30th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
For one week, let’s not have any negative or ‘yeah but’ posts about football. We won. I don’t care if this was a trap game for Michigan State. I don’t care if they came in with deflated egos because of the Notre Dame game. I don’t care if they had injuries. We won a Big Ten game, on the road, with a true Freshman quarterback and looked pretty good doing it. Let’s revel in that. Let’s act like winning is normal. Let’s act like we expected it to happen.
I got to watch an Illinois football game and was able to get excited instead of depressed. Please don’t ruin my high. For one week let me go on believing that life is good. Like mama used to say, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything”.
Instead, let’s talk about how this will be John L. Smith’s last year in East Lansing. At least as head football coach of the Michigan State Spartans.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Vince Okruch for president. He’s taken a defense known for giving us no pass rush and pathetic against the run, to something to cheer for.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
For all of the Naddering Nabobs of Negativism out there who frequent this blog, how about a big “I told you so.”! Illinois actually looked like we belonged in Division I football today. The defense is dramatically improved over the last three seasons, and the offensive line did a great job today. If Illinois can pull off six victories, Zook is Big Ten Coach of the Year.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
No bandwagon climbing, please.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Important win today. It’s difficult to get excited about this team…and at the same time it’s difficult to NOT get excited about this team.
The improvement is obvious and a shift in attitude is ocurring. They’re not going to take on the world yet, but I appreciate their effort and improvement.
Good win boys!
September 30th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
Wow.. Great game.
Love how the team handled the 4th quarter. 10 points lead, looking in control, and then State ties it up. Does Illinois fold? Not a chance.
Last minute drive all the way down the field for the game winning field goal. That’s the play of winner! They showed lots of heart today.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
Vince Okruch=2006 MVP. Normally I’d be disappointed with the flag planting, but it’s John L. Smith, so screw him.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:52 pm
FIRE RON ZOOK NOW BEFORE HE WINS ANOTHER GAME!!!!! I have finally realized the naysayers are totally correct! He has absolutely no ability to coach a team. That idiot Guenther should follow Zook right out the door! All I have seen from that lucky bastard Zook in the past two games is the ability to hold two good teams to sub par performances. FIRE ZOOK NOW BEFORE HE HAS A CHANCE TO SEND US FURTHER INTO THE CRAPPER!!!!!!!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:05 pm
For starters I’m getting real tired of the folks who keep saying “Let’s act like winning is normal.” These are young men who are not used to winning in the college environment. The fans here are fans who have no enjoyed any truly good wins while showing the players’ potential. It’s bs to go around telling folks after 1 nice win to go around acting like it’s expected. To do so is simply being blind.
It was a great game to watch the potential develop and pull out a win. These kids are still fragile as well as the fans and to be telling them to expect to win is silly. They need to be told to expect a dog fight. They should be thinking of themselves as the scrappy underdogs. This does not take away confidence but rather helps shield their psyche so that when they run into more difficult challenges and they will, that folks aren’t being misled by the results of this game.
To be blunt there is nothing yet to show that Illinois has turned the corner. The Illini players and fans simply aren’t ready to think on the level of “expecting to win”. People need to view this with a level head. Celebrate the game and then move on to prepare for the next dog fight.
All in all while Illinois looked very good and showed potential, there is obvious better/more talent on Mich. St’s side. They have issues and the mark of a good team that is playing them is one that can take advantage of their issues.
I hope the players and coaches truly enjoy this one but more than anything I hope they keep things in perspective. It was a good game to get back at them after last year but that was about it. We need to see Illinois sustain the intensity week in and week out.
Once Illinois can show that they can compete each game whether they win or lose then come back and talk to me about “expecting to win”.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
For anyone at the Cardinal game Saturday when the final was posted for the Illini victory…..
…..that was me yelling “Go Illini!!!” very loudly.
…. oh it was Illinois’ day. Who hit the game winning triple just a few minutes after the MSU final was posted on the scoreboard? Scott Spezio - former Illini!
I personally havent enjoyed a fall Saturday more in a long long time!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
Illinois’s defense seems to be getting better every game, now if we can only get the coaches to do the same. I think the calls at the end of the 1st half against Iowa were terrible. Soccer kick out of the end zone? If the coaches improve as quickly as the players we should be olay.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
I am officially an Illini football fan. Killed me not to watch any games over the past two years, but we were so pathetic. One Big Ten win in 25 chances. Thank God we finally have a defense and a quarterback. I loved seeing the looks on the Michigan State fans as the lost. Made two years of pain go away. Juice is going to be something special. He is worth the price of admission. My only question. Can we find a punter who can kick farther than 30 yards? How pathetic. Almost cost us the game. With a campus of 20,000 students, their has to be someone who can punt the ball. I like that we can finally be competitive. It’s nice to finally have something to cheer about until basketball season gets here. Go Illini!!!
October 1st, 2006 at 12:04 am
What’s a bigger long shot?
a) Illinois to a bowl game
b) Illinois beating MSU as 26 pt dogs?
October 1st, 2006 at 1:06 am
Well said, PA Chief Lover, great win for our Fighting Illini…particularly when least expected…makes it even more rewarding for the team.
For a few hours, as I watched them on TV, I felt the joy of actually winning a Big Ten game on the road against a good team, once again. I had forgotten what a good feeling it can be…as short-lived as it might be.
October 1st, 2006 at 5:21 am
The defense played great! and they played great all 4 quarters. Juice and the offense moved the ball effectively. Jason Reda handled the pressure and nailed one of the biggest field goals of his career. Yelton and the Michigan State punter were very close in stats and the MS punter is the #1 punter in the big 10 – so Yelton held his own. Congrats to Zook, his staff and the team. What a great win!
October 1st, 2006 at 7:13 am
Congrats to the Illini…great game. I still have a question about the excessive celebration flag against the Illini after the 2nd TD. On the replay that I saw, it looked like Willis casually flipped the ball away from him. What constitutes excessive celebration?
This win should be a big confidence booster for the team. Now that they’ve won on the road in the B10, they should at least feel like they can win every time they step on the field.
October 1st, 2006 at 7:23 am
You would like to think the Illini can win the next two, beat Purdue at home and then (finally) wax Northwestern. I think the REAL question is can they pick up a W in Happy Valley or Madison.
Congratulations to the players and the coaches for a fabulous job. By that I mean not just winning the game, but turning the program around.
As one of the West Coast alumni, I can’t get to the game next week, but I would love to read about a packed house for Homecoming.
I implore all of you who live within driving distance to go to the game, and show the players and coaches how thunderous an Illinois home game can be. Make the sounds of ILL - INI reverberate across the prairie as it did in the not-too-distant past…
Remember – we fans have responsibility in this turn-around too. We have to play our part in re-establishing Illinois as a tough place to win.
October 1st, 2006 at 7:49 am
Most impressive stat of the day:
“Williams set a school record with three touchdown passes of 65 yards or more in his career.”
IN HIS CAREER. He already holds a CAREER record. In a career that hasn’t spanned 1/2 of 1 season yet. Wow!
October 1st, 2006 at 8:20 am
After the interception, Juice lead us right back down the field. That was HUGE. After the bad call on the fumble - or was it incomplete, and they tied the game we again did not collapse, but marched right down the field. I thought Zook did a good job in the last 2 minutes, and did the smart thing that many coaches fail to do, and that is run the ball to the middle for the game winning attempt. If we were still on the left hash (previous play) the ball that almost missed left would have.
These are young players that did a better job of not making costly mistakes, and the offense finally moved the ball to keep the defense off the field, and gave them a longer field to defend. Thomas ran very hard and that helped Juice with the spread offense to fake to him follow behind him into the line.
I was disappointed with the officiating again. There was a play in the first half where MSU grabbed Rashards facemask and almost ripped his head off. Three flags were thrown which was because it was so obvious. Only the 5-yard penalty was assessed??? The funble/interception has been reviewed by the media on ESPN and they all say that his arm was hit forward and he was trying to retain the ball, not throw it. To overcome all obstacles and win in the end was tremendous and the players AND coaches deserve the cudos for winning one against a good team.
This is a team that needed a boost. Maybe if this was a trap game for MSU it will only serve to provide us some confidence and motivation to give 110%. If we do win the next 2 games, I have tickets to attend the PSU/Illini game in Happy Valley with my brother - a PSU grad. Maybe we can be competitive. I tend to have bragging rights with Basketball, and him with football. If either of us lose both we are pretty agressive.
October 1st, 2006 at 8:30 am
“Right now the nerves are pretty much gone. A ton of confidence is going through my body.”
- Juice Williams; MSU postgame
I was able to watch an Illini football game on TV for the first time since that 61-14 MSU debacle in Memorial Stadium a year ago. What a gift. We finally looked liked a credible Div 1A football team. The attitude we had on offense and the defensive play are encouraging. Still young in the secondary. But hey… let’s hope this gives the young men and coaches a taste for victory. Congrats to them!
Wanna see some family bloodletting? Check out the “MSU discussion” thread on the Detroit Free Press site under the Illini-Spartans story. It is truly ugly.
October 1st, 2006 at 10:06 am
In the midst of the deserved praise being heaped on the defense, and on Juice for playing a mighty fine game, I would like to point out that the best player on this team, Pierre Thomas, had 18 opportunities to carry the ball — when the game was on the line — and delivered with 110 yards. It allowed Juice to set up runs of his own, as well as take pressure off his passing game, and keep the defense off the field. I will try hard not to look back at what could have been in other games. But with only a few games left in his Illinois career, I can only hope that the coaching staff will allow Thomas to keep leading this team.
October 1st, 2006 at 10:35 am
Outstanding victory. Probably the most enjoyable performance since the 2002 game vs. OSU. Remember that one? Big 10 officials violated the coaches, player, and fans of the Illini with the overturn of Walter Young’s TD in OT?
Same held true on Saturday. That reversal of the Stanton fumble was pure bung. BUNG!!!!!!!!!!! David Parry and his cast of losers can rot for all I care.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:06 pm
One other observation… when the Spartans got cranked up near the end and within striking distance of a win we held them on 3rd and short down low.
THEN we got the ball against a jacked-up, motivated D and that two-minute drill that Juice, Thomas and Kyle Hudson led was like a hot knife through butter. Beautiful.
October 1st, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Man, I really wish I’d seen the game. I can’t help but imagine the excitement the team will have in practice this week. I don’t think we’ve lacked the talent to compete this year or last — witness the second half against Rutgers or the first half against Cal last year — but we just haven’t had the energy and focus to pull off wins. Maybe a big road win will finally convince this team that they aren’t destined to lose every time out. I certainly think that Juice’s big-play potential and demeanor have helped a great deal with that too.
I also have to give continuing kudos to Okruch. I don’t know if we’ve had a defense perform like this since Denny Marcin was roaming the sidelines.
Anyhow, we’ll keep our fingers crossed for more success!
October 1st, 2006 at 2:32 pm
How bad was the fumble overturn? They don’t show much other than a highlight in the deep south! I wanted to pick the Illini but just couldn’t pull the trigger. Nice win! Again who cares what their situation is. Mich St wanted to right the ship and did not get it done. I saw that points spread and thought I was hallucinating. Let’s calm down on the “told you so’s” as I don’t remember anyone calling that shot. As for the rest of the season let’s take it slow as in one game at a time.
Ryan - That’s pretty weak! 2-2 aint exactly burning down the barn. Again if it’s only praise in a win and praise in a loss then gimme that job!
For those of you who think we are too hard on the coaches and players I saw this and was somewhat amazed.
“Being out of the top 25, hey man this is new territory! Back to back losing seasons! You lose two or three games and that’s the way it comes out! “There is a standard at the University of Miami. You can never in any way, shape, any form, or any fashion send the signal that this is acceptable. As a matter of fact, you have to make sure that the signal is clear that this is unnacceptable, because this is not what the University of Miami is. This is unacceptable”. (Michael Irvin discussing his displeasure at U of Miami’s two 9-3 “losing” seasons).
Again I’m not sure which comes first Winning or the expectation of Winning.
Onward and upward!!!! (Hopefully Gordon was watching the Indiana Wisconsin game!!!!)
October 1st, 2006 at 2:38 pm
great coaching , great d great o , keepit up boys
October 1st, 2006 at 2:53 pm
For criminy sakes people…why can’t some of you (you know who you are) enjoy a freaking win?
Everyone knows we’re not ready to pack for a BCS bowl, but would it really kill some of you to appreciate and enjoy one victory, some progress and a little hope for the future? I’m glad I don’t know some of your personally, because your wretched, bleak existence would just drag me down.
October 1st, 2006 at 3:47 pm
Brandon ~ Well said! I thought the main goal for this season was to look for improvement. We have definitely seen that and exceeded expectations by shutting down the B10’s top rated offense (something I read…don’t know how accurate that is) on the road and winning. I’m curious where our defense is ranking nationally.
October 1st, 2006 at 6:54 pm
good win i hope and think this win might just start a string of good things to come
October 1st, 2006 at 6:59 pm
“But talking about winning four of the remaining games (all at home)”
Northwestern is a road game.
October 1st, 2006 at 8:02 pm
Aren’t we getting a little bit ahead of ourselves now, talking about a bowl game? Give me a break! I was just as happy as the most fanatic fan over having won a game where we were underdogs by 26 points, but it looks like we are counting our next two games as victories when the Michigan State game (and they were probably down after having blown the ND game) was just our second victory, and the first game really should not have counted given that it was I-AA team. Let’s first shoot for a realistic goal of 4 wins (OK, let’s count the Eastern Michigan) and then we’ll see.
October 1st, 2006 at 8:17 pm
Brandon #28 - great point!
Aint a one of us that was looking at the Michigan State game and wondering if we could win it - lots of “make a good showing” and “use it as a building block”.
Enjoy the success people and take them one at a time.
If they all look like Saturday, it wont be long until Memorial Stadium will once again be a dreaded place to play for the opposition.
October 1st, 2006 at 10:13 pm
It was a very _fun_ win, and that is what football is supposed to be- fun!
I know some of us questioned Zook’s time management at the end of the Syracuse game, but I don’t wonder if he just didn’t want to have the freshman QB try too much. I thought of that as on the vodcast Mark mentioned Zook really cares about the kids, and trying to build them up as they are ready to handle it.
And Tim- give us a close up of those cool ties!
Now at least I am looking forward to each game to see how they improve, and not just dreading it.
October 2nd, 2006 at 7:54 am
Tupp, I’ll be the first to admit: Illinois played like a real football team Saturday. While I’m still not convinced that Zook manages a game well, he did get those kids believing they could win. And then they went out and did it. The defense played outstanding, and Juice did a terrific job of keeping his composure. I guess I’ll get off Guenther’s back as well. But, they can’t stop working. Hard work will get them close to smelling a bowl game. They’ll have to nab one at Wisconsin or Penn State to have a chance at a bowl…but then again, isn’t that what any team wants…a chance????
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:24 am
Great stuff we needed a win and it came congrats Coach Zook. I haven’t been a fan since the Rutgers game but I am man enough togive you your props when you deserve it.
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:38 am
Kudoes to Coach Zook, his staff and the players!! A great job of becoming competititive and improving much faster than I thought possible given the dearth of talent he inherited. Nice to win a game over a real team for the first time in many years!!
October 2nd, 2006 at 10:25 am
bart ridings #11: great weekend for Illini and Cardinal fans, though it’s pretty disappointing Atlanta had to clinch it for them.
Vince/Ryan #14: you make an excellent point, but in option “b” you forgot to mention that the Illini were 26 point dogs ON THE ROAD and playing in a stadium in which they have not won in 17 years.
Dave Wilson 621 #21: the familial bloodletting on the Detroit Free Press site reminds me of a few regulars in this blog, who all of a sudden find themselves posting positive statements.
Which is why I’d rather be a homer than a fairweather fan any old day of the millenium.
Jim Pieschel #23: the fumble call reversal was indeed a buncha bung; Stanton’s arm was clearly KNOCKED forward by Doug Pilcher, and according to Tupps, Zook says he’s going to let Guenther take the matter of the less-than-questionable call up with the NCAA.
Which is fine with me… I’d rather see Zook keep his attention focused on coaching a team that appears to finally be showing some signs of LIFE.
But ya gotta admit it’s great to win in SPITE of a questionable call by home field refs, huh?
KY Mike #26: I wouldn’t have picked the Illini either (though I’ll admit the 26-point spread looked pretty inviting after State dropped the ball at Notre Dame).
Anyway, you won’t get a single “I told you so” out of this homer, Mike. It really was a “nice win,” as you so nicely understated it, and even better than that was the way the Illini went about getting the job done.
There was never a sense of despair or worry on their faces or in their demeanor, but rather a new-found determination and charismatic get ‘er done kind of attitude that has been MIA for way too long.
But as you say, better to take the rest of the season one game at a time, which is exactly the way Zook put it after the game.
I can’t say which comes first either - winning or the expectaion of winning. Maybe it’s just another chicken-and-egg kind of thing, but the big road win in East Lansing (first since ‘89!) sure has me anxious to see what comes NEXT!!!
jockstrap #35: are you willing to consider that maybe it isn’t so much how Zook manages a game, but how he also has to manage 70 players’ egos and expectations?
As Tupps so eloquently began his column in Sunday’s Herald & Review, “Illinois took 70 players on the trip to Michigan State, and not a single one of them had ever experienced the joy of winning a football game away from home.”
Either way, while it’s great to see Illinois football making baby steps or any progress at all, it sure is fun to watch them take a big daddy step, huh?
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:17 am
The overturn of the fumble call and the no call of the push-in-the back of Juice on the MSU pass interception touchdown play — both bum calls! Isn’t it nice to be reflecting on referees’ “Bum ” calls intead of coaches “Bum” calls and players ” bum” plays. GO ILLINI!
Topcat
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:30 am
I have the new good luck charm. My first child, a daughter, was born last Wednesday and watched the game with me on Saturday. I warned her about the game beforehand, not expecting a pretty site. She had her Illini hat, outfit and socks on and we won!!! Not many of us can say we have not seen the Illini lose! Same with the Bears, but they are pretty good anyway.
Lets hope this is a block to build on for the rest of the season. I might actually pick us a few more times this year versus Tupper. Just real happy to see some improvement and emotion on the field from the guys. Keep it going.
And the baby will be watching all the games with Dad!! Go Illini, Save the Chief
October 2nd, 2006 at 12:07 pm
Good job, Coach Zook!! Bad job, Rich McBride.
October 2nd, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Isn’t this backwards? The football team is giving us something to celebrate so we can ignore something disappointing in the basketball program.
October 2nd, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Editor Boy - I wonder who is right more often. A Homer always being positive or us realists. I say the Football Homers have about three years worth of always thinking the best just to break even! I can be postive. I just can’t root for the impossible.
I was talking to a guy in Texas as the football team was hanging on and he made an observation that I thought was interesting. He said that the real source of frustration in Illinois had to be the Basketball team. His quote “They have been as loaded as anyone in the country the last few years and they haven’t gotten it done”. While this is somewhat close to my opinion I defended the Illini much like you defend your crazy family from a complete stranger. I babbled on about my theory that they have always been one player away blah, blah (read small forward). Still of all the programs that have perennial talent I was suprised he choose the Illini as the biggest underachiever.
Illini Amy - What the #%@*& did McBride do? I’ve been in the deep south. I don’t know what happened but I told you we are in trouble hanging our season on that guy.
October 2nd, 2006 at 6:16 pm
McBride + Glug, Glug + Vroom, Vroom = DUI.
McBride + DUI = Indefinite Suspension.
October 2nd, 2006 at 7:35 pm
When will the Bowl game tickets open up for the public? Florida or Texas in location?