If you add up the sleepless nights that have eaten away the stomach lining of the University of Illinois football coaching staff this season, you'd have two months worth.

Pillow-punching, floor-pacing, antacid-guzzling nights and cranky, snarling, short-tempered days.

That's your joyless life when you coach a football team expected to be bowl-bound in August, only to find out it's a scramble to save your job in October and November.

Head coach Ron Zook said there have been many nights when he found himself wide-eyed in the dark, trying to imagine how the wires got crossed in a way that caused his Illini team to short-circuit in six of their first seven games.

A coach who has surely aged two years this fall is new offensive coordinator Mike Schultz, who left Texas Christian - currently unbeaten - and probably figured he'd be rolling along nicely by now, cranking out yardage, touchdowns and victories.

But, oh, it's been a painful transition.

And after recent losses, Schultz has greeted the media looking very much like a man who needed a hug.

Finally last week, when Illinois erupted for a 38-13 victory over Michigan, Schultz mustered half a smile and was asked how he planned to celebrate a long-awaited victory.

Some kind of grand indulgence?

"No, I'm going to go home and get on the couch and talk to my wife," he said. "That's what I like to do."

For the second week in a row, Schultz can carry a smile all the way to his couch. Illinois' 35-32 victory over Minnesota may not win many style points, but I'm guessing Schultz and Zook couldn't care less.

But after being beaten up and bashed week after week for failing to get the offense out of first gear, let's at least give Schultz a little credit for helping to generate 73 points in the last two victories.

Schultz and starting quarterback Juice Williams seem to have found some common ground with their play calling. And Williams was off to a nice start Saturday, completing his first five passes including a nicely thrown touchdown pass to Jeff Cumberland.

But when Williams limped to the bench with a sprained left ankle, he was done for the day.

That meant Schultz was now calling different kinds of plays for a different kind of quarterback.

Jacob Charest is not the option running threat that Williams is. So Schultz had to switch to a more conventional pass-run blend and for the most part it worked.

And if there was a second-half play of the game for Illinois, it was probably the third-and-4 pass to quarterback-turned-receiver Eddie McGee, who turned a short reception into a 42-yard gain and gave Illinois the ball at the Minnesota 12-yard line.

From there, Charest was able to find Arrelious Benn in the end zone, Benn's first touchdown catch in more than a year. That gave Illinois a 35-25 lead with five minutes to go, and it that touchdown became important when Minnesota blocked an Anthony Santella punt for a touchdown with three minutes to go.

Before a game, Schultz has been known to tell his team that not every play he calls will be right.

"And if so, then it's up to you to make it right," he said. "And if it doesn't work, we'll line up and call another one."

Illinois scored 35 points Saturday and did it while overcoming a number of potential obstacles.

There was the injury to Juice Williams. The solution? Insert Charest, alter the play calls and move on.

There were dropped passes by Jeff Cumberland. The solution? Reload and move on.

There were penalties that kept the offense going in reverse. The solution? Dig in and make up the needed yardage.

Charest has a quirky little twitch in his throwing motion, but for the most part, he's accurate. He throws a very catchable ball.

After the game, Zook said he did not know how severe Williams' ankle sprain is. It's possible Charest is the starter this week against Northwestern and that McGee will be shifted to his backup.

"Eddie is going to have to wear a double hat if Juice doesn't get ready," Zook said. "That will be interesting."

Such uncertainty might cause stress for some offensive coordinators.

Mike Schultz has come to know different levels of stress this season. Uncertainty about his quarterback coming off a second straight victory isn't likely to get him riled up.

After the team plane touched down in Champaign on Saturday, Schultz was headed home to his couch, happy to have some quiet time talking to his wife.

mtupper@herald-review.com|421-7983