SB Nation - Jason Ford

The march of destruction continues: Illini over Minnesota recap

Joe Kutsunis — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:34 -0000

by Paul Battaglia - AP

about 1 month ago: Illinois quarterback Jacob Charest (12) looks to throw against Minnesota during the first half in an NCAA football game, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2008 in Minneapolis. Charest threw for 185 yards and a touchdown as Illinois won 35-32. AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

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As I have said before, this team, win or lose, is always exciting to watch. Saturday's game against Minnesota was, of course, no exception. It had everything from INTs for TDs, blocked punts for TDs, missed field goals, injured quarterbacks, freshman heroics and an onside kick for good measure. Illini season tickets should come with a free case of TUMS.
The first half could not have gone better for the Illini (scoring-wise at least) The Illini take an early lead with an 80 yard TD drive and a pick 6 from everyone's new favorite player Terry Hawthorne. Then there is the injury to Juice, making way for the other freshman savior du jour to come in and lead the Illini to a half time lead of 28 to 7.

Jacob Charest looked really good yesterday, and for good reason. He is a very different type of QB than Juice, he is almost 0% likely to keep the ball on an end read and there is no way he will be as good as Juice in the option game. Passing however, is a different story. He showed yesterday the exact sort of poise that the offense has been lacking all year, specifically getting off an accurate pass in the face of a blitz. It was the formula that for most of the season has undone both Juice and Eddie, and made our offense look anemic. Charest found the open man in key blitzing situations (third and long) and made the Gophers pay for leaving a receiver open, to the tune of several first downs. With Eddie playing receiver (a very good receiver) or possibly at best a wildcat like position, I think its clear that Charest will be the favorite coming into next year's Camp.

If the impressive if slightly inconsistent performance by Charest didn't make you ever so slightly more confident in the offense, then the running of Jason Ford is sure to have. A week after fellow sophomore RB Mikel Leshoure had his break out game, seemingly solidifying his role as the main running threat Jason Ford responded with a team leading 82 yards on a day that was otherwise quiet on the ground. Add into the mix another TD from the very fast Justin Green and the running offense seems to be pretty solid for the next one or two years. Of course like everything else with this team there is a distinct chance that every thing could fall apart tomorrow and we are all left dumbfounded.

Speaking of, the previous liability of the defensive line has once again transformed itself into a strength for the defense, which is something that preseason projections had suggested all along. Of particular good news is the play of defensive end Clay Nurse, who once again is making the case for being the best player on the defensive line, yes, even more than the also impressive Liuget.

The big question is now how to keep that "momentum" going. Momentum and the like are occasionally the lazy sort of reporting devices used to explain the flow of a game, but if there ever was a team to which these sports cliches applied it would be the Illini. They seem to have some momentum now, with two straight wins, but the ending of this game should give us pause, especially as we face Northwestern who they themselves have a considerable amount of momentum going now. *cough Iowa cough*

Wha Happened? Week Ten

RossWB — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:00:30 -0000

I'm told there were other games going on during and after just Northwestern successfully executed their gameplan of "knock out Iowa's best offensive player" for the second consecutive season. So Wha Happened?

Nice tune, but it needs more Caruso.

Ohio State 24, Penn State 7
Sigh. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. All Penn State needed to do to ensure that Ohio State's reign of terror atop the Big Ten over the last five years (and their accompanying pratfalls in BCS games: 1-3, including two humiliating beatdowns in National Championship Games) was truly done, to drive a stake through their cold, unfeeling, blackened hearts, to send them to a Florida bowl game... was just win this one fucking game. Alas, the Penn State offense coughed up a hairball of a performance (Daryll Clark went 12/28, 125 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 20 yards rushing, 1 TD on the ground, though he didn't get much help from his offensive line or any receivers not named Graham Zug) and the Nittany Lions just never appeared to be in sync. Maybe Clark needs Creepy Sex Offender Lion to console him.

His counterpart, the boy wonder Terrelle Pryor, contributed the sort of confounding stat line that's becoming typical of his play: 8/17, 125 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, five carries, 50 yards, 1 TD on the ground. Looking at it purely in terms of black and white numbers, it's not exactly impressive stuff. And yet... he did guide them to a decisive victory and he did make some big plays when OSU needed them -- the 62-yard bomb he threw to DeVier Posey (fast becoming one of the best big-play receiver in the Big Ten) was a key play in opening up the game. It gave Ohio State some much needed breathing room and the two-score margin seemed to make Clark press even more, with predictably disastrous results against the Buckeye defense. Still, the Ohio State win did have the effect of dramatically simplifying the Big Ten title race: whoever wins next week's Iowa-Ohio State tilt will be smelling the roses in Pasadena. So no pressure or anything in that one.

Not even Mike Barweis' brutal fitness regimens can save Michigan from the knife that is Big Ten conference play.

Purdue 38, Michigan 36
Life among the peasants sucks, doesn't it, Big Blue? It was a lot easier when you were a member of the aristocracy and teams like this just rolled over for you. Shame the peasants don't do that when you're down rolling around in the filth with them. The numbers for Michigan are grisly: losses to middling Purdue teams in back-to-back years, five consecutive Big Ten losses (which is actually worse than any losing streak they had in-conference during last year's horrorshow of a season), and eleven conference losses (and counting) over the past two years -- with games against Wisconsin (in Madison) and Ohio State (in Ann Arbor) still to come. Losses in both of those games would lead to perhaps the grisliest stat of all: a second consecutive season without a bowl game. The culprit, as it has been pretty much the entire season, was largely the GERG-led defense. The LOLverine defense conceded nearly 500 yards of offense (494, to be exact) for the second straight week, with most of the damage coming through the air: Joey Elliot went 28/39 for 367 yards and a pair of touchdowns (and a pair of interceptions). RichRod may or may not be burning up on the hot seat this year, but it would be stupefying if Greg Robinson was back as defensive coordinator next year.

Meanwhile, Danny Hope's maiden voyage on the SS Boilermaker continues to be a long, strange trip. Three weeks ago, they had a season-defining upset of Ohio State in West Lafayette. A week ago, they got blanked by Wisconsin, 37-0, in a game in which virtually nothing went right. And now they go into Ann Arbor and pick up their first win there since 1966. And all this is after the crazy first part of the season, in which they lost a series of nail-biters and bizarre, turnover-filled games. Yet in spite of all the ups and downs they've endured this season, Purdue finds themselves still alive for a possible bowl game (they just need wins over Michigan State and Indiana), which would be a helluva way to cap off Danny Hope's crazy first season.

BHGP salutes Tiger Woods for his stance on gophers.

Illinois 35, Minnesota 32
Remember what we wrote about Adam Weber's offensive explosion last week?

But what to make of the TRY FIGHT WIN HEAVILY PENALIZED Gophers a week after losing their top offensive weapon (Decker) and nearly getting shut out in back-to-back games by Penn State and Ohio State (only a garbage-time touchdown against OSU's reserves prevented that ignominious fate)? Was this an aberration? A sign that the Gopher offense may not be quite as woeful as we thought? Considering that Weber hadn't thrown for a TD pass since the Wisconsin game 28 days ago and that he nearly doubled his season total for TD passes in one game, we lean towards the former explanation.

Yeah, we're gonna go with "last week was a mirage" for $1000, thanks. Weber's first half this week:

5/17, 74 yards, 0 TD, 1 fumble, 1 pick-six ("That's an interception returned for a touchdown." (c) Pat Harty).

Now that's more like the Weber we've come to know and love this season. All told, the Golden Gopher offense managed only 288 yards (just 66 on the ground) against an Illinois defense not previously known for its stopping power. Meanwhile, the Save the Zooker's Job Tour continued with... yet another win? Huh. That still doesn't sound right. Juice Williams' ankle got tweaked, but Jacob Charest proved to be an able fill-in (10/19, 195 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) and Jason Ford tacked on 82 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. With the win, the Illini retain their unlikely bid for a bowl appearance and a desire for revenge by proxy demands that this corner of BHGP will be cheering them on when they take on that other Big Ten team from Illinois next week. And, fuck, if you can't root for a mustache like this you have no soul.

Don't pretend you care about this game.

Wisconsin 31, Indiana 28
John Clay ran wild in the first half (15 carries, 134 yards, 1 TD), but got concussed; freshman Montee Ball came in and picked up right were Clay left off (27 carries, 115 yards, 2 TD), including the game-icing touchdown with eight minutes to go in the game. It was classic Wisconsin football: 294 punishing yards on the ground and just enough passing (194 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) to keep the opposing defense honest. The only difference between this week and last is that the defense was a bit looser and let Indiana get enough points to keep it interesting. Indiana is now in "win or stay home during bowl season" mode for the final two games; sadly next week involves a trip to Happy Valley to play a pissed-off Penn State team. Ouch.

Your recommended daily dose of surreality.

Michigan State 49, Western Michigan 14
Sparty jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and never looked back, ensuring that Western Michigan wouldn't add a Big Ten scalp to their collection for a third straight year. WMU had no answers for the Spartan offense -- Kirk Cousins dissected their pass defense (22/25, 353 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT), while Ashton Leggett gashed them on the ground (14 carries, 110 yards, 4 TD); all told, Sparty rolled up 602 yards of offense. With the win, MSU moves to 5-5, needing just one more win to get to bowl eligibility. A difficult game with Penn State awaits at the end of the season, so next week's game at Purdue could be a virtual elimination game for bowl contention.

Illini beat Michigan, make football fun to watch again.

Joe Kutsunis — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:15:11 -0000

More photos » by Seth Perlman - AP

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Its not a season saving win, its not a program changing win, but it sure was one hell of a fun win.

This was the sort of game that I had expected from the team, and that for whatever reason we had not seen until Saturday. Hell, the second half of Saturday.

The first half played out slowly like most of the games have this year, with missed opportunities on offense and a defense that only seemed to slow the inevitable.

You know I have made light of the fact that Zook was going out every week and saying that he was going to shift things around and try and find a "spark." Maybe I am the crazy one after all because the opening events of the third quarter seemed altered the entire complexion of the game and the team.

When Terry Hawthorne came from behind to tackle Roundtree at the 1 yard line, it somehow changed the game completely. Four intense goal line stops later, and the game had turned.

I have not seen the defensive line play that well all year. Corey Liuget, Clay Nurse, Sirod Williams played out of their minds. Credit where credit is due, the defense played out of their collective minds against Michigan. They blanked the Wolverines in the second half, thanks to two fumbles and two turnovers on downs. Zero points. That is big.

Mikel LeShoure completed the paradigm shift soon after that key series of plays with a 70 yard run that reminded a lot of people in the press box of the last Illini running back to wear #5.There really isn't much a question anymore on who the go to guy at RB is.

The offense seemed to be energized, with the exception of a few very painful instances, the pass protection went way up and the holes for the backs seemed to get bigger.

And is it just me or did Jason Ford and Leshoure get faster in the second half? Whatever the reason, the statistics tell the tale of how gigantic the offense became in the second half.

Illinois totaled 94 yards of offense in the first half. In the third quarter alone the Illini had 200 yards, and 119 on the ground. The Illini would go onto amass 500 yards against Michigan for the second year in a row. That my friends is a 400 yard second half.

Give it up for the once embattled Juice Williams by the way who retook the reigns of this offense and reaffirmed what every Illini hoped he could be as a QB. He once again went on a tear in front of Rich Rodriguez, running his end read system to perfection and just running all over the Michigan defense. He deserves to enjoy this week, this season has been a disappointment for him to this point, and I hope this lets him relax and enjoy the rest of his senior year.

I'm sure I'll go into more about what this means overall for the team, the season and the coach later this week. But for now, just enjoy the fact that the Illini have beaten Michigan, something that doesn't happen often enough to take for granted, just yet anyway.

Wha Happened? Week Nine

RossWB — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:44:48 -0000

Sooo... that was an uneventful day in the Big Ten, right? A blowout here, an unexpectedly tight game there, wins by two of BHGP's favorite embattled coaches, and a flawless day of work by the league's refereeing and replay officials. Yep. Nothing to see here. Just the usual. But if you insist... here's Wha Happened.

Come to think of it: has anyone ever seen Batman and Ron Zook in the same place? HMM.

Illinois 38, Michigan 13
Not a dream, not a hoax, not an imaginary story -- Illinois really did crush a conference rival by 25 points. The same sad-sack Illini outfit that hadn't cracked 17 points in a single game against FBS competition this year scored more than that by the ten minute mark of the third quarter; then tacked on another 17 points because they were feeling frisky. Much-maligned (and deservedly so) Juice Williams had a quiet but efficient day passing the ball (8/11, 123 yards), but he took care of the ball (no turnovers) and he helped key an Illinois rushing attack that churned out 377 yards on 56 carries (Juice had 97 yards and a score on 21 attempts), numbers would that make even the potent Illinois rushing attack of 2007 envious. Jason Ford and Mikel Williams both finished with over 100 yards rushing, including a 70+ yard touchdown run by each man. This was a very nice and much-needed win for the embattled Zooker, which makes the BHGP joke writers (we pay them in collector's edition STANZI 4 HEISMANZI t-shirts) very pleased. But, hell, after the ongoing nightmare that this season has been, a win like this is a nice port in the storm; so sit back, relax, and do the Batusi, Ron -- for one night, you've earned it. Wha Happened? was all prepared to write the official obituary for the 2009 Illinois season as they became the first B10 team to clinch bowl ineligibility, but that will have to wait for at least one week.

Meanwhile, former wunderkind Tate Forcier continued his brutal October; he did go 13/23 for 257 yards, but he fumbled three times (losing two), failed to throw a touchdown pass, and failed to lead Michigan to touchdowns of any kind after the first quarter (and failed to lead them to any points whatsoever in the second half). In fact, Forcier hasn't thrown a touchdown pass since the end of the Michigan State game. Whether it's his ailing shoulder, the increasingly cold and nasty midwestern weather, or just the physical grind of Big Ten football on an undersized true freshman's body, Forcier's play has clearly taken a dip. That 4-0 start looks more and more like a mirage and with a pair of home games (against Purdue and Ohio State) sandwiched around a road game at resurgent Wisconsin, achieving more than a 6-6 record may be difficult for the LOLverines. Good thing it's a short road trip to Detroit for the Pizza! Pizza! Bowl.

Finally, a sad farewell to the gloriously-named Boubacar Cissoko, unceremoniously booted from the Michigan team earlier this week for the always-mysterious "violation of team rules" (BHGP theory: swindled Rodriguez out of seed money for City Boyz, Inc. 2.0); between this loss and the impending departure of Zoltan Mesko, Michigan is losing ground in the "totally awesome names" department. At least they still have Martavious Odoms.

Only a quarter as insane as this actual game.

Minnesota 42, Michigan State 34
If Iowa-Indiana wasn't the wildest Big 10 game of the day, then this one almost certainly takes that honor. Over 800 total yards of offense, 76 points, five touchdowns of longer than 30 yards, and, oh yeah, 17 penalties for 157 yards for Minnesota (they tacked on 9 penalties for 73 yards against Sparty; needless to say, the officials had some busy whistles). Absolute lunacy. And words can't even begin to describe how preposterous some of the touchdowns were: Minnesota opened up the scoring with a 62-yard bomb that featured Duane Bennett doing one of the best tightrope walks you'll ever see; Brandon Green followed that up by hauling in an acrobatic 37-yard score. MSU scored their first touchdown on one of the wackiest, most schoolyard-looking scramble-and-chuck-it-downfield plays. MSU then attempted to trump that by having Keshawn Martin rattle off a 93-yard kickoff return touchdown and an 84-yard rushing touchdown within a ten minute span in the third quarter. But the icing on the cake was Minnesota's clinching touchdown: Duane Bennett plucked the ball out of the air after the initial receiver, Nick Tow-Arnett, got cracked by brutal hit and coughed the ball up, then scooted 59 yards. Like I said: pre-fucking-posterous.

Meanwhile, the Iowa-Indiana game wasn't the only one that featured some questionable replay calls; moments before Minnesota's clinching touchdown, the replay booth inexplicably overturned a critical fumble call after a Minnesota receiver appeared to catch the ball, take 1-2 steps, and then get hit and fumble the ball. I have no idea what the replay official saw there to change that call. Regardless, Adam Weber had a career day -- 19/31, 416 yards, 5 TD/1 INT -- and the fact that this happened a week after he lost his safety blanket in Eric Decker seemed somehow appropriate on a thoroughly wild and woolly day of Big Ten action. A week after Ricky Stanzi made the Spartan secondary look good for 58:23, Adam Weber confirmed what we all knew to be true: they kinda suck. As for the rest of Spartans, it's hard not to look at the catastrophic opening of the game and not conclude that there was a hangover effect from the Iowa game a week ago; whether there was or not, they're 4-5 and may need to win out to guarantee themselves a bowl game (which could be tricky since they end the season against Penn State), which is not exactly how you want to follow up a 9-win campaign that finished up in the Capital One Bowl. All five of their losses have been by single digits, but close losses don't do anything but keep you up at night. But what to make of the TRY FIGHT WIN HEAVILY PENALIZED Gophers a week after losing their top offensive weapon (Decker) and nearly getting shut out in back-to-back games by Penn State and Ohio State (only a garbage-time touchdown against OSU's reserves prevented that ignominious fate)? Was this an aberration? A sign that the Gopher offense may not be quite as woeful as we thought? Considering that Weber hadn't thrown for a TD pass since the Wisconsin game 28 days ago and that he nearly doubled his season total for TD passes in one game, we lean towards the former explanation.

The Nittany Lion got moves, yo.

Penn State 34, just Northwestern 13
At halftime, jNWU was actually winning 13-10. After three quarters, the game was still tied, 13-13. Then came ~~STANZITIME~~, er, the fourth quarter and Penn State absolutely blew up, scoring touchdowns on three consecutive drives to take control of the game. Daryll Clark continued to cruise towards 1st-team All-Big Ten honors, going 22/31 for 274 yards and a touchdown; just another fine day at the office for him. Evan Royster tacked on 118 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries. The bad news from LOLcat land is that starting quarterback and existential warrior Mike Kafka left the game with a hamstring injury, which puts into doubt his availability for the Iowa game this coming weekend. Back-up Dan Persa wasn't bad, per se (14/23, 115 yards; 14 carries, 42 yards; 0 TDs), but he didn't exactly do much, either. Once again, the jNWU running backs were a no-show: their top two leading rushers were Persa and Kafka. Actual running backs ran the ball 14 times for 33 yards. These are not exactly the proud descendants of Darnell Autry, Damian Anderson, and Tyrell Sutton.

Is there anything that muppets don't make better? Of course not.

Wisconsin 37, Purdue 0
Two weeks ago, Purdue was on top of the world after engineering a wildly improbable upset over Ohio State. They followed that up with a tidy win over a reeling Illinois team. It's safe to say the honeymoon is over now. John Clay carried the load on offense (123 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries), a blocked punt returned for a touchdown late in the first half deflated Purdue, and the Badger defense squeezed the life out of Purdue, holding them to a measly 141 yards on 62 plays, or barely more than two yards a play. This was vintage, Alvarez-era Wisconsin football.

Honestly one of the first three returns on Youtube on a search for "new mexico state"; maybe they were just playing Ohio State in the wrong sport...

Ohio State 45, New Mexico State 0
Even this seemingly innocuous blowout is still further proof of what a thoroughly insane day it was in the Big Ten. When the fuck does Senator Sweatervest (who is now getting actual political advice from someone who knows a thing or two about moving from coach to politician) ever beat someone 45-0? Especially with an offense that, prior to the past few weeks, had been one of the most anemic offenses of the Sweatervest Era? Has Terrelle Pryor truly turned the proverbial corner? Well, let's not get too hasty -- he was just 11/23 for 135 yards and a touchdown, plus 83 yards and a touchdown on nine carries -- and New Mexico State (who, it should be noted, is not the New Mexico school with the "fists of fury" coach) does have one of the worst defenses in the nation. They also have one of the worst offenses in the nation, which is just making it a little too easy for the stout Buckeye defense; that said, anytime you can hold FBS competition to just 62 yards of total offense, well, you're doing something very, very right. Either way, Ohio State did exactly what a good team is supposed to do at home to a horrifically overmatched team: beat the everloving shit out of them.

Alright guys, don't blow it now

BoilerTMill — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:47:26 -0000

I am trying to keep the good vibes going. If anyone listened to the Boiled Sports podcast Tuesday night I made a pretty bold statement. I said that as good as the Ohio State win was, losing to Illinois would be 10 times worse. As a result, I am watching the video of the Ohio State win as I write this, hoping it carries over into the blog.

It is true though. If we can beat Ohio State, there is absolutely no reason we should lose to Illinois. You do not often get a chance to play the best team in the conference, then the worst team in the conference the very next week. I would even take it a step further. With Ohio State, we may have played the best team on our schedule last week (though Oregon may be better since they have a real offense). I think Illinois is the worst team on our schedule. They proved last week they are worse than Indiana. I think they are worse than Toledo (who beat NIU last week) and Northern Illinois. This is a team that has quit on its season already. They need to win their remaining games (one of which is against one of the nation's last unbeaten teams) just to qualify for a bowl. Unless we see some unexpected fight from the Illini Saturday, they are done.

2008 Record: 5-7, 3-5 Big Ten

2009 Record: 1-5, 0-4

Bowl result: No Bowl

Blog Representation: Hail to the Orange

Series with Purdue: Illinois leads 41-37-6 (Purdue leads The Cannon portion 29-26-2)

Last Purdue win: 11/11/2006 at Illinois 42-31

Last Illinois win: 10/12/2002 at Illinois 38-31 (OT)

This may be one of the least celebrated trophy games in the Big Ten, but it is one of the closest overall. We have had the Cannon in our possession since 2003, but the recent two-year hiatus in the series means that we only have four straight wins. Speaking as a Purdue fan, the Illinois game really doesn't feel like much of a rivalry. There has never been a ton at stake, as both teams haven't exactly torn up the Big Ten at the same time for quite awhile.

Illinois offense:

This is the main reason that any loss to the Illini would be awful. Their offense, especially if you take away the 45-17 win over Illinois State (a 1-AA team), has been abysmal. That one win represents 45 of the 99 points the team has scored through six games. Not only has Illinois managed just one first half touchdown against a 1-A foe, they have only led one game against a 1-A opponent for about five minutes. That occurred last week at Indiana when the Illini led the Hoosiers 7-3 with 5:27 left in the first half. Illinois gave up 10 points in the final minute of the half, and never threatened again.

I don't even know who we will face at quarterback. Juice Williams (80 of 143, 4 touchdowns, 4 interceptions) is the Big Ten's most experienced quarterback, but he has already been benched in favored of Eddie McGee (21 of 41, 1 touchdown, 3 interceptions). There is even talk of third string quarterback Jacob Charest, a redshirt freshman, getting some time Saturday. Charest has yet to take a snap in his collegiate career, so if he plays it will officially label Illinois as desperate. Illinois has only passed for 1,128 yards between Williams and McGee.

For a true preview of Saturday, just reverse the 9 and 4 on the jersey. The result of this play (a sack, strip, and fumble recovery for a TD) will likely be the same.

Whoever plays, they will likely become well acquainted with Ryan Kerrigan, Mike Neal, and the rest of our defensive line by the end of the day. The Illinois offensive line is among the worst in the Big Ten, giving up a league high 19 sacks. If our defensive line is not dominating and causing pressure all day something is severely wrong. This is especially true since these guys just played like warriors against Ohio State.

Illinois is not moving the ball well on the ground, either. Williams is the leading rusher with only 239 yards and one touchdown. Jason Ford (222-1), Daniel Dufrene (199-1), and Mikel Leshoure (163-2) form a running back by committee approach that is far from effective. McGee also has a pair of rushing touchdowns, so he is a threat to run if he plays. One has to remember though that the bulk of these numbers, running and passing, have been put up either against Illinois State or after the game is well decided. Illinois has not been in a game against a 1-A foe except last week against Indiana.

If they can get him the ball, there is a bit of a danger at wide receiver. Arrelious Benn was a preseason All-American, but he has only 22 catches for 271 yards and no touchdowns to lead Illinois receivers. As long as we cover him we will shut down Illinois' pathetic passing game. Jarred Fayson (11-119-1), Chris Duvalt (9-136-1), Leshoure (8-115-1), and A.J.Jenkins (7-100-1) have put up modest second half numbers, but again, this offense has literally done nothing in the first half of most games. They need to get the ball to Benn more, who is a playmaker, but they have been unable to.

Illinois defense:

This is a battered unit. They have already lost possibly their best player in Martez Wilson for the season. They may have lost their second best player, Donsay Hardeman, for his career last week. They are not getting to the quarterback with just six team sacks on the year. The offense is doing nothing to help them out, so the defense is getting worn down to the point where it is about as reliable as the Rhythm Method in preventing conception. They have also only forced seven turnovers (three interceptions, four fumbles), and three of those came against Illinois State. I kind of feel bad for them because they are undoubtedly playing hard, but they are getting zero help from their teammates.

Ian Thomas and Tavon Wilson lead the team in tackles with 43 apiece. Thomas has one of the team's sacks, while Wilson has one of the three interceptions. Doug Pilcher is a bit of a force on the defensive line as well. Pilcher has two sacks, 18 tackles, and an interception with a 41 yard return. Russell Ellington could also be a factor, as he has an interception with a 78 yard return. This is still not a fearsome unit.

Illinois is giving up over 28 points per game and their run defense is particularly bad. They are giving up about 180 yards on the ground, which is good for Ralph Bolden. Bolden has not had much room to run recently, and against Northwestern when he did have room we just kept fumbling the ball away. Look for Bolden to get over 100 yards for the first time since the Oregon game. McBurse and Taylor should also see some holes when they are in there. The pass defense is not much better, as it gives up 241 yards per game.

Honestly, we should only have trouble against their defense if we start giving the ball away again. Turnovers were still an issue last week against Ohio State, but we gave up no points off of them. Illinois does not force nearly as many turnovers as Ohio State does, so it once again comes down to us not shooting ourselves in the foot.

Illinois Special Teams:

And you thought their other units were bad. They have no punt return game (a long of nine yards), no kick return game (Benn is a dangerous returner, but only has a long of 33), and Matt Eller has hit on just half his field goals. Granted, the offense is not getting Eller in position to kick, as he is just 3 of 6 on the year with a long of 38.

One phrase we should get used to hearing is, "Anthony Santella is in punt formation". He averages almost six punts per game and has almost a 41 yard per kick average. Both coverage units on special teams for Illinois are merely average.

Intangibles:

This is a team that is already beaten. I watched part of Saturday night's game at Indiana and they had no hustle or emotion whatsoever. Beating them would officially end their bowl hopes, as there is no way they will win their five games after this and qualify at 6-6. This is Illinois' last shot to save its season, but given their body language and effort so far it would be a total shock to see them suddenly turn things on. Though Purdue and Illinois have similar record, Purdue has fought hard and has been in every single game. Illinois hasn't even been close, and they have rolled over and died since the opener against Missouri.

The one Illinois blog, Hail to the Orange, has already virtually given up and jumped to basketball content. Their last two game wraps of Rock Bottom and Failing on all Cylinders show that confidence in the football program is at an all time low. There is no doubt that Illinois has more talent than a lot of teams, but that talent is severely underperforming in all phases of the game at the moment. They are even one of the most penalized teams in the league. I am not even going to mention the gigantic Ron Zook intangible right now. Every writer in the Big Ten is saying enough about his epic level of fail at the moment.

Contractually obligated Ron Zook blog picture. He will likely soon have plenty of time for his hobbies, such as fighting Boilerdowd to the death.

Purdue, meanwhile, is as high as it has been in about five years. Even the 8-6 season of 2006 and 8-5 season of 2007 did not have a moment that was a tenth as important as last week against Ohio State. As long as we don't go out and pull a Northern Illinois we will be fine.

Keys to the game for Purdue:

Hogtie the team that showed up against Northern Illinois
Don't turn the ball over
Maintain last week's momentum
Run the ball with Bolden, McBurse, and Taylor
Dominate along the defensive line

Remember when we made fun of Iowa?

Joe Kutsunis — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:30:14 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

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God I miss 2007. The Illini were on a tear through the Big Ten leaving destruction and the taste of J Leman endorsed Orange Soda in their wake. When we dared to believe that we were importing an SEC style powerhouse to the cold prairies of Illinois. Best of all Iowa was in the middle of a down year at 6-6, and seemed to be the falling stock of the Big Ten after several years of resurgence. Evidence pointed toward Illinois reasserting itself for the long term while Iowa would continue to slip.

Zook was beating out Ferentz for excellent players like Cordale Scott, Hubie Graham and Jason Ford. Illinois fans were gleefully touting the end of the Ferentz era all over the message boards.

Two years later all of those same facts now seem to be only twist the knife for Illini fans faced with their season falling apart and Iowa returning to the top tier of the Big Ten.

Last season the Illini enjoyed a come from behind win over the Hawkeyes but the tide was already turning. The Illini lost their next 3 games and missed out on bowl eligibility. Iowa beat Penn State and finished the regular season at 8-4, beating South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. Since then the disparity has only gotten wider.

Iowa is sitting at 7-0, with wins over Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan, three teams that on paper it probably does not have the talent to beat. On the other side of the coin, most Illini fans believe that they have the talent to compete with anyone in the Big Ten, but have failed to even look competitive in most of their last 5 games, and have the 1-4 record to prove it. So whats the difference between these two teams?

Iowa has won several games that have gone down to the closing minutes, and have relied on the strength of their defense and the discipline of their special teams to keep them in every game they play. They do not have an explosive offense, but the team overall plays with consistency and while they have played down to a few of their opponents have always found a way to win.

Given the poor pass coverage, and constant penalties on defense, along with consistent poor decision making on special team really draws a stark contrast between the two teams. The players that Iowa wanted two years ago are now part of a team that is not heading to a bowl game, for the second straight year. The "leftovers" are enjoying an undefeated season and an almost sure ticket to a BCS game.

It certainly hammers home the point that recruiting is not everything, and discipline can make up for alot.

When it comes to Iowa, I have to agree with Arrelious Benn on this, I really don't like them. But they keep getting better and we keep getting worse. If Iowa wins the Big Ten, I don't know what I'll do.

Good lord, this season gets tougher to swallow every day.

(Fun fact: The Illini are still the last team to have beaten the Hawkeyes, somehow I think it makes it all worse.)

Wha Happened? Week Seven

RossWB — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:52:41 -0000

Things shockingly got even worse for The Zooker, The Terrelle Pryor Experiment took another bodyblow, and Michigan beat the holy bejesus out of a team... read on to find out exactly Wha Happened? in Week Seven in the Big Ten.

Obviously, a TOTALLY REPRESENTATIVE AND ACCURATE look at OSU fans' feelings about yesterday's result.

Purdue 26, Ohio State 18
Oh, LOLeyes. Clinching the Big Ten record for most consecutive road wins? UR DOIN IT WRONG. In hindsight, perhaps the warning signs had been staring us in the face for a while. They blanked Illinois, but since the Illini may be the worst BCS team of the year, that win is looking a lot less meaningful (and Pryor was a dreadful passer in that game, foreshadowing his future woes). They beat Indiana decisively, but Pryor was unable to light up a middle of the road Hoosier defense that true freshman Tate Forcier shredded a week earlier. A week ago, the LOLeyes beat Wisconsin in one of the most statistically deranged games you'll see this year; Pryor was again dreadful, but the defense and special teams bailed him out. Well, three weeks of average-to-poor play out of him finally caught up to the LOLeyes and yesterday no one could bail him out: not the defense (they gave up 361 total yards, including 281 through the air to Joey Elliott), not the special teams (no return touchdowns or blocked kicks), not the running game (66 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries). Pryor, meanwhile, was fairly miserable -- he threw for 221 yards, but only on 17/31 completions, and had two interceptions and two fumbles. Terrelle Pryor's improvement as a quarterback in whatever mishmash of an offensive system Ohio State is running continues to be virtually imperceptible and as beastly as the Ohio State defense has been, even they can't cover up the offense's crippling ineffectiveness indefinitely. So what now for the LOLeyes, on the heels of the worst loss of the Sweatervest Era? Good news! The even-more-offensively inept Minnesota Golden LOLpher attack is coming to town.

Meanwhile, we would be remiss if we did not doff our preferred headgear of choice (this, if you must know) to the Fightin' Danny Hopes of Purdue University. Coming off the heels of back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back gutpunch losses in which they treated the football as if it was radioactive rather than an important implement in scoring points and winning football games, it would have been easy for the Boilermakers to check out on this season and start plotting how to get the good seats for the basketball team's MURDERDEATHKILL quest for a Big Ten championship (hey, it could totally happen). Especially against a top ten opponent who had been unbeatable on the road for almost four years. Instead, the nattily-mustachioed Danny Hope (his 'stache has neither the smooth curves nor the warm bushiness of the Tiller 'stache, but it has a firm tidiness that connotes determination, grit, and other manly qualities; Conrad Hilton would no doubt nod approvingly and ask for a stiff drink before making some completely batshit request... but we digress) rallied his train-loving troops to play two spirited halves of football, be the turnover forcers rather than the turnover forcees (although they did cough up the ball three times; old habits die hard), and generally outplay and outhustle the vastly more talented LOLeyes. Enjoy this win; a bowl may be an improbable dream this year (though if they can take wins from Illinois and their Hoosier state arch-rivals, they'd only need to steal two of three from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Michigan State... difficult but perhaps not impossible), but a win over a top-ten opponent will be a sweet memory for years to come.

An apt metaphor for the Ron Zook Era.

Indiana 27, Illinois 14
By all the evidence on display, Ron Zook has apparently forgotten that he's supposed to be coaching a football team this season; instead, he's intent on becoming the limbo champion of Middle Western America. "How low can you go, " indeed. A year ago, substantially this same Illinois team beat Indiana to the tune of 55-13. Juice looked good (16/22, 271 passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions) and Jason Ford looked like the future of the Illinois running game (19 carries, 172 yards, three touchdowns). Heady days. Since then, Illinois has gone 1-9 against BCS-level competition (don't ask us about the one win; it just makes us sad). In fact, this year in five games against BCS-level competition, Illinois has scored a combined 54 points. This isn't just a bad team... it's increasingly looking like a historically bad team. And that's before you even factor in the shocking "Rose Bowl to Big Ten cellar in two years" fall from grace or the much-touted recruiting classes that were supposed to take Illinois to the promised land. In 2009, "massive disappointment" is spelled F-I-G-H-T-I-N-I-L-L-I-N-I. As for Indiana... good show, sport. Illinois is only nominally a BCS-level opponent, but, hell, any port in a storm after the 47-7 failstorm that happened last week against Virginia.

Like the Penn State defense, an effective means of eradicating Gophers.

Penn State 20, Minnesota 0
FUN FACT! Did you know that Minnesota and Penn State play for a trophy? It's true -- it's called the Governor's Victory Bell. Minnesota hasn't held that trophy since 2004. FUNNER FACT! Minnesota is 3-17 in their last 20 games played for a trophy. The last time they won one was Iowa in 2006, also known as the "Drew Tate Loses His Fucking Shit and Tries to Murder Herb Grigsby Game." Anyway, this game. Unless you have a defense and special teams unit that can score touchdowns on their own (see: Ohio State a week ago) or possess a hyper-efficient and prolific offense led by a sure-fire Hall of Famer (see: the Indianapolis Colts' Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins) , it's generally a good idea to at least stay reasonably close when it comes to total offensive yards gained and time of possession. The Gophers don't possess a playmaking defense or an explosive special teams unit. They also don't have a legendary quarterback or an offense loaded with elite weapons. They have the mysteriously regressing Adam Weber (on pace for by far his worst year in three years as a starting quarterback) at quarterback and one (1) elite offensive weapon, Eric Decker. So letting Penn State roll up well over three hundred yards more than the LOLphers gained and control the ball for 42 minutes was, in hindsight, a bit of a bad idea. Well, like Coach Brew always says: TRY FIGHT ~~WIN~~ GET BITCHMADE.

More rockin' than anything about the LOLcats this season.

Michigan State 24, Northwestern 14
justNorthwestern scored the first and last touchdowns yesterday; unfortunately, they let Sparty rattle off 24 straight points in-between those scores. For the umpteenth game in a row their running game was a complete non-entity; their running backs combined for 34 yards on eight carries. The existential wonderboy, Mike Kafka, had yet another efficient day passing (34/47, 291 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) and was the LOLcats' leading rusher (42 yards on 18 carries) as well. As for our next opponent... they didn't exactly put on a masterclass in running the ball, either -- Larry Caper went for 63 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and Edwin Baker carried 12 times for 45 yards. As they have all year, they were carried by the passing game; Kirk Cousins went 21/31 for 281 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The main beneficiary of his aerial profligacy was Blair White (12 catches for 186 yards, two touchdowns); Mr. White, meet Mr. Spievey. I'm sure you'll get along famously.

Only marginally less disturbing than watching the Michigan-Delaware State game. (NSFW - language)

Michigan 63, Delaware State 6
Michigan scored 60+ for the first time in 17 years, racked up a school-record 727 total yards (including 461 rushing yards), had eight different players score touchdowns, and rested Tate Forcier after one series. Oh, and their best two running backs (Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor) didn't even play. Delaware State was such a whore for the $550,000 payday that this game provided that they didn't even care how bad their john beat them up (or even that taking this game would also require them to forfeit a conference game previously scheduled for yesterday), so long as the money was there. No word yet on whether Michigan sent them a check or just left a stack of rumpled cash on the dresser while they took a shower. Let us never speak of this game again.

Illinois by the numbers.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:34:32 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

The ball, the end zone, and Aurellious Benn: a combination not seen since last year's IU-Illinois game.

Browse more photos »

Illinois holds an unpleasant distinction: the season is at the halfway point, and the Illini are the only team in the six major conferences that has not defeated a single Division I-A (FBS) team. Illinois's lone win came against Illinois State. While that's depressing for Illinois fans, it's even more depressing that IU is a 2.5 point underdog to Illinois, at home, and on homecoming. In fairness to the Illini, they have played only 5 games, compared to the six games already played by most teams. Also, all of the Illini's losses have been to BCS conference teams that likely are bowl bound (Missouri, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State). Still, the Illini are desperate, and the fan base of whichever team loses this game is going to lose its collective mind.

I really thought that the Illini, who lost a bunch of close games in 2008, would bounce back in 2009. Why hasn't that happened? While it's hard to measure Illinois's statistics against IU's, given the difference in level of competition, overall the Illini's numbers demonstrate a nearly total failure, particularly on offense. It's no exaggeration to say that Illinois ranks near the bottom of Division I-A in every major statistical category other than total rushing offense and net punting. The Illini's overall rushing numbers, 167 yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry, are respectable, but haven't been enough to overcome a horrid pass offense. Ron Zook already has demoted and promoted Juice Williams. Williams has been bad: 54 percent completions, 2 TDs to 4 INTs. His backup and one-time starter, Eddie McGee, has been worse: 51 percent completions, one touchdown, and 3 INTs in only 41 attempts. Even the rushing stats are a bit skewed by the Illinois State game.

For instance, the Illini's leading rusher, Jason Ford, is averaging 9.3 yards per carry, but that's mostly on the strength of a 13 carry, 137 yard performance against the Redbirds. Overall, the Illini quarterbacks, Williams and McGee, have approximately half of Illinois's total rushing attempts. IU fans have seen this offense, and while a running quarterback is a nice weapon, it looks like desperation when there is nothing else to the offense. Finally, Arrelious Benn, whose commitment to Illinois was supposedly a watershed moment for the program, had caught only 13 balls this year and hasn't caught a touchdown in a year. In short, on paper, the Illini offense looks putrid--but not as bad as Virginia's offense looked on paper before last weekend's game.

On defense, as I noted, the numbers are not any prettier. The Illini are allowing 408 yards and 28 points per game and are allowing 185 yards per game on the ground. They don't pressure the quarterback particularly well. If he is healthy, Darius Willis seems like the key to this game. If IU can establish a rushing offense, IU may be able to control the game a bit.

After last weekend's disaster, I have no idea what to expect from this team. Based on the way last year's team responded to adversity, I don't expect much. Still, this game and next week's game at Northwestern will dictate the course of the season and the course of Bill Lynch's career. If IU has anything it is holding back on either side of the ball, right now would be the right time to use it.

If the Illini want to win any games in the Big Ten, they have to beat IU

Joe Kutsunis — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:56:36 -0000

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

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Game 6, the game which marks the half way point in the season, also a mark that more or less will seal the fate of any hopes for post season play. A win would put the team at 2-4 and technically still alive for a bowl game, a loss would put the team at 5 losses, and with a top 10 Cincinnati team and still on the schedule a 6th loss is almost guaranteed.

Worse though a loss this weekend would be to a team that before the season began was considered the worst team in the league. If the Illini lose to Indiana, what does that make the Illini?

Don't get me wrong, I am not expecting a loss on Saturday, this is still the same Hoosier team that gave up 55 to us last year, and the same Hoosier team that was thumped 47 to 7 last week against against Virginia. You know Al Groh's Virginia? The UVA team that lost to 1AA William and Mary? Yeah they got blown out by those guys.

Indiana should be an absolute slam dunk of a game, at almost every position last year they could not compete with the Illini. It is very telling then that even with all of this seemingly in favor of the Illini, I am still not confident.

Why should I be? What evidence does any fan have that this team will come out and play any better than it has? We can trash IU all we want (and we will) but frankly they have played better than the Illini this season. Hell they have 3 wins, which is 2 more than us. Indiana is a very bad football team, and to this point in the season we are worse.

Zook has yet to name a starter for Saturday, but the consensus among the media seems that it ought to be Juice. The second half against MSU last week was the best he has played all season and he has probably earned his chance to at least play his last games as a college player, rather than watch from the bench.

You never say that any game is a must win, but this game is a must win. I don''t want to break down what the Illini need to do to beat Indiana, because frankly if they played up to their potential it would take almost no game planning what so ever. We ran our basic offense up against this team last year and blew them off of the field. Jason Ford and Daniel Dufrene and Mikel Leshoure should run roughshod over this team. By far the toughest part of the schedule is behind us, if this team wants to make anything redeeming at all out of this season, it cannot wait another week.

Preview: Michigan State Spartans vs. The Illinois Fighting Illini

Pete Rossman — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:35 -0000

TV: BIG TEN NETWORK, 12 PM ET, 11 AM CT

WEATHER REPORT (as of Thursday Afternoon): Partly Cloudy, 52 degrees, 10% chance of rain

Michigan State hasn't played the Fighting Illini since Homecoming of 2006, and if you remember that game, I feel sorry for you, myself, and anyone in the rooms around either of us. The white dwarf star that is was Juice Williams burst onto the scene, beating the Spartans 23-20 for Illinois' only win against a 1-A team that season. That was how bad the John L. Smith era was, lest you forget.

Today, it seems only fitting that Juice gets benched before this game, giving way to redshirt junior Eddie McGee. Will McGee's addition spark the Illini? Can MSU establish a decent running game this week? Will I be stunned like I was three years ago? The answers to these questions can be found after the jump.

ILLINOIS ON OFFENSE

Let's get to the main question on most Spartan fans' minds: How good is Eddie McGee? Let's take a look at his stats this season:

DATE	OPP	RESULT	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	LNG	TD	INT	RAT	ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
9/5	Missouri	L 37-9	4	9	36	44.4	19	0	0	78.04	2	11	5.5	6	0
9/12	Illinois State	W 45-17	13	17	164	76.5	27	1	1	165.15	18	55	3.1	16	2
9/26	@Ohio State	L 30-0	2	4	11	50.0	7	0	1	23.10	3	-3	-1.0	4	0
10/3	Penn State	L 35-17	DNP

And for Eddie's career:

YEAR	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	YPA	LNG	TD	INT	SACK	RAT
2007	29	55	444	52.7	8.07	56	2	3	2	121.63
2008	4	9	59	44.4	6.56	30	0	0	0	99.51
2009	19	30	211	63.3	7.03	27	1	2	3	120.08

I think it's safe to say Eddie's not a significant upgrade in any way from Juice Williams. In fact, Eddie has a worse attempt-to-interception ratio than Juice (15 attempts to 1 INT for Eddie, 22.3 attempts to 1 INT for Juice). I interpret the quarterback switcheroo as a massive sign that Ron Zook has ascended from a mere councilman to mayor of [REDACTED], and the move won't make the Illini offense significantly better. Michigan State won't have to worry about the passing game as long as Arrelious Benn stays ignored (only 10 receptions in four games this season). As for quarterback scrambles and draws, the Spartans have shut down quarterback runs--both scripted and unscripted--for the most part this season.

The running attack is slightly better than the passing game. The Illini have averaged 3.1 yards a carry in their two Big Ten games this season (disclaimer - those games were against OSU and PSU). Jason Ford, their rushing leader, racked up 137 of his 173 yards in the Eastern Illinois game. Their second leading rusher will be on the bench, for he is Juice Williams. The one running back to be concerned about is Daniel Dufrene, who will either get busy livin' or get busy dyin' against Trevor Anderson and company (yup, Shawshank'd. Bonus trivia question - name the book the story was first in). Dufrene had 11 rushes for 54 yards against a good Penn State defense.

As for Michigan State, they should do exactly what they did during the first 55 minutes of the Michigan game. The Illini probably have the worst offense MSU has faced since Montana State, but with that said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Illini have a couple long offensive drives, since Ohio State and Penn State have significantly better defenses than the Spartans.

ILLINOIS ON DEFENSE

Simply put, Illinois' weakness is team offenses with one vowel in their division classification. Missouri, OSU, and PSU all scored at least 30 points, while Eastern Illinois put up 17. If you're looking for a possible comparison point to how good the Illini defense might be, here's a hint: Akron, Temple, and Syracuse all allowed less points to Penn State than Illinois did. Even though Penn State did rein in the offense late in those early games...still.

Here's how the Illini have done defensively:

Team	Pass Yards	Run Yards	Total Yards	Yards Per Play
Missouri	325	117	442	6.14
Illinois State	354	44	398	5.53
Ohio State	82	236	318	5.39
Penn State	175	338	513	7.89

Missouri was unstoppable through the air, and Eastern Illinois passed because it was their only way to be effective. As for Ohio State and Penn State, the passing defense wasn't all that bad, as Penn State threw it 25 times in that game for an average of 7.0 yards per attempt. However, Penn State didn't need to pass when the running game picked up steam. Regarding Ohio State, Jim Tressel only calls passes under gunpoint.

The strategy for Michigan State is this: Use the pass to set up the run. Cousins has had little trouble with accuracy for passes under ten yards, and once the offense consistently gets at least five yards on first down (KJ's performed the math - throwing on first down is when the MSU offense is most effective), the run game should open up. I know this thought is an antithesis to one of the offense's central tenets, but Dantonio has shown he's not averse to a pass-heavy offense when Michigan State is behind.

ILLINIOIS ON SPECIAL TEAMS

The kicker for Illinois this season, Matt Eller, has been adequate, making 8 of 9 extra points and 3 of 4 field goals. However, that miss was on Eller's only attempt longer than 40 yards. Anthony Santella, the punter, hasn't shown a lot of power on his punts this season; he's averaging 38.5 yards per punt and has a long of 47 yards. The biggest threat on special teams is Arrelious Benn, who handles kick returns in addition to his receiving duties. He hasn't had a touchdown yet though, and Illinois has averaged less than 25 yards on its kick returns this season.

THE PREDICTION

I'm a little worried about this game. Illinois has played some tough opponents so far this season including two of the top three teams in the Big Ten. I'm pretty sure Illinois is better than what they've shown in their games against 1-A competition. However, Coach Zook's curious decision to bench Juice Williams leads me to one of two possible conclusions: Juice is more injured than anyone is letting on, or Zook is pressing the panic button WITH AN INTENSITY NOT SEEN BY MANKIND.

Michigan State, on the other hand, is coming off a win where the defense showed signs of life for the first time since the opener. I hope Cousins' ankle is 100%, because that 41-yard run in the Michigan game demonstrated why Cousins has the edge over Nichol - Cousins doesn't have more athletic ability, but he knows when to run and when to pass and has the ability to make the right read better than Nichol does currently. Hopefully the offensive line can help the running backs consistently get at least three yards per rush.

I feel like this is a game Michigan State should win, and very well needs to win to keep their bowl hopes alive. The Illini will look good at times, and this game is going to be closer than a lot of us would like. The Spartans will prevail though on...let's say a Cousins pass to B.J. Cunningham and a field goal.

MICHIGAN STATE 24, ILLINOIS 14