Illini vs. Minnesota Preview: Please Make It Stop

Congratulations, Ron Zook - after a fantastic start to the 2011 season, your team's five game losing streak has completely crushed my spirit.  Of course, I will be rooting for the Illini to beat the Golden Gophers on Saturday, but for me this game will have the same feel as the Illini basketball team's NIT game against Stony Brook in 2010.  If we win, I probably won't be excited as much as relieved that we didn't suffer a humiliating loss.

Fortunately, even though the Illini went from Columbus Day to Thanksgiving without winning a game, we still have a better team than Minnesota.  If the Illini defense could hold Wisconsin's powerful offense in check, they should be able to stop the Golden Gophers' offense.  I think we'll get just enough production from our offense and for a change we won't shoot ourselves in the foot on special teams.  It will add up to a win and a little momentum going into whatever crappy bowl game we get invited to.  Yippee.  But more importantly, it means that the regular season will be over,  so we'll be that much closer to getting an answer from Mike Thomas on whether he wants Zook to be a part of the future of the football program.  And that answer should be something to get excited about.

Predictions
Illinois 24
Minnesota 10
Ron Zook will be fired after the game and will not coach our bowl game

Illini Gut One Out over Gophers

Great win for the Illini tonight at the Barn! Some things I really liked:

1. Lots of hustling, especially McCamey diving on the floor for a loose ball
2. The team not panicking when things started to go sour at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half.
3. Seeing someone else miss a bunch of shots in the paint for a change - it's like we're finally getting some cosmic payback for all of those Mike Davis misses.
4. Making Minnesota pay for pressure defense by attacking the basket
5. Hitting all of our free throws down the stretch

Best of all, we turned the tables on Minnesota for last year, when they came to Champaign and basically stole our NCAA tournament spot (not to mention when their football team came to Champaign in 2008 and knocked us out of a bowl game). Tonight marks a key win over a team that could be fighting us for an NCAA tournament bid, and this time we've got the leg up. Of course, it won't mean as much if we don't take care of business against Purdue on Sunday, but it's a start.

Illinois Loses at Home to a Team that Lost to South Dakota

Wow, did this one have Ron Zook's fingerprints all over it:

Stupid penalties? Check.

Stupid/gutless play-calling? Check.

Poor use of timeouts? Check.

Letting the worst offense in the Big Ten go 80 yards into the wind in two minutes for the game-winning touchdown? Well, that's a new one, I guess.

Another winnable home game pi$$ed away? Check.

Yet another season without a bowl game? Check, and mate.

I'm Not That Frustrated

Check this out - ESPN's Jon Greenberg suggests that Cubs fans show up at the charmless hulk of a stadium at 35th and the Dan Ryan this week to support the White Sox as they battle the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central.

Thanks for the tip Jon - so if (hypothetically) I'm unhappy with Barack Obama's performance as President, would you suggest that I move to Iran?