IlliniHQ.com
Further Review
Saturday October 31, 2009
Darrell Hoemann
How quickly things can change. Students wore bags over their heads that spelled out "Fire Zook" during the first half. Thanks to a 21-point third quarter, the bags were off in the fourth quarter with a new message: "Hire Zook."
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
– Is it 1983? Sure feels like it for Illinois fans, who hadn't witnessed a triumph against Michigan in Champaign in 26 years. Heck, it feels like 26 years since the Illini last beat a Division I-A team. It was actually one year ago today. They beat Iowa on Nov. 1, 2008, the last time the Hawkeyes tasted defeat.
– How many youth and high school football coaches are going to show the Terry Hawthorne play to their team as a perfect example of why you never give up on a play. Hawthorne's hustle to chase down Michigan's Roy Roundtree, who looked to have a sure touchdown, not only changed the complexion of the game, it changed the outlook on what has been a dismal season for Illinois.
– Sometime between the time Hawthorne prevented that touchdown and when Jason Ford rumbled for a 79-yard touchdown on fourth down in the fourth quarter, the hot seat that Ron Zook was sitting on shifted to the Michigan sideline and Rich Rodriguez. Michigan fans were already upset after losing three straight Big Ten games coming in, and a blowout loss to lowly Illinois will only increase the pressure.
SECOND-GUESSING
– Where has this team been all season? It's been agreed that the talent was there for this type of performance, but it hasn't played at this type of level against a BCS team. The trick now is to put it together two weeks in a row and do it at Minnesota.
– Michigan had a chance to call timeout late in the first half after stopping Illinois on third down with about 50 seconds left but waited until the clock ticked down to 27 seconds. The Wolverines had two timeouts to use at that point and could have tried to get into field goal range to increase their halftime lead. It's decisions like that which will drive fans up the wall.
– Zook probably is questioning himself on this one after stating last week that the Illini would be a two-quarterback team the rest of the season. After a 38-point output, there's no way to believe that Juice Williams won't be the guy the rest of the way if he keeps up the level of play he exhibited Saturday.
THIRD DEGREE
– Iowa is No. 4 in the BCS, so the Hawkeyes give the Big Ten some street cred, but are they really that good? They were awful for three quarters in a come-from-behind win against Indiana, so they're considered one of the worst No. 4 teams in BCS history. The league as a whole continues to take a beating nationally as the ESPN "College GameDay" crew joked Saturday that when they talk about the Big Ten during their show, fans use that time to relax, grab a new drink or hit the restrooms.
– Who's the best quarterback in the league? Iowa's Ricky Stanzi had five picks against Indiana, so it's not him. Juice was good Saturday but has been inconsistent. Michigan's Tate Forcier has hit the freshman wall. Terrelle Pryor has been up and down at Ohio State. Adam Weber, whom Illinois will see next week, isn't the same without star receiver Eric Decker. Maybe it's Penn State's Daryll Clark.
– All of a sudden, games look winnable for the Illini, who were a different team Saturday. Minnesota is struggling. Northwestern has issues, and Fresno State has always been a potential win. If the team that played Saturday shows up the next four games, Illinois could finish the season 3-1. It's going to take a lot to accomplish that, but it's amazing what one win can do for a team's psyche.
FOURTH ESTATE
– All is not well in Michigan in regards to its football team, but the Wolverines haven't given up hope yet, according to Dave Birkett, who covers the team for AnnArbor.com.
"Rich said last week that he's disappointed but not dejected," Birkett said. "He thinks they still have something here. Looking at it objectively, they've lost to three of the better teams in the Big Ten and two of those were on the road. I don't think the sky's falling even though a lot of fans think that it is right now."
Even though the Illini came in with a 1-6 record, the Wolverines didn't see it as a gimme. They lost to the Illini 45-20 last season in the Big House.
"Rich said it's not a matter of getting his team up for a 1-6 team because everyone that played last year knows how good the Illinois team can be," Birkett said. "They realized that Illinois, talentwise, is better than its record."
A cause for concern among Michigan fans is the lackluster play of freshman quarterback Forcier in recent weeks. He and fellow freshman signal-caller Denard Robinson have hit what some call the freshman wall.
"There's obviously some concerns with Robinson's passing ability. He's been a runner all year," Birkett said. "Forcier has kind of struggled a little bit the last few games, but he was injured, too. Really, they've got nowhere else to turn, so even if the freshmen have hit a wall they've got to fight through it and see what happens."
IN THE STADIUM
– Former Illinois running back Rocky Harvey took in Saturday's game from inside Memorial Stadium. Fitting that the former Chicago Dunbar star was in attendance for a triumph against Michigan as he spearheaded an Illini come-from-behind win at Michigan in 1999 that helped Illinois to an 8-4 finish and a berth in the Micronpc.com Bowl that Illinois won against Virginia.
– Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall used his team's off week as an opportunity to return to campus and check out his former mates. Mendenhall once said he wouldn't have anything to do with Illinois football as long as Zook was the coach, but maybe that relationship is on the way to being fixed. Mendenhall wasn't made available to the media Saturday. Either things are better with him and the staff, or he just wanted to be in town to support guys like Williams and Arrelious Benn, whom he teamed with to help lead the Illini to a Rose Bowl appearance following the 2007 season.
– The Nathan Montgomery family of Philo, which was featured on ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" last week, was at the game as guests of Illinois football. The family stood at midfield during the coin toss and walked through the press box before the game. Nathan Montgomery, a former engineer, quit what would have been a lucrative career to start the Salt & Light charity that helps feed needy families in the Champaign area. He was rewarded by ABC with a brand-new home and a free family vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida. ABC also made a sizable donation to Salt & Light.
IN THE LOCKER ROOM
He's taken plenty of heat for the Illini's offensive struggles this season, but first-year offensive coordinator Mike Schultz looked like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders after his unit put up 38 points Saturday.
"Let me tell you something. I mean, gosh, I would have tried to click it earlier than the third quarter today," Schultz said when asked what was different Saturday. "I don't know. The kids kept playing hard. I think the huge deal in the game was when Terry Hawthorne runs the guy down and stops him and we make a goal-line stand and we proceed to go down and score."
At one time, Hawthorne was one of Schultz's guys as a receiver, but he sure was glad to see the freshman from East St. Louis on the other side of the ball Saturday.
"Right now I'm real proud for Terry Hawthorne being on that field and running that guy down," Schultz said.
His play-calling has been criticized all year, but even after the Illini broke through for 500 yards against Michigan on Saturday, Schultz didn't want to take the credit.
"They played 'em better. Our kids played better and they made me right sometimes today," Schultz said. "I was wrong sometimes, but the kids made me right, and that's great, that's great to have happen. Not every call's gonna be a good call. I told them we've got to make 'em right and if we don't, I said 'Dadgummit, we're gonna get lined up, get huddled up and call another one and make it work.' "
No wild celebrations for Schultz after Saturday's win.
"I'm gonna go home, sit on the couch and talk to my wife. That's what I'm gonna do, that's my celebration," he said.
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Comments
Schultz finally let Juice be Juice and the Illini be the Illini. The Illini are, for better or worse, primarily a shotgun spread run team that relies on the threat of the QB run to create better numbers and angles in the run game. Stick to that this season and the Illini will score and be competitive. Got to playcall for the personnel.
Posted by on November 1, 2009 at 1:53 AM | Suggest Removal
The offensive line for the most part played a pretty good game. The O is going to go as the o-line goes. They have to be able to run the ball. Look at the first-half when the run wasn't there and Michigan knew we had to pass. Juice got pummeled a couple of time. 70 yards and a cloud of dust!
Posted by on November 1, 2009 at 8:56 AM | Suggest Removal
There's no reason this team can't go 3-1 the rest of the way, but then again, there's no reason this team should be 2-6 right now (5-3 is more like it).
I loved yesterday's game, and I refuse to minimize the Illini's accomplishments by saying Michigan is dreadful, etc. But Zook and his staff shouldn't be let off the firing line. I've seen this story before: a great win (Michigan State in 2006, Iowa in 2008), followed by loss after loss after loss. I'm hoping for the best, but Zook's history tells me to expect the worst.
Posted by dporreca on November 1, 2009 at 11:56 AM | Suggest Removal
To dporreca...take a break until January, 2010!
Posted by on November 1, 2009 at 5:40 PM | Suggest Removal
To kfj:
If the Illini play the rest of the season like they did on Saturday, I'll be celebrating until January. The Illini doing well in their final four games would mean Zook has finally figured out how to avoid the mistakes of 2006, 2008, and the first seven games of 2009. Now *that* would give fans hope for 2010.
Posted by dporreca on November 2, 2009 at 12:11 PM | Suggest Removal