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Nah. I honestly think they can get to 9 wins, with an outside shot at 10. Missouri (in St. Louis) W (Mizzou loses their QB, his top 3 receivers, their top two O-linemen, and half their defense. Think GREEN.) Illinois State W at tOSU L Michigan State L Penn State W (They lose 14 starters, and...

*pokes head in* Oh Hai! Remember me? I'm the rational Illini fan who told you that we wouldn't be very good this fall. I predicted 7-5, we finished 5-7, 7s, 5s, losses to Western Michigan... what's the difference, right? Thought I'd chime in on a few things around here. I think 30% of...

As an Illini fan, it pains me to say that I probably agree with you more than I agree with NFL Buck. We netted -22 rushing yards in our spring game. Either our defensive line is beyond fantastic, or we're really going to struggle running the ball without Mendenhall, Millington (RT), and...

Wait - you took this seriously? You know that Scheelhaase is an Iowa legacy right? That his dad and his uncle played at Iowa? And that Iowa fans - with their one 2-star commit as we enter August - were counting on this "lifelong Hawkeye fan" to be their pied piper, leading other top flight...

UPDATE. I've been getting more and more concerned - the recruits we pulled in during camp season were more of the "I heard he was just about to blow up!" variety. And then we received this shot in the arm: NewsOK Mobile Rivals has Scheelhaase as the #7 Dual Threat QB and the #2 "scrambler"...

Well stated. And yes, fans of down programs, when they taste success, tend to go all zombies-in-I-Am-Legend and ravenously want it all. Illinois fans aren't, and won't be, immune. Yes, there will be a grace period where 8 wins seems like paradise, but eventually they'll always want more. But...

When a new coach takes over any program, I give them 5 years. 5 years to develop their system, recruit to their system, and purge the roster of any recruits left over from the old regime. I see the Willingham/ND, Orgeron/Ole Miss, and Zook/Florida firings as silly. Why was Charlie Weis...

Absolutes are fun. I guess, using that logic, Bill Belichick shouldn't be successful in New England after his debacle at Cleveland, Gary Moeller shouldn't have won 3 consecutive Big Ten titles at Michigan after his shitshow at Illinois, and Doc Rivers had no business winning an NBA title after...

Tiny nit-pick here, but it wasn't Zook who took the three years of eligibility from Walter in order to snag his brother - it was Ron Turner. Turner recruited Walter in '04 and had a verbal from Rashard in '05 when he was fired. Zook held onto Rashard's verbal (I was sweatin' that one), but had...

Bingo. Well, that and the meddling Mendenhall mama. Ron Turner recruited Walter Mendenhall in order to have a chance at his younger, 5-star brother. It worked. Walter redshirted, so both were freshman in 2005. Mendenhall's mom would ask for meetings with Zook to discuss her son's playing...

I'm saying that we peak in 2009, but that the fall is not too far after that. DickRod will have Michigan back up and running by 2010, so we'll drop to at least 3rd. But with JoePa on his way out, Bielema not recruiting at the level of Alverez, Ferentz losing all of his skill players to the...

Gosh - I leave for 5 days and miss yet another Illini smackdown. You guys do a good job of thinning the herd around here - I can't even visit the Illini football scout board any more due to the excessive idiocy. The Illini Nation has this shiny new Rose Bowl toy (thanks, tOSU!) and has NO IDEA...

I'm a bit concerned. We came flying out of the gate with commitments from Hill, Buckner, and Fellows, so I had the feeling that we were on our way to our top recruiting class in history (the three 4-stars was as many as Ron Turner pulled in in the '01, '02, and '03 classes combined). The loss...

If by "up in arms" you mean "all hail Zook for finally black-balling Tinker Bell", then I agree. Ever since he left a now-defunct newspaper in Champaign in the 1960s, Tinker Bell has had an axe to grind with the University of Illinois. He has a history of taking shots in the Chicago papers...

IMO, the reason you lost was because of your defensive scheme. Early in the game, you played 8, sometimes 9 guys up, daring Juice's feeble arm to beat you. That left single coverage on 3 of the 4 passing touchdowns (and, on the Wilkins touchdown, one safety covering two receivers). Then, on...

I think we'll jump over PSU and Wiscy and lead the rebellion in pursuit of the Big 2. Here's why: Combining Scout and Rivals' recruiting class rankings since Zook arrived on the scene, here's the average national ranking for each recruiting class listed in your second and third tier over the...

I think that's generally the case. Here's how I feel about our secondary. -> Vontae Davis will be a 1st round draft pick next year (ESPN in a way-too-early 2009 mock has your boy Jenkins going 12th and Vontae going 14th) -> I think Miami Thomas beats out Dere Hicks for the other corner (you...

And it looks like someone agrees with me: SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NCAA Football stats, scores, standings, and blogs from NCAA Football columnists

True. And the majority of my Illini brethren don't seem to understand that we've yet to arrive. (At least my brethren who have study hall 5th period, that is.) Howevah - I truly do believe we are rising to the level of consistent Big Ten title threat. Several Big Ten teams have made a good...

You like me! You really like me!! *tear* Of course, winning a beauty contest against Kid and Lopo is like beating RichRod and Kelvin Sampson in a "leaving a job with your dignity intact" contest. If only there were such a thing, Lou Tepper would have a trophy sitting on his mantle. His first.