[MyTurn2Raise]

I'm still elated with the season so far

I believe my preseason prediction was this would be a curious year with Illinois capable of winning anything from 3 to 9 regular season games

The Zooker still does some real headscratching things, but he does a good job at setting up the scheme, keeping dumb penalties to a minimum, and upgrading the talent level. Funny that dumb penalties are a plus for this team, yet the big failing in the last two losses. Illinois has only had one illegal formation and one delay of game all season IIRC. False starts are also at a minimum.
The coverage teams are exponentially better. I think this is where the talent upgrade is most evident. No one has had success breaking through the Illini coverage team--speed, athleticism, and toughness are awesome.

Frankly, 2009 is supposed to be the break out year to the next level. The way this year has gone means most want be surprised.

Next year will probably be tougher for the Illini due to scheduling and new linemen. Switching Wisconsin, Penn St, Michigan, and Northwestern to road games is worse than Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio State at home.

Also, the o-line has alot of seniors that have become a great unit. It should take some time for that to gel. Not looking forward to Mizzou in St. Louis.

However, I'm looking forward to more speed, speed, and speed at the other wide receiver spots and on the defense.




Anyway, still work to be done.
The year will be a major success if the Illini can beat Minnesota and Northwestern. Illinois doesn't have the talent, yet, to just roll inferior teams. They have to show up and make less mistakes than the opponents.
As to Ohio State, the only thing that makes me positive about this is Illinois' past success in recent games in Columbus and the different offensive scheme for Illinois. However, after watching the Buckeyes at Penn St, I see no way for Illinois to hold tOSU under 35.