Mizzou 40, Illinois 34…

ST. LOUIS — Once again, Illinois suffers through a loss that can either be viewed as the same old stuff or as another sign that wins are just around the corner.
Considering the Illini played the final 40 minutes with a redshirt freshman quarterback making his collegiate debut, there deserves to be an asterisk next to [...]

Ugly, ugly, ugly

It seems impossible, but Illinois hit the trifecta of worst-case scenarios in the first half of today’s game with Missouri.
1) Juice Williams gets knocked out of the game: Williams got sandwiched with a pair of helmet-to-helmet blows and left with 10:15 left in the second quarter. He walked to the locker room, towel over his [...]

Live from the Dome…

It’s 15 minutes before gametime and the Marching Illini are highstepping on the field. The Illini came out in orange jerseys (much better than Syracuse’s duds on Thursday) and white pants.
The stands are a little more than half-filled and it appears to be slightly more gold and black than orange and blue.
Here are the guys [...]

At last…GAMEDAY!

Nine months and 13 days since Illinois’ last game — a time filled with five-star recruiting, apartment burglarizing, defensive-coordinator ditching and optimism rising — Ron Zook’s fellas finally take the field today. Good seats, apparently, still available.
If I was a betting man — and I’m not — I might skip trying to pick a winner [...]