Blogger Interrogation–Writing Illini

This week we put our internet skills to the test and had a sit down with our co-Big Ten bloggers over at Writing Illini to talk about the Illinois football program, the upcoming game and how Illinois season could pan out over the rest of the year. We only had to waterboard a little bit for answers, but don’t we didn’t let a little Geneva Convention get in our way

1.Ron Zook has been in the Big Ten for a while now. Do you think he’s going to be able to put Illinois on the map or is he reaching his potential?

It depends on what you mean when you say putting Illinois on a map. If you mean putting a program on the map at the same scale that JoePa has taken Penn State to (not that the Nittany Lions’ were a nobody before he took over) then no, Zook will not get Illinois to become a national powerhouse.However, Zook does have the potential to take the program up a few notches. It would not be impossible for Illinois to reach the level of say fellow Big Ten school Iowa if it was able to grow some stability both with regard to coaching and play on the field. Whether or not Zook can be the one to take the team to that level remains to be seen, but despite the rumors of his impending firing, the school’s current financial troubles should give him a few more years to try and prove himself.
2.    The Big Ten saw Illinois give Ohio State a run for it’s money, was that a sign of things to come or just a nice effort against a big time opponent?

Illinois has actually played the Buckeyes well in most of their past meetings. It seems that many people forget that the game is actually the second oldest trophy rivalry game in the Big Ten, and although Illinois is usually the underdog, they always play to win.
Last week’s performance was not just a blip on the radar. This year’s team has shown improvement on both sides of the ball under the new offensive and defensive coordinators. The Illini will give every opponent a run for their money this season, and if they can eliminate the costly penalties that let the Buckeyes keep the ball on the final drive last weekend, they could pull off a few upsets this season.
 
3.    Who will Illinois miss more in the long run? Juice or Benn?

This is a difficult question because this year’s team is not the same one that Juice and Benn played on. This year’s squad runs more of a pro style offense under new offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, as opposed to the option look that they used under both Mike Locksley and Mike Schultz. In the old option look, Juice was defiantly the more valuable player. He was able to make big plays both with his arms and legs while setting numerous school and Big Ten records, while Benn saw his talent wasted at times as the Illini continued to run the ball instead of air it out.  This year, there is still more of a run mentality as the team is starting a freshman quarterback in Nathan Scheelhaase, but in the next few years expect to see the receivers utilized much more. Illinois’ leading receiver, AJ Jenkins, has already almost doubled his numbers from the entire 2009 season through 4 games. If Benn were to have been present in this pro style offense, he would have made a much bigger impact and would likely be missed more.
 
4.    What is something about Illinois that should give Penn State fans a reason to worry this weekend?

They won’t go away. While the Illini were unable to upset the Buckeyes, they did stop a comeback attempt by a decent NIU team that beat Minnesota and played a Missouri team that is currently undefeated and ranked in the top 25 close the entire game.
Don’t expect a repeat of last year’s matchup between the two teams where Penn State stuck it to Illinois at home. This squad has proven that it is not intimidated by a bigger team and its improved defense will keep the game close enough that Illinois could stand a chance to pull off the upset.
 
5.What does the rest of your season look like going forward?

Illinois must face an undefeated Michigan State team on the road after this weekend’s matchup. If Illinois can win one of its next two tough road games and be 3-3 at the halfway point, is stands a good chance of making a bowl. After Michigan State is has both Indiana and Purdue at home. Indiana has an explosive offense but it has not (with apologies to Michigan fans) faced a decent defense and Purdue is appearing more crippled with injuries each week. Illinois should win both matchups and be either 5-3 or 4-4 heading into its last 4 games. The Michigan game will be fun to watch, as Illinois will have its hands full with Denard Robinson. Ilinois should be able to handle Minnesota at home as the Gophers continue to struggle. The Northwestern game at Wrigley Field will be worth watching, but at the moment the Wildcats appear the better squad. The final game of the season for the Illini, at Fresno State, could decide whether Illinois makes a bowl this season. As Arizona proved to Iowa, it is tough to win when you travel several time zones for a game. The game will start at 9:15 central time and the time change has a way of messing with players.Overall Writing Illini predicts that the Illini will make a bowl game this year, likely the “prestigious” Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.