Go Illini!

As an Illini fan, it's been a long time since I've felt optimistic about our football team. But I think we've turned that proverbial corner. We beat Indiana today on the road to win our first Big Ten opener since 1993. That makes us 3-1 this year. And those three wins equal our victory total for the past two years combined.

What's even more exciting is that we've looked good in these games. This victory over Indiana was convincing. We trounced Syracuse last week, and the week before was just as solid over Western Illinois, even though Western is one of those "directional" schools that everyone schedules early in the season to pad their totals. Our only loss was a great, close game to undefeated #25 Missouri - one of the Big 12 favorites this year, in St. Louis.

Now I'm not saying we're bowl bound, nor am I even thinking we would end up with a .500 record. We still have games against Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin, all ranked in the top 10. But we have a very young team and our recruiting has been vastly improved since Ron Zook showed up. So things look bright for the foreseeable future.

And with that, Oskee Wow Wow. Go Illini!