 I wish I was smart enough
to break down what went wrong. I think I could bottle it or write
books and make a small fortune. And now that you mention it, I ought
to try just the same. It just appears that the whole thing imploded.
The defense had trouble stopping anyone or anything. The offense
couldn't score and struggled to even move the football, and special
teams had a few struggles as well. Silly penalties and costly mental
mistakes seemed to plague the Illini everywhere they turned.But
at least for one bright afternoon last Saturday, the good guys, the
Men in Orange, came out on top! I still can't get the smile off my
face. Illinois' resounding 38-13 thrashing of the Michigan
Wolverines is just music to my soul! And I didn't even know it
happened, when it happened.
But before I tell you my story, can I just say that anytime the
Illini beat Michigan, it's a great day! I don't care what sport it
is -- we could be playing them in pingpong or tiddlywinks -- I wanna
beat 'em like a drum! And yes, I know that they've got their own
problems. In the words of the great philosopher Les Evans (LCU's
baseball coach), "That's too bad!"
Anyway, back to my story. I fully intended to be there bringing
you the deep insights and up-close coverage that loyal LDN readers
have grown accustomed to. However, that was before we got my son's
hockey schedule (that's a whole 'nother story). If you've never had
a relative play hockey, let me just explain it to you like this: The
hockey season goes on forever! They just play about a million games,
so on any given day you might not only be playing one game, but
sometimes even two. So, to make a long story longer, instead of
pointing the ship toward Chambana, we sailed for Edwards Arena for
our Squirt C Beloit Blades home opener (we won 6-3; more on that
later).
So, needless to say, I saw our last two drives before halftime
and they were not pretty. With Illinois trailing 13-7, and based on
what I had already seen from this season, I did not hold out high
opens for the beloved in the second half (sorry to disappoint the
optimistic, loyal followers). In fact, I was kinda glad we had a
hockey game.
Some of you probably don't know that our church offers a Saturday
night service as well as three services on Sunday to accommodate
those who work nights or other shifts. When I came into church
Saturday night, former Lincoln resident and my boss, Craig Zastrow,
said he had just turned off his TV when he saw a Michigan player
scoring on a long TD play. I said that I figured as much and never
gave the game another thought the rest of the night.
The next morning Payne had a hockey game (like I said, when
winter hits up here, there's a hockey game going on all the time) in
beautiful Verona, Wis. I helped him get ready and sent him and mom
with some friends on their first road trip of the season sans dad (a
ministry schedule is not the most conducive for a hockey parent or
fan). Since I got to my office hours before church started, I
thought I'd turn on my computer, check the Illini score, quickly
turn it off and work on the lesson I would be teaching in a couple
of hours.
When I glanced at my monitor and saw the score, I quickly deduced
that they ran a story about last year's game. Upon further review I
discovered that the Illini had actually won! I was stunned!
When I came to the realization of what had really transpired, the
celebration in my office was without peer! What Craig failed to tell
me, because he didn't know, was that Illini speedster Terry
Hawthorne had somehow caught the fleet-footed Michigan wideout, Roy
Roundtree, and got him down at the 1-yard line. It was the biggest
play of the year. For somehow, it inspired an Illini team that has
been in a fog the whole year. This time the defense made a goal-line
stand and four plays later took over possession of the ball.
And that's not all. When the refs went to make a couple of
reviews that you know would result in touchdowns for Michigan,
somehow Illinois got the calls (albeit that's because that's what
actually happened and what should've been called -- although that
has never stopped the Big 10 refs before) and Michigan turned it
over on downs.
[to top of second column] |
From there, the dormant Illini offense went to work. When Juice
Williams is in a groove in the option series, he is hard to contain,
much less stop, and Michigan found that out again for the second
consecutive year.
We have been telling you fans for the last two years that
Illinois needs to establish the run... Just think how good Illinois
was when Rashard Mendenhall was carrying the pigskin. We've also
said to forget the experiment of trying to make Juice Williams a
drop-back passer because we don't think that's what he is (I
attended last year's contest at Wisconsin where they did that -- it
failed -- and I admit that I'm still bitter about it). Get him on
the move -- roll-outs, sprint-outs, scrambles, anything that gets
the defense on its heels -- and I think you give Juice and the
Illini a chance to be successful. Check out the replay on ESPNU and
see if you think we know what we're talking about?!
Here's what I do know:
How about 500 yards of total offense?
How about no turnovers?
How about 7 of 14 on third-down conversions? (That has to be the
highest in a long while.)
How about four trips into the red zone and four scores?
How about three players with over 100 yards rushing? (And yes, I
know Juice actually finished with only 97 because of the sacks...
so, suit me!)
How about the defense pitching a shutout in the second half?
How about the offense scoring 31 unanswered second-half points?
And I could go on and on... smiling all the way.
Wasn't it the great former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler who
said, "We want Illinois!"
Well, you got 'em... How do you like us now? How's that working
out for you?
On the other hand, the Illini may struggle in the rest of the
games this season. I guess it's possible that they may not win
another one. But if you have to beat somebody, why not make it
Michigan every year?
As the LDN sports writer I don't know very much. But I do know
this... Just can't seem to wipe this smile off my face...
GO, ILLINI!
[By JEFF MAYFIELD]
Respond to the writer at
jeffmayfield@centralwired.com.
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