2 weeks until the unmasking

The thing I hate about college football is the dead period between the end of the regular season and the bowl games. We're now two weeks away from the unmasking of the biggest fraud in college football this year. Although I think USC is perennially overrated, the Illini are going to face their first really good opponent all season. I'd say that IIllinois' chances of winning are Slim to none, with Slim getting on the first train out of town. I think the Illini will be just be happy to be there. Zook, because he's Zook, won't be able to overcome that mentality in his players. Meanwhile the Trojans will be looking for redemption and trying to prove they got overlooked in the scramble to find a 2-loss team worthy of the BCS championship game.

Congrats Illini

You managed to back into the Grandaddy of them all, where you would have rightfully been playing if Zook only knew when to decline a penalty. OSU has slipped into the national championship game by default where it will take another epic beating at the hands of an SEC team. The Buckeyes are 0-9 against the SEC.

Likewise the Illini face a USC Trojans team that will finally be healthy and has been peaking. Although I think USC has been a media darling for the past few years I don't think there's any denying that Pete Carroll is a better coach than Zook (who isn't?) and that overall the staff at SC is better. In what will essentially be a home game for the Trojans the Illini will be mincemeat. Although I would have thoroughly enjoyed watching the Gators dismantle Illinois, USC will have to do.

Oh and I suppose I should be thankful to Illinois for allowing the Gators to have a chance to redeem their loss against Michigan in the Outback Bowl a few years back. That was a quintessential Zookian meltdown. The Gators score a TD early and Zook inexplicably goes for 2. Of course the Gators don't convert. Late in the game, with the Gators down by EIGHT, Grossman is driving down the field when the Gators attempt a play in which a freshman WIDE RECEIVER is throwing to the previous year's Heisman runner-up. Of course the ball was intercepted. Drive over. Game over. After all was said and done Zook could only say "Rex was open."

So enjoy it Zookheads. Maybe Zook will try that play against USC.

A loser's mentality illustrated

Brilliant ramblings of a loser from Illini Board

I'm going to call this a 2nd place finish

I know this season is going to go down as a third place finish in the Big Ten because we lose the tiebreaker to Michigan, but I'm going to go ahead and call it a 2nd place finish and challenge anyone (read: Michigan fans) who says otherwise. Lets compare Illini/Wolverine seasons:

-Illinois lost three games total, Michigan lost four. Advantage: Illinois

-Both teams lost to one team they definitely should have beaten. Illinois lost to Iowa and Michigan lost to Appalachian State. Michigan's loss was on their home field to a IAA team. Advantage: Illinois

-Both teams lost to one solid team that they definitely could have beaten. Illinois lost to Michigan and Michigan lost to Wisconsin. Illinois' was a head to head loss as well as a home field loss. Advantage: Michigan

-Both teams lost to one very good team. Illinois lost to Missouri and Michigan lost to Oregon. Michigan lost by a lot more on their home field. Advantage: Illinois

-In the Big Ten, Illinois didn't play Purdue or Michigan State. Michigan didn't play Northwestern or Iowa. The teams Illinois didn't play went a combined 6-10 in conference play, the teams Michigan didn't play went a combined 7-9 in conference play. Advantage: Michigan

So, of the five biggest differentiating factors between Illinois' and Michigan's seasons, Illinois looks more impressive in three of them. Add in the fact that we are more impressive in what I think is the most important factor (total wins), and it seems clear that the Illini are the superior team.

Don't let any effing Michigan fan tell you otherwise.

Notice how he tries to downplay the fact that MICHIGAN BEAT ILLINOIS HEAD TO HEAD!

The two teams have identical conference records and Michigan beat Illinois, end of story.

He tries to bring non-conference results into the equation. There's a reason they are called non-conference games.

The reason I bring this imbecility to your attention is simply to illustrate how the loser mentality is so ingrained in Illini fans that they grasp at straws, twist logic and rationalize their way being happy.

Like I said earlier, these dumbasses shouldn't be grinning about their 9 win season they should be pissed that it wasn't 10 or 11. The team the Illini beat will be going to the Rose Bowl as Big Ten champs. Fucking douchebags deserve Zook.

The season that could have been - UPDATED

Illini fans are happy. They should be, after going 4-19 in Zook's first two seasons the Illini are 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big 10. But the reality is that as nice as this season has been for them the Illini missed an opportunity for something even bigger. The two conference losses came at the hands of Iowa and Michigan, both games where there were plenty of questionable coaching decisions.

If Zook only knew when to decline a penalty, the Illini would have more than likely beaten Iowa, a hated rival that has poached more than its fair share of recruits out of Illinois over the last few years. Winning that game would have meant a 3-way tie today with Michigan and Ohio State. An OSU win over Michigan today would have catapulted Illinois to the Rose Bowl.

And truth be told, there's no reason that Illinois couldn't have beaten Michigan too. Even if the Big 10 is weak this year, a conference championship is a conference championship. So instead of Pasadena it looks like Tampa or Orlando. Believe me folks, there's a big difference.

Oh and by the way, yes ,I did turn the comments off. I have better things to do with my time than read the irrational ramblings of a bunch of idiots. I'll turn them back on when Illinois reverts to Zookian form and the losers have nothing to say.

UPDATE: With OSU beating Michigan 14-3, you really have to say that Zook declined the Big Ten championship when he accepted those two penalties against Iowa. There will be a lot of rationalization among Illini fans. Without Zook they wouldn't have been in a position to flush a Big 10 Championship down the toilet, they will say. You see there is an irrational idea that there was only one man to hire when RT got fired a couple of years ago. There simply was no candidate out there could coach as well as recruit. There is a saying in politics, we deserve our leaders. And for Illinois this couldn't be more true. Enjoy it folks. I don't think the schedule can be as favorable next season as it was this season.