SPORTS
Cubs finished
Arizona wins 5-1 — D-3
D
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Sports Editor Jim Rossow 217-351-5231 [email protected]
Illini 31, Badgers 26
First win against a Top 5 team in 18 years
is the latest indication all arrows are ...
POINTING UP
John Dixon/The News-Gazette
ABOVE: Illinois safety Kevin Mitchell (42) celebrates his interception in the fourth quarter Saturday as Justin Sanders dives in. Mitchell had one of two Illini interceptions in Illinois’ 31-26 win
against Wisconsin. BELOW: Illinois coach Ron Zook looks into the stands after the game. After four wins in two seasons, Zook has his Illini at 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten.
By BOB ASMUSSEN
[email protected]
C
HAMPAIGN — There’s big. There’s
really big. And there’s crying on the
field with Erin Andrews big.
Ron Zook has his signature win at Illinois.
Now, his team is ready to get a second, third and
fourth.
With Rashard Mendenhall running his way
into Heisman Trophy consideration, Illinois beat
fifth-ranked Wisconsin 31-26 on a sticky Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The orange-clad fans who filled the place,
again, didn’t mind the sweat stains and cozy confines. As the players raced into the north stands,
again, they were covered with a chorus of “BCS!
BCS!”
The Big Ten championship, not bowl eligibility, is now the team’s goal. The Illini and Ohio
State are tied at 3-0.
“I would say at 3-0 in the Big Ten, we’re definitely title contenders,” Illinois quarterback
“
It’s going to be fun
walking into class,
being in class, checking
your e-mails.
”
JUICE WILLIAMS,
Illinois quarterback
Juice Williams said. “We’re not satisfied with
just 3-0. We want to be 8-0. That’s the ultimate
goal.”
When the Illini show up for their team dinner
tonight, they should be nationally ranked for the
first time in six years. They are one win away
from the six needed to gain a postseason bid.
They have five wins earlier than at any time in
school history.
“It’s going to be fun walking to class, being in
class, checking your e-mails,” Williams said.
“Everything is starting to unfold. It’s so dramatic and so exciting when you actually see the
things happen that they were talking about.”
“It’s another step on the road where we’re
going,” senior linebacker J Leman said. “It’s fulfilling, very fulfilling. A lot of the fifth-year guys
have waited a long time for this day.”
Turns out that the oddsmakers who favored
the Illini, drawing the ire of Zook, had it right.
“They must know something,” Illinois safety
Kevin Mitchell said. “It was a great win for us. I
know we made a couple people a lot of money.”
Zook now has more wins this year than he had
in his first two seasons at Illinois.
“I’m so happy for the seniors,” Zook said. “I
wanted them to experience this. (Guard) Martin
O’Donnell and I, we kind of hugged in the locker
room. I looked into his eyes and neither one of us
said anything. But I think I knew what he was
thinking and I think he knew what I was thinking.”
EXTRA POINTS
STAR OF THE GAME
RASHARD MENDENHALL
Maybe you are tired of reading about
the junior tailback. He is making Big
Ten defensive coordinators sick with his
hard running and nose for the end
zone. Saturday’s three-touchdown
effort gives Mendenhall 12 for the season.
NUMBER OF THE GAME
3-0
That’s Illinois’ record in the Big Ten,
the best league start at the school
since John Mackovic’s 1990 cochampions started 4-0. The Illini had a
combined two Big Ten wins from 2003
to ‘06.
WHAT IT MEANS
Illinois is a national story, one you might be reading about in Sports
Illustrated this week. Ron
Zook and his guys better
get ready for a lot more
phone calls and a lot
more attention.
WHAT’S NEXT
A week after ending a
four-game losing streak
against Wisconsin, Illinois
has a chance to stop a
similar skid at Iowa. The
Hawkeyes are struggling,
losing four consecutive
games after a 2-0 start.
WHAT’S INSIDE
Benn injury gives backup receivers a chance.
D-4
Mendenhall closing in on 1,000-yard season.
D-4
Tate: Two quarterbacks are better than one.
D-5