Zook not about to apologize for 8 home games

Nobody in the Big Ten boasts an easier schedule than Illinois this fall.

The Illini join Michigan as the only schools with eight home games. But while the Wolverines have four road games against 2010 bowl teams, Illinois goes only to Penn State.

If you think Ron Zook plans to apologize for a comparatively cozy slate, then you didn't notice Illinois' recent non-conference slogs.

During a media roundtable session Friday at McCormick Place, Zook made a point of reaching into his suit-jacket pocket and retrieving a folded sheet filled with numbers from an Illini-centric blog.

“In the last three years, our non-conference (FBS opponents' collective) record was 80-28,” Zook said. “Northwestern's was 27-81. You can say what you want to say: That's a big difference there.”

The rest of the Big Ten schools were bunched between 64-44 (Ohio State and Purdue) and 40-68 (Indiana).

“Everybody says, ‘How do you get eight home games?' ” said Zook, who lost four straight openers against Missouri in St. Louis. “I think we've earned that right to play eight home games.”

Because the Illini open with five home games and don't face a big-name Big Ten team until Ohio State shows up on Oct. 15 — and there's always a chance Illinois could play in the inaugural Big Ten title game on Dec. 3 — Zook intends to pace his players through the year.

“Everything we've done,” Zook said, “from our first meeting on Jan. 17 has been with the idea in mind that, from the middle of October to the middle of November, we have to be a fresh team.

“We let the Michigan game (on Nov. 6) get us beat in the Minnesota game (the following week). Part of that was we were tired. We were mentally tired.”

Among Zook's remedies? Pushing practice starts back 90 minutes to 7:30 a.m. and limiting quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase's practice throws.

“Tom Moore, who was Peyton Manning's coach with the Colts, they used to have to do the same thing,” Zook said. “It was like a pitch count.”

O'Toole time:

Celebrated freshmen quarterback Reilly O'Toole, who led Wheaton Warrenville South to back-to-back IHSA state titles, made a big impression when he arrived on campus in June.

In this case, big wasn't a compliment.

“He came in and we were calling him ‘Pillsbury Doughboy,' ” Zook said. “His body fat (percentage) was way up. He has worked so hard. He's down where it's OK now. That tells me that the work ethic is there.

“He's a lot better athlete than I think some people may think. Even (strength coach) Lou (Hernandez) said that when we went over everybody on Wednesday.

“The athleticism that he has shown Lou (during summer workouts), he's pretty excited about it.”

O'Toole enters Illinois' opening practice as the No. 3 quarterback behind incumbent Scheelhaase and sophomore Miles Osei (Prospect).

He said it:

In retrospect, Ron Zook wonders whether Illinois benefited from playing in the 2008 Rose Bowl.

“If you go back and you look, probably one of the things that hurt us — in my tenure at the University of Illinois — the most was going to the Rose Bowl our third year.

“As much as we tried to tell (the players) that we're not (elite) yet, they were hearing but they weren't listening.

“Then, all of a sudden, we actually regressed. I mean, it retarded our progress because we had, on paper, probably a better team the next two years. We almost had to start over a little bit. I think that's what last year was.”