Illini's Zook still not satisfied
Illinois' defeat of Penn State on Saturday -- the school's first victory over a ranked opponent in 20 tries spread over six seasons --wasn't enough to earn a spot in the Top 25.
But it was enough for the Illini to draw votes from the writers and the coaches for the first time since the start of the 2002 season.
Illinois showed up at No. 28 in the Associated Press poll and No. 34 in the USA Today poll, which means Saturday's home game against No. 5 Wisconsin marks the first time in 71 games that the Illini will play with traditional-poll votes on their resume.
Illinois also checked in at No. 31 in the Harris Interactive poll, which together with the coaches' poll provides input for the Bowl Championship Series formula.
"We've turned (the program), I think, but we're not satisfied," said senior middle linebacker J Leman. "We're in the thick of the Big Ten race."
Only Illinois coach Ron Zook seems unimpressed by his team's performance to date. He left the Illini off his official ballot.
"When I did it, I actually got to the 25th spot and I thought about it," Zook said. "I think maybe if we'd been undefeated, it's not a question we'd stick (Illinois) on there."
The Illini, off to a 2-0 Big Ten start for the first time since 1991, must settle for some serious computer love.
According to Jeff Sagarin's ELO-Chess formula, which serve as one of the six computer-generated lists factored into the BCS mix, Illinois ranks as the 10th-best team in the land.
Does that make sense? Check out Sagarin's Top 10 and decide for yourself:
LSU (5-0), South Carolina (4-1), South Florida (4-0), Missouri (4-0), Southern California (4-0), FCS school Northern Iowa (5-0), Mississippi State (3-2), Ohio State (5-0), California (5-0) and Illinois (4-1).
But Sagarin's isn't the only computer that regards the Illini better than humans do. Wes Colley's numbers show Illinois at No. 17 nationally.
If the Illini are going to continue to rise in the eyes of the college football cognescenti, they need to solve a few issues. For starters, they need to figure out a way to move the ball through the air after halftime.
In the second half of their two Big Ten games, Illini quarterbacks have combined to complete 1 of 14 passes for 9 yards and 2 interceptions. All but 3 of the incompletions belong to starter Juice Williams.
The sophomore was pulled in the fourth quarter Saturday in favor of Eddie McGee, but he will start against Wisconsin.
"Really, Juice only had 5 bad plays," Zook said Sunday after reviewing the tape. "Other than those 5 (second-half) passes, he had a heck of a game."
That concurred with Williams' postgame self-assessment.
"I did some great things out there," Williams said. "Just managing the team and getting the ball out to the right guys and running the spread option.
"Obviously, I did some things that could have been corrected in the third quarter, but that's what you have practice for."
Williams' 97.04 pass-efficiency rating ranks 11th in the Big Ten but ranks ahead of his 91.87 showing as a true freshman.