Illinois moving on up

CHAMPAIGN -- How big was Illinois' first victory over a No. 1 team since 1956?

Even Dr. Joseph White, the university's president, rushed out to Willard Airport on Saturday night to be part of the screaming masses that greeted the Illini's charter flight from Columbus, Ohio.

"Unbelievable," said Illini coach Ron Zook, who wore a weary yet constant smile Sunday. "It really was. It was neat. You could see as our players got off the airplane, you could just see the sense of pride and sense of accomplishment."

The pollsters and computers rewarded Illinois' 28-21 victory at top-ranked Ohio State by putting the Illini among the nation's top-20 teams.

Illinois showed up at No. 19 Sunday night in the Bowl Championship Series standings. The Harris Interactive voters placed the Illini at No. 20, and the USA Today coaches had them at No. 21.

Illinois also checked in at No. 20 in the Associated Press poll that doesn't affect the BCS rankings.

It's the team's second AP ranking since the end of the 2001 season. The last time? Illinois checked in at No. 18 five weeks ago and promptly lost at Iowa.

That memory gives Zook an easy hook into his guys to ensure they're ready for Saturday's regular-season finale against Northwestern (11 a.m., ESPN).

"I think it's imperative that our football team understands that," Zook said. "Hey, I want them to enjoy it and it's important that they realize what they did was another accomplishment. It was another part in the process of getting our program where we want it to be.

"But right now it's imperative that we zero in on Northwestern. We have to do that. That's the nature of the game."

But Saturday's game, the 101st in the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk rivalry, figures to be bigger than most. For the first time since 2000, both teams carry bowl aspirations in their traditional season finale.

Prior to that, you need to turn back to the era when Dick Butkus roamed the middle for Illinois and Ara Parseghian roamed the sideline for Northwestern to find such a big game for both sides.

Illinois hopes to have all of its injured players available against the Wildcats.

Zook indicated that fullback Russ Weil (left knee) and guard Martin O'Donnell (ankle) should be ready, but he couldn't yet promise that cornerback Vontae Davis and receiver Arrelious Benn would recover from their concussions.

Benn, who didn't look well on the sidelines, was knocked goofy on Brian Gamble's touchdown catch late in the first half as he crashed into two Ohio State defenders on a crossing pattern.

Davis felt better than Benn, judging by his sideline antics.

"Vontae was crying big alligator tears," Zook said. "He wanted back in that game, so I've got to believe he'll be all right."

If Illinois (8-3, 5-2) defeats Northwestern, the Illini will share second place in the Big Ten with the loser of the Ohio State-Michigan game.

That could be good enough to earn a spot in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, where the Illini would be paired with the SEC's best non-BCS team.

But Jerry Palm of CollegeBCS.com thinks the Illini should plan on something greater. He predicted Sunday that Illinois will earn one of the four BCS at-large berths and face No. 3 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

"It's not a far-fetched scenario in terms of a lot of upsets having to happen," Palm said. "But things have to go in a certain direction."

Among them? Hawaii needs to lose and Ohio State must beat Michigan, giving Illinois the chance to be the Big Ten's second BCS representative.