Zook wants Illini to regain 'eye of the tiger'

Ron Zook was referring to the mood during Illinois' staff meetings Sunday, but he might well have been speaking for the coaches at Ohio State, Michigan and Purdue, too.

"I said, 'It's like a (darn) morgue in here,'" Zook said. "I told the fellas, we could've lost that game yesterday ... Two years ago, we wouldn't have won that game."

Indeed, at least the Illini emerged unscathed from their 20-17 shave against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Illinois' uneven performance was somehow rewarded with a two-spot bump in the Associated Press poll (to No. 22) and a three-spot jump in the USA Today coaches poll (to No. 23).

The Buckeyes, Boilermakers and Wolverines, meanwhile, were left to pick up the pieces after disturbing losses to No. 1 USC, No. 16 Oregon and Notre Dame, respectively.

Illinois and Michigan (along with Wisconsin) have extra time to figure things out as they have Saturday open.

Zook's guys will practice today through Wednesday before they get their longest break since fall camp began in early August.

"We're going to get some work done," Zook said. "We're not going to go out there and just lollygag around."

After back-to-back home wins in which the Illini, as a whole, didn't look like a squad that lives to play football, Zook and his coaches are pondering how to restore the roar.

"It's kind of like we lost the 'eye of the tiger' a little bit," he said. "I've said we've got to be just like we were last year."

But after playing in the Rose Bowl last year, human nature won't permit Illinois to act as if it's a 2-10 team that's starved for wins.

"Do you browbeat 'em? Do you be negative?" Zook said. "We are going to have to flip a switch."

"We better get our juice cranked," said weary senior center Ryan McDonald after Saturday's game, an ice pack strapped to his left knee. "We didn't seem to have much today."

McDonald's line will have to work in a new regular as sophomore right tackle Ryan Palmer figures to miss at least four weeks. He had a pin placed in his broken foot Sunday.

True freshman Jeff Allen, who played the second half in Palmer's absence, figures to get the call. Illinois hasn't started a true freshman on the offensive line since Ray Redziniak in 1997.

Illinois will also work in Donsay Hardeman at the safety spots, where Bo Flowers and Travon Bellamy were OK against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Hardeman, a prized junior-college transfer, was fighting for a starting berth before undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery before the opener.

Hardeman dressed against the Ragin' Cajuns, but was only going to play in case of emergency.

"I feel very, very confident he'll be in there at Penn State," Zook said.