"I told you this place would go to hell without the Chief around."
In today's Post-Dispatch, Stu Durando writes:
If getting to six victories and qualifying for a bowl game is the goal, the Missouri game could be critical. If the goal is to achieve more modest improvement, the pressure isn't as great.
Either way, the Illini will have to change the program's road woes of the last five years to have a shot.
Illinois has won only three of its last 26 games away from Memorial Stadium, and that includes two losses to Missouri in St. Louis.
A cynic might add the Illini need to change the program's home woes of the last five years too. A quick back-of-the-cocktail-napkin calculation indicates that the Illini are indeed dramatically better at home. They have 2.3 times as many wins in their last 26 home games. That's seven wins going back to late 2002 when our current star freshman WR, Arrelious Benn, had just turned 14. Exactly one of those wins was against a Big Ten opponent - powerhouse Indiana. The other six were to Eastern Illinois, San Jose State, Rutgers, W. Michigan, FL A&M and Illinois State. Looks like the key is to schedule more home games against schools from towns named Bloomington (yes, yes, I know ISU is technically in Normal).
As for Memorial Stadium, the renovation work is apparently coming along nicely. But like everything else related to Illini football, I've lowered my expectations. I'll call it a success if the overhaul doesn't result in the removal of the single most important feature in the stadium - long, trough-style urinals that more efficiently move we beer-soaked, tailgating masses through the men's room. Individual urinals are the scourge of modern stadia. But that is a rant for another day. Speaking of lowered expectations.
MIZZOU 35 ILLINI 13
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