Illinois has done the easy part. It is 2-0 as expected. The games against Kent State and FCS Western Illinois should have been less stressful. But both were Ws.
Now comes the tricky part: Reaching 3-0. It has been seven long years since it happened at Illinois. Ron Zook's final team beat ranked Arizona State to get halfway to bowl eligibility.
And it kept winning. Starting 6-0 and moving as high as No. 16 in the nation.
Then, the wheels fell off. And the motor. And the exhaust pipe. And the bumper.
With pressure on Zook building each week, the 2011 team dropped their final six and Zook was told "your services are no longer required.