The Illini started with a 52-3 victory over Murray State and followed that up with a tough loss at home to North Carolina.
Things seemed to be on the right track to start the year, but that loss to the Tar Heels was followed by back-to-back blowout losses to Western Michigan and No. 15 Nebraska.
Usually, in the past, losing like this turned the fans away from going to the games.
In 1997, Illinois was 0-11 and the fanfare in 1998 took a hit because of this bad year. They only had an average attendance of 39,590 during that 1998 season.