I-L-L...

I have explained it before. Unlike most other Big 10 schools, Illinois is not viewed as the home team or destination for most of Chicagoland teenagers. Growing up, the kids in my high school either rooted for ND or Michigan. So when picking where they want to play college ball, few Illinois high school seniors consider UIUC their top choice. Contrast that with say Wisconsin, where pretty much everyone in the state sees that as their top college program.

As an aside about Iowa State, you can apply to that school and get accepted quicker than an Amazon delivery.

You do an online application and they will admit you immediately and give you tons of money to make it like you were in-state.

Doesn't explain why Illini football sucks. But I don't want to talk about that.

Was talking to a Nebraska farmer I know

As an aside about Iowa State, you can apply to that school and get accepted quicker than an Amazon delivery.

You do an online application and they will admit you immediately and give you tons of money to make it like you were in-state.

Doesn't explain why Illini football sucks. But I don't want to talk about that.

It's been that way for 40 years. I got into a tiff with my HS guidance counselor because I only applied to two schools. She wouldn't release my transcript unless I applied to three schools, it was the high school's protocol. So I insisted on applying to Iowa State: $10, 1 page application, no test results needed, to shut the twat up.

In those days, you had to be in the top 40% of your high school class to be accepted at Iowa State.

It's been that way for 40 years. I got into a tiff with my HS guidance counselor because I only applied to two schools. She wouldn't release my transcript unless I applied to three schools, it was the high school's protocol. So I insisted on applying to Iowa State: $10, 1 page application, no test results needed, to shut the twat up.

In those days, you had to be in the top 40% of your high school class to be accepted at Iowa State.

I have explained it before. Unlike most other Big 10 schools, Illinois is not viewed as the home team or destination for most of Chicagoland teenagers. Growing up, the kids in my high school either rooted for ND or Michigan. So when picking where they want to play college ball, few Illinois high school seniors consider UIUC their top choice. Contrast that with say Wisconsin, where pretty much everyone in the state sees that as their top college program.

Terrible loss... gonna pound Virginia

Everybody laughed at me but they never should have let Zook go.

He got top talent and coached them inadequately to some infrequent success. The Illini fan base is delusional in their expectations regarding football.

At least they were mostly competitive with brief moments of greatness.

Zook couldn’t even win at Florida with guys Spurrier recruited.

They went to the Rose Bowl. They beat the #1 team in the country on the road. All at UofI.

I can live with that.

Everybody laughed at me but they never should have let Zook go.

He got top talent and coached them inadequately to some infrequent success. The Illini fan base is delusional in their expectations regarding football.

At least they were mostly competitive with brief moments of greatness.

That’s true about Wisconsin now but it certainly hasn’t always been that way. In the 70s and 80s they were as bad as U of I and NU - which were some of the worst programs in the nation. Clearly UW was able to change the direction of the program in the same way that NU did a bit more recently. Coaching and recruiting are everything in college football. U of I isn’t doomed to always be bad. They need to hit on the right guy to lead the program. Clearly easier said than done but Minnesota has found some success with PJ Fleck. Their decision makers are almost McCaskey like in their ineptness.

It’s a fantastic, world-class engineering and accounting school.

But very few of those people play football very well.