Proven to be a fraud again. He is just a better version of Lloyd Carr.

New sheriff in town folks, and his name is Ron Zook.....

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Fire Phil Emery

The person I feel sorry for is Theodore Greenstein. He is gong to have to re-write whatever POS column he had in the can for this game and either bash McSweatervest or write a positive article about Zook's coaching ability.

Zook coached a very good game this week. I don't think I disagreed with any of the decisions he made. They kept with Mendenhall, even when it wasn't working especially well. They went for it on fourth down a couple of times, which was ABSOLUTELY the right decision to make at the time (I was shouting at Griese and MacGuire, who were srong as usual.)

All that being said, he can still write that column. Here, I'll start it for him: Ron Zook's recruiting ability allowed him to win that game, but his lack of coaching talent will always cause Illinois to be a second-rate power. He'll reference the poor decisions in the Iowa game and the penalties in the Michigan game.

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Fire Phil Emery

Any Zook pictures playing beach voleyball?

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"It's not exactly a rocket surgery." D.J.

Why are there so many odd pictures of Zook on the Internet ?

[/b]Thanks to the
"Fighting Cicadas" for stealing our moment in the spotlight with their victory over the Buckeyes.


If Kentucky can beat LSU then this wasn't much of a stretch

Great game Illini. Does that mean the Cats will be ranked WHEN we beat you next week?

It would mean that we go to FL and not TX

I believe you should both put the pipe down.

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You know me like that.

2022 - The Next Year of the Cicada
Enjoy this year my friend. 15 years is a long wait!

I'm a Cubs fan. 15 years is nothing.

But, I'll enjoy next year even more.

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You know me like that.

Cubs fan too!
But Cicada fans are more like White Sox fans. You never see or hear from them until everything is going their way.
So I am a little surprised your a Cubs fan!

I hope that you aren't implying that I have only come out now that things are going my way.

I believe if you look back over the summer I predicted the Illini to win the BCS Championship this year on this very board.

So, they have disappointed me to this point.

Perhaps I haven't been vocal enough in my support of Zook, Weber, and the Illini on this board in the past if such an observation can be made. I must change this perception.

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You know me like that.

Not you specifically, but rather the Illinois fan base.
I said they would be a very good team too this year and I would be happy if they finished 2nd in the Big Ten every year.

I hope for your the fan base is that Zook stays on the up and up. I have talked with current and former players that also have conveyed their concerns.

I have been to all but Penn State and seen the campus and facilities and it's a head scratcher to find an explanation for TOP TALENT from out of state to go the Champaign.

You know what they say.......

I don't know what passes for acceptable in the land of milk and cheese. But, in Champaign, we don't go for insensitive and contumelious representations of Native Americans.

As for the wild and baseless accusations that you and some of your players also leveled after their sound defeat at the hands of the Illini, I will not dignify them with a response.

The storied history of the program and beauty of the campus is attraction enough.

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You know me like that.

Looks like we have a good old fashioned Wisconsin-Illinois melee going on right now. I think I need to call out Hawkeye Vince to keep up.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The storied history of the program and beauty of the campus is attraction enough.

I'm sorry, it looks like I may have struck a nerve. The players (former Cicadas) not Badgers and i had these conversations well before this years football season.

As far as the storied history, see Mike White, and beauty of the campus being attraction enough. The smoke I see coming from Champaign is more from the crack pipe you smoke than the peace ( cash) pipe that Zook shares with others. You might want to take a look at that STORIED history!

The University of Illinois, which admitted to football recruiting violations during the tenure of Mike White, a former coach, was placed on probation yesterday by the National Collegiate Athletic Association but received no major penalty. The N.C.A.A. Committee on Infractions said Illinois would be on probation until July 1, 1989, and must submit two internal audits of the football program.

The University of Illinois, which admitted to football recruiting violations during the tenure of Mike White, a former coach, was placed on probation yesterday by the National Collegiate Athletic Association but received no major penalty. The N.C.A.A. Committee on Infractions said Illinois would be on probation until July 1, 1989, and must submit two internal audits of the football program. Chancellor Morton Weir called the N.C.A.A. requirements ''nothing that would cause us any difficulties during that period.''

''Obviously, we will have to be extra careful,'' he said, ''as we should be at all times.'' When the N.C.A.A. allegations were revealed Jan. 18, White resigned.
quote]

I wouldn't exactly be called an Illini fan and I don't really want them to be good, but until someone gets some evidence that Zook has done something wrong(and I guarantee lots of people are looking) then you can't really think otherwise. He's just a older white guy that can relate better than most other coaches to players.

If there is something bad going on at UofI it will be uncovered eventually. Until then you just have to enjoy the Ron Zook experience.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Let's wait til next week if Iowa goes over Purdue in the bowl game seedings

According to the Iowa board, it is already a lock.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Well, I like it.

On a serious note, I have heard of no real reason or evidence to believe that Zook is cheating. At best I have heard idle speculation that there is no other reason that someone would play football in Champaign which I think is insulting to the University, which is world-class.

Illinois has in fact had very good football teams and players in the past. Many fine football players have played for the Illini and gone on to successful professional careers in the post-Mike White era. Simeon Rice, Jeff George, Howard Griffith, John Holocek, Kevin Hardy, Eugene Wilson, Dave Diehl, Kelvin Hayden and many others.

So, I see no reason to sully a solid season by Illinois with accusations that they must be cheating. The big-time out of state recruits have been mainly from the DC and Florida areas where Mike Locksley and Ron Zook have direct ties.

In any case, the selling point of being the state school for Chicago newspapers also has an impact as the Illini basketball coverage during their run proved. Illinois has many advantages and Zook and staff are adept at highlighting them and the system they run. He told them they'd play if they came to Illinois and they have. The starters are littered with Freshmen and Sophomores.

So, until someone actually has some proof that there has been some wrong-doing, I see no reason why I or any other Illini fan should tolerate implications of impropriety.

I have no quarrel with you Vince. I was just having fun. But I did want to be clear about other things I've read here and in the papers that I think are unjustified.

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You know me like that.

How is this for a deal?

If both teams win, and Purdue goes to the Insight Bowl, you have to admit that Purdue "travels well enough" that Iowa won't jump them over with one less loss since this would be the second time it has not happened in the last 5 years.

If both teams win, and Iowa goes to the Insight Bowl, I will admit that Iowa "traveling well" does give them an advantage in bowl selection.

If Purdue loses, then they just aren't that good and deserve whatever bowl will take them since it will be a pretty bad end to the season. If they lose, then I hope we just get to a bowl game.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

This whole scenario assumes that Michigan does not make the BCS. If that happens, then I bet Iowa goes to the Champs Sports bowl and we go to the Insight Bowl.

I guess I should just wait a week to see what happens.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The Insight Bowl people were at Iowa Saturday slobbering over a team that could be on a 4 game winning streak, and 5 of their last 6 (granted the loss was to Purdue) with a fan base that travels well. They mentioned that the schools that go to the bowl have to sell 12K tickets on their own but also mentioned they didn't see that being an issue considering they brought 25K down to ASU for a regular season game a few years ago.

I'm all for Purdue going there because if the seeds look the way they are, I'd rather drive to Detroit for a day to see the Hawks in the Motor City Bowl than have to watch a game on the NFL Network. Next weekend will be interesting since if Michigan beats OSU, you have the same issue with the Illini (assuming they beat NU) where the Cap One Bowl would drool at the chance to have OSU and then Outback would have to choose between Wisky, IL and PSU.

What a clusterf**k.

Just so you know, bowl reps from the capital one bowl to the motor city bowl were also in West Lafayette on Saturday. We screwed our chances for anything besides Champs(with a Michigan BCS game), Insight, and Motor City by losing and having Wisconsin and Illinois getting huge wins.

My point is just that many Iowa Hawkeye fans seem to think that it is a no brainer to choose between Purdue and Iowa. This hasn't been the case in the past and I would be surprised if it happened this year.

I think that all other Big Ten fans should be rooting for Michigan to win this weekend. I would be surprised if OSU didn't get a BCS invite to the Rose Bowl as long as they were eligible. Then everyone else moves up.

It would be nice if Indiana didn't go to a bowl game this year.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Understood, I felt that this section needed a little spice as interset seems to have died down with the end of the regular season.

Not least of which because we are alumni.

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Fire Phil Emery

And they have the hottest chicks in the Big Ten.

It's a fact. It's science.

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You know me like that.