OHIO State looses.........LSU back to # 1!!!!!!

This is correct. OSU is still a good team. It's not like they suddenly dropped out of the top ten. One close loss to a good conference foe is hardly a blemish. I actually have though that Illinois is the best team in the Big 10, kind of like I think Missouri is the best in the Big 12. But until they play the games, you'll never know. And while I'd be the first to tell you that OSU was overrated and vulnerable, I'd be surprised if they didn't respond next week. They can still beat anyone in the Rose Bowl if they get there, besides USC of course. By the way, notice who has inconspicuously climbed back into the top 10. Their stock is rising drmatically in the computer polls, just as I though it would.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt07.htm

Totally different subject, but I'm curious what some of the CFB fans on the board think: Will Ron Zook win a National Championship at Illinois? (Obviously not this year, I mean ever.) I think yes. Here's why.

1. Illinois is use to losing at football. If Zook can continue to post seasons like this, they will be happy. There won't be that pressure for instant results like at Florida. He could be there for decades just posting 8 and 9 win seasons.

2. Likewise, why would he leave. Illinois embraced him when the rest of the country laughed at him.

3. He must have a giant chip on his shoulder about what happened at Florida. He paid his dues as an assistant at Florida, but the fans rejected him almost from the begining. Then Meyer wins it all with his guys. I'd be pissed.

4. He can obviously recruit NC caliber talent. Given the talent, and enough opportunities, isn't it inevitable for him to get hot or lucky at least once?

5. He made a lot of X's and O's types of mistakes at Florida. (Although I think Gator fans exaggerated this.) Maybe he wasn't ready for a head coaching job. But he seems to be doing a lot better on this front.

6. Why not Illinois? They are in a BCS conference, have a large fan base, a large state to recruit in, all the facilities they need. All the pieces are there except a winning tradition.

7. Unlike a lot of other Big Ten schools, Zook seems to be building Illinois for speed, on both sides of the ball. I think this makes them more competitive nationally.

8. For the next few years, if not longer, the road to the National Championship will go through the SEC. They won't always win, but they are setting the standard. Zook knows the SEC.

Thoughts?

I was at the Illinois vs. Wisconsin game last year when Illinois nearly upset Wisconsin. After that game, I realized that Illinois was a program on the rise, and it didn't surprise me a bit when Illinois beat Wisconsin this year (I was not at that game). Illinois is a very good team, and they will get better. I wouldn't have picked them to upset OSU, especially in Columbus, but the Big Ten is really crazy this year.

USC WILL GO TO THE BCS AND WIN THE NATIONAL TITLE AGAIN F*** LSU AND OKLAHOMA FIGHT ON!

what do you have against using periods to separate your sentences?

tommie trojan wrote:

USC WILL GO TO THE BCS AND WIN THE NATIONAL TITLE AGAIN F*** LSU AND OKLAHOMA FIGHT ON!

They are a good team but they may have to petition the BCS to have a couple losses off their record.

If they win out, they will make a BCS bowl as an at large team. The computers are beginning to help them out.

Dear Illini Watcher,

I remember the 1990 season when CU won the national championship. Their only blemish? A loss at Illinois (and the infamous "5th" down against Missouri -- kind of ironic). I see no reason why Illinois cannot return to dominance and I hope they do. I'm tired of it being a two-horse race, which is why it's been great to see Wisconsin step it up. Illinois has a pedigreed coach, they've done it before, so it's not like it's not a good recruiting school, and they are already the best team in the conference as far as I'm concerned. One of the reasons that I thought they'd beat OSU was not only because they have played OSU tough the last few years (in Columbus no less) and not only because OSU had yet to be tested this year, but because the best team I have seen play college football this year is Missouri. And Illinois game them all they could handle, even though it was only the first game. Reflecting back on that, it was a pretty good sign.