CHAMPAIGN – Why?

Why is it always this hard for Illinois football? A program that’s traditionally been hit and mostly miss for the better part of 30 years just can’t get momentum rolling.

No matter the strategy in hiring coaches, rebuilding the stadium and planning more expansion with the coaches offices, nothing has yet proved to work as the Illini attempt to crawl out of the bottom of the Big Ten Conference.

That’s where they sit Saturday, 14th out of 14 teams in the bloated Big Ten. The Illini were manhandled by lowly Rutgers 35-24 in Memorial Stadium. This was an embarrassing loss, more lopsided than it appears and only made this close by a meaningless TD with a little more than a minute left.

While coach Lovie Smith should be given time to build a program, folks are beginning to wonder about where this thing is headed. Patience is a tough thing when these same fans have been patient for decades. An empty stadium heading into the fourth quarter was all anyone needed to judge the interest in Illini football.