If the Illini want to win any games in the Big Ten, they have to beat IU

Game 6, the game which marks the half way point in the season, also a mark that more or less will seal the fate of any hopes for post season play. A win would put the team at 2-4 and technically still alive for a bowl game, a loss would put the team at 5 losses, and with a top 10 Cincinnati team and still on the schedule a 6th loss is almost guaranteed.

Worse though a loss this weekend would be to a team that before the season began was considered the worst team in the league. If the Illini lose to Indiana, what does that make the Illini?

Don't get me wrong, I am not expecting a loss on Saturday, this is still the same Hoosier team that gave up 55 to us last year, and the same Hoosier team that was thumped 47 to 7 last week against against Virginia. You know Al Groh's Virginia? The UVA team that lost to 1AA William and Mary?  Yeah they got blown out by those guys.

Indiana should be an absolute slam dunk of a game, at almost every position last year they could not compete with the Illini. It  is very telling then that even with all of this seemingly in favor  of the Illini, I am still not confident.

Why should I be? What evidence does any fan have that this team will come out and  play any better than it has? We can trash IU all we want (and we will) but frankly they have played better than the Illini this season. Hell they have 3 wins, which is 2 more than us. Indiana is a very bad football team, and to this point in the season we are worse.

Zook has yet to name a starter for Saturday, but the consensus among the media seems that it ought to be Juice. The second half against MSU last week was the best he has played all season and he has probably earned his chance to at least play his  last games as a college player, rather than watch from the bench.

You never say that any game is a must win, but this game is a must win.  I don''t want to break down what the Illini need to do to beat Indiana, because frankly if they played up to their potential it would take almost no game planning what so ever. We ran our basic offense up against this team last year and blew them off of the field. Jason Ford and Daniel Dufrene and Mikel Leshoure should run roughshod over this team. By far the toughest part of the schedule is behind us, if this  team wants to make anything redeeming at all out of this season, it cannot wait another week.