Today we saw the latest attempt to put a "spark" into the team in Jacob Charest's college football debut. This elusive spark we keep looking for is theoretically the single thing that is holding this team back from scoring in droves and winning games. Oddly enough, at first it seemed to be working. Charest made some excellent passes to our too little used tight ends including a long shot in stride to Hubie Graham to put the Illini in 1st and goal on the 2 yard line.  Moments later however, the team reverted to what we have seen all season long. Juice came back in as QB and a penalty and 3 failed attempts to score later the first half was waning and the Illini were forced to kick. In what has to be the ultimate kick in the ribs, the Illini then missed their field goal attempt, and headed into the locker room with nothing to show for their otherwise excellent drive down 14 to 7.

But that has been the story of the season. No matter how good things may be going at times, something new pops up to prevent this team from winning. Every game its something or someone different, but there is a common, losing. Losing big, losing not as big, this team has slid further and further away from the form that brought them to Pasadena in 2007.

Maybe we were wrong to get our hopes up about this football team. After all, for the last 40 years, quality football in Champaign has only come in fits and starts. 2 or 3 years at a time tops will this football team make a bowl game, for whatever reason consistent quality has just not been a feature of Fighting Illini football. The Illini are now sitting at 6 losses, just one loss away from formally removing themselves from bowl contention, something that has been a foregone conclusion for weeks. Whenever the 7th loss occurs it will mark 8th season this decade the Illini have not made a bowl. That's right, only two bowl seasons in the 2000's. The Illini have returned to the form that most of this decade has known them to be. The last 2 seasons of Ron Turner and the first few of Ron Zook have seemingly returned.

A colossal disappointment of a season continues, and there seems to be no end in sight. Next week is Michigan, at home, on Halloween, in a 2:30 game. Before the season began I had circled that game, thinking if I only went to one game all season it would have to be that one. Had this Illini team performed at all like we expected, it probably would have been the coolest home game all season. Now it just looks like another game against a better opponent.