Allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Johnson. And no, I am not the QB who guided the Fighting Illini to victory over East Carolina during the winter of 1994, fearlessly crushing the competition at 30–0. Now that was an amazing era in Fighting Illini Football; the Liberty Bowl had been our sixth bowl appearance in only seven years. But no, I am not that John Johnson. I am just a humble fan with a passion for football. I have coached high school football for over ten years, played college football for four years, and been an Illini fan for my entire life — which is a good five decades if anyone is counting. I hope to keep you all entertained this football season with a weekly article on my predictions and asessments. I will try to give you a little background on the opposing teams without boring you to death with stats. Promise.
Having said that, I have looked at our schedule for 2010, and I have to agree with Coach Zook. This year’s Illini football team seems ready and willing to duplicate the 2007 season. In 2007, we did not face Michigan State or Purdue, while this year, our schedule does not include #10 Iowa or #12 Wisconsin. Though we have not been to a bowl since 2007, we can expect bowl-like atmospheres in at least five vital games this season. Week One at St. Louis is the State Farm Arch Rival game vs. Missouri. Week Five is a crucial home game against #2 Ohio State, before which the schedulers have graciously given us a bye week for preparation. Week Six will be our second road game but our real first test in a hostile environment against #14 Penn State in Happy Valley. During Week Seven, we are challenged with yet another road game, this time against a Michigan State team that received ten votes to be in the Top 25 Coaches Poll 2010. The last game where you can expect that bowl-like atmosphere is in Week Twelve, at Wrigley Field against Northwestern. We only lost one home game during the 2007 season. So, if we are to go bowling this season, we will have to take care of home field advantage.
Coaches look for any motivation to fire up their team. The experts have picked the Fighting Illini Football team to finish 11 in the conference. They also think we will go 6–6 and not receive a bowl bid. Being picked 11 in the conference should be motivation enough. Our seniors were freshmen when we went to the 2007 Rose Bowl. They are now the leaders of the Fighting Illini Football team. My non-expert prediction is that we will win 3 of the 5 bowl-like games and finish the season 7-5 to receive our first bowl bid in three years. I am basing my prediction on the fact that no opponent has seen our pro-style offense. As a former coach, defensively it is hard to prepare for an offense you have never practiced against. We return two of the best running backs in the Big Ten. Mikel Leshoure, who averaged 6.8 yards per carry and Jason Ford with 6.1 yards per carry in the 2009 season; what a one-two punch in the fourth quarter with a lead. I believe our team can be competitive in the Big Ten if the turn-over to take-away ratio remains manageable. The great thing about football is any team can be beat on any given Saturday if the ball bounces the right way. See you at Camp Rantoul.
