At no previous point during his Illini football career has quarterback Wes Lunt looked as “off” as he’s looked in 2016.

The home loss to North Carolina may have been the poorest game of his collegiate career. The following week against Western Michigan, the only time he led the offense to the end zone, against a very mediocre MAC defense, was via a goofy gadget play.

While Lunt is a great kid off the field, with big plans for life after football, he’s just not performing up to expectations.

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This legendary Playboy mansion tale we’re about to re-examine again is either  a.) the worst kept secret in Illini football history or

b.) the biggest lie ever told in the history of the program

This “urban legend” from 32 years ago is the perfect topic of discussion for a bye week, and especially during a bye week of a season that looks and feels rather gloomy. If you want a brutally honest assessment of what’s ahead this year, and the dark times in store for 2017, I suggest you check out this offering from the Champaign Room; SB Nation’s Illini community. 

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In 2016, Illini football has returned to relevance. The buzz is back. As Saturday night’s sellout crowd of 60,670 attests, the days of Illinois Football @EmptySeatPics are gone too. It was the first sellout at Memorial Stadium since November 12th, 2011. The atmosphere was electric. The crowd was jacked.

The game was interesting….for three quarters. Interest and enthusiasm for the team has returned. The team itself has a ways to go. It will be very interesting to see how they respond here; especially given the fact they are slight underdogs to a Group of 5 team.

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The final result on the scoreboard was a bit unsightly, North Carolina 48, Illinois 23, but there were many positives. Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn was a major one. He broke off a 65-yard touchdown run on the third play from scrimmage and went over a 100 yards rushing by halftime.

The fact that Illinois actually had a lead in this game this year, and remained within striking distance until midway through the fourth quarter was another positive. With new Head Coach Lovie Smith in charge this year was all about getting off the bus running with Ke’Shawn Vaughn. 

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In 2016, Illini football has returned to relevance. The buzz is back.

The days of Tim Beckman’s “if you take away X plays and Y points, we’re in this game” are ancient history. As tonight’s sellout crowd of 60,670 attests, the days of Illinois Football @EmptySeatPics are gone too. It was the first sellout at Memorial Stadium since November 12th, 2011. The atmosphere was electric. The crowd was jacked.

The game was interesting….for three quarters. Interest and enthusiasm for the team has returned. The team itself has a ways to go.

[Read more…]