Since John Mackovic left the Illinois Fighting Illini for the Texas Longhorns back in 1991, the Illinois football program has been very up and down. Mostly down. Still, there have been two BCS bowl appearances (2001, 2007), but they were fluky in the long run. Because the very next year (2002, 2008) Illinois was 5-7, and then things spiraled downward from there shortly after.
So why? And Tim Beckman is 6-18, 1-15 in conference in his two years in Champaign. The preseason buzz for Illini football is as non-existent as it’s ever been in my or my family’s lifetime. And I’m a fourth generation University of Illinois alumnus. Still I think Tim Beckman will not only survive this year, but come back for a fourth.
I honestly think that unless he goes 3-9 or worse, Becks’ job is very secure. A lot of you laughed at me when I suggested Bobby Petrino as a replacement awhile back, and look now- he’s already been hired again! But that’s neither here nor there. So how will Tim Beckman save his job? Can he get the wins he needs to get there?
Here to break it down with me is Ohio State expert Del Yates of WLS AM. Follow him on Twitter @Hollywood_Yates
Oh and just for the hell of it, here is that AWESOME Tim Beckman “listening face” GIF again:
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. He’s also a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, CBS, the History Channel and more. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)