For a football program that has been limp since the departure of Kurt Kittner and Brandon Lloyd, Saturday may have marked the beginning of an era when people actually care about football on campus again.

Unlike the aforementioned team, however, this group is seemingly making itself known for dominating on the other side of the ball.

What has been most impressive is the defense’s ability to adjust to opposing teams and shut down offensive weapons.

The defense handled the Missouri offense well enough to win, but because of turnovers on offense and special teams, they had little chance to win. While victories against Western Illinois and Syracuse may have lacked the luster to be remembered, ones against Indiana and Penn State showcased the program’s ability. Though it was plain to see that J Leman would be doing his part, without other veterans like Kevin Mitchell, Justin Sanders and Chris Norwell making plays, this defense would not be anywhere near what it is.

What’s more intriguing is that the Illini have the capability to shut down a mobile quarterback like Kellen Lewis or a more traditional pocket passer like Anthony Morelli.

Even though Penn State apologists may cite Morelli’s lack of confidence going into the game, he looked rather able, passing for a career-high 298 yards. It was just unfortunate for Morelli that he also threw three interceptions, more or less negating his performance.

In the process of the game, however, Morelli may have exposed one of the few weaknesses of this defense. Some coverages were less than perfect, giving the Nittany Lions good passing opportunities that yielded some big plays. That seemed to be the only flaw of the defense’s effort.

The team’s paths may not be completely divergent at this point, but it seems that the Nittany Lions, specifically the antiquated Joe Paterno, may be facing much more scrutiny if they cannot right their ship. With a loss to what I’m sure the Penn State media consider an “inferior” Illinois team, I more than expect a fair share of questioning this week about the state of the Lions.

Save being 5-0, Illinois really couldn’t be much more pointed in the right direction, just don’t ask Zook about a quarterback controversy.

I think while most fans were all for the substitution of Eddie McGee into the fourth quarter to “get a little spark” as Zook said, I was very surprised to see the move. Not to say that the decision was not without its warrant, but knowing that a controversy may be set in motion because of the move, it surprised me that Zook made the decision. He maintains, however, that Juice Williams will be the starter and that there will not be a two-quarterback system.

That being said, do not be surprised if there is more use of McGee to spell Williams in certain situations, such as the possibility of him being brought in as a receiver. Regardless of who is in at the quarterback position, the play of the offensive line throughout the season seems to nullify some of the worry that comes along with the touch and go play at quarterback. Center Ryan McDonald credits the addition of new offensive line coach Eric Wolford. McDonald said that Wolford was not concerned with the line’s ability to run block, but has emphasized pass blocking and quarterback protection to the team. After last year’s “ungodly amount” of sacks allowed, as McDonald said, the line has more than stood their ground this year, and on Saturday against the best defense faced to date, the line allowed zero sacks.

Coach Zook and the players may have only celebrated for the 24 hours after the game, but I reckon that campus will be in an uproar until next week’s, now even more so, highly anticipated showdown with the Badgers.

Daniel Johnson is a junior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].