If you had asked me a few days ago, I would have told you that I wanted Tim Beckman fired ASAP. A few days ago, he only had one Big Ten win under his belt, and it was against Purdue, a measly victory at best.

A few days ago, it appeared that the positivity he preached week-in and week-out wasn’t justified, as his teams seemed to show little improvement each season.

A few days ago, I agreed with just about everyone else in the state of Illinois who believed that Beckman’s time in Champaign should have already been over.

That was a few days ago, before Beckman led his Illini to the biggest win he has had since arriving at the U of I. The Illini defeated Minnesota 28-24 in a thrilling Homecoming game.

With much-maligned senior quarterback Reilly O’Toole under center and overall stellar defense, the Illini won a game that most people thought they would lose. In most sports, one win usually isn’t much. But in college football, one win can change a program.

Almost more than any sport, momentum comes into play in college football. Going into the homecoming game, Illinois football was at its lowest point in recent memory.

Nobody had confidence in the future, and it seemed like the obvious decision to start a new head coaching search. After every single loss in Beckman’s Illinois career, he has always had something positive to say about his team. That finally paid off against Minnesota.

He always talks about how hard the Illini work and how they just weren’t executing the stuff they had seemingly accomplished on the practice fields. It all sounded like coach speak to me. After the win on Saturday, something changed.

Post-game euphoria may have had something to do with it, but the idea that Beckman might have something going with this team didn’t sound so crazy anymore.

When I woke up the next morning, everything I had thought the night before had stuck with me. I still believed all of it.

Maybe, just maybe, all of that positivity that Beckman had held onto throughout his time here had its purpose. Illinois travels to Columbus, Ohio, next weekend to take on Ohio State.

They will lose that game. They will lose that game badly. Getting blown out next week doesn’t change my opinion at all, however. After Ohio State, the Illini don’t leave the state of Illinois for the rest of the season. They have a bye week, followed by home games against Iowa and Penn State, and a trip to Evanston to take on Northwestern. They need two more wins to get to a bowl game, and the win against Minnesota has given this team the confidence it needs to get those wins.

I know I sound crazy, and maybe I am, but I think Beckman is the guy Illinois football needs.

Sam is a senior in Media and can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @Sam_Sherman5.