With a 20-point deficit towering over the Illini, some of the 50,112 fans at Memorial Stadium began to trickle back to their tailgates in the third quarter of Saturday’s game. For those who stayed until the end, however, the wait was worth it.

Illinois football kicked off the 2005 season with a 33-30 overtime win against Rutgers. It didn’t come easily and it didn’t come fast, but Illinois stood up to the adversity and proved this team can turn around its game play as well as its attitude.

“It really wasn’t pretty, but I think the biggest question since we’ve been here is what was our team going to do under adversity?” head coach Ron Zook said following the game. “I told them (Friday) night, ‘we’re a better football team than you guys think we are.'” (The Daily Illini, Sept. 5, 2005)

Ron Zook’s words after that game, now almost three months past, came to characterize the 2005 football season. The Illini faced challenge after challenge as a rebuilding team with a demanding schedule. And while the team set records for the worst season in program history, Zook continued to reiterate a theme it seemed only he believed.

“There’s no question in my mind that we are on the right track and we are doing the right things,” Zook said at season’s end.

2005 was the year of the Youthful Illini. While the team showed potential in wins against Rutgers and San Jose State, it froze when it hit the road to face California in Berkeley on Sept. 17.

After leading 17-7 going into the half, the Illini squeaked out a single field goal in the last 30 minutes. Cal, on the other hand, found four touchdown opportunities.

“I could feel it on the sidelines,” Zook said. “Instead of trying to win, we were trying not to lose.”

It was the first big test for a new coach and a young team. After Cal came Michigan State, Penn State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue and the rest of a Big Ten schedule that turned out to be nightmarish. Each team seemed less survivable, and each deficit seemed to trump the last.

Illinois football went from a promising season offering surprises and hope, to a troublesome repetition of the last few disheartening years.

“The frustrating thing is that’s not who we are,” sophomore safety Kevin Mitchell said after the Michigan State game. “That team out there that just played that game, that’s not who we are. That’s not an excuse, and we’re not trying to make excuses, but we’ve just got to come out and play better. That’s the bottom line.”

Through all the team’s woes, however, the Illini found some bright spots on the horizon. While senior leaders like Jason Davis, Ryan Matha, Morris Virgil and Steve Weatherford brought a dose of maturity to Zuppke Field, it was the play of the freshmen and sophomores that proved there was hope – if not this year, then soon. In 2005, Illinois boasted the nation’s youngest team – and each time those players stepped on the field, it gave them experience they’ll build on for 2006 and beyond.

On offense there were players like lineman Eric Block – a true freshman who developed out of the scout team to become a significant player on game day – and super-hyped rookies Derrick McPherson and Rashard Mendenhall. But Zook said he was most impressed by freshman wide receiver Kyle Hudson. Hudson finished the season with 31 catches for 469 yards, but it’s the possibilities of what the Mattoon, Ill. native can do in the next three seasons that excites both fans and those inside Illini football.

“Kyle did a great job,” Zook said. “He just kept his mouth shut and did his job.”

As Illinois’ defense struggled with tackling and allowed the most points in school history, it too showed some hope. There is sophomore defensive end Xavier Fulton, who was one of the defense’s most successful products until he tore his ACL in the Penn State game on Oct. 22. The secondary, too, has a future in sophomores Mitchell and linebacker J Leman.

Looking back, the Rutgers game showed Illini fans what the team could be, but was not a true indicator of success. It predicted upcoming adversity, and proved the 2005 Illini had the potential to overcome. Yet, as the final 2-9, 0-8 record proved, potential is something that will have to be realized in future seasons.

“We’ve got a great nucleus coming back,” Zook said. “They’re guys who it’s important to, guys who want to be on the field.”