Illinois was in and out of the game on Saturday just about as quickly as a mysterious Alan Ball injury. The Illini had held the No. 14 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes scoreless through one quarter and Memorial Stadium was filled with excitement. The intensity on the defensive side of the ball was unmatched, and the Illini offense had yet to make a turnover. Things looked promising. This is just what Illinois needed – a confidence boost against a ranked opponent.

It did not take long for Iowa to put the game out of reach, though – the Hawkeyes showed us exactly why they are a ranked opponent in the last five minutes of the first half. Iowa ended the second quarter with three quick scores, deflating the environment in Memorial Stadium. Besides those five minutes, Illinois played good enough to win its first conference game in two years and, although it was not evident by the score, the Illini are getting better.

But this type of performance is starting to define Illini football this year and in years passed. Of the 105 points that Illinois has allowed in its first four games, 79 were scored in the first half, 42 coming in the second quarter.

It might be head coach Ron Zook’s halftime speeches, but the fans at Memorial Stadium are seeing two completely different teams from the first to second halves.

The same thing goes for freshman quarterback Isiah “Juice” Williams. Juice went 9-32 for 161 yards, numbers that don’t exactly impress the fans or strike fear in the eyes of Illinois’ upcoming opponents. But Juice looked different in the second half, showing flashes of greatness, dodging Hawkeye linemen like he was participating in a game of Frogger and completing passes with relative ease.

In the fourth quarter, Juice looked much more relaxed, going 7-16 for 139 yards and one score. Sure, not Heisman numbers but a vast improvement from his performance the rest of the game.

Is it the noise in Memorial Stadium that the Illini don’t like? In the second half, it sounded more like Illinois was scrimmaging than playing a big time rival. Maybe the cheering rattles them. Whatever it may be, Illinois needs to harness the energy it brings in the second half and play like that for a full 60 minutes.

“Once we put it all together we’ll get some wins,” said Illinois defensive back Kevin Mitchell.

And part of putting it all together is not allowing quick scores – they seem to be Illinois’ kryptonite.

Three plays later in the first half defined the game for the Illini and put them away for good. Zook noticed Juice was shaken up on the sideline so senior Tim Brasic replaced him at quarterback. In his first play, Brasic looked good, scrambling for 11 yards. Maybe Brasic will reclaim his job, right?

But the very next play cast away all positive thinking when Iowa defensive back Miguel Merrick picked off a Brasic pass at the Illinois 35-yard line. Iowa quarterback Drew Tate then delivered a strike to tight end Tony Moeaki who ran it in untouched for a 35-yard touchdown.

Illinois has lost its last 10 games and 23 of its last 24 conference games. Illinois’ confidence is obviously as delicate as Daunte Culpepper’s surgically rebuilt right knee.

If Illinois ever wants to compete at Iowa’s level, or at the level of the Big Ten for that matter, they will need to minimize the number of turnovers they commit and learn to better take advantage of the turnovers they force.

Troy Murray is a junior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].