While games against Western Illinois and Syracuse are nice for padding the record, it would seem that most of campus is ready for the weekend’s Big Ten opener at Indiana.

The Illini are entering the biggest part of their season. They have shown flashes of great play, but their Big Ten schedule is about as hard as it gets.

So the question presents itself in the midst of this hoopla: Is this Illinois team ready?

Illinois looked great against Syracuse and more than adequate against Western Illinois, but Indiana will be far and away better than both of those teams. Indiana is a team that is on a hot streak, winning its first three games of the season. But even if they weren’t undefeated, I expect the Hoosiers will play the Illini tough this weekend, if for nothing else, because it is a Big Ten contest.

Say what you want about the Big Ten, it is still one of the hardest conferences to play in throughout the nation. The conference has three of the top-10 teams in both the USA Today and AP polls – more than any other conference in the nation.

Granted, the conference doesn’t feature any other teams in the top 25 – with Michigan State being the closest to cracking both polls – but the three teams that are in the poll are impressive in their own right. Knowing the media’s bias for Michigan, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wolverines back in the top 25 if they can salvage the rest of their season.

That being said, I would rather there be three in the top 10 than five teams dispersed throughout the top 25, mostly because of the potential upsets that could come from those games.

The good news (or bad depending on how you look at it) is that Illinois will play all three of these top-10 teams: Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State. If the Illini can steal even one of these games from the trio, it would be huge for the team’s bowl chances. While bowl eligibility is based on records, I doubt there would be too many that would overlook the Illini with a victory against one of those three teams on their resume if they are eligible.

If Illinois is going to win one of these games, it will likely come against Ohio State, which got its money’s worth from a feisty Illini team a year ago. The Illini have the fate of playing the Buckeyes in Columbus, and not too many teams have that great of a chance playing in Ohio Stadium.

A factor working in favor of Ron Zook’s Illini is the fact that they will play Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan at home. While the odds are stacked against the Illini in all three games, the crowd will likely be at capacity, pushing all of its support Illinois’ way. The Wisconsin and Michigan games have already sold out, and the Penn State game is on the verge as well. Home-field advantage is an undeniable asset at the college level.

I’m having fun looking ahead to the tough games later on the schedule, but as Zook will tell you, the most important game is Friday’s Big Ten opener against Indiana, simply because it is the next game. For those Illini fans, myself included, who have been skeptical of the victories against the likes of Syracuse and Western Illinois, this weekend will be the start of a five-game stretch that will determine the character and resolve of this team.

The Illini can start this Big Ten season off on a positive note by shutting down the high-powered Indiana offense.

Co-defensive coordinator Dan Disch compared the Indiana offense to the Missouri offense, but “with more skill people, more big play guys,” and said that the Hoosiers are “scary because of the speed that they put on the field.”

Scary or not, the Illini appear to be prepared for the Hoosiers and the repercussions that may come from a redeeming victory on Saturday after last year’s loss in Bloomington.

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