As the cliche goes, “practice makes perfect.”

But instead of using it as a cheesy motivator, the Fighting Illini football team sees it as a guiding force.

“Coach (Zook) expects us to be perfect, so no matter what we do, we watch the film and he gets on us about every little thing,” offensive lineman Jon Asamoah said.

Even though it’s been just five days since Illinois shocked Michigan in the Big House, head coach Ron Zook does not want the team to lose its edge when the Golden Gophers come to town.

“We came off the win, but you know, we can always do stuff better,” Asamoah said. “So it almost feels like we lost, but it keeps us getting better, keeps us wanting to get better, keeps us motivated.”

Some of the motivation the team has been using comes from the added excitement of Homecoming week. With the annual parade and pep rally scheduled for Friday night, and with thousands of Illinois alumni promising to pack the streets, Zook and company have been staying focused.

On Sunday the team did not practice, but once Monday afternoon hit, it was back to business as usual for the Orange and Blue.

“I thought at last night’s (Monday’s) practice we looked like we played a pretty tough game 48 hours earlier, which you’d expect,” Zook said during Tuesday’s press conference. “But they were focused. They were zoned into what we were trying to get accomplished, and they understand the importance of this football game.”

It’s understandable the players were still a little worn out – the offense racked up 501 total yards against Michigan, while players on the defensive side of the ball held the Wolverines to just 319.

After Monday’s practice was held on the Memorial Stadium turf, Tuesday’s rain forced the team to head inside to Irwin Indoor Practice Facility. The switch was helpful, but hard to adapt to.

With sweat running into his eyes and down his face, Asamoah stayed positive about the weather conditions.

“It’s very hot in here, I was sweating after we ran on the fields,” the 6-foot-5, 309-pound junior said with a laugh. “I’d rather been outside in the rain, I might be a little drier.”

Regardless of the smaller and warmer practice conditions, the players were sure they are making progress.

“We picked it up (Tuesday),” running back Mikel LeShoure said. “Zook thought and the coaching staff thought we had a pretty good practice, so just getting ready for the week.”

LeShoure, who scored his first career rushing touchdown against Michigan, knows that “pretty good” is not enough to continue winning in the Big Ten. The Champaign native just hopes the team’s win over the Wolverines does not go to each player’s head.

“The main thing we want to do is just come back and stay focused,” LeShoure said. “Especially after a big win, people seem to get pat on their back a lot and people talk about how good of a job we did, we just don’t want that to carry on for this week because it’s going to be a tough game, it’s a conference game so you guys got to come out focused.”