The 2008 football season might not have met the expectations of all fans, but each game showed the progress and evolution of the team. Select games outline the highs and lows of 2008, along with Ron Zook’s postgame reflections.

Eastern Illinois, W, 47-21

Quarterback Juice Williams ran for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

More on the game …

“There is still work to do, we gave up too many big plays on defense and we just have to go back and grind a little bit. Whether we go back and scrimmage or whatever we do, we’re going to get that corrected. It’s critical, but I know we can fix it.”

University of Louisiana at Lafayette, W, 20-17

Brit Miller contributed 13 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

On the Illini’s performance today …

“A win’s a win and obviously that’s the bottom line, but we’re not happy with the way we played, and there’s some things we’ve got to get fixed. The biggest thing is we need to play with more emotion. Football is an emotional game and for some reason we’re not flying around like we’ve got to.”

Penn State, L, 38-24

Williams had only 174 passing yards and completed just 51.2 percent of his passes.

On what he told the guys …

“You can’t turn the ball over. You can’t get behind the chains. You can’t give up big plays, and obviously, you’ve got to be sound in the kicking game. We get those three things corrected, then we’re going to be pretty good.”

Minnesota, L, 27-20

Suffered a loss despite 550 total yards of offense, including Williams’ 462 passing yards.

Opening statement…

“We didn’t deserve to win that game. We had chances to make things happen to win, and we didn’t capitalize. We were worried all week that this team was going to come in here and gave us all they had, and they did. … We need to regroup and we will find exactly what kind of team we are now.”

Indiana, W, 55-13

Running back Jason Ford rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns.

Opening statement…

“What a difference a week makes. Our guys understood that we had to go to work after last week. Our season wasn’t over, and I think the leadership was good. Our seniors led not only by example, but in terms of what it would be like. As I told them, we’re still in this thing.

Iowa, W, 27-24

Matt Eller completed 46 and 41-yard field goals to add to the winning effort.

On the importance of the win at this point in the season:…

“These next three games are going to be critical for us to play the way we are capable of playing, and to get that taken care of, we’re going to have to grind for the next 21 days. Right now, it’s a three-game season, and right now, the most important game in my life, in our lives, is next week (against Western Michigan).”

Ohio State, L, 30-20

Illinois surrendered 305 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to OSU.

On dealing with the loss…

“Not every day is going to be a day at the beach. You’ve got to go back to work. I told them in the locker room that I only know one way. It is what it is. Fifty percent of the teams lost today, they all go through it. Is it fun? No. Does it hurt like heck? It’s brutal, it is, but you do it all for that feeling you get when you win on Saturday. You have to understand that it’s going to be painful, but you’ve just got to keep going.”