Anatomy of Illini train wreck: '07 Pasadena Express completely off rails, with total team effort
October 21, 2009 9:13 AM
How did it get this bad? How did Illinois go from the Pasadena Express to the Stupor Chief in less than two years?
It's not as if the schizophrenic Illini haven't been here before. After going to the Sugar Bowl in 2001, they thought they had arrived. But they went 5-7 in 2002 and 1-11 in 2003. By the end of 2004, Ron Turner was gone.
In an eerily similar scenario, the 2007 Rose Bowl again was followed by a 5-7 season filled with painful near-misses. And now Illinois is 1-5, with no end in sight. Only one other school from a BCS conference, Washington State -- which is 1-5, like Illinois -- has less than two wins.
Gould
It's not as if the schizophrenic Illini haven't been here before. After going to the Sugar Bowl in 2001, they thought they had arrived. But they went 5-7 in 2002 and 1-11 in 2003. By the end of 2004, Ron Turner was gone.
In an eerily similar scenario, the 2007 Rose Bowl again was followed by a 5-7 season filled with painful near-misses. And now Illinois is 1-5, with no end in sight. Only one other school from a BCS conference, Washington State -- which is 1-5, like Illinois -- has less than two wins.
Gould
Filed under: Illini Football
