Illinois football regular season recap

The thing that still doesn't sit well with the Illini is their inconsistency. Illinois held its own in the first half of the season and improved to 5-3 with impressive wins against Indiana and Purdue. But after losing a 67-65 triple-overtime shootout to Michigan, the Illini looked flat in their home finale against 1-9 Minnesota. Illinois responded the next week at Wrigley Field against Northwestern but once again came out flat in Friday night's loss to Fresno State.

The talent is in Champaign and the future looks good, especially if several key players return for their senior seasons. But there are still questions about whether coach Ron Zook can foster the consistent play and consistent improvement Illinois needs to avoid decades like the last one.

Rittenberg