Illinois is hard to kill

The Fighting Illini remain a flawed team prone to some mind-numbing mistakes, but they're also a team that has learned how to win. For the third consecutive week they made enough plays at critical points to prevail with a victory. After the defense fueled wins against Arizona State and Western Michigan, the offense stepped up in the second half against Northwestern. Wide receiver A.J. Jenkins turned in a record-setting performance and quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase grew up a bit as Illinois twice rallied from deficits to win 38-35. The Illini must start limiting turnovers and penalties, which will eventually prove costly, but they have shown plenty of fight so far this season. With an extremely favorable schedule, Illinois should continue to rack up wins.

Rittenberg