Yeah, if you look back at our last 20 seasons, there are really only a few contenders that would be close to the atmosphere for 2-0 Illinois vs. 2-0 (and likely top 5) Penn State for Big Noon Kickoff. Even the 2016 sellout vs. North Carolina had relatively low stakes (nobody thought we'd be THAT good that year), and even the home game vs. MSU last year where the stakes were high had a good-but-not-elite crowd due to a lag in fans buying back in. Really, I can only think of FIVE home games in my lifetime as a fan (since the 2002 season is what I really remember) that match the potential hype of this PSU game:
2011: Ohio State at #16 Illinois. We were 6-0, ranked and drew a crowd over 55k (pretty bad when you think about it, but Zook had done decently well at wearing down our fans' enthusiasm by this point, plus OSU wasn't great that year). Of course we lost 17-7 on national TV and went on to become the first FBS team ever to start 6-0 and finish 0-6.
2009: #13 Penn State at Illinois. After starting 1-2 with losses to Mizzou in St. Louis and at Ohio State, I feel this was sort of the "last stand" of the post-Rose Bowl hype truly meaning we were "back" in any real sense. The 2009 team had so much hype and was disappointing so far, but we could all rationalize getting punched in the mouth by Mizzou and losing in Columbus ... but then we proceeded to lose 35-17 to Penn State at home in front of a sold out crowd of 62,870. After that, our losing streak would climb to 5, and we would finish the year 3-9, with Zook never really recovering.
2008: Minnesota at Illinois. By this point, we were still 3-2 and just came off of demolishing Michigan in the Big House. Our two losses were at #12 Penn State (whiteout game) and vs. #6 Missouri in St. Louis ... I think we could all forgive both of those. However, we proceeded to lose 27-20 to Minnesota in front of a sold out crowd, and I think it's when we all knew this season at the very least wouldn't be too special. Our only two wins the rest of the year were Indiana at home and (FINALLY) squeaking out a 3-point win vs. Iowa.
2007: #24 Michigan at Illinois. There were a lot of big home games in 2007, but this is the one that was the most hyped by far. We were still VERY unproven by the PSU game, and even the game hosting #5 Wisconsin the following week had a lot of fans in a "wait and see" mode, IIRC. This Michigan home game was coming off of the heels of a frustrating loss at Iowa, but we were still 5-2 (3-1) with an EXCELLENT opportunity for a statement win. Night game in Champaign on ABC, and I remember the hype being insane ... we all know what happened.
Of course, the win at #1 Ohio State helped save this season as something special, but at the time this felt like a crushing loss.
2002: #14 Michigan at Illinois. We had such a weirdly rocky start in 2002 after the Sugar Bowl season, and this was such a must win ... I was SO young, and I still remember this feeling like a game where if you lost, we were officially "not good" that year, lol. We got stomped, and despite winning 4 of our last 6 that year, the early hole we dug (as referenced in a previous post) just killed the momentum for that season.
While I could have included the 2007 Wisconsin game, you will notice that Illinois lost EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE. We have spent 2+ decades reinforcing to our fans that if they buy back in, they will be crushed - that if things appear to be on the cusp of really changing, prepare for the dagger. These first three games of 2023 provide us with such a golden opportunity to FINALLY change that narrative ... I pray we do!
