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Behind the Mic

Talking Schedules

Posted by: Brian Barnhart

Thursday, August 20, 2009 10:31 AM

Ron Zook's Illini football team will face some big hurdles ealry in the 2009 football season.

Obviously...the Mizzouri game is all the coaches are going to talk about right now....and rightly so.

But the rest of us can look ahead... and the Illini will face what are considered to be the top 3 contenders in the Big Ten football race early in the year. After the Mizzou and Illinois State games...and a bye week....the Illini tangle with league favorite Ohio State in Columbus on the last Saturday in September and then host back to back games with dangerous foes Penn State and Michigan State at Memorial Stadium in early October. The Illini will likely be underdogs or pretty close to it in all three of those games.

After those battles we should have an idea of what kind of year it could be for the Illini. Remember though..... what happens so many times in football depends on what the mental and physical state of the team is by then. If things are going well they could have some big momentum heading into road games at Indiana and Purdue and then the grudge match with a rebuilding Michigan team in Champaign on Halloween.

It is not unreasonable to assume the Illini will be favored or close to being favored in all 7 of the remaining games on the schedule. The trip to Minneapolis might be the exception...and the Northwestern game is always hard to predict. Another factor on the overall Illini record could be what the weather is like in late November/early December in Cincinnati and Champaign.

Meanwhile Bruce Weber's basketball team will play some pretty well known names this fall and winter. Joining the Braggin Rights game with Missouri on the schedule will be matchups with Utah (in Las Vegas) Oklahoma State or Bradley (Vegas)....Gonzaga (United Center) and road trips to Clemson (ACC-Big 10) and Georgia.

The marquee home game will be Vanderbilt on December 8.

With a big class of incoming freshmen and returning starters Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale....Illini basketball fans are checking out the schedule and are eagerly anticipating what is ahead.

But lets get through the first month of the football schedule first.