Illinois Unlikely to Make Move on Ron Zook

It happened two years ago under the Ohio Stadium lights. Quarterback Juice Williams and Illinois delivered a shock-the-world victory over No.1 Ohio State, signaling that the Illini, long an afterthought, were anything but. That season ended with a trip to the Rose Bowl, but the win over the Buckeyes was considered the breakthrough moment in the Ron Zook era. Or so we thought. The Illini crashed back to earth in 2008, going 5-7. Now, they head to Columbus as a team at a crossroads. The following week, Illinois plays host to Penn State. The two-game stretch will surely define the course of the season for 1-1 Illinois — and calculate the temperature of Zook’s seat… Still, the pressure has mounted for both Williams and Zook. The lackluster performance against Missouri and a win over an FCS team did little to quiet the critics, who suggest that last year, and not the Rose Bowl season, is most representative of the state of the program. Zook parlayed the ‘07 season into an extension that is paying him more than $1.5 million a year, so it’s unlikely the university will cut him loose, even if ‘09 proves as uneventful as ‘08. But a fourth losing season in five years would most certainly turn up the heat in 2010. With games against Michigan State, Michigan, Cincinnati and Fresno State, the second half of the schedule will be no cakewalk. But first things first: The back-to-back meetings with Big Ten favorites Ohio State and Penn State could put Illinois at the bottom of the conference standings. That could all change in the Horseshoe, back on the turf where Illinois seemed to turn the corner in ‘07. Now, like then, the Buckeyes are the heavy favorites, and the Illini are an afterthought in the game, and the conference race. – SI.com