Unbeaten Illini ready to feast on Buckeyes

Today’s newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.)

Unbeaten Illini ready to feast on Buckeyes

The WISCH LIST

Oct. 15, 2011

I’m headed down to Champaign this afternoon.

I hope to do some tailgating before Illinois and Ohio State knock helmets at Memorial Stadium (2:30 p.m., ABC). But, no matter where on campus I go, no matter how cold the beer is or how hot the brats might be, there’s one thing that I know I won’t need to digest.

That’s the fact that it’ll pale in comparison to the scene I saw last Saturday.

Because, until you’ve tailgated at Louisiana State University, you simply haven’t tailgated.

Last weekend, I traveled to New Orleans to visit my old college roommate and catch Saturday’s Florida-LSU football game in Baton Rouge. The No. 1-ranked Tigers, who crushed the Gators 41-11, were plenty impressive. And the crowd – at 93,022, the third largest ever to pack at Death Valley – was, too.

But most eye-popping of all was the way those crazy Cajuns tailgate.

As I wandered through the football wonderland that is LSU’s Magnolia tree-covered campus, I encountered buses with 40-inch HDTVs popping out of the side, discovered what a “Cajun Microwave” is (a wooden cabinet with a steel charcoal pit on top), and feasted like a Creole King on jambalaya, crawfish gumbo and “Gator Bites” –  bacon-wrapped alligator sausage stuffed with jalapenos and cheese.

I also learned that if I’d been born on the Bayou, I’d weigh 300 pounds.

Let’s go streaking

This afternoon, 16th-ranked Illinois (6-0) will try to beat Ohio State (3-3) in Champaign for the first time since a narrow 10-7 victory way back in 1992.

Since then, the Illini have lost seven straight to the Buckeyes at Memorial Stadium. Yet, oddly enough, they’ve also won four games in Columbus during that span (1994, ’99, ’01 and ’07).

The OSU-Illinois rivalry is one of the more curious in college football, and also includes a stretch from 1988 to 1992 when the Illini actually won five consecutive games vs. the Buckeyes.

No wonder they fired John Cooper.

Whitney, merciless

Today’s game is big for Illinois. But it might be even bigger for Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus.

“This is my bowl game,” said Mercilus, an Akron native who was not offered a scholarship by Ohio State and now leads the nation with 8.5 sacks. “I get lot of [stuff] from people from back home. They tell me Ohio State is this, Ohio State is that every single year, every single year.”

Mercilus went on to guarantee victory, saying, “When we do win, I’m going to try to rub it in their faces and tell them we are good.” His promise evoked shades of Illini great Dana Howard, who in 1994 famously predicted an Illinois win in Columbus. It came true as the eventual Butkus Award winner powered the 2-2 Illini to a 24-10 victory over 4-1 OSU.

Bring on the Buckeyes

As an Illinois fan, I dislike Michigan more than any other school. But Ohio State is probably my favorite to play against – and evokes the best memories.

In 2001, I was in Columbus when Illinois beat Ohio State 34-22 on its path to the Big Ten title. That day, Ohio Stadium set a record crowd with 104,407 fans, and nothing was more beautiful then watching all that red stream down the stairs in the fourth quarter.

A year later, I was in Champaign when Coal City’s John Gockman booted a 48-yard field goal as time expired to send Illinois (4-6) and No. 2 Ohio State (11-0) into overtime. The Illini ultimately lost 23-16 to the eventual national champs, but that kick generated the loudest roar I’ve ever heard at Memorial Stadium.

The stadium should be ready to roar again today.

 

 

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