Illini notebook: Hey, Zook can do more than just recruit
They launched fireronzook.com before he was ever officially announced as a head football coach for the first time. At Florida, Ron Zook never was the choice that made Gators fans excited.
He can recruit, but he can't coach, the critics said.
Zook was fired in his third season as Gators coach.
In his third season in overhauling an Illini program that was missing in action for much of the decade, Zook's reputation took a giant leap forward after he guided the Illini to a 28-21 victory over No. 1 Ohio State at Ohio Stadium Saturday.
Zook can recruit. That's evident by the athletes on the Illini roster. After ending Ohio State's 20-game conference winning streak, 28-game regular-season win streak and probably its national title hopes, they chanted the Ohio native's name in one corner of the giant stadium. According to the results, Zook can also coach.
"Everybody says coach Zook is a great recruiter who can't coach,'' Illini linebacker J Leman said. "That couldn't be farther from the truth. Coming into the No. 1's backyard and beating them when we don't have any big errors, you can't do that without being a great coach.''
Already given a contract extension and a pay raise, Zook led the Illini to their first win over a top-ranked team in 51 years. The victory gave him some redemption for the nasty way he was fired in the seven games into that third season at Florida.
"I'm not going to say it didn't hurt when people questioned whether you can coach or not,'' Zook said. "When you believe, you have to stay the course. Sometimes it's hard.''
Zook looked like the coaching genius, pulling his punt team off the field and letting quarterback Juice Williams go for the quarterback sneak on fourth and inches at the Illinois 33-yard line with 6 minutes 53 seconds left in the game. When he was told he outsmarted Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, Zook replied, 'No. No. No. No. No.''
Tressel called timeout when the Illini first lined up to punt. It gave Zook time to change his mind.
"I wish I wouldn't have called timeout,'' Tressel said.
Zook came out looking smart in a stadium where he once served as an Ohio State assistant coach under former Buckeyees coach John Copper, about an hour's drive from his hometown of Loudonville.
"I just saw coach Cooper,'' Zook said. "He congratulated me.''
It's hard to say Zook didn't deserve it.
HURRY UP: Illinois wasn't intimidated by facing Ohio State's top-ranked defense. In fact, the Illini were in a hurry to get to the line of scrimmage and run a play.
The Illini's no-huddle offense picked up the pace, reducing the time between snaps and keeping Ohio State off balance.
"We were going fast so the defense wasn't set,'' said Illini left tackle Xavier Fulton. "That's huge against a team like this. Once they're set, they're dangerous.
"They weren't expecting it. We're a no-huddle team. That's what we do. We try to catch some people off guard and pop a big play.''
Ohio State's defense left a mark in its first 10 games. The Buckeyes' defense had allowed just two touchdowns in its first six home games and only seven touchdowns overall. Illinois had two touchdowns in the first quarter and three in the first half.
"I thought they did a nice job of mixing in with going with kind of waiting for a call to some of the quick count,'' Tressel said. "I thought they did a very nice job with that.''
Illinois finished with 260 yards rushing against a team that allowed an average of 43.2 yards in Big Ten play.
STARS SIT: Illinois won the game without stars Vontae Davis (concussion) and Arrelious Benn (concussion). A cornerback, Davis left the game in the first quarter after making a hit on a short pass. A receiver, Benn didn't have a catch or run the ball from scrimmage the entire game. He didn't play in the second half.
Illini substitutes stepped up. Cornerback Miami Thomas deflected a pass that was intercepted in the end zone by linebacker Antonio Steele. Sophomore receiver Marques Wilkins made his first touchdown catch.
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more coverage, read Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com> .