September 17, 2005
BY HERB GOULD Staff Reporter
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Change the mind-set. That's Ron Zook's goal. And that's why the new Illinois coach is looking forward to today's meeting with No. 15 California (4 p.m., 560-AM). The Illini's first two victories over Rutgers and San Jose State were nice. But before they truly turn around their sagging fortunes, they will need to find success in games such as this one against the Golden Bears. "One of the concerns I had was changing the mind-set,'' said Zook, who inherited a team that went 4-19 the last two seasons. "Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. We feel we've made some strides in that regard. We still have a long way to go, but they've hung in there the first two games. So you have to believe some of it is getting through.'' The trouble is, Illinois is stepping up in weight class in this meeting of 2-0 teams. Cal stomped Washington 56-17 last Saturday in Seattle, giving evidence it will live up to speculation that it is top-ranked USC's chief rival in the Pac-10. The Golden Bears are getting it done despite losing a wealth of talent from last year's 10-2 team. They are three-touchdown favorites against the Illini. But Cal coach Jeff Tedford respects the effort Zook's team has shown.
"I see a group that's playing with a lot of energy,'' Tedford said. "They have a lot of passion for what they're doing. They fly around. They play very hard. It's obvious coach Zook has done a good job of creating a mind-set of enjoying playing the game.'' Mind-set. There's that word again. Illinois showed a winning attitude in coming back from a 20-point deficit against Rutgers. It showed it again when it spotted San Jose a 7-0 lead, then scored 40 straight points. Still, Cal remains a much bigger hurdle. Because in every way, it is a much better opponent. While no one is giving the Illini much of a chance, Zook wants to see his team give the Golden Bears its best shot. "I know this,'' he said. "They've done some things a lot of people don't think they can do. "That's not to say we're there yet. That's not to say we don't have an awful lot of work to do. But I told them, 'That plane's going.' We're going to show up, and we're going to find out what we can do.''
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