BERKELEY, Calif. -- The Illini, who went west to win, were not in the mood to celebrate on the long plane ride home. But all things considered, a half-loaf was better than none. Illinois gave No. 15 California all it could handle for 30 minutes before being toasted 35-20 on Saturday. If the Illini turn in more performances like the one that saw them lead the Golden Bears 17-7 at halftime, they'll give new coach Ron Zook a better-than-expected first season. "I'm encouraged from the standpoint that we aren't as far away as many people might think,'' Zook said. "That's a good football team we just played. Our team has to learn from this -- and we will.
CALIFORNIA 35
ILLINOIS 20
"I'm anything but down in the dumps. If anything, I feel like we're going to be able to compete in the Big Ten.'' A three-touchdown underdog, Illinois (2-1) even led 17-14 going into the fourth quarter. But Cal (3-0) seized the momentum after intermission and wouldn't let go. The Golden Bears dominated the second half, outscoring the Illini 28-3 and outgaining them 291 yards to 127. Illinois allowed Tim Mixon to return a punt 79 yards for a touchdown that made the score 28-17 with 11:34 left and ended its upset hopes. The Illini also sputtered offensively down the stretch and missed a mind-boggling number of tackles, including a few on the punt return. "That's unacceptable,'' said Zook, whose special teams allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown last week against San Jose State. "We had two or three guys that had a hold of him. He's a good returner, but we had guys back there to make the play.'' Still, there were positive signs that Illinois is not going to be the Big Ten doormat that many experts have predicted. "We didn't come out here and [embarrass ourselves],'' Zook said. "That's the 15th-ranked team in the country. As I told our team, hopefully they understand that they can play with anybody. It's all about believing.'' Before the big collapse, the Illini played an impressive first half in which quarterback Tim Brasic led an offense that kept Cal's defense off-balance. Illinois ran 49 first-half plays to the Golden Bears' 21. The Illini controlled the ball for 21:35 in the first half to 8:25 for Cal. After falling behind 7-0 early, Illinois put together back-to-back long marches to grab a 14-7 lead. The first drive, which covered 80 yards on 14 plays, was capped by a one-yard vault by Pierre Thomas. On the second drive, the Illini marched 77 yards on 16 plays and took the lead as Brasic scored on a fourth-down option run from a yard out.
Illinois made its own breaks at times and took advantage of Cal mistakes at others. The Illini picked up three first-half first downs on penalties. On Illinois' first scoring drive, tight end Melvin Bryant turned a one-handed catch into a 19-yard gain. Thomas then made a 360-degree spin on a seven-yard run that gave the Illini a first down at the 1. On the second drive, E.B. Halsey muscled for three yards on third-and-two after catching a shovel pass in a crowd. That drive would not even have gotten started, however, if Alan Ball had not recovered Halsey's muff of a punt. Even more surprising, perhaps, was the play of Illinois' defense. After allowing 80 yards on Cal's opening drive, the Illini allowed only 44 more yards in the first half against a high-powered offense that scored 56 points last week at Washington. "They might have underestimated us,'' said Illinois defensive tackle Chris Norwell, who blocked a second-quarter field-goal try. "But after this game, teams won't do that with Illinois. This shows we can play with anybody. We have to learn how to finish a game. And with coach Zook, we'll be able to do that.''
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