St. Louis Post Dispatch: Zook wants his 2-0 team to create its own breaks

By Stu Durando

Post-Dispatch

BERKELEY, CALIF. The prospect of facing the country's 15th-ranked team on the road is a bit nerve-wracking for Illinois receiver DaJuan Warren, but not for the obvious reasons.  The Illini have a better mind-set for today's meeting with California than they might have had three weeks ago when they hadn't played a game under coach Ron Zook's system. Or two weeks ago, when Rutgers was pushing them around in the first half.  With two wins in the book, Warren figures all will be well once his feet touch California soil and he can refocus on the 4 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium.  "I'm scared of airplanes, and (last year's) Wisconsin game was the first time I flew," Warren said. "The plane trip will be the worst part." Assuming a smooth flight, Warren's teammates can only hope he is right.  Before starting the season 2-0, this game might have looked like an insurmountable obstacle for the Illini. Now it's an unexpected opportunity to make a national splash and get a true measurement of just what those two wins mean.

Trepidation has been replaced by a sense of intrigue and the chance to prove that things are changing at Illinois. Players are starting to get that sense, and now they want to show others.  "It's hard after the past two years to have people jumping on our bandwagon after just two wins," offensive tackle JJ Simmons said. "I wouldn't jump on after just two wins either, but 3-0 and maybe people will start believing."  The oddsmakers apparently don't believe just yet, because Illinois is a three-touchdown underdog. Zook realizes there is plenty to clean up if the Illini are to have a chance.  In the first two games, Illinois was plagued by messy opening possessions, an inability to force turnovers and some lackluster special teams play. Zook said all these areas will need to improve for the Illini to make a run at the Bears.  The coach said it's time for Illinois to start creating some breaks. The Illini have a minus-2 turnover ratio with Remond Willis' interception last week being the team's only takeaway.

Illinois - specifically the offensive line - hopes to make a better first impression. The opening possession against Rutgers included two sacks of quarterback Tim Brasic, and James Ryan had two false starts on the first possession against San Jose State.  The special-teams play was solid the first week, but the Illini suffered some major breakdowns against San Jose State. A blocked punt led to a touchdown, and the Spartans returned a kickoff for a touchdown.  Overall, Zook likes what he has seen. But he knows that with Cal and the Big Ten schedule ahead, the level of competition is about to improve dramatically.  "The guys are excited to play a good opponent," Zook said. "As a staff we've talked about this giving us the opportunity to see where we're at."