John Paddock’s heroic drive and Isaiah Williams’ epic touchdown against Minnesota brought Illinois back from the brink of bowl elimination and gave the Fighting Illini some breathing room in their quest to reach a second consecutive bowl for only the second time in the past three decades.
As a mid-30s Illini fan, I’m holding out hope that they can win 2 of 3 here. That would be more than satisfactory, and I almost feel greedy asking if anything more is possible.
Almost.
You see, the Big Ten West refuses to go quietly into the wastebasket of college football history.