Tim Beckman spent three seasons walking the sidelines in Champaign, one fewer than Kyle Flood did in Piscataway. The damage both did to their respective programs, while somewhat different in nature, was still significant. And both programs are still feeling the effects of their former coaches as they prepare to face each other on Saturday.
Both Beckman and Flood are gone, replaced by Lovie Smith and Chris Ash, respectively. Smith was preceded by, ironically, Bill Cubit. Stay with me on this: Cubit replaced Beckman a week before the 2015 season started and went 5-6. He was fired in March of 2016 when a new AD came on board and decided he wanted Lovie.