A tough Zook? Coach calls veterans out for their poor play!

In his first two seasons, Ron Zook just knew that he was coaching a flat out bad football team. After repeated losses, he always stayed positive, and stuck to the theme of "we're going to get better." This was true even last season, when the team showed some minor flashes of "good" midway through the season.

After Saturday's 6 point loss to Mizzou, Zook is no longer accepting a "puppy dogs and ice cream" demeanor in the Illini lockerroom. This is a GREAT sign for Illini fans. #1, this means that Zook thinks the team is actually good this year, and should beat teams like Mizzou. #2, it means he is raising the bar at Illinois. He's not going to accept losses any more. That was one of the irritating things about him during the first two seasons-- he just seemed punch drunk all the time at post-game press conferences, and always stuck to that "we're going to get better" theme that just got old after a while.

Kick' em in the @$% Ron!