The 1-6 Illinois will take on the 5-3 Michigan Wolverines this Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The game begins at 2:30pm and will be broadcast on ABC.

The Illini will be using their two quarterback rotation, as used last week, with Juice Williams and Jacob Charest. This game has been looked at as a must-win for the Illini and especially for Coach Zook, but can they really do it? The following is an excerpt from a letter by the News-Gazette’s Loren Tate to Coach Ron Zook:

Dear Coach Zook,

Here’s the best deal you’ll get this week. Beat Michigan on Saturday and all is forgiven. OK, maybe not all, but a long overdue triumph would certainly take pressure off you and your boss.

This is the stadium, remember, that was dedicated with a 39-14 defeat of the Wolverines. Red Grange ran wild. It was here that the Illini upset Tommy Harmon & Co., 7-0, in 1936. It was on this snow-covered field that Tommy O’Connell passed to Rex Smith for a 7-0 win in the UI’s last undefeated season of 1951. There is history in this series, but it is long-ago history. Now, all these decades later, we look back on a single home win – 16-6 in 1983 – in the last 51 years.

Imagine how a victory would uplift your athletes and your fans. And imagine what it would do for your guy, Coach Guenther. In what might be described as psychological transference, the heat has switched from you to the athletic director. By coming out publicly for you in the midst of a nine-game losing streak against I-A teams, he has taken a position opposed by more than 90 percent of Illini Nation.

If this tailspin isn’t turned, at some point you’ll be able to take your millions and go to the next stop in your quasi-military career. It’ll be your 12th station since 1980. You’re accustomed to it. But Ron Guenther LIVES HERE. This is his home. He was a teammate of Dick Butkus and Jim Grabowski, the Illini MVP in 1966, the director who cleaned up the mess left by Neale Stoner, the visionary who changed the look of the south campus and renovated Memorial Stadium. He succeeded Ray Eliot and Dike Eddleman as Mr. Illini.

But now, after announcing his determination to retain you another year, his legacy is changing. He is the center target on the dartboard. Irate fans are firing up Internet Web sites while planning all manner of insults from bumper stickers to paper bags with punched eyeholes.

…

There is only one good answer. Turn this losing stampede, Coach Zook. Give Illini Nation a week to smile. This is becoming much too grim.

Regards, Loren

This letter has come under much heat from fans on both sides of the fence sharing their opinions. What do you think? I think that we as fans need to continue to support our team. It may not be pretty, and it may not be fun, but that’s what makes this game interesting. For those of you who don’t want to go to the game (because you think we will lose), I encourage you to think differently. Let’s give them this one more chance.

I guess we’ll see what happens on Saturday. According to Red Grange (or the the Twitter account established by his statue), the Illini have pulled out the stops for the Wolverines: http://www.twitpic.com/na8xl

Illinois vs. Michigan // Oct. 31 // 2:30pm

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Go Illini, beat Michigan!

Tate: An open letter to Coach Zook – IlliniHQ.com   
Game 8: Illinois (1-6, 0-5) vs. Michigan (5-3, 1-3) – FightingIllini.com

This is the second part of a four part series outlining Illini student football traditions. This series was published in 2008 and is being republished as an updated edition.

The 2008 season was a very special one for the UI Football program with the completion of the Renaissance renovation program at Memorial Stadium. As you enjoy the pre-game celebration outside of the stadium, I encourage you to walk around and check out the new features, most notably the addition of the Red Grange satute on the west side. For details of the renovation project, check out Memorial Stadium Renaissance project website. Before you enter that stadium, make sure that you have a valid ticket. Check out The Quad’s Student Ticket guide for information about how to purchase and redeem student tickets.

Getting into the stadium early will give you the opportunity to find the best seat. You may notice that there seems to be a lot of empty seats and not many students are coming to the game. Do not be fooled. Most students show up during the first ten minutes of the game and by the time the first William Tell is played, you will be surrounded by fellow Illini trotting “to the left.” During game-time, it is a student tradition to stand during the game…yes, during the entire game. With all the jumping around, clapping and dancing, it isn’t as bad as it seems. The most important thing you need to know is that you must stand on your own seat. The section makes it easy to step forward and stand on the seat in front of you, but this will cause a problem with those in the first row, so the only way to make it work, is to step back and stand on the seat you would normally sit in.

Before the start of the game, the Marching Illini will perform their pregame show. This exhibition showcases the traditional numbers including God Bless America, the Star Spangled Banner, and Illinois Loyalty. The band also has a tradition of playing the opposing school’s fighting song. In the student section, it is normally difficult to hear this because of the constant booing. Most students feel the need to face their backs to the field at this point. As mentioned, the band will proceed into the Illinois Loyalty at which the students erupt. Illinois loyalty is employed by students with a specific clapping rhythm. I cannot explain it in words, just start clapping on the beat, and when you hear a break or change in beat, follow along. Select band members then form a tunnel from the Illinois locker room (the northeast corner of the stadium) where the team will soon enter the field. The team is lead by the flag of the state of Illinois, the United States flag, and their head coach Ron Zook. It is customary for team members to touch the Grange Rock when entering the field. The coin-toss will soon follow, and the game will begin.

Continue to monitor The Quad for the next part of this story and its complete coverage of Illinois football.

UPDATE: The statue has been placed in its permenant home. Check out the photos >

Illinois’ most revered football player, Red Grange will be honored this week in a number of ways. After being labeled as the Greatest College Football Player of All Time last year, there is a lot to be said about Red Grange.

The Illini have chosen to honor the player with an eternal monument, a statue on the west side of Memorial Stadium. The Red Grange statue is expected to be installed today in its permanent home looking over the west lawn. The statue is made of bronze with an estimated cost of $350,000 paid by an anonymous donor. It will sit high upon a 14- to 18-foot base made from the same brick and limestone used at Memorial Stadium. It was built by UI Fine Arts alum George Lundeen and has a height of 12 foot, twice that of Grange’s.

In the statue, Grange will be standing on one leg, ball in hand, “hellbent for the goal line,” Lundeen said. “That’s not the title. We’re just going to call it ‘Harold “Red” Grange.’ ”

At first, Illinois officials discussed a lifesize statue. Lundeen wanted something bigger.

“Even 12 feet isn’t going to look real big outside,” Lundeen said. “It’s amazing how small something looks when you get it scaled up against something like the stadium.”

The new feature is part of the Memorial Stadium Renaissance project. Saturday’s game is the dedication of the statue. Read more about the statue and its designer here.

Some other ways to honor the Galloping Ghost include the Grange Rock,  which was unveiled by the University last year as a timeless symbol of Illinois’ storied history. Additionally, WILL TV will air never before seen footage of a 1982 interview with Red Grange at 7pm tonight as part of a special “Illini Night” production. 

Don’t miss it!

Photo Credit: The News-Gazette, Inc.

Legendary Illini Red Grange received the honor of the Number One Greatest College Football Player of All Time on Tuesday. The announcement concluded ABC’s top 25 Greatest Players in College Football history program. As a former member of the Illini football team, this honor brings the much deserved respect to the legacy that is Illinois football.

In sport’s Golden Age, he was football’s golden boy. Red Grange was the name, though he was commonly known as The Galloping Ghost. While it’s a shame they don’t make nicknames like that any more, it’s even more disappointing they don’t make many players like the three-time All-American halfback.

“This man Red Grange of Illinois is three or four men rolled into one for football purposes,” wrote Damon Runyon. “He is Jack Dempsey, Babe Ruth, Al Jolson, Paavo Nurmi and Man o’ War. Put together, they spell Grange.”

If you made a football movie and the star scored four touchdowns, covering an incredible 262 yards, in just 12 minutes, would anyone think it was anything but fiction? But that’s what Grange accomplished against one of the best defenses in the country. That 1924 game against Michigan so inspired Grantland Rice to give Grange his nickname and write:

A streak of fire, a breath of flame
Eluding all who reach and clutch;
A gray ghost thrown into the game
That rival hands may never touch;
A rubber bounding, blasting soul
Whose destination is the goal.

Galloping Ghost scared opponents By Larry Schwartz (Special to ESPN.com)

ABC’s top 25 Greatest Players in College Football history

1) The new Block-I section at Memorial stadium is really nice. It is very tall, which makes up for the fact that it’s beyond the end-zone instead of its previous 40 yard line location. The student section is closer to the field, but much lower. This means that the students in the student section (Sections A-C) can only see the action when it’s close to the end zone.

2) The Grange Rock has indeed been placed on the northeast side of the end zone, but the players did not actually touch it as a pregame tradition (as previously reported).

3) The Illini played decently and ended up winning, but it was only WIU. Michigan, here we come!