Kansas is good. Will Illinois be better?

So, ladies and gentlemen.

What do you want to talk about?

I would like to talk about a hopeful future that won’t always be smooth sailing. So please, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to talk directly to your hopes and dreams in the wake of the Toledo nail-biter.

It’s not going to get any easier.

Dequan Finn looked like Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson at times against Illinois.

(Or Michael Vick in Madden if that’s a more time-appropriate reference.)

It’s hard to imagine the amount of adrenaline that the players and coaches had coursing through their bodies last Saturday night. A big crowd showed up and showed out to kick off what looks like a pivotal season for Bret Bielema and Illinois Football.

This was supposed to be a year where the team could set personal records in lifting the weight of expectations.

This was supposed to be a year in which good teams like Toledo would fall to the Illini with the regularity of a metronome.

But a funny thing happened on the way to…