Juice Williams News

Cincinnati's perfect record has survived weeks of uncertainty about the team's quarterback, but starter Tony Pike is finally ready to return for the fifth-ranked Bearcats' final push.

The toughest part about my job is staying objective. I mean, as a student reporter, it can be pretty hard bashing a team that you spent the last two years rooting for religiously.

Just when you thought Illinois football fortunes sank to their lowest, the Illini found a spark to elevate them.

Desperation settled upon Illinois in the fourth quarter Saturday as the likelihood of a second consecutive season without a bowl game inched closer to reality.

Last Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, Illinois put on Act II in its late-season offensive resurgence, putting up 35 points in an upset of Minnesota.

University of Illinois football players and coaches have all thought about it and talked about it.

Illini's Charest getting ready for possible start against Northwestern CHAMPAIGN, Ill.

Northwestern vs. Illinois , Saturday, Noon ET Line: Illinois by 5. Series Record: Illinois leads, 52-45-5. Last meeting: 2008, Northwestern 27-10. What's at Stake Northwestern has two shots left to improve its bowl position, while Illinois, with three games left, is fighting the odds to win out and gain bowl eligibility after a 1-6 start.

Zook told reporters Tuesday that Williams' ankle is improving faster than originally expected.

What's happened to the University of Illinois offense is more than just a passing fancy.

Illinois quarterback Juice Williams left the game against Minnesota with an apparent left leg injury.

The supposedly high-performance offenses at Illinois and Minnesota spent most of the first seven weeks of the season stuck in the shop, sputtering and struggling to get going.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg Juice Williams has been through it all at Illinois.

After each victory, Minnesota coach Tim Brewster announces a series of team award winners.

Where does Terry Hawthorne's touchdown-saving tackle rank? At first, it seems like a beside-the-point question for a team that stands 2-6. If it's the start of something, though, the freshman cornerback might earn a place in Illini lore.

If you looked closely at the eyeblack strips worn by Terry Hawthorne Saturday against Michigan, you might have been able to read it.

Michigan and Illinois started the day Saturday in very different positions, one looking for a win that would punch their ticket for the post season and the other groping to find some way to end a five-game losing streak.

Juice Williams broke loose against Michigan again, and host Illinois stopped the Wolverines on four plays from the 1 before running all over the Wolverines for a 38-13 win Saturday.

Game tied, 7-7, 3:39 left in the first quarter. Free Press special writer Nick Meyer is live-blogging today's Michigan-Illinois game.

No one, not even Ron Zook , can explain what's happened to Illinois this year. Expected to contend for a Jan.