Mikel LeShoure News

Maybe Ron Zook was right. Maybe Illini football fans would have warmed to the school's first-ever home December football game if certain ingredients were in place.

Badgers sophomore running back John Clay, sophomore defensive end J.J. Watt and junior wide receiver David Gilreath were named Big Ten players of the week after the University of Wisconsin's 51-10 victory over Hawaii on Saturday.

If there's one thing Illinois can take from Saturday's season-ending shootout-gone-wrong at Memorial Stadium, it might be the final stats next to running back Mikel Leshoure's name.

Offensive lineman Devan Cunningham caught a deflected pass with 2 seconds left and stumbled into the end zone for a 2-point conversion, giving Fresno State a wild 53-52 victory over Illinois on Saturday.

Getting offensive: For the first time this season, Juice Williams threw three touchdown passes.

Only one Big Ten team is in action this week, so I've limited this to four items.

Illinois' Mikel Leshoure lies on the ground after being tackled on a play during the game against Cincinnati on Friday, November 27, 2009.

Only one game on tap this week, and it's a chance for the Big Ten to notch a major nonconference victory.

The fifth-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats host the Illinois Fighting Illini this Friday in the first-ever meeting between the two programs on the gridiron.

ILLINOIS: The Illini suffered their seventh loss of the season over the weekend, dropping a 21-16 decision to Northwestern.

Illinois quarterback Jacob Charest looks to throw against Minnesota during the first half in an NCAA football game, Saturday, Nov.

Mike Kafka threw for 305 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score and Sherrick McManis made a last-minute interception to preserve Northwestern's 21-16 win Saturday over Illinois.

The blame game stops at Illinois coach Ron Zook. After Northwestern's 21-16 Memorial Stadium victory Saturday over Illinois, Zook said that while others may be looking to point fingers, he's the only one to blame.

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.

When Illinois runs Just when it looked like Mikel Leshoure had taken over the No.

Getting to the QB: Illinois ranks last in the Big Ten with 11 sacks. The Illini also haven't protected the quarterback well.

It was a little more than a year ago that the Gophers were in Illinois, celebrating becoming a bowl-eligible team.

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

Illinois at Minnesota When: 11:00 a.m. at TCF Bank Stadium TV: BTN; Radio: WIND 560-AM. Series: Minnesota leads 32-27-3. Coaches: Ron Zook ; Tim Brewster Players to watch: This newly intense rivalry took a wrong turn last year for Illinois despite a Memorial Stadium-record 503 total yards by QB Juice Williams.

TV/radio: 11 a.m., BTN, WIND-AM 560. Records: Illinois 2-6, 1-5 Big Ten; Minnesota 5-4, 3-3. Last meeting: Minnesota won 27-20 on Oct.