Nov. 24--As if Illinois needed longer for the loss at Minnesota to soak in, a flight delay kept the Illini from returning to Champaign until about 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
After watching games at the nearby Minnesota basketball arena, they sat for another 2 1/2 hours on a bus waiting for the airplane -- mostly in silence.
"The seniors, you hardly heard a peep out of them," interim coach Bill Cubit said at his weekly Monday news conference.
The Illini (5-6, 2-5 Big Ten) hope to make a little more noise before the season ends with an upset victory against No. 17 Northwestern (9-2, 5-2) on Saturday in the regular-season finale at Soldier Field. Illinois must win to attain bowl eligibility for the second straight season.
"Our thing is to make sure we treat it as a big rivalry game," Cubit said. "Some things may take care of itself. We've got to get them focused in. I know they wanted to get bowl-eligible last week. There was a lot of disappointment. I don't want them to all of a sudden think the sky is falling again."
Cubit is hoping a victory would translate into his promotion to a permanent role. Illinois is likely to make a decision about his tenure soon after the final game.
Twenty-one seniors will be honored at senior day.
"We just have to leave it all out there," senior linebacker Mason Monheim said. "The season hasn't gone exactly how we wanted it to, but we have a good opportunity to get to a bowl game and send us off right."
Special teams struggles: After a woeful performance on special teams, Cubit said there will be changes against Northwestern.
Because of a lack of depth at several positions, Cubit has preserved key offensive and defensive players by keeping them off special teams most of the season. No more.
"This is a make or break, so whatever it takes," he said. "Let's get our best people on the field and let it go."
Against Minnesota, Illinois netted only 78 yards on five kickoff returns and gave up 156 yards on six returns by the Gophers.
Chicago bound: Although this is technically a home game for the Illini, Soldier Field is much closer to Northwestern's campus in Evanston. The game presents some travel issues for the Illini, Cubit said.
Illinois will practice early Thursday before releasing players to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families (if they're nearby) or on campus. The team will reconvene for a walk-through Friday, then leave for Chicago before noon.
"Hopefully there's going to be a pretty big crowd supporting us," Cubit said.
Extra points: Running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn is probable to return after sitting out the Minnesota game with a concussion. ... Cubit wore an orange jacket to Monday's news conference to honor former Illini basketball coach Lou Henson, who was inducted over the weekend into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. ... Saturday's game is the first of a three-game series at Soldier Field.
sryan@tribpub.com
