The Illinois football team played in the Rose Bowl against the USC Trojans 10 years ago today.

As I sit here waiting for the 2018 Rose Bowl to kickoff, I am reminded that there was a time where the Illini were once regarded as a team worthy of making one of the most prestigious bowl games on the face of the Earth.

Time has passed since that bowl game, though. Illinois has been through the end of the Ron Zook era and an arguably unjust firing by disgraced athletic director Mike Thomas. Tim Beckman was the fine replacement for Zook and, much like Thomas’ career with the Illini, his tenure went down in flames. He was then replaced by Bill Cubit for a season. He was then fired by new athletic director, Josh Whitman.

Illinois has had four coaches – I am not counting Vic Koenning coaching the bowl game after Zook was fired – and Lovie Smith is the most recent man to lead this team into the fray of the Big Ten. Can he get Illinois back to a point where they are competing for a bowl game, let alone the Rose Bowl?

Leading up to the Rose Bowl run the Illini made in Zook’s third season, the program was really in question. In the first two years under Zook, Illinois had a record of 4-19 overall. But, the key for hope was the recruiting classes he was bringing in. He was able to snag good talent that would make the team better in the future.

Zook wasn’t a good coach. I honestly believe he was a below average head coach, but he could recruit the hell out of the nation and that is why I enjoyed his time in Champaign. He brought in talent I hadn’t seen in the Orange and Blue for a long time. Something similar is happening with the program today.

Lovie isn’t the greatest coach in the world. From what I have seen so far and with the Chicago Bears, he is a below average coach in regard to his offense but his defense is always a solid bend but don’t break style group. But Lovie is able to bring in solid classes so far in his tenure. Are they up to Zook level yet? No, but they could get there. The classes Lovie is bringing in is more quality than I have seen since the beginning of the Zook era.

Am I saying Lovie is going to get the Illini to the Rose Bowl in his third year like Zook? No, he might not even get the program to the Rose Bowl in his time in Champaign. But, he is raising the quality of recruiting and they will become a more viable team because of that fact. I am an Illinois fan, so I am going to continue savoring the 2008 Rose Bowl because those were happy memories. But, there are still bowls games in the future for the Illini and We Will Win.