University Of Illinois

There was a lot of talk about what could have been and should have been surrounding USC's season after the Trojans' 49-17 Rose Bowl victory over Illinois on Tuesday. And then there was the buzz around Joe McKnight, the conversation turning to the future. As in, how good could this guy get?

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The college football season Saturday didn't turn on a dime package or a yard or even, in the famous Shoe, a foot. It turned on an inch. Call it the inch that roared -- loudest, perhaps, in Baton Rouge and Eugene. Illinois not only upset No. 1 Ohio State, 28-21, before a crammed-in crowd of 105,453 at Ohio Stadium, it upset stomachs here and flow charts and bowl plans elsewhere.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--The Illinois coaches and players know they will be underdogs when they face USC in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. They know some fans were hoping for a different matchup. It's the same old story for a Cinderella team that went 9-3, including an upset victory over Ohio State, after winning a total of four games the previous two seasons. "We've been very comfortable with the underdog role, to say the least," center Ryan McDonald said. "We're constantly having to prove ourselves."

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- An unsettling thought or two might sneak into his head on New Year's Day. At some point during the Rose Bowl game, Juice Williams might glance across the line of scrimmage and spot a linebacker inching closer. Maybe a cornerback threatening to blitz. The young Illinois quarterback knows the troubles that USC's defense can cause. "It's going to play with your mind," he said.

Try asking USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson about Juice Williams and . . . "Isiah," Jackson interrupts. Isiah? "I won't call him Juice," Jackson says flatly. "I don't buy into the hype. I just call him Isiah." By any name, be it the legal one on Williams' birth certificate or the moniker his grandmother gave him upon his delivery, Illinois' dual-threat quarterback presents USC with a challenge that Coach Pete Carroll and his players know all too well.

Raw eggs and messages from God. If you could spend a few minutes with J Leman, see him grin, listen to his stories one after another, then what you are about to read might not seem so outlandish. Tarzan hair and one short leg. If you could hear his laugh or watch him joke around with teammates, it might be easier to understand. "That's all right," he says. "I don't need people to think I'm sane." At the very least, Leman can hit you with some concrete football reality.

Clusters of reporters gathered around Juice Williams and Ron Zook as the Illinois football team came off the practice field Thursday afternoon. It only makes sense that the media would want to hear from the quarterback and the coach who will lead the Fighting Illini against USC in the Rose Bowl. But off to the side, someone equally responsible for the team's success this season tried to slip quietly away.

For all the variations in the Illinois offense -- the option plays, the traps and long passes -- maybe the biggest trickery occurs before the snap. About 80% of the time, the Fighting Illini skip the huddle and go straight to the line of scrimmage. Sometimes they snap the ball quickly, other times they hesitate to look over the defense and signal adjustments from the sideline. Either way, the no-huddle attack forces opponents to line up right away and limits defensive substitutions.

There is something about the act of bursting across the line of scrimmage, sprinting toward the punter, stretching for the ball. Vontae Davis says he was made for blocking punts. "I've just got a knack for the football," he said. "It's just something that comes natural." The Illinois cornerback made himself a star on special teams this season, beginning with the opening game against nationally ranked Missouri when he blocked a punt, grabbed the ball and ran two yards for a touchdown.