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Iowa looks to hand Illinois 10th straight Big Ten loss

Sep 19, 2006 - 9:22 PM No. 14 Iowa (3-0) at Illinois (1-2), 12:00 pm EDT

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) - No. 14 Iowa tries to keep Ron Zook winless in Big Ten Conference play when it visits Illinois on Saturday in the league opener for both teams.

The Fighting Illini (1-2) have lost nine consecutive conference games since a 26-22 win over Indiana on November 6, 2004, and are 1-23 in league action the past three years.

Zook, who was fired by Florida in 2004, went 0-8 in his first Big Ten campaign.

Two weeks ago, Illinois was blown out, 33-0, at Rutgers. Last week, it absorbed a 31-21 home loss to Syracuse, which had dropped 11 straight games.

A bright spot for the Illini was freshman Juice Williams, who replaced ineffective starter Tim Brasic in the third quarter and threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns.

Iowa (3-0) overcame an 11-point deficit to defeat intrastate foe Iowa State, 27-17, at home last week. Drew Tate passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns for the Hawkeyes, who had lost six of their previous eight meetings with the Cyclones.

"We've had to work hard each week," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We're growing. We're learning about ourselves. They certainly haven't been walks in the park. I'm not displeased with anything we're doing, but we have plenty of progress to make. So far, so good."

Iowa has won the last three meetings with Illinois, including a 35-7 triumph last year.