With the firing of Tim Beckman, the Illini have adversity to rally around, which has long been a huge intangible in sports, especially college. More tangibly, they are much better with Wes Lunt at QB.

He began last season, his first under center for the Illini after transferring from Oklahoma State, by showing off a rocket arm and completing 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,569 yards in his first five games, interrupted by a one-game absence due to an injury. That derailed Illinois season and they were inferior with him playing a limited roll. We have Kent as only the No. 6 team in the seven-team MAC g East. They are prime picking for a superior Illinois team that wants to put the coaching issue behind them and has a big chip on their shoulder.