C OA C H S P E A K| EXCERPTS FROM JAMES FRANKLIN'S WEEKLY PRESSER
Now that your team is bowl-eligi-
ble, are you concerned at all that the
players will have a letdown?
Illinois, Illinois, Illinois, Illinois, Illi-
nois. We're excited that last week is
over. We talked about those things a lit-
tle bit once the game ended. But we're
focused on playing Illinois this week. At
the end of the year, if people tell us we
have an opportunity to go somewhere,
we'll be excited about going there. But
we're focused on Illinois, and that's how
you make sure that you're able to come
out and play as consistent as you possi-
bly can week in and week out, by taking
it one game at a time.
I know you've got to ask the question,
and I appreciate you asking the ques-
tion, but our message is going to be con-
sistent: We're focused on Illinois now.
I want to ask you about Bob Shoop.
A lot of your players say he's known
to make defensive predictions before
games regarding turnovers, yardage,
what have you. What effect do you
think that has on your defensive
players? And how o
