The Illinois Fighting Illini have had no trouble getting into bowl games. The problem has been winning them.
Illinois (6-4-1), which finished fourth in the Big Ten, will play its fifth straight postseason game when it meets Western Athletic Conference tri-champion Hawaii (10-2) tonight in the Holiday Bowl."I'm taking it as a normal game, but the last two times we haven't done well," Illini senior quarterback Jason Verduzco said. "So this year we really want to show the country that we can do well in a bowl game."
Illinois is 1-3 in its last four bowls, including a 6-3 loss to UCLA in last year's John Hancock Bowl and a 30-0 whipping by Clemson in the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl. The Fighting Illini's only recent bowl victory was 31-21 over Virginia in the Florida Citrus Bowl in 1990.
Hawaii, making only its second appearance in an NCAA-sanctioned bowl, is favored by two points.
Illinois coach Lou Tepper feels that Verduzco may be the one to end the bowl losing streak.
"Of all his many talents, certainly his throwing ability is what our fans are talking a lot about, but I think his competitiveness is one of his strongest points, if not the strongest point," Tepper said. "I think he's a quarterback with a linebacker's mentality, and there are very few of those."
Verduzco finished his career ranked seventh on the all-time Big Ten passing list with 7,284 yards.
Hawaii, meanwhile, runs a spread offense, which is a combination of the triple-option and the run and shoot. The offense does more running that shooting. Senior Travis Sims rushed for 1,498 yards and nine touchdowns. He was second in the WAC behind San Diego State's Marshall Faulk, but averaged 6.8 yards per carry to Faulk's 6.2 yards.
Hawaii had its first 10-win season and completed the biggest turnaround in Division I-A this season after going 4-7-1 in 1991.
The bowl week continues Thursday as Wake Forest and Oregon meet in the Independence Bowl, Arizona faces Baylor in the John Hancock Bowl and Air Force tackles Mississippi in the Liberty Bowl before the eight-game extravaganza on Friday.