From The Stands - Wrigley Field

It's really difficult to put it all into words. Fourth-youngest team in the P4, only nine scholarship seniors, and NINE AND THREE. Fifth place all alone in the Big Ten, only one game behind Ohio State, and perhaps a fumble at the Minnesota 16 away from the committee seriously considering whether we should be in the playoff when the final seedings come out next week.

I mean, go back to the Altmyer interception at the Penn State 49 in the fourth quarter in September with Illinois trailing 14-7. Consider if that drive goes another 50 yards and Illinois ties it late. I wasn't prepared for how close a 9-3 team could be to "firmly in the playoff."

I know there's plays on the other side I could tell you about here as well. We won the Purdue and Nebraska games in overtime and needed to convert 4th and 13 to beat Rutgers. But still... I just wasn't prepared for how 9-3 would feel. This is completely new territory for my brain.

4-8, Robert? You thought this team would be 4-8, Robert? How about NINE AND THREE.

Here's From The Stands.