With loss after early loss piling up, Illinois' talk about salvaging a bowl bid sounded delusional. But now that they have delivered three wins in their last four games after 1-5 start, the Illini don't seem so nutty.

"They're playing outstanding football," said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, aware that the Illini lead the Big Ten in total offense and passing yards. "They're as good [offensively] as there is in the Big Ten, when you see them roll up and down the field. And their defense just keeps growing and growing. I don't think Penn State gained a yard in the second half."

Independents Day

It won't cause much of a stir around the nation, which is preoccupied with conference championships, the national-title chase and bowl scenarios. But Saturday shapes up as a significant day in the ever-shrinking world of the independents. When Utah State travels to Troy State and Navy plays host to Connecticut, it might be the last time there is more than one matchup between independents on the same day. Only six independents remain this season. (Notre Dame and South Florida are the others.) And when South Florida joins Conference USA and Utah State moves into the Sun Belt next fall, the number will dwindle to four. In 2005, UConn begins Big East play, which will leave only the Irish, Navy and Troy State in the ranks of the unattached. The reasons for the emphasis on league affiliation are pretty straightforward. Bowl tie-ins, steady rivalries and the conference season-within-a-season top the list. They all point to stability, particularly financial stability. The trend, though, won't stop this weekend's pair of independent contests from being intriguing. Utah State will see how far its high-flying offense can go against Troy State's tough defense. The Trojans are sixth in the nation in yards allowed (266.6), while the Aggies are 13th nationally in passing offense (296.4 yards a game). Navy vs. Connecticut is a matchup of teams coming off strong performances. The Huskies' 63-21 rout of Kent State, their second straight win, was led by four rushing touchdowns from freshman Terry Caulley. And while the Midshipmen were heartbroken at missing a golden opportunity to upset Notre Dame, they showed encouraging progress under first-year coach Paul Johnson as they move closer to their annual classic with Army. When you include South Florida's showdown with Bowling Green, which had its unbeaten season spoiled by Northern Illinois last week, this shapes up as a big weekend for the independents. They might not have a conference championship to play for. But they won't be thinking about that when the ball is kicked off Saturday. -- Herb Gould

Actually, the Nittany Lions gained 155 yards in the second half. But they had only six first downs and most importantly, they were shut out as Illinois gave itself a chance to pull off an upset before falling 18-7.

The Illini need to win their last two games, against Ohio State and at Northwestern, to qualify for a bowl bid. But they are showing enough these days that Ohio State is right to be wary.

Illinois might not beat the Buckeyes. But it doesn't figure to beat itself the way it did early in the season.

The turnaround started with an improved running game. Antoineo Harris ran for 195 yards against Purdue and 176 yards against Indiana, then added 158 yards in Saturday's 37-20 win at Wisconsin to become Illinois' first 1,000-yard rusher since Robert Holcombe in 1997.

It was followed by a stingier defense, which has been much improved since it stuffed the Boilermakers on their overtime possession to set up a 38-31 Illinois victory. In their last three games, the Illini are allowing 17.3 points, down from the 29.7 points they gave up in their first seven games.

The final piece has come in the form of stability at quarterback. Jon Beutjer, who came off the bench to lead Illinois to a fourth-quarter touchdown at Penn State and had the Illini knocking on the door for another score before being intercepted when a ball was tipped by a defensive lineman, has won the confidence of coach Ron Turner.

Beutjer, who had thrown for 10 touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards in his first three starts before losing the job again to opening-day starter Dustin Ward, shrugged off three interceptions to throw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, his third four-TD game of the season, at Wisconsin.

"I learned a lot from watching Kurt Kittner last year. When he'd throw interceptions, he'd just come back and keep firing," Beutjer said. "I learned that from Brett Favre too. He threw six or seven interceptions in one game. Afterward, he said, 'If I'd have gotten the ball again, I'd have thrown another one.' He's a gunslinger. He's not afraid to throw. And that's the way I am."

While not pleased with his team's five turnovers against the Badgers, Turner liked the tenacity his team showed.

"When you turn the ball over five times, you aren't going to beat many people," Turner said. "But these guys didn't quit, no matter what happened. They came in with the attitude that we're going to find a way to win -- and they just kept battling."

That might be the key to the turnaround. From Turner on down, the early-season Illini seemed tight. Fretting about keeping it going after compiling a 10-2 record and winning the Big Ten last season, they seemed more worried about making a mistake than making a good play.

"We had been so uptight, we weren't just going out and playing," receiver Walter Young said. "In recent weeks, we've just been going out and playing and having fun, getting back to what we need to do to be successful. When people look back on this team, they'll see two halves to the season. The first half started off pretty bad. But in the second half, we put things together, and made a run at a bowl game."

Thanks to early losses to Missouri, Southern Miss and San Jose State, there's no margin for error in that run. But the Illini believe they can keep it going even though the Buckeyes are coming to Champaign Saturday.

"We know they're a great team," Beutjer said. "But we're definitely excited for the challenge. Any time you beat a top-ranked team, it's huge, especially for these seniors. Because they deserve more than has come this year."

Around the Big Ten

Illinois
Here's why the Illini have a chance to make things difficult for Ohio State this week: For all their troubles in adjusting to life without stellar quarterback Kurt Kittner, the Illini lead the Big Ten in total offense (450.7 yards) and passing offense (280.1), and their rushing offense (170.6), which has been coming on lately, gives them a dangerous, balanced offense. And for all of Illinois' early defensive troubles in its 1-5 start, the defense is coming around. After allowing 29.7 points in its first seven games, it has allowed 17.3 points a game the last three weeks.

Indiana
The Hoosiers demonstrated how far they have to go in a 56-21 loss to turmoil-riddled Michigan State. While the Spartans were piling up 49 unanswered point in the second and third quarters, Indiana ran only 23 plays for 25 yards when it had the ball. Meanwhile, the IU defense allowed 289 yards on the ground, the seventh time in 10 games Indiana has given up at least 200 rushing yards.

Iowa
A victory in their final game at Minnesota Saturday will give the Hawkeyes an 11-1 record, their best regular-season record since they went 10-1 in 1991. The Hawkeyes also were 10-1 in 1985. But Iowa, which does not play Ohio State, needs the Buckeyes to lose one of their two remaining game to assure its first Rose Bowl trip since 1990. Iowa could still get to Pasadena as a BCS at-large entry if Ohio State wins out and receives a bid to the national championship Fiesta Bowl.

Michigan
The spotlight is on Ohio State and Iowa, but Michigan is well-positioned for its seventh straight New Year's Day bowl. It's possible the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes both could receive BCS bowl slots, which would leave the Capital One (formerly Citrus) and Outback bowls as the possible destinations of Michigan. The Capital One is the more prestigious destination, but because Michigan has been there the last two seasons, and three times in the last four seasons, the Outback might be regarded as an acceptable change by all parties. ... Fullback B.J. Askew has rushed for 126 yards against Minnesota and 149 yards against Michigan State the last two weeks. Before that, his best game was 43 yards against Utah.

Michigan State
Strange as it may seem, Michigan State -- which has fired its coach (Bobby Williams) and lost two captains, quarterback Jeff Smoker (substance abuse) and tailback Dawan Moss (altercation with police) -- is still in the hunt for a bowl bid. And if the Spartans keep mustering the explosiveness they showed in a 56-21 rout of Indiana, they'll have a chance to win out against Purdue and Penn State, which would make them bowl eligible. "We got some stuff off our chests from the whole situation," wideout Charles Rogers said. "We played with anger, but we played smart football."

Minnesota
Minnesota is bowl-bound for the third time in four seasons, but is on the verge of limping in. The Gophers have lost their last two, to Ohio State and Michigan, by a combined 75-27 -- and life doesn't figure to get easier. They host Iowa this week before heading to Wisconsin, which probably will need a win to become bowl-eligible. Fans calling Mason's Sunday morning radio show weren't interested in factoring in the difficulties involved in playing three straight against Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa, which have a combined conference record of 18-1. "I think it's a ridiculous forum, to be quite honest," Mason said after fielding the negative calls.

Northwestern
The Wildcats will take a week off before finishing up at home against Illinois, but the break doesn't figure to be all that soothing, thanks to the bad taste left by the 62-10 pounding they received at Iowa. "The second half might have been the most disappointing half of football I've ever been a part of," offensive lineman Jeff Roehl said. "It was embarrassing." ... Coach Randy Walker said NU can use the break to try and do better against Illinois: "We've gone 11 straight weeks, and we've got a lot of young players that have been pounded on pretty good. We're close to the edge in terms of being able to handle the physical nature of this game."

Ohio State
For a team that's two wins away from the national championship Fiesta Bowl, the Buckeyes are looking suspect on offense. They have scored less than 20 points in three of their last four games. Coach Jim Tressel said tough Big Ten defenses and some execution breakdowns are the explanation, not the limited role of true freshman running back Maurice Clarett, who has been hobbled by a stinger in his left shoulder during that span. But if Clarett, who hopes to be healthy enough to take on a bigger load at Illinois this week, gets well, that could go a long way toward healing the offense.

Penn State
Quarterback Zack Mills, who had been struggling, took advantage of the Nittany Lions' non-conference game with Virginia to get rolling again, and led a 35-14 victory over the Cavaliers. The sophomore lefthander, who had averaged 109 passing yards in Penn State's previous three games, threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns against Virginia. "It was a whole different world as far as feeling comfortable," Mills said. "Regardless of whether [receivers] were dropping passes or whatever was going on, I just felt inside that everything was clicking for me." ... On defense, tackle Michael Haynes had three sacks and forced a fumble as the Nittany Lions showed no letdown in a rare late-season non-league contest.

Purdue
A late Ohio State touchdown denied the Boilermakers' upset bid, 10-6, and left Purdue with its fourth loss in five games. But the Boilermakers (4-6, 2-4) can still sneak into one of the Big Ten's seven bowl berths by winning their final two games at Michigan State and against Indiana. Purdue hopes to slip into its sixth straight bowl trip. ... Coach Joe Tiller expects freshman quarterback Brandon Kirsch to start at Michigan State. Sophomore Kyle Orton had lost the job to Kirsch, but started against Ohio State because Kirsch was nursing a broken bone in his throwing hand. Kirsch came in in the second half against the Buckeyes.

Wisconsin
The Badgers, who rose as high as 15th in the nation during a 5-0 start, figure to need an upset victory in one of their last two game merely to become bowl-eligible. They play at No. 12 Michigan this week, and are likely to be an underdog when they finish their season at home against Minnesota. With starting quarterback Brooks Bollinger (concussion) and star tailback Anthony Davis (thigh) on the sidelines, Wisconsin lost its fifth in six games 37-20 to Illinois. Coach Barry Alvarez expects both to be back vs. Michigan.

Around the Independents
Connecticut improved to 4-6 with a 63-21 rout of Kent State in its final game at Memorial Stadium. Freshman running back Terry Caulley tied an NCAA record by scoring four touchdowns in an 11-minute span to highlight the home finale. The Huskies will move into their spacious new Rentschler Field home next season, another step in their progression toward playing football in the Big East. ... Navy took little comfort in the fact that it had Notre Dame on the ropes before falling 30-23 when the Irish scored 15 points in the final 4½ minutes. "We haven't won this game for 39 yards. It would have made history," said Navy backup quarterback Aaron Polanco, who came in when starter Craig Candeto sprained an ankle on the opening drive of the game. "It was our game to have. We could have won. We should have won." ... Notre Dame, which has had some narrow escapes this year, did it again, but this time needed two late touchdowns to beat struggling Navy 30-23 before 70,260 at Ravens Stadium in Baltimore. The Irish, who were upset by Boston College last week, took the positive of winning, rather than worrying about a second straight sub-par performance. "It doesn't matter how much you win by," defensive end Darrell Campbell said. "Winning the game is the ultimate goal. If you did that, you were successful as a team." ... South Florida improved to 3-0 against its future Conference USA rivals, beating Memphis 31-28 for its 18th straight victory at home. Marquel Blackwell led the Bulls, throwing for 246 yards and three touchdowns, and extending his streak of passing attempts without an interception to 159. South Florida, which joins Conference USA next season, plays host to Bowling Green Saturday. ... Troy State defeated Florida A&M 24-7 in the inaugural Azalea City Classic in Mobile, Ala., cashing in on three Rattler turnovers and playing strong defense to win. FAMU was held to 80 rushing yards, the seventh time this season the Trojans have an opponent to fewer than 100 yards on the ground. Troy State plays its final home game against Utah State this week. ... Utah State, which snapped a five-game winning streak by beating New Mexico State 32-30, travels to Troy State this week. Jose Fuentes, who threw for 299 yards against New Mexico State, leads a passing offense that is ranked 13th in the nation, with 296.4 yards per game. His favorite target, Kevin Curtis, is seventh in the nation with 109.8 receiving yards per game and is tied for 16th in the nation with 6.3 catches per game.

Herb Gould covers college football for the Chicago Sun-Times.