DaytonDailyNews.com

The seniors on the University of Illinois football team have faced some troubling seasons in Champaign, which helped coach Ron Zook go 4-19 in his first two years with the program.

Now 7-3, the Illini say they're not yet happy with the improvement.

"If you're a big-time player, you want to be as good as you can be, and no one here is satisfied with seven wins," said Kevin Mitchell, the Illinois senior safety. "Don't get me wrong — having seven wins is great, but we're not going to lie down with two games left."

Illinois visits Ohio Stadium today already bowl-eligible and with the most wins since the program's Big Ten championship season in 2001. Playing the nation's top-ranked team in its stadium and facing one of the nation's top defenses is a major hurdle to win No. 8.

"They've surprised me," said linebacker J Leman. "They lose (Ted) Ginn and (Anthony) Gonzalez and come back with (Brian) Hartline and (Brian) Robiskie, two of the best in the nation and another great running back. They just continue to have these great players."

Strong recruiting

Some eyebrows were raised last February when Zook brought in one of the nation's top recruiting classes, which included Parade All-Americans Arrelious Benn and Martez Wilson. But then, recruiting has always been considered one of Zook's talents.

"I think it's work ethic," OSU coach Jim Tressel said. "He goes at it and goes at it and goes at it. He's got a great staff. I think anytime anyone talks about a head coach being great at doing something, don't forget it's probably the staff that did it.

"I have to be honest. I used to try to explain that to Earle (Bruce), we were doing all that for him. So really, he's got an excellent staff of recruiters. He himself works tirelessly; he's got a great product."

Quick hits

• Zook, a native of Loudonville, near Mansfield, was a defensive back at Miami University from 1973-75, when the team went 32-1-1 and won three straight Mid-American Conference championships. He was a captain of the 1975 team. Zook also was an Ohio State assistant coach from 1988-90 for head coach John Cooper.

• Illinois is 3-14 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams.

• Junior Rashard Mendenhall needs just 17 yards to set the Illinois single-season rushing record. He has 1,314 yards; Antoineo Harris set the record in 2002 with 1,330 yards.

• Juice Williams is the only quarterback in Illinois history to rush for 1,000 yards in his career (he has 1,147). He's only a sophomore.

• The summer before he began college and started becoming one of the Big Ten's top linebackers, Leman worked for a family-owned lawn service and mowed 70 lawns in the Champaign, Ill., area, his hometown. The 6-foot-3, 243-pound senior is fourth in the Big Ten with 10.3 tackles per game.