This is a big game. This is the kind of game that will have ramifications for the rest of the season. This game will likely inform what kind of season this year turns out to be. I'm not saying a must win game this early in the season. I believe I posted somewhere on here back just before the season started that this game would likely be a big game with season defining implications. I thought it likely MT would come into this week sitting at 2-1. A win, MTSU is 3-1 with Vandy around the corner. That would be a pretty good set up for the Vandy game and upcoming conference play.
If MTSU can pull off a win vs a somewhat decent B1G team, it would add a decent quality win to the resume. That is, Illinois is looking pretty good at least early in the season. In addition to the potential quality win, the obvious boost to the overall W-L record from an OOC win would be a nice little boost. In short, it appears that circumstances has set up this week's game vs Illinois as a bellwether type game. My normally negative pessimistic outlook and expectations have subsided slightly this week. I'm hopeful that MTSU at least has a somewhat reasonable shot of competing for a win.
