On a personal note, I stayed after the victory over Northern Illinois in true Homer fashion and got a chance to speak briefly with Groce (first time ever), Ford and the radio guys. I even got a fist bump from LCJ.
During Groce's first year at Illinois he passed out bracelets to his team and staff to wear with "T-N-T" printed on them for Toughness & Togetherness. That is Groce's mantra. And in the time I have been watching his teams, no one team has represented that mantra moreso than this year's Zips squad. That special chemistry to me is the highlight of the season.
And finally, watching the Zips on national TV is always extra fun. I was looking forward to much more of that.