Illinois hosts Northwestern Saturday at Soldier Field at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU in its final regular-season game.

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Opening statement:
"Minnesota, you know, you watch the tape and it's hard when you lose. It's hard when offensively I thought we did a lot of good things. A lot of kids have stepped up to the plate, including Kendrick Foster. Defensively, we just had two really bad drives, but the kicking game kind of put us in some tough spots. So kids are really disappointed, and so are we, but the good thing is we've got one left. We've still got a chance to get a bowl [game], get to six wins. For a first-year coach, the most wins a first-year coach ever had [at Illinois] was six, so that's what we're gunning for. We've got a tough battle; I think Northwestern is playing really well. It kind of reminds me of another model that I've been in where you've got really good senior leadership, you've got some good things going for you. I think they're winning a lot of close games, and they're pulling them out; that's why they've got nine wins. So, big rival game. Our kids will be excited about it. We're looking forward to going up there and getting a win up there at Soldier Field."

On freshman RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn's status for Saturday:
"If this past Saturday's game had been on Monday, he would have been ready to go. Unfortunately, we're not in the NFL. So, I'm almost positive we'll have him ready." 

On the difference between Northwestern this season and last season:
"They'er just playing with a lot more confidence. I think they're defense is really good. Offensively, I think they're only averaging 21 [points,] but they're doing enough to win. You look back, and what's the difference? They're banged up a little, but they're still playing. They're just playing with a lot more confidence and running the football better. Last year, they got turnovers at a high rate with their secondary in intercepts, but now they're not giving up many points. I would say that's the big difference."

On whether the focus is on being bowl eligible or on the rivalry: 
"It's really hard. I think there's so many things going through these kid's minds, and if we don't  think that, then we're sadly mistaken. I think our thing is really making sure we treat it as a big rivalry game. And then somethings may take care of themselves, in terms of bowl games. We just got to get them focused. I noticed last week that they really wanted to get that bowl eligibility last week, and to see the kids in the locker room and see a lot of disappointment, and there should be. At the same time, what I don't want to happen is for them to think 'uh oh, the sky is falling again,' so this one if we get it, we get to play another game. So that's how I'm approaching it with these guys."

On the struggles on special teams:
"I told [the team] whatever it takes. We try to keep off some starters. This past week, we only played two safeties; we only played two linebackers, and, besides the nickel package, we only played two corners the whole time too. I think they only played 58 plays defensively, so now what we've got to do is let's get our best people on the field and let's go. We've had to save a lot of kids because of depth purposes. Well now, some of those guys are playing a lot of plays. They may be on two special teams too to shore that thing up a little bit. The two biggest things are the punt and the kickoff team. The kickoff team really hurt us. And, our kickoff return has not gotten us good field position. We have not done a very good job of that, so that's another issue. We put some more offensive guys on there, but we're really limited in the number of guys we have."

On the senior class:
"They mean a lot. I've been here three years, so offensively you get really close to those guys. But, defense, I've always tried to go on to the other side. Even when I was a coordinator, I always went to the other side, I was always around them. Even during stretch, I would never go on the offensive side, I'd go on the defensive side with guys like Jihad [Ward], V'Angelo [Bentley], [Eaton] Spence. Eaton Spence got his first scholarship from us, at the last school, so there was a relationship there. [The senior class] has gone through a lot. I don't think people really see it until you're around them all the time. It's just been a lot of adversity all the way through, and they still fight through it. When guys are still playing with the passion they're playing with, I think it speaks volume to the character of each one of those kids."

On the improvement of sophomore WR Malik Turner:
"I thought when he came in, I thought he had a high potential to be a great player here. And, he keeps on getting better. Unfortunately, he did drop two [passes], one was a key third down. But, the thing I like about him, until last week, is that after the catch he was not very good. Then, he broke a couple tackles for big plays. So, I think he just keeps on getting better and better; he's a big strong guy. I really think he's going to be a good player."