I-L-L

Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, etc. It was amazing for Matt to wake up today and realize it's 2008, the year he'll be married. Cool.

However, in the immediate moment, it's the day that Matt's beloved Fighting Illini will be playing the hated (not really, but for this game) USC Trojans in the granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. It's impossible for Matt to find anyone, anywhere picking the Illini. So, Matt will do it here:

MATT'S OFFICIAL PREDICTION: Illinois 29, USC 27.

Probably more with heart than head, but still.

Maybe USC is overconfident, or looking toward the NFL draft. Or maybe since no one, anywhere was picking Illinois to beat Ohio State (and they did), Juice will have the mojo going.

Either way, the gnome believes. The gnome believes.

UPDATE: Um, no. It was USC 49, Illinois 17. What's the worst part of that loss? The record books will always show a blowout, but the game was closer than that. Just a bounce or two the other way in the third quarter and it would have been a good game. But USC showed their veteran savvy and all that stuff. Blah.

When Matt was a freshman, Illinois lost to USC (at home) 55 to 3. And then only beat the Akron Zips the rest of the year. (Goodbye, Lou Tepper.)

Now the Illini are in the Rose Bowl and looking like a top 15 team next year. So, this is a lot more fun than it used to be. But, still, it would have been cool to win in the Rose Bowl.

Meanwhile, the gnome abides. The gnome abides, dude.