>> Illini Under Pressure After 2 Straight Losses
Illinois won its first six games on big plays.
After two losses, coach Ron Zook wants the Illini (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten) to think small. One play at a time.
It will start Saturday at No. 21 Penn State (7-1, 4-0), a team that has won six in a row. Illinois has scored 21 total points the last two weeks and hasn't scored before the fourth quarter of either loss.
Zook isn't sure what's gone wrong. He says his team has played tight, and it may be because the Illini had been expected to win.
>>Bears' Briggs Wins Weekly Award
(New York, NY) -- Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs has been named the NFC's Defensive Player of the Week. Briggs earned the defensive award for recording six tackles, one interception and two passes defensed in a 24-18 win last weekend against Tampa Bay in London. With the win, the Bears improved to 4-and-3 on the season. They have a bye in Week Eight. Chicago plays on "Monday Night Football" in Week Nine against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
>>AFL's Chicago Rush Offer Terrell Owens 2012 Contract
(Chicago, IL) -- An NFL club hasn't yet come calling, but that doesn't mean there isn't a football team interested in the services of Terrell Owens. The Arena Football League's Chicago Rush have extended a contract offer to the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver for 2012. General Manager Geno Nudo says it would be a fantastic honor to add a future NFL Hall of Famer to their roster. The 37-year-old Owens has been recovering from April surgery for a torn ACL and held a televised workout Tuesday to demonstrate that he is healthy. "T.O" spent last season with the Cincinnati Bengals.
