Woody Hayes used to say, “You win with people.” Pretty sure what the gray-haired Ohio State coaching legend meant was that coaches are nothing without the soldiers they need to execute the playbook. Quality players — quality men — are the ones who win and lose ballgames; coaches just help lead them on their way.

Illinois quarterback Juice Williams is ‘good people,’ and someone whose senior season should have gone much smoother than it has up to this point. Instead, all year long Williams has absorbed the punishment brought on by bad luck, a bad set of consequences, poor protection, and a program headed in the wrong direction.

It started with a quadriceps injury early in the win over Illinois State. How much that has affected Williams’ play since is hard to say, but things have never been the same for the 2008 All-Big Ten second-team quarterback.

Following the loss to Penn State, head coach Ron Zook made a decision to go with Eddie McGee against Michigan State; after he opened 2-of-11 Zook went back to Williams. The following week Williams played well but again in a losing effort. Then he benched Williams in favor of freshman Jacon Charest early on against Purdue, only to bring Williams back in the second half. This past weekend, Williams got the start and got the Illini their first Big Ten win. He completed 8-of-11 passes and rushed for 97 yards.

Maybe Zook is not to blame. As the coach of a struggling program, Zook has been in a desperate situation this year. He defended his game of musical quarterbacks, saying it was all with the idea of creating a spark. It wasn’t a knock on Williams, he insisted.

No matter the intent, Williams has been made to be the scapegoat in Champaign. In truth, his season hasn’t been all bad news. He’s completed 56.4 percent of his throws — better than Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor — and his touchdown to interception ratio (5:5) is not much worse than Wisconsin’s Scott Tolzien or Indiana’s Ben Chappell.

Now Zook has little choice but to ride his veteran quarterback the rest of the way. The Illini have three winnable games sandwiched around a meeting with undefeated Cincinnati. During his four years in the lineup, Williams has served the conference well and deserves to go out with a solid month of play. Here’s hoping the final chapter to his career at Champaign is a positive one.

The Week That Was

Stanzi redeems himself

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi had a horrific third quarter performance (four interceptions) but things turned around quickly when the signal-caller hit Marvin McNutt for a 92-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter. After that Stanzi was superb — in just enough time to give the Hawkeyes their ninth win of the year.

Illinois runs all over Wolverines

In its unexpected win over Michigan the Illini rushed 56 times for 377 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomores Mikel LeShoure and Jason Ford each had more than 100 yards, while quarterback Juice Williams added 97 yards on 21 carries. LeShoure and Ford both had runs of 70 or more yards. Michigan — allowing a respectable 3.8 yards per carry for the season — allowed 6.7 yards to the Illini.

Bennett starts, ends scoring spree for Gophers

Just 20 seconds into Minnesota’s clash against Michigan State, quarterback Adam Weber hit Duane Bennett for a 62-yard score to give the Gophers the early lead. In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, holding on to a one-point lead, Weber called Bennett’s number again — sort of. The ball came free from tight end Nick Tow-Arnett and fell into Bennett’s hands, who took it 59 yards for the final score in the 42-34 victory.

Scoreboard

Ohio State 45, New Mexico State 0
Wisconsin 37, Purdue 0
Iowa 42, Indiana 24
Illinois 38, Michigan 13
Penn State 34, Northwestern 13
Minnesota 42, Michigan State 34

Team of the Week: Wisconsin

The Badgers’ 37-0 win over the Boilermakers — dominant on both sides of the ball — helped to bring some respect back to Madison.

Disappointment of the Week: Michigan

The once mighty Wolverines gave Illinois its first Big Ten win of the year, 38-13. So much for the players dismissing last week’s lopsided loss to Penn State.

Offensive Player of the Week: Adam Weber, QB, Minnesota

No Eric Decker, no problem. Weber had the best day of his career — 416 yards, five touchdowns — in the Gophers important win over Michigan State.

Defensive Player of the Week: Tyler Sash, S, Iowa

Right place, right time. Sash’s ping-pong interception return for a touchdown swung momentum back to Iowa just in the nick of time.

Freshman of the Week: Brandon Wegher, RB, Iowa

Forced to step up in place of Adam Robinson, Wegher responded with 118 yards and three scores against Indiana.

The Week Ahead

Upset Alert: Iowa

OK, what week isn’t a week for Iowa to be on its toes? Northwestern could be a real threat, though, for a number of reasons. The Wildcats actually led Penn State at the half last week, and at 5-4, Northwestern is a desperate team anxious to qualify for a bowl. The Hawkeyes still have key injuries, still have an inconsistent quarterback, and, eventually, the luck will run dry ... right?

Player to Watch: Evan Royster, RB, Penn State

Fresh off three straight 100-yard games the Big Ten’s leading rusher must now try to keep the wheels going against an Ohio State run defense which ranks second in the conference in yards allowed per attempt (2.8) and rushing yards allowed per contest (92.2). This pivotal game for Penn State will be placed on Royster’s shoulders — for better or for worse.

Additional Notes

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said this week that he expects quarterback Mike Kafka will be ready to go when his team travels to face Iowa this weekend. Kafka was injured before the half against Penn State last week, and sat and watched backup Dan Persa finish up the game. Said Fitzgerald, Kafka felt better on Monday and will be tested thoroughly at Wednesday’s practice.

Ohio State kicker Aaron Pettrey may miss significant time with an injured knee suffered in the win over New Mexico State. The Big Ten’s leading scorer has made 13 of 17 field goals this season.

The Badgers used tight end Lance Kendrick as a ball carrier last Saturday, usually on counters away from primary rusher John Clay. On four runs the 6-foot-4, 237-pound junior picked up 91 yards. Fans can expect more of the same in the final weeks of 2009.

Predictions

Wisconsin 28, Indiana 20
Michigan State 27, Western Michigan 13
Michigan 20, Purdue 17
Minnesota 24, Illinois 14
Iowa 23, Northwestern 20
Ohio State 20, Penn State 14