The Illini shouldn't give up on a win Saturday – stranger things have happened – but shouldn't be crushed by a loss either
The declaration that a team has "nothing to lose" is always a disguised slight of sorts. It implies that said team's chances of winning are virtually nil, for one thing. It does a disservice to everything that group has previously accomplished. It asks the underdogs to
, and disregards a well-earned confidence in their own skills and patterns of success in favor of a Hail Mary. It's often said in a spirit that assumes even a temporary advantage is out of reach. "People tell themselves, 'Oh, I have nothing to lose,' but you have nothing to lose until you have a lead that you can lose, you know?" the tennis writer Steve Tignor once, referring to a heavy underdog going up two sets against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the 2023 U.S. Open, only to see that lead and the win ripped away from him.
But are these teams really separated by all that much? Illinois' only loss of the season thus far came against No. 3 Penn State. Yes, Oregon scraped by No. 4 Ohio State two weeks ago , but the Ducks also eked out a close call against No. 17 Boise State – ranked just three spots ahead of the Illini, by the way.
It's not a long walk to arrive at the cliche. Illinois' best, by definition, is not as good as Oregon's best – or so say the rankings. To win, the Illini must hope they and the Ducks meet somewhere in the middle, or else take some uncharacteristic risks.It's not true.
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