With so much experience returning for the Illini offense, the only marked difference coming into 2009 seemed to be at offensive coordinator.

And that difference didn’t seem to bother the Illini.

Coach Mike Schultz stepped into the role after leading TCU to single-season program records last season for points scored, with 420, and touchdowns, with 54.

But Schultz has found the move north an unfriendly one. Through four games, the Illini have only nine touchdowns, six of which came against Illinois State.

Zook wouldn’t go as far as to pin the offensive struggles on the switch in coordinators, but he didn’t dismiss the idea.

“Obviously, you’ve got to blame it on something, and I said all through the summer and in camp that the transition couldn’t have gone any smoother, and I meant that,” he said.

“But obviously, there’s a disconnect somewhere along the line here, because we’ve got a lot of the same players back and we’re doing most of the same stuff, but we’re not having the same type of execution. That’s our job as a coaching staff to get fixed.”

Center Eric Block doesn’t seem to understand why the Illini’s offensive capabilities shown in practice don’t translate on Saturdays. During camp, Block pointed out improvements in communication among offensive linemen and an emphasis on technique, which had been facilitated by Joe Gilbert, the offensive line coach.

But none of that has seemed to result in points.

“We’ve had good preparation, the transition between coaches has been easy,” Block said. “That isn’t our problem, we’ve had great practices. I feel like a lot of us have come in and have prepared hard each week as far as video goes and watching film. Why it hasn’t panned out our way on the field, I can’t tell you. I don’t know.”

Coming into the season, the Illini’s receiving corps was expected to be one of the tops in the nation.

Aside from Will Judson, all 12 Illini with more than one reception last season returned.

Junior Arrelious Benn was named to the Walter Camp Award watch list for the nation’s best player and came in with at least one reception in every game of his career.

The Illini also returned all four of their running backs from 2008, and sophomores Jason Ford and Mikel LeShoure reported to camp in much better shape than in their freshman years.

Combine that talent with Williams and an offensive line that raved about their new coach, Joe Gilbert, and the thought of Memorial Stadium adding a third digit to the scoreboard wasn’t far-fetched.

But four games into the season, the Illini have fewer than half the points they had in as many games in 2008.

Combine the disappointment on offense with season-ending injuries to linebacker Martez Wilson, who was named to the Butkus Award watch list for best linebacker, and cornerback Miami Thomas, and the Illini’s talent has been somewhat neutralized.

Throughout Camp Rantoul, the Illini seemed convinced that team cohesiveness was at an all-time high.

Players attested to friendship off the field and leadership seemed to be a strength of the team.

While the Illini continue to attest to good communication in practice, Daniel Dufrene pointed to a disconnect between the running backs and the offensive line on Saturdays.

He thinks fixing this problem can be a key to fixing the Illini’s problems.

“Sometimes they’re letting people come free because an O-lineman or a running back may have made a mistake, or didn’t hit their point or whatever,” the senior running back said.

“We need all 11 players out there on the field to be on the same page. If we get that, then the unity on the field will be much better.”