EAST LANSING, Mich. - One year ago, Ron Zook still didn't know what to make of the Big Ten Conference, and one could forgive him if he had his doubts after spending three years in the proud Southeastern Conference.

SEC coaches think their league is a little faster, a little deeper, a little better than any other conference in college football. That's certainly the impression Zook brought with him from Florida.

And after three nonconference games in his first season as University of Illinois football coach, Zook didn't quite know what to expect while preparing for the Big Ten opener against Michigan State.

That's the same Michigan State school Illinois takes on today in Zook's second season.

What Zook learned on Sept. 24 of last season was that he should never underestimate teams in the Big Ten. He found out the hard way when the Spartans administered a 61-14 thrashing at Memorial Stadium, one that left him shell shocked.

"Michigan State is the opponent that really opened my eyes to the Big Ten last year," Zook reflected this week. "And there's no question if you watched the game last Saturday night, Michigan State is all people say they can be."

Last Saturday was Michigan State's chance to topple Notre Dame on national television. And after the Spartans impressively built a 39-21 lead into the fourth quarter, it looked like it would be a 4-0 Michigan State team that takes the field today.

Instead, however, Michigan State gave up 19 fourth-quarter points, and Notre Dame rallied for a 40-37 victory that crushed Spartan fans and demoralized head coach John L. Smith's team.

So what kind of Michigan State team does Illinois run into today at Spartan Stadium?

Angry?

Embarrassed?

Hungry to take out its frustration on anyone in a different uniform?

Zook figures he'll see all of the above from a Michigan State team led by talented senior quarterback Drew Stanton, a strong running game and a wide receiver group that includes Spartan basketball player Matt Trannon.

Trannon, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound target, leads Michigan State with 21 catches.

"He's a big, fast, athletic guy," said Zook, who remembers that Trannon had five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown against the Illini.

"Skill-wise, they are really good," Zook said. "Their running backs are the real deal. They like to run trick plays, too, and they have a lot of guys who can do it."

Illinois hopes to counter with an improving defense and an offense now being led by freshman quarterback Juice Williams, who makes his second start.

The main goal is to cut down on what Zook and his coaching staff describe as unforced errors. Things like penalties, dropped passes, interceptions and fumbles are charted and give Zook a good barometer as to how Illinois is progressing.

"This will be a great test for us this week, the way they run the ball," he said. "We've cut back on our penalties. We've cut the margin of error. Two weeks ago, it was 32 percent. The game before that it was 28 percent. Last week (against Iowa) it was 17 percent.

"We feel we have to be at 12 percent or lower with the unforced errors to have a chance to be successful."

Zook is not dwelling on what happened when the Spartans steamrolled Illinois last year, but he doesn't want his team to ignore it either.

"The thing I'm saying to them is, let's learn from it. What they tried to do against us last year, they are doing the same things this year. Michigan State is going to run their offense. The more times you see that stuff … it's a learning experience.

"I think our guys want to continue to improve. Their attitude has been terrific.

"I think Michigan State will be ready to go. It's homecoming and their Big Ten opener. That's one of the great things about college football. I'm sure Michigan State feels bad about what happened against Notre Dame, but the next week you can redeem yourself and start over."