A casual teleconference the day after an Illinois win turned heated when coach Ron Zook took exception to a question about the anticipated low turnout for the Illini’s game against Western Michigan on Saturday.

Asked how a small crowd at a neutral site might impact his team’s energy level, Zook grew angry over the mere suggestion. He even told the writer (not me) he would be mad if he wrote such a story.

“We’ve got plenty to play for,” Zook said. “Hopefully we’re not playing for how many are in the stands. … If they can’t realize what the heck they’re playing for — I don’t care if there are 10 people in the stands. Hopefully they don’t play football for that reason.”

Now, let’s be realistic. Human nature is such that athletes might tend to have less adrenaline pumping when they take the field with the stadium less than half filled. It’s not breaking news that players feed of a crowd’s energy or hostility, especially at the college level.

In the Big Ten, the Illini have played in front of more than 109,000 twice (Penn State and Michigan), at soldout Memorial Stadium three times and before 81,000 at Wisconsin.

“It doesn’t make any difference to us,” Zook said. “We go to Wisconsin with a pretty good atmosphere and didn’t play up to the way we should be playing.”

It is expected that no more than 30,000 will be on hand when the Illini and Broncos play at Ford Field in Detroit, which is 142 miles from the Western Michigan campus in Kalamazoo. So, regardless of the answer, the question is legitimate.