Wisconsin 31, Illinois 14 POSTGAME

[classof2016]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

Actually, I'd wager it's the terrible product put on the field over the last few decades. But I grew up a Cubs fan, so I guess it holds true for Illini football as well: anyone can have a bad century.



Well aren't you something! Keeping it classy as well, I see. Don't forget your "Ann Arbor is a Wh*re" shirt. Way to represent the fan base!

Same shirt, actually. That's on the back. That was more of a joke, but I will be at the game representing the fan base and cheering for the team. I rip on our crappy team as much as anybody, but at least I stick with them. That goes for the Cubs too.

[illinifan31]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

Well aren't you something! Keeping it classy as well, I see. Don't forget your "Ann Arbor is a Wh*re" shirt. Way to represent the fan base!

Dude, chill out. Seriously.

[Dan]

Wisconsin Badgers chew up Illini

In a pinch, Illinois football coach Tim Beckman finished the day with another bad taste in his mouth.

Caught on camera using smokeless tobacco in a 31-14 loss at Wisconsin in a Big Ten game played before 80,096 at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Beckman committed an NCAA violation and a faux pas, just when his Illini were starting to look a little better.

"I guess it's the stress," Beckman said. "There's no excuse for that. That's a bad habit of mine. I apologize for that."

Supinie

#Illini RB Donovonn Young: "It's hard to run the ball when you run the same plays over and over. We need to open up the playbook."

http://twitter.com/AaronB_WCIA

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoot...an-scheelhaase

Fighting Illini

But yesterday it was different. Yesterday I saw fight. Yesterday I saw togetherness. Sure, we crumbled in the fourth quarter, and we have a lot to fix, and there are still some serious coaching flaws that need to be corrected, and we're probably not going bowling. But I saw a team that was fired up on the sideline. And I saw players going hard on the field. And after the last two dreadful weeks, that was very encouraging.

http://alioneye.com/2012/10/07/fighting-illini/

Wisconsin 31, UI 14: 'We have to keep working'

"I was proud the way we played the first half. We didn't come out and do what we needed to do in the second half," Illinois coach Tim Beckman said. "I know that this football team is hurting, there's no question about that. We've just got to be able to respond when something doesn't occur the way we want it to occur; it kind of snowballs on us."

Marcus Jackson

UFR: Missed opportunity

In terms of public sentiment, Beckman is entering Bruce Weber Circa 2010-12 territory. Relevant or inconsequential, the coach's every move is being nit-picked. It is unfair for a first-year coach that has limited depth on his roster, but that's where we are. Weber was under a microscope for most of his final three seasons at Illinois. The unfortunate spotlight has found Beckman in his first. As Weber learned late in his tenure, it's difficult to reclaim the faith of a fandom. It will be even harder for Beckman, who won't have a promising first season to lean back on.

Klee

Wisconsin 31, UI 14: Notebook

"Jonathan Brown played injured today, and he played hard for a young man that had an injury. I thought he did a great job," Beckman said.

Brown finished with a team-high nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss.

"He's banged up, but he gave us everything he had," defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. "He tried to contribute, tried to lead and do whatever he could to try to will his team to a win. At the end of the day, it obviously wasn't enough."

Marcus Jackson

Steve Hull tweet-

Im sorry team and #IlliniNation. I let my you both down tonight w a poor performance and mental errors. It will NOT happen again. #MyWord.

http://twitter.com/SteveHull5

[I Hate Lemonier]

Originally Posted by SCillini

This chewing tobacco uproar is hilarious! Yes, he broke a MINOR rule, will be reprimanded, and has already apologized.

As for the game. We played better than we have, but it's still painful to watch an entire game. I'm not on board with the "we played better" enthusiasm of some. We couldn't have played worse in our previous games. So, "kudos for staying close for three quarters," is not a winners mentality.

The issue of playing hard and competing for an entire game is still there. No matter what the outcome is, I want to see players leaving everything they have on the field. IMO, I haven't seen this season.

Injuries are a factor because of depth, but every program faces this issue. It doesn't entirely excuse the lack of execution, since good coaches learn to adjust to their personnel. This staff isn't showing that.

We lost some key pieces from last year, but there is talent on this team, especially on defense. You would never know it from our performances to date.

Next year wil be even worse after the talent we have graduates or departs early. Not to mention a more difficult schedule. It's going to be some painful times for Illini football fans.

It's hard to accept that we are possibly the worst team in one of the worst B1G conference seasons that I can remember. Wow, I feel like a fool,thinking we were going to win 7 games this year!

Good post, I agree with every part.

Regarding Dans post: Now we have had both sides of the ball openly questioning the playcalling. This is a very bad sign.

[HsvIllini]

Originally Posted by I Hate Lemonier

Good post, I agree with every part.

Regarding Dans post: Now we have had both sides of the ball openly questioning the playcalling. This is a very bad sign.

This can't be good. Can't say that I disagree with them though.

[ButkusDaBear]

Young's comment pretty much tells me all I need to know. The coordinators are over their head and their inexperience is scary

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by ButkusDaBear

Young's comment pretty much tells me all I need to know. The coordinators are over their head and their inexperience is scary

Young's comment tells us that he is very frustrated. However, in asking to open up the playbook, Young isn't being realistic about what is possible for this patchwork OL. These coordinators might well be in over their heads, but we won't know for sure until they have a decent OL to work with.

[AutoPoster 3000]

Originally Posted by ButkusDaBear

Young's comment pretty much tells me all I need to know. The coordinators are over their head and their inexperience is scary

Yeah, that's the one that really jumped out at me. It says a lot about the play calling but even more about player buy-in. Don't know the whole context behind that quote but players slamming the staff in public is potentially a much bigger concern than a meager rushing numbers.

[FinalFour88]

Originally Posted by Burt Toast

[*]5th Choice Beckman. After pursuing and apparently being spurned at every turn, Mike Thomas dips back to his MAC/Ohio roots with Beckman of Toledo. The problem is that the guy is unknown to most and has a mixed track record. Anytime you hire a position coach/recruiter to replace your former recruiter/position coach who was just fired, people will wonder. Most analysts were surprised at the hire as well as the embarrassing lack of "perceived" interest in the job.[/LIST]

First of all, the fact that most of us had never heard of him prior to the hire is not a negative. Utah Ute fans had probably never heard of Urban Meyer before he was hired as their coach.

[ryls]

The offensive line I think is the biggest difference in this team from the last few years, when Zook was here we could run the football, the passing game was mediocre but we could run, now we can't and the offense is brutal. Wisconsin can't run either this year, Montee Ball was unbelievable last year and now he doesn't look very good, line play is critical. Beckman has to be given a chance, we aren't helping things calling for his head in the first season, let him get his recruits in and then hopefully things will turn around. I understand the frustration, I watch every game and it is painful but patience is needed.

[ncoillini]

Originally Posted by FinalFour88

First of all, the fact that most of us had never heard of him prior to the hire is not a negative. Utah Ute fans had probably never heard of Urban Meyer before he was hired as their coach.

Not to start an arguement but, I see this kind of post a lot. Is Beckman the next Meyer or other MAC coach that did well after going to better/bigger conferences?? Is it written somewhere that all MAC coaches will be winners taking the next step??

I am truely sorry but, good to great head coaches play with the players they have and deal with injuries. They make adjustments to get the playmakers the ball to make plays.

I hope I'm wrong and TB turns out to be great. Right now I have my doubts.

[AHSIllini32]

Originally Posted by ncoillini

Not to start an arguement but, I see this kind of post a lot. Is Beckman the next Meyer or other MAC coach that did well after going to better/bigger conferences?? Is it written somewhere that all MAC coaches will be winners taking the next step??

I am truely sorry but, good to great head coaches play with the players they have and deal with injuries. They make adjustments to get the playmakers the ball to make plays.

I hope I'm wrong and TB turns out to be great. Right now I have my doubts.

To expect Beckman to "deal with" the injuries and lack of depth of a team coming off a season in which they lost 6 games to end the regular season is laughable.

And I'm fairly certain no one is expecting him to become Urban Meyer but the point remains that just because you didn't hear of him before he was hired means absolutely nothing about his potential as a coach. Instead you should look at his previous head coaching experience and what he's walking into in his next stop.

[KamsBartender84]

Originally Posted by Dan

Steve Hull tweet-

TB should move Hull to WR. Its obvious he's playing out of position at Safety -- both this year, and last year.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by illinifan31

Dude, chill out. Seriously.

lol. I'm cool like school, baby. You act as though I cussed out the guy.

I am not big on the "I am a better fan and care more than you because..." act.

(But I really am not a fan of those silly t-shirts.)

[Ron Zooks Barber]

The 2011 IL football team scored one less field goal than in 2010 and the WI team scored one more field goal than in 2010. The two teams played pretty much identically to last year. There is really no reason to think that IL could not end CLOSE to 6-6 again. In fact. IL was just a 500 team for the last two years in the regular season. SO, I don't know why anyone was expecting them to suddently become a 7-800 team.

[Keisersose]

Originally Posted by Ron Zooks Barber

The 2011 IL football team scored one less field goal than in 2010 and the WI team scored one more field goal than in 2010. The two teams played pretty much identically to last year. There is really no reason to think that IL could not end CLOSE to 6-6 again. In fact. IL was just a 500 team for the last two years in the regular season. SO, I don't know why anyone was expecting them to suddently become a 7-800 team.

Is 4-8 close to 6-6? What about 3-9?

[FinalFour88]

Originally Posted by ncoillini

Not to start an arguement but, I see this kind of post a lot. Is Beckman the next Meyer or other MAC coach that did well after going to better/bigger conferences?? Is it written somewhere that all MAC coaches will be winners taking the next step??

I am truely sorry but, good to great head coaches play with the players they have and deal with injuries. They make adjustments to get the playmakers the ball to make plays.

I hope I'm wrong and TB turns out to be great. Right now I have my doubts.

I have doubts, too. Huge doubts. At this point, I think Beckman is over his head. Like you, I hope I'm wrong.

[Ron Zooks Barber]

Originally Posted by Keisersose

Is 4-8 close to 6-6? What about 3-9?

I guess there is some inane point to your post, that or you really can't add.
No, 4-8 is not that far off from 6-6. The difference between a 6-6 season last year and 4-8 was a few lucky bounces.

[AHSIllini32]

Originally Posted by KamsBartender84

TB should move Hull to WR. Its obvious he's playing out of position at Safety -- both this year, and last year.

Yeah? And play who? Sanni's barely healthy so we put who back there? A true freshman? Move someone else from another position?

[I Hate Lemonier]

Originally Posted by Ron Zooks Barber

I guess there is some inane point to your post, that or you really can't add.
No, 4-8 is not that far off from 6-6. The difference between a 6-6 season last year and 4-8 was a few lucky bounces.

Yeah if only the ball would have bounced our way in the ASU, La Tech, Penn St. and Wisky games. Come on

[Keisersose]

Not trying to make a point, I wanted some clarification from you. Thanks.

I will make a point though now. IMHO, 4-8 is a significant distance away from 6-6. And I really should have said 7-6 anyway.

[stevo99]

Originally Posted by Ron Zooks Barber

I guess there is some inane point to your post, that or you really can't add.
No, 4-8 is not that far off from 6-6. The difference between a 6-6 season last year and 4-8 was a few lucky bounces.

Something as simple as us getting the first home game in the ASU series helped get us to 6 wins.

[OrangeandBlue4eva]

This post is not meant to take a shot at the coaches but I really hope young does not transfer. With comments like that and the fact ferguson is a stud worries me...I mean would you blame him? I feel like if he went to a pro-style offense that would be more his thing. Maybe I'm wrong, just my opinion.

[tspinner]

Originally Posted by Shampoobanana

We will get hit harder than PSU for this. We are Illinois.

Heard the NCAA was considering the Death Penalty for us... but felt that it would let us off too easy by putting us out of our misery.

[accountingIllini]

Prepare for the most pompous post of the day..
I grew up in the northern burbs of Chicago. I went to Illinois. I love Illinois. I cried when de-ron hit the three in 05. I was at the rose bowl when we lost to usc (but I never lost faith we would come back and win in the 3rd and 4th Q). I am a young professional with disposable income (I told you this would be pompous). I was a season ticket holder for 4 years and dropped them this year. I went to the PSU game and stayed til the last second. I am the Illinois flag hanging out on Diversey in Chicago.
I am Mike Thomas's bread and butter. I am who he is wanting to come down every weekend and cheer on the illini and bring my friends/family. I want to, and I do as often as I can. However today was different….
A good friend of mine….a "domer" invited me to go to the ND game at soldier field. Of course I went. I checked the Illinois score every hour on my phone because it was not on the TV in the bar (yes we are so ill relevant that we were not on one of 25 major chicago bar's TV screen. That is the facts.)
I drank all day with the ND fans (Chicago's independent team) then went to the game…(now before people yell at me about saying how great ND is…they play a VERY weak Miami team…and I am not an ND fan)
….but they had PUSH off the line. They had reserved fans (Illinois fans are when things are good)….but they played hard. They never gave up and they ran up the score. I found myself at the bar with an ND trustee after the game (pompous again) in quite bar at 1 AM. We were talking about Thomas (listen more than you talk) and he told me how much he liked Thomas and thought he had a great eye to get Kelly.
Now here it is…i had more fun at a ND game…a team I DO NOT LIKE than an Illinois game since 2008 other than the ASU game last year (I was not able to make it to the Northwestern game last year). Not I did not say that I was not as EXCITED as I was for an Illinois game..but I said that it was more fun…to watch an offence to move the ball….to watch a team give only 25-30 yard of penalty's in a game ..to watch a team 1 one mission to win the game.
My friends..if any of you call me out for not being the best illinos fan..i would just smile. But I am who mike Thomas wants. Me to spend my money to go to the games, to leave Chicago at 5:30 Am to watch the 11 AM games (and I do)…to go to the Chicago lunch-ins (by the by have not seen them in town yet…south suburbs does not count….hmmmmm)
Right now I told my wife (of one month…an Illinois Wesleyan grad turned huge Illini Fan) we are likely not going back for next year…I lie..im going back I live Illinois too much,.,..) but many people will not. That is what scares me. I am sitting here watching the game again…just like Rober@alioneye will. ..and the is not much to get excited about.
There is Beckman Chewing…there is a turnover…there is a weak line..there is a muffed Kick…
Ill be at the games next year.. Leave at 5:30 AM- be at the 11 AM game 4 times a year. But there wont be others with me…(my friend have NO interest in going and make fun of me all the time for "keeping the faith"). I want this to change…I have a proposal…but don’t we all.
It’s a full culture change. Mr Thomas and Mr Beckman come get me and my friends. We want it…we need it…just give us an excuse….
Go Illini.