Big Ten Football to Start October 23-24 (CFB Thread)

Status
Not open for further replies.
#51      

Go Nats 88 Illini

Fairfax, VA
I predict 4-4 going into the cross-over week, if all games are played. With no room to make-up games, it will be interesting to see how things shake out when one team is 6-1 another is 6-0 or whatever. I say wins over Purdue, Rutgers, upset over Iowa and win @ NU. Can't make a guess who plays who in week 9. Looking for more, but that is my take right now.
 
#52      
Illinois Football Schedule

10/24 @ Wisconsin
10/31 Purdue
11/07 Minnesota
11/14 @ Rutgers
11/21 @ Nebraska
11/28 Ohio State
12/05 Iowa
12/12 @ Northwestern
12/19 Championship/Crossover Week
Where will the week 9 games be played?
 
#53      
A 7-8 win normal season with non-conference is the same as a 4-5 wins this year. I think 3 wins is unacceptable. 3 wins would likely be beating Rutgers twice (regular scheduled game and post-season) + 1 other win.

I'm hoping we can have some consistent sustained offense through the season. I have no idea what to expect from the defense.
I don't think that we'll play any team twice.
 
#54      

Illiniaaron

Geneseo, IL
I believe this year Lovie gets a pass
I don’t disagree that he will probably get a pass even with a poor record, but it’s a little frustrating. Most people seem to give him a pass for year one also. When do the passes cease?
 
#56      

ILLINIShox24

Orange Krush '04 & '05
I don’t disagree that he will probably get a pass even with a poor record, but it’s a little frustrating. Most people seem to give him a pass for year one also. When do the passes cease?
IMO, when we miss a bowl two years in a row.

Programs that were at the bottom of the barrel for a decade can't afford to fire a respected coach for middle of the road play. I don't think Lovie will ever get us to an upper tier bowl, but we were barely FCS quality at times before him.
 
#58      
According to most projections, we will be facing rutgers in the week 9 last place matchup. I hope it doesn't happen either
If we have already played them in a crossover game and then we both finish seventh in our divisions, I don't think that they will have us play them again. I think they will have us play the sixth place team instead. I could be wrong.
 
#59      
If we have already played them in a crossover game and then we both finish seventh in our divisions, I don't think that they will have us play them again. I think they will have us play the sixth place team instead. I could be wrong.

Was announced that crossover games will be based on division finish. So ya, if the Illini finish 7th they will play the other 7th place team whether they have already played once or not.
 
#61      
I don’t disagree that he will probably get a pass even with a poor record, but it’s a little frustrating. Most people seem to give him a pass for year one also. When do the passes cease?
We're way passed ceasing. I don't think this train will cease until it has passed the BIG10 championship finish line
 
#62      
Was announced that crossover games will be based on division finish. So ya, if the Illini finish 7th they will play the other 7th place team whether they have already played once or not.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...-plus-consolation-games-on-championship-week/

Under the plan, the two division winners will play each other in the conference title game like normal with the second-place teams from each division facing off and so on all the way down to the seventh-place teams from each division. Alvarez noted the league will try to avoid having teams play each other twice and said it's not been determined where the additional championship week games will be played.
 
#63      
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...-plus-consolation-games-on-championship-week/

Under the plan, the two division winners will play each other in the conference title game like normal with the second-place teams from each division facing off and so on all the way down to the seventh-place teams from each division. Alvarez noted the league will try to avoid having teams play each other twice and said it's not been determined where the additional championship week games will be played.
I don't know why someone would be bothered about playing a team twice. I think the seeded matchup idea is pretty cool for comparing divisions. Good to know though, thanks for clearing that up
 
#66      
Honestly mixed feelings on this. Will be good to see the team out there. Feels like the B1G played this a lot like the March shutdowns. Lock everything down for a short amount of time, then open things back up when technically the virus is more spread than when you decided to shutdown in the first place. LSU and Texas A&M have essentially said their entire team got Covid. Hopefully the team remains healthy and they have fun out there.
It has everything to do with being able to do rapid testing, get the results back in 4-8 hours, and contact trace to keep infection from jumping from one team to another. The UofI's rapid test and tracing program had a LOT to do with the B1G revisiting whether or not to play (at least that's what I suspect). With cheap, easy testing it really became possible to safely practice and play. The other way to go is to NEVER test so that you don't have to know who's infected and just assume the best. I wonder which conferences chose the latter???
 
#68      
We return 78% of starters from a team that finished 4th in the West, and bring in some nice transfers and the majority of "experts" predict us to finish last...:ROFLMAO:
 
#69      
I don’t disagree that he will probably get a pass even with a poor record, but it’s a little frustrating. Most people seem to give him a pass for year one also. When do the passes cease?
What new coach doesn't get a pass for early years when they are in a massive rebuild like Illinois was???
 
#70      
What new coach doesn't get a pass for early years when they are in a massive rebuild like Illinois was???

Seriously ... I was pretty down on Lovie before the turnaround last year (that EMU loss was about the end for me...), but people HAVE to have some perspective. When we hired Lovie, we were EASILY in as bad of a position as any BCS school in the nation, with maybe two or three exceptions. It was to the point that any built-in advantages we had (Big Ten prestige/money, potential for a great gameday atmosphere should we be good, a great college town, academic prestige, good recruiting base, Chicago/St. Louis media presence, etc.) were more or less null and non-existent until we showed a pulse. I have had my issues with Lovie's tenure, and I remain "on the fence," but the first three years are honestly a total pass for any reasonable observer, period.
 
#71      
but the first three years are honestly a total pass for any reasonable observer, period.
Yeah if the team keeps improving, I'm happy to forget about those three years. But if the team under-performs this year, I'm not calling it just one bad season.
 
#72      
Also I'm ready to hurry up and get Marquez Beason and Luke Ford on the field before anything bad happens and we are robbed of that experience.
 
#74      
I know I kind of asked this a page back or so, but in a normal year, don’t (some) game times get announced about a month before the first game?

Anxious to know when we play Wisconsin!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.