2013 | Arkansas | 3–9 | 0–8 | 7th (Western) | |||
2014 | Arkansas | 7–6 | 2–6 | 7th (Western) | W Texas | ||
2015 | Arkansas | 8–5 | 5–3 | T–3rd (Western) | W Liberty | ||
2016 | Arkansas | 7–6 | 3–5 | T–5th (Western) | L Belk | ||
2017 | Arkansas | 4–8 | 1–7 | 7th (Western) |
I'm actually inclined to agree with this. Don't understand all the Bielema love. Really don't think he'd be a sure thing by any means.Guys, are we serious with this Bret Bielema talk? He rode Alvarez's coattails to the top at Wisconsin (building essentially nothing himself) and was mediocre at best at Arkansas. He's notorious for being a total jerk, so I'm surprised when it's insinuated he could compile a strong staff.
I wouldn't touch that hire with a ten foot pole, and I'd be SO disappointed if that's who ends up succeeding Lovie at Illinois.
He won the companion sweepstakes though.Guys, are we serious with this Bret Bielema talk? He rode Alvarez's coattails to the top at Wisconsin (building essentially nothing himself) and was mediocre at best at Arkansas. He's notorious for being a total jerk, so I'm surprised when it's insinuated he could compile a strong staff.
I wouldn't touch that hire with a ten foot pole, and I'd be SO disappointed if that's who ends up succeeding Lovie at Illinois.
"Riding coattails" for 7 seasons is pretty difficult. He was able to maintain a great Wisky program. That's a better way to put it. And honestly I could care less if people think he is a jerk as long as he wins and it isn't some type of player abuse issue.Guys, are we serious with this Bret Bielema talk? He rode Alvarez's coattails to the top at Wisconsin (building essentially nothing himself) and was mediocre at best at Arkansas. He's notorious for being a total jerk, so I'm surprised when it's insinuated he could compile a strong staff.
I wouldn't touch that hire with a ten foot pole, and I'd be SO disappointed if that's who ends up succeeding Lovie at Illinois.
Come on. You can be less than enthused with him as a candidate without mischaracterizing what he did at Wisconsin. He won almost 70 games in 7 seasons.He rode Alvarez's coattails to the top at Wisconsin (building essentially nothing himself)
Yeah, this quote from Ken Niumatalolo had me all jazzed on the concept:That USA today article that was linked on the previous page is intriguing. It would be neat to see some team try it again. A modernized version with more of a run/pass mix could work. That system with a mobile qb that could throw would be virtually unstoppable IMO. So much uncertainty about where the ball is going on each play.
Modern defenses in a major conference would start to figure out the key elements better than in the old days so that is where the passing game would need to come in.
Also, I never knew how long and impressive Blackman's resume was before Illinois.If you’re at a different place, you obviously could tweak it more and throw the ball more,” Niumatalolo says. “We try to shorten the game here and keep their offense off the field and limit their possessions. It’s about winning. I wouldn’t say we’d go to coach (Mike) Leach stuff, but you could run our stuff out the gun. You could throw the ball more.
It is so preposterous that people talk about this stuff like Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech didn't happen. Paul Johnson WON THE ACC playing an absolutely rigidly doctrinaire triple option style. They beat highly ranked and hugely talented opponents, Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech OVER AND OVER AGAIN.Modern defenses in a major conference would start to figure out the key elements better than in the old days so that is where the passing game would need to come in.
The real hidden truth is how impressive Blackman's resume was AT Illinois.Also, I never knew how long and impressive Blackman's resume was before Illinois.
No thanks on Bielema..he was a real slime ball here off the field (some really sick stories floated around)..and don't think that Barry doesn't keep his fingers in the football program..possibly why Bielema had a good record here but failed at Arkansas...As has been pointed out, unlikely Bielema leaves the NFL, and not sure he'd be a sure thing if he came here. But per his time a Arkansas, I seem to remember reading back we he got fired that part of it was he really wasn't a good fit for the South and the SEC. As to him being a jerk, some of that characterization might be because he didn't really like the media and gave short, terse interviews. (Any surprise he's coaching in New England.) I also seem to remember reading that he was well liked by his players.
Absolutely, as a freshman when he was fired I can't tell you how disappointed I was. Keeping him would have prevented the unmitigated disaster that was Gary Moeller.The real hidden truth is how impressive Blackman's resume was AT Illinois.
24-11-1 against Big Ten opponents other than Woody and Bo.
Yeah. You can't compare his record to those from the 60s and before or the 90s and after. Absolute apples and oranges in both cases due to Big 10 scheduling restrictions of the time. Look at the non-conference schedules he had to play.The real hidden truth is how impressive Blackman's resume was AT Illinois.
24-11-1 against Big Ten opponents other than Woody and Bo.
Kinda funny, given his comment to the Iowa State coach when he played at Iowa.Guys, are we serious with this Bret Bielema talk? He rode Alvarez's coattails to the top at Wisconsin (building essentially nothing himself) and was mediocre at best at Arkansas. He's notorious for being a total jerk, so I'm surprised when it's insinuated he could compile a strong staff.
I wouldn't touch that hire with a ten foot pole, and I'd be SO disappointed if that's who ends up succeeding Lovie at Illinois.
Shows you how lame I am that this was a watershed moment for me, but finding that out really redpilled me into seeing that the entire Guentherian narrative of a program that died with the Slush Fund and needed to accept mediocrity was a total lie.Yeah. You can't compare his record to those from the 60s and before or the 90s and after. Absolute apples and oranges in both cases due to Big 10 scheduling restrictions of the time. Look at the non-conference schedules he had to play.
If he could have cherry-picked a couple non-conference wins every year and if the Big 10 allowed more than one team to go to a bowl game back in the 70s, then Blackman's time here would be remembered completely differently. He suffered greatly from the Big 10's stone age "Big 2, Little 8" mentality back then.
Modern defenses in a major conference would start to figure out the key elements better than in the old days so that is where the passing game would need to come in.
The funny thing is, defenses DON’T adjust well to it because it’s such a rare type of offense.It is so preposterous that people talk about this stuff like Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech didn't happen. Paul Johnson WON THE ACC playing an absolutely rigidly doctrinaire triple option style. They beat highly ranked and hugely talented opponents, Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
Not discounting what he did at all. Just think as you step up in competition in the Big Ten that you have to be prepared to mix in the pass more. I absolutely would be intrigued by the possibilities of some kind of offense where you use deception & trickery to overcome talent gaps.It is so preposterous that people talk about this stuff like Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech didn't happen. Paul Johnson WON THE ACC playing an absolutely rigidly doctrinaire triple option style. They beat highly ranked and hugely talented opponents, Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
Yep. Absolutely. And Valek had an excuse for being bad in the immediate aftermath of the the Slush Fund scandal. Blackman was a Hall of Fame coach who left Dartmouth because the NCAA was reorganizing football into divisions and the Ivy League was making the decision to go small time. It was a major coup that he came to Illinois. He made the Illini respectable for his entire time here. If he had been able to schedule the way that - as an example - Zook was able to schedule and was able go to bowls merely for finishing at or above .500 the way it is now, he would have gone to bowls in 5 of his 6 seasons at Illinois.Shows you how lame I am that this was a watershed moment for me, but finding that out really redpilled me into seeing that the entire Guentherian narrative of a program that died with the Slush Fund and needed to accept mediocrity was a total lie.
Like, obviously on its face you shouldn't accept mediocrity, but the pop history of Illinois football peddled by the Loren Tate's and Jim Turpin's of the world over the decades is a complete fabrication. Mike White was not the exception, Valek and Moeller were.
Switzer is about to turn 82 and has been out of football for 20 years. Stoops, on the other hand, is 59 and active as the head coach and general manager of the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. He's only been out of college football for three years, and was All Big Ten as a player at Iowa. Also coached there as a graduate assistant. Grew up in Ohio. Not that he's going to leave the XFL for Illinois, but we could, and probably will, do worse.Only if he comes with the pleated khakis...
Maybe Barry Switzer will come out of retirement?
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