Illini Football 2019

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#1      

Dan

Admin
Training Camp runs Aug. 2-17 and is open to the public
Training Camp Schedule

Saturday, August 10th: Fan Appreciation Day, Open Practice, Movie Night
https://fightingillini.com/news/201...ed-by-busey-set-for-aug-10.aspx?path=football


Aug. 31____Akron_____________________11:00am BTN
Sept. 7____at UConn__________________2:30pm CBSSN
Sept. 14___Eastern Michigan__________11:00am BTN
Sept. 21___Nebraska__________________
Sept. 28___BYE
Oct. 5_____at Minnesota______________2:30pm/3:00pm
Oct. 12____Michigan__________________
Oct. 19____Wisconsin (Homecoming)____11:00am
Oct. 26____at Purdue_________________
Nov. 2_____Rutgers (Dads Day)________
Nov. 9_____at Michigan State_________
Nov. 16____BYE
Nov. 23____at Iowa___________________
Nov. 30____Northwestern______________


All times CT
 
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#3      

Deleted member 654622

D
Guest
To continue the conversation.
I think Jamal Woods is going to have a monster year if he can stay healthy. He looked pretty good last year before the injury
 
#4      
It would be nice to avoid major injuries during the season. We've had too many the past few seasons.

Having Woods and Epstein at the top of their game all season would be very nice.
 
#5      
I don't think there is a team on the schedule other than Michigan that will have an offense as good as the Illini this year. A lot of media pundits are drooling over Nebby but I don't really see it. Defense please just be mediocre instead of god awful.

7 wins.
 
#6      
I don't think there is a team on the schedule other than Michigan that will have an offense as good as the Illini this year. A lot of media pundits are drooling over Nebby but I don't really see it. Defense please just be mediocre instead of god awful.

7 wins.

I'm not so sure this will be the case (I hope it is). Although we saw flashes of potential on offense, the offense was mostly mediocre. Add to it that the offense was one of the worst at turning the ball over (2.2 giveaways per game) and that exacerbates the defense's struggles (which were horrifically bad). Ultimately, the defense adds one year of experience to almost every position, which suggests we should see an uptick in performance. Also, the defense has enough depth that freshmen like Randolph and Coleman shouldn't be needed to play if they are not ready. Given that we hung with a lot of good teams through three quarters (e.g., Penn State), suggests the depth and experience could pay off this year. Unfortunately, the person running our offense is going to have little to no experience. We will see a new look at receiver. And, depending on our QB, the other team may be able to stack the box. Add the loss of Larry Boyd, and we have a steep drop off on the OL with an injury. Fortunately, Rod is a phenomenal coach and I believe will get the team up to speed, but I do not think we will be the second best offense in the Big Ten. I believe we will start roughly as good as last year, with an uptick given the infusion of talent. I just hope the maturity and depth on defense and Lovie getting his hands on the scheming will help us see a jump from irrelevance to mediocrity on defense. This would equate to roughly a bowl game. That is my hope for the year, 5-7 wins. Then next year, 10 wins.
 
#7      
I think the offensive production will be at least as good as last year. The defensive performance needs to improve significantly, and I think that is dependent on the coaching. The talent and experience are now in place, but that won't translate into wins unless the coaches can teach the players how to effectively deal with crossing patterns and how to avoid blown responsibilities.
 
#9      

SampsonRelpenk

Edwardsville, IL
That is my hope for the year, 5-7 wins. Then next year, 10 wins.
The few successful seasons we've had this century have been dramatic spikes in wins from the previous year (+5 in 2001, +7 in 2007, +4 in 2010), so that wouldn't be too shocking. But to my mind there is a wider gulf between middling teams (5-7 wins) and really good teams (10+ wins) than bad teams (what we've been) and middling ones.
 
#10      
I'm not so sure this will be the case (I hope it is). Although we saw flashes of potential on offense, the offense was mostly mediocre. Add to it that the offense was one of the worst at turning the ball over (2.2 giveaways per game) and that exacerbates the defense's struggles (which were horrifically bad). Ultimately, the defense adds one year of experience to almost every position, which suggests we should see an uptick in performance. Also, the defense has enough depth that freshmen like Randolph and Coleman shouldn't be needed to play if they are not ready. Given that we hung with a lot of good teams through three quarters (e.g., Penn State), suggests the depth and experience could pay off this year. Unfortunately, the person running our offense is going to have little to no experience. We will see a new look at receiver. And, depending on our QB, the other team may be able to stack the box. Add the loss of Larry Boyd, and we have a steep drop off on the OL with an injury. Fortunately, Rod is a phenomenal coach and I believe will get the team up to speed, but I do not think we will be the second best offense in the Big Ten. I believe we will start roughly as good as last year, with an uptick given the infusion of talent. I just hope the maturity and depth on defense and Lovie getting his hands on the scheming will help us see a jump from irrelevance to mediocrity on defense. This would equate to roughly a bowl game. That is my hope for the year, 5-7 wins. Then next year, 10 wins.

I respectfully disagree. Peters is a gunslinger who is more mobile than Lunt and at the very least can move around in the pocket. The backfield with Epstein, Corbin, Norwood, Cumby and others gives Rod Smith a lot of options even in the slot. And of course Sidney helps take pressure off of Smalling A LOT. OL redshirts Slaughter, Pearl, Brown, and Myers have made big gains in the weight room. One or two of them will have a big year just like Kendrick Green did last year. The offense will be better than last year. Rod Smith is going to go buck wild with this team imo.
 
#12      
The few successful seasons we've had this century have been dramatic spikes in wins from the previous year (+5 in 2001, +7 in 2007, +4 in 2010), so that wouldn't be too shocking. But to my mind there is a wider gulf between middling teams (5-7 wins) and really good teams (10+ wins) than bad teams (what we've been) and middling ones.

I agree with you. This year, I see a jump in defense to a middling defensive unit. The following year, we keep a large majority of the team on for a final year. Add a year to peters and Williams at QB. Add a year to the receiving corps. Add a year to most of the line. Our depth holes start to disappear. Add a year to the linebacker corps and the Safeties and Corners who are playing decently now. Then we have a full roster with decent depth. On top of that we substitute Michigan State for Indiana (which increases our likelihood of winning). The schedule is favorable for a 9 win season with improvement across both offense and defense and a team of upperclassmen with Big talent and more experience than any other team in the country. I think this is a 9-10 win team. Below is 2020 schedule


Saturday
09/05/2020
illinois-state.jpg
Illinois State
Memorial Stadium, Champaign, ILTBDSaturday
09/12/2020
uconn.jpg
UConn
Memorial Stadium, Champaign, ILTBDSaturday
09/19/2020
bowling-green.jpg
Bowling Green
Memorial Stadium, Champaign, ILTBDSaturday
09/26/2020 ---Bye Week--- Saturday
10/03/2020
rutgers.jpg
at Rutgers
HighPoint.com Stadium, Piscataway, NJTBDSaturday
10/10/2020
nebraska.jpg
at Nebraska
Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NETBDSaturday
10/17/2020
purdue.jpg
Purdue
Memorial Stadium, Champaign, ILTBDSaturday
10/24/2020
minnesota.jpg
Minnesota
Memorial Stadium, Champaign, ILTBDSaturday
10/31/2020
wisconsin.jpg
at Wisconsin
Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WITBDSaturday
11/07/2020
iowa.jpg
Iowa
Memorial Stadium, Champaign, ILTBDSaturday
11/14/2020
indiana.jpg
at Indiana
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, INTBDSaturday
11/21/2020
ohio-state.jpg
Ohio State
Memorial Stadium, Champaign, ILTBDSaturday
11/28/2020
northwestern.jpg
at Northwestern
Ryan Field, Evanston, ILTBD
 
#13      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
I'm not so sure this will be the case (I hope it is). Although we saw flashes of potential on offense, the offense was mostly mediocre. Add to it that the offense was one of the worst at turning the ball over (2.2 giveaways per game) and that exacerbates the defense's struggles (which were horrifically bad). Ultimately, the defense adds one year of experience to almost every position, which suggests we should see an uptick in performance. Also, the defense has enough depth that freshmen like Randolph and Coleman shouldn't be needed to play if they are not ready. Given that we hung with a lot of good teams through three quarters (e.g., Penn State), suggests the depth and experience could pay off this year. Unfortunately, the person running our offense is going to have little to no experience. We will see a new look at receiver. And, depending on our QB, the other team may be able to stack the box. Add the loss of Larry Boyd, and we have a steep drop off on the OL with an injury. Fortunately, Rod is a phenomenal coach and I believe will get the team up to speed, but I do not think we will be the second best offense in the Big Ten. I believe we will start roughly as good as last year, with an uptick given the infusion of talent. I just hope the maturity and depth on defense and Lovie getting his hands on the scheming will help us see a jump from irrelevance to mediocrity on defense. This would equate to roughly a bowl game. That is my hope for the year, 5-7 wins. Then next year, 10 wins.
On the flip side - we did have QB injuries last year - which hurt, and we started two guys who were first year in the program (one pretty late to the table). Turnovers were a problem as both AJ and MJ tended to throw the ball up for grabs and the Wisc game probably added a point to that average (hyperbole - math majors - please don't bother debating that point).

We also lost a first team (or so) B1G receiver and a very, very good RB. Assuming we don't experience those key losses again - and I think we're better than last year. OL is suspect, but we have better weapons to get quicker hits.
 
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#14      
On the flip side - we did have QB injuries last year - which hurt, and we started two guys who were first year in the program (one pretty late to the table). Turnovers were a problem as both AJ and MJ tended to throw the ball up for grabs and the Wisc game probably added a point to that average (hyperbole - math majors - please don't bother debating that point).

We also lost a first team (or so) B1G receiver and a very, very good RB. Assuming we don't experience those key losses again - and I think we're better than last year. OL is suspect, but we have better weapons to get quicker hits.

I agree with you. I think we have a lot of promise on offense.

We upgrade every position except center. We have two things going against us.

1. We start back over. Granted with more talent, but the offense will have a steep learning curve, likely without the full playbook to start the season.

2. We lost most of our serviceable OL depth.

I think the offense will improve, just don't think we are the 2nd best offense next to Michigan on our schedule. I hope I am wrong.
 
#15      

SampsonRelpenk

Edwardsville, IL
Just checked Bovada, their O/U regular season win total for us is a much more reasonable 4.5. In the B1G only Maryland at O/U 4 and Rutgers O/U 3 are lower.
 
#16      

Illwinsagain

Cary, IL
I'm not so sure this will be the case (I hope it is). Although we saw flashes of potential on offense, the offense was mostly mediocre. Add to it that the offense was one of the worst at turning the ball over (2.2 giveaways per game) and that exacerbates the defense's struggles (which were horrifically bad). Ultimately, the defense adds one year of experience to almost every position, which suggests we should see an uptick in performance. Also, the defense has enough depth that freshmen like Randolph and Coleman shouldn't be needed to play if they are not ready. Given that we hung with a lot of good teams through three quarters (e.g., Penn State), suggests the depth and experience could pay off this year. Unfortunately, the person running our offense is going to have little to no experience. We will see a new look at receiver. And, depending on our QB, the other team may be able to stack the box. Add the loss of Larry Boyd, and we have a steep drop off on the OL with an injury. Fortunately, Rod is a phenomenal coach and I believe will get the team up to speed, but I do not think we will be the second best offense in the Big Ten. I believe we will start roughly as good as last year, with an uptick given the infusion of talent. I just hope the maturity and depth on defense and Lovie getting his hands on the scheming will help us see a jump from irrelevance to mediocrity on defense. This would equate to roughly a bowl game. That is my hope for the year, 5-7 wins. Then next year, 10 wins.
I am calling 3 running backs over 3000 yrds combined. In 12 games, that is pretty good.
 
#22      
Heard some positive news per Bobby Roundtree, someone who says they talk with him daily said , he is getting some movement in arms and hands, nothing crazy but positive progress.

I really hope he regains some mobility, he can get back to class, graduate and join us as alums. He's a fighter and I'm glad he's seeing at least some progress.
 
#23      
So can we win 2 of 5 looking at Nebraska, Purdue, The PJ Fleck Sculling Team, Indiana, and the Mildcats? Which two are the most likely to fall victim to us?
 
#24      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
So can we win 2 of 5 looking at Nebraska, Purdue, The PJ Fleck Sculling Team, Indiana, and the Mildcats? Which two are the most likely to fall victim to us?


I'd bet every beach house I own that we don't beat Indiana this year :)

Personally, I think the Nebraska hype is premature. But they have something we don't -- a dynamic, proven QB. At least we don't know if we have one. They'll be rightly favored to beat us -- and probably by 2+ TDs.

Purdue has a lot of skill on offense -- not only Rondale Moore, but a dynamic freshman WR in David Bell and some other good pieces. They'll be favored in W. Lafayette, even though I don't see them as much more than a 6 win team.

@ Minnesota will be tough. Payback from last year, I'm afraid. And they return a lot from last year.

NW is winnable. They lost a lot from last year.
 
#25      
I'd bet every beach house I own that we don't beat Indiana this year :)

Personally, I think the Nebraska hype is premature. But they have something we don't -- a dynamic, proven QB. At least we don't know if we have one. They'll be rightly favored to beat us -- and probably by 2+ TDs.

Purdue has a lot of skill on offense -- not only Rondale Moore, but a dynamic freshman WR in David Bell and some other good pieces. They'll be favored in W. Lafayette, even though I don't see them as much more than a 6 win team.

@ Minnesota will be tough. Payback from last year, I'm afraid. And they return a lot from last year.

NW is winnable. They lost a lot from last year.

So you're saying we have a chance.
I can understand why we're rated so low in the division. We earned that. I think we have the pieces in place to surprise some folks, but it will be a surprise.
Time to earn some respect this year I think. The kids are going to have to work their collective buttocks off, but I think it's possible, and that's more than I've been able to say in many years, which is nice.
 
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