Illinois 31, Kent State 24 POSTGAME

[sully]

Glad we won of course so I'll take it. But man , too close for comfort imo .

 

[Deleted member 29907]

Kudos to both lines re: off-sides or motion - very few penalties in that area if any - at least there is discipline from the start.

 

[JDHalfrack]

Kudos to both lines re: off-sides or motion - very few penalties in that area if any - at least there is discipline from the start.

I actually think this is something that is getting lost in the “the world is ending” comments (which, to be fair, this was a scary game).

The lack of penalties, especially momentum changing penalties, was nice to see.

 

[SycIllini]

Only watched the very beginning so far and had to follow the rest on my phone but, think the game goes a different direction if Smalling catches that first pass for a touchdown. Would have set a different tone right from the start. Unfortunately right through his hands... not sure it could have been thrown any better.

 

[ILL2010MJ]

DL play was a huge disappointment given the hype they've been getting. Kent St's OL is terrible and we still struggled up front. Our OL also didn't dominate the way we should have vs an overmatched opponent.

DBs, obviously there it is a different story if not for suspensions/injuries, so I'm not going to judge them.

Biggest bright spot to me was the LBs. Hansen and Phillips were phenomenal. Corbin also looked great and our WRs got open consistently.

Bush ran well and looked comfortable in the offense, but he also missed a bunch of easy throws.

Overall, I'm glad we won but we need to play better going forward. Kent St is a bottom 10 FBS team. Can't beat even Rutgers and Minnesota playing like that. I'm pretty confident getting the suspended players back will make much of that needed difference though.

 

[SescIllini]

Quick Notes

31 Points more than any game last year
DL not deep, but very young and fast. Future looks bright if they stay on the field.
Dorsey big impact at TE, not much TE action today.
DBs suspension hurt, less play makers
Uniforms look bad.
Playmakers showed up 2nd half
AJ Woods good runner and passer. Missed some deep balls/open receivers but also made a variety of throws
Punter and Kicker are a strength

Bottom line, we are young and not deep. Our best players need to get on the field, suspensions don't help.
The program needs to continue to add depth and experience every year. Lovie finding lower rank players that
are making impact IMHO.

 

[Deleted member 645583]

I agree with the above.

Unbelievable the difference between first -half and second -half Illini. Great adjustments at half-time and maybe a little yelling and screaming in the locker room.

I'm glad I waited to post this: was opening game, anything can happen. Did you watch end of PSU-App State game? Hate to say it, but I was rooting for the Apps.

The guy on BTN said Hansen looked like the second coming of J Leman - he was right: Hansen all over the place! What a player.

As you can see, I'm in DeKalb and want to see former Barb Dre Brown in action. Someone said he had turf toe. I've always wondered what that was. Looked it up: I had it last week just from a major stubbing of left big toe! It heals quickly, but for a RB I'd think Dre would be out another week. Rest and elevation of leg cured me, but boot is another good way to immobilize the toe.

I don't know the specifics, but I hope those suspended realize they let down their teammates. Shape up!

And one last thing: I thought the officiating was very, very good. It seemed like there were very few penalties called, and the reviews were spot on - or at least not too debatable.

GO ILLINI

 

[Deleted member 645583]

And Illini staff: make sure Dre has the right football footwear!

 

[ILL_INI]

Kent St is a bottom 10 FBS team.

I'm not so sure about that. I'm well aware that he faced a very young Illini secondary, but I think WB3 will win some games for them.

 

[blackdog]

It was nice to see freshmen like Avery get some snaps. The new red shirt rules will be very beneficial to this team in the future. Sydney Brown was out there quite a bit too. Probably had a lot to do with Adams Hobbs and Bennett out though.

Brown especially looked lost when Kent st went uptempo. Many times he was looking at the sideline and not paying attention when lining up so he would be on the opposite side of the field from the wr he was covering. I remember one play really stood out when they had a stacked wr formation and threw a screen. Cam Watkins made an outstanding play to chuck his blocker and make the tackle for no gain otherwise it would have been a big gain since it was 2 v 1 on that side of the field.

 

[Illiniaaron]

Did Kent State look lousy to you? Do you think their coach cannot run a program? As for the end of the game, they had to run that play because they could not have bled it off just taking a knee one more time than they did. I myself would have kicked a field goal.

Kent State is a lousy program. With the youngest head coach in college football. Coaching his first game. And their offense was more cohesive than the Illini's. Illinois took over when quite appropriately Smith just decided to run it down their throats.

 

[Deleted member 645583]

That Kent State QB was something special (Juice-llike) until Illini solved the draw.

 

[MadSeason]

Brown especially looked lost when Kent st went uptempo. Many times he was looking at the sideline and not paying attention when lining up so he would be on the opposite side of the field from the wr he was covering. I remember one play really stood out when they had a stacked wr formation and threw a screen. Cam Watkins made an outstanding play to chuck his blocker and make the tackle for no gain otherwise it would have been a big gain since it was 2 v 1 on that side of the field.

That was a tremendous play, and Watkins was really hitting out there today. Outside of Hansen, he stood out the most for me on D. He was nasty and physical all day

 

[lonelytylenol]

I'm trying to figure out which freshmen scholarship players played. Does anyone know a way to determine that definitively?

Here's what I have so far, in case any of you can correct or add to my info ...

definitely played:

• Calvin Avery
• Daniel Barker
• Sydney Brown
• Kerby Joseph
• Jartavius Martin
• Carlos Sandy
• Delano Ware
• Dylan Watt

definitely did not play:

• Verdis Brown (academic red shirt)
• Kievan Myers
• MJ Rivers
• Matt Robinson
• Coran Taylor

not sure:

• Edwin Carter
• Ron Hardge III
• Jacob Hollins
• Ezekiel Holmes
• Jakari Norwood
• Julian Pearl
• Kenyon Sims
• Jordyn Slaughter
• Khalan Tolson
• Reuben Unije

 

[IlliniCaboose]

I'm almost positive I saw Tolson on special teams.

 

[Illiini]

A 28-7 second half is what I mean by “going away.” Illini were deep in KS territory when Lovie said take a couple of knees. We ame from behind, caught and passed KS and looked ready to do more. Near the end, TV camera caught Barret sitting on the bench looking like a whipped dog.

Yeah, we were going away.

 

[Deleted member 16340]

Had the halves been flipped, would we be feeling better or worse about this game?

Worse because this season is about progression, progression within the game and progression across the season. What you describe is regression.

 

[KBLEE]

Bush ran well and looked comfortable in the offense, but he also missed a bunch of easy throws.

The receivers were not helping him much either. There were at least 4 balls that should have been caught (including one DudeK comes up with 9 times out of 10). Hopefully we're not in for another season of drops by the receiving corps.

 

[Deleted member 631370]

Are we Ohio State yet?

 

[FiveStar]

Are we Ohio State yet?

We played a team from the state of Ohio :noidea:

 

[FiveStar]

I'm almost positive I saw Tolson on special teams.

Agreed. First kickoff he the camera caught him.

 

[Jules]

Those people booing at the end of the half should be ashamed. That was disgraceful. I don’t care how much money the coaches are making or that the kids are on scholarship. That is just wrong!

 

[Deleted member 2050]

Those people booing at the end of the half should be ashamed. That was disgraceful. I don’t care how much money the coaches are making or that the kids are on scholarship. That is just wrong!

People can only take so much. Heck, even Lovie gets it.

 

[ritster]

So I just witnessed a group of gusty Fighting Illini win today, starting my 34th straight year of season football tickets. I read the entire game thread. I’m not sure how many of you ever attend games, but I’m astonished at many of your in-game posts. I predicted at halftime that we’d comeback and win. Oh, ye, of little faith. The bi*#@ing and moaning was beyond obnoxious. How about instead of being such negative “fans,” you put your money where your mouth is, go to a game, and cheer on these kids and coaches who are busting their butts. Stop your darn booing. The Mikey Dudek’s, Nick Allegretti’s, Austin Robert’s, Dre Brown’s on this team, who have faced adversity, who have fought back through numerous injuries, who are juniors or seniors, who have remained loyal, and who have been through three different head coaches and staffs, deserve better. Give this team, Lovie, and his coaches a chance. I’m calling you all out, IL. Buy a ticket, go to an effing game, and cheer our kids on. There, I said it. Ban me if you must, Dan.

Been coming to games as a season ticket holder since 1982 and that was the worst half of football I have every witnessed at any level in my life. And yes, I booed them off the field. I am a Realtor, if I gave that performance in the first half of a listing agreement I would be fired. At some point the kids and coaches need to understand we as fans have a level of expectation and we are sick and tired of the decades of losing.

 

[Mike55]

I just love when someone tells others how to be a proper fan. :rant:

And he did it perfectly.