Have to agree with Twangers. IW just isn’t ready, but that doesn’t mean the Illini have given up on him or that he couldn’t start next year. Maybe get him some time against Rutgers or another poor defense but no reason to burn his redshirt when it seems pretty apparent he is going to need time. Why potentially hurt his confidence or worse get him hurt when he’s just not ready.
Michigan 42, Illinois 25 POSTGAME
Have to agree with Twangers. IW just isn’t ready, but that doesn’t mean the Illini have given up on him or that he couldn’t start next year. Maybe get him some time against Rutgers or another poor defense but no reason to burn his redshirt when it seems pretty apparent he is going to need time. Why potentially hurt his confidence or worse get him hurt when he’s just not ready.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
NW lost to then #25 Stanford, MIchigan State,# 8 WIsconsin and Nebraska. 1-4, 0-3 big ten......much better resume.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
Same feeling.....keep the ESPN scoreboard close....too disappointed to even read "HOW" we lost......week after week, after week.
Could you imagine the damage that would be caused to this program and this fan base if we threw him out there against teams like Wisconsin, Michigan State or Iowa with no clear plan or structure when his mind and body aren’t ready and he were to suffer some sort of serious injury, like a ligament tear?
Isaiah is a very talented kid, just because he’s not Trevor Lawrence doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a future in this league with this University. Don’t ruin him by putting him in a no-win situation in derailed season.
Deleted member 29907
D
Guest
I've got to say I was not overly impressed when Isaiah did get some space. I am not sure if he's nursing something - but he did not exactly run away or past anyone. Is it possible its just our own slow D that he tears up?
Lovie still applies to the age old idea that withholding injury information gives him some sort of tactical advantage so while I don’t know what it is, it was said during his presser that Isaiah tweaked it again today.
Biggest cause of what you’re seeing though is that he’s a true freshman. The game is moving faster than what he’s ready for at this stage.
Deleted member 29907
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Guest
I agree 100% he's not ready, and to complement that, he's still pretty small given he's not ready.
They zoomed in on him running off the field after one of the third downs. He was running with a straight down left arm. Looked off.
Deleted member 29907
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Guest
I didn't follow the game thread - was there a reason we didn't throw to the TEs? Seems like it might have been a good idea for a green QB to have quicker options
Thanks.
Hopefully nothing too serious. What Isaiah really needs are live speed, low pressure reps with that “RED” jersey on his back. A setback there would not be positive.
If that's true it would mean that in four years Smith has never matched Cubit's 5-7 record. Whitman fired Cubit on his (Whitman's) first day on the job. How could he possibly grant Smith another year with a two or three win season?
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Lovie or no Lovie...I'm totally done with Rod Smith. He's a terrible play caller and game manager that is not complimented with a HC that can manage a game.
His offense may be exciting when run with elite WR's and experienced RPO QB's, but he is terrible at adjusting for what this teams strength is.
Just like Lovie's D was exciting when it was run with elite LB's and DB's with NFL speed. We don't have that. We are tackling the ball instead of tackling the runner. We have a lot of TO's....so exciting...look how that's panned out.
We absolutely have the talent to be a 5-6 win team with this schedule. We are not winning because of the coaching, preparation, and play calling.
I respect JW for the hire and vision....but it's not working. We need a college coach that can coach college kids of ANY level and manage a game.
Nothing about this game changes that.
His offense may be exciting when run with elite WR's and experienced RPO QB's, but he is terrible at adjusting for what this teams strength is.
Just like Lovie's D was exciting when it was run with elite LB's and DB's with NFL speed. We don't have that. We are tackling the ball instead of tackling the runner. We have a lot of TO's....so exciting...look how that's panned out.
We absolutely have the talent to be a 5-6 win team with this schedule. We are not winning because of the coaching, preparation, and play calling.
I respect JW for the hire and vision....but it's not working. We need a college coach that can coach college kids of ANY level and manage a game.
Nothing about this game changes that.
I'm not quick to pull the trigger on coaching moves... but seriously folks... what gives anyone reason to think that this program is in anyway headed in the right direction, thus giving Coach Love another year?
ivwilsoniv
- Aurora, IL
Maybe it’s just me but I still want Peters under center as much as possible for the rest of the season.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
When we came out of the half and got a couple of quick stops (and therefore Lovie understood that he had a well-rested D on the sideline) we started going uptempo with Robinson and doing the dual threat stuff we did with AJ Bush last year. Best our O has looked in weeks, though it was still a bit limited and sloppy.
The problem is having the defense off the field enough so tempo doesn't cost us more points than it gains us.
Peters is just woefully inconsistent. That's not going to give us a chance against anyone any good.
Sort of reminds me of a comment last year during the Penn St. game when we were seemingly in it for awhile...."if it hadnt been for those 4 fourth quarter touchdowns we're in this game!"
FinalFour88
- Charlotte, NC
I say keep IW's redshirt this season and start him next season as a redshirt freshman. Peters should NOT be starting next year. He's not going to take this program where it needs to go.
I would say that is very premature. Peters also hasn't had that many starts under his belt and is learning on the fly. He has an electric arm and would make a heck of a pro style or air raid qb. IW, although very electric in his own right has the opposite qualities as Peters. Until we get an answer on who is making the play calls next year, it is far to early to announce a starting qb. Robinson, with a few more reps could be something to work with as well. You can tell he is a guy who relishes the qb position and looked good at times today against a stiff defense.
Peters has potential and sometimes makes an incredible throw, but he also misfires wildly more times than not, sometimes on easy throws. He’s really inconsistent. And not a great decision maker in my opinion. He could develop further but I watching him play I can see why he couldn’t get on the field at Michigan. And Patterson isn’t very good either so that’s saying something.
orange100
time to hop on the wife
The rebuild is going to take longer than expected or desired but it's possible it can succeed. I think we've seen flashes of the goal, of what an Illini team can be with the leadership we have in place. BUT we need ballers. We need bigger, stronger, faster. (side note: Zook got us ballers, but as we all saw, it wasn't a rebuild. It was a flash in the pan.) This year: we got a couple recruits and a couple transfers that fit the rebuild needs, but we need more. More time, more ballers. We need ballers that can execute the rebuild plan. IW is not ready. He's a high school kid with talent but this is the Big10. If you don't go to many high school games, you cannot fathom what that jump is like. Beason is out. Roundtree is out. We have no QB, YET. IW is the QB of the rebuild. I think recruiting has been more difficult than the rebuild staff expected. I think coaching has not lived up to expectations and tweaks were needed that were not expected. I think the plan is sound but there have been major hiccups that have slowed the pace of the rebuild. I think Whitman wants to build this program like a skyscraper or an aircraft carrier, not a mobile home where can all move in real quick to a nice looking place that isn't solid and doesn't last. There will be supply-chain issues, cost-overruns, and rainy days where progress isn't apparent. Illinois has been down so long, a rebuild of that type, the type we want, is not going to happen on a typical schedule. But I think it's possible. There's a million moving parts to this. It's going to take more patience than we're used to.
I know a lot of people think Lovie Smith needs to go, and I'm not saying they are all wrong, but I will say this in his defense: his team didn't quit today. They easily could have when Michigan had a 28-0 lead. But they fought and made it a ballgame.
I don't think you should fire a coach in the middle of the season -- the only exception is if the team is quitting on him. Right now at least that isn't happening. If you let him go at the end of the year that would be perfectly understandable, but I think you should give him the rest of the season and let him take his shot at turning this thing around.
I don't think you should fire a coach in the middle of the season -- the only exception is if the team is quitting on him. Right now at least that isn't happening. If you let him go at the end of the year that would be perfectly understandable, but I think you should give him the rest of the season and let him take his shot at turning this thing around.
I think it might just be you. Brandon Peters is our Jay Cutler. The way our O-line was absolutely dominated today I'm not sure any QB outside of Russel Wilson would have looked good today. On the other hand, our mobile, running QB will probably want to work on running with the ball NOT extended at arms length with zero ball security at some point later next week. Robinson breathed life into an offense at least, but those fumbles were death and will be in every game going forward.
I was very impressed the kids didn't quit in the second half after getting obliterated in the first half. Michigan let down and they were there to at least take advantage of it. Big credit to the kids for fighting back before getting their doors blown off.
Jeremy Werner@JWerner247
https://twitter.com/JWerner247/status/1183112400704344066
#illini Lovie: "We've been pretty good with penalties."
Illinois is the most penalized team in the Big Ten.
1:09 PM - Oct 12, 2019
See. Lovie just isn't getting the credit that he deserves. The Illini are leading the Big Ten in a category and all people do is complain.
https://twitter.com/JWerner247/status/1183112400704344066
#illini Lovie: "We've been pretty good with penalties."
Illinois is the most penalized team in the Big Ten.
1:09 PM - Oct 12, 2019
See. Lovie just isn't getting the credit that he deserves. The Illini are leading the Big Ten in a category and all people do is complain.