Minnesota 24, Illinois 17 POSTGAME

[illini80]

Minny is not very good. At all. We played much better, but just enough mistakes to lose.

We have no chance with JG as QB. Or likely with any other guys either. I really thought George would at least make it interesting, but once again he got some stats late in the game when it didn't mean much. He did nothing when it could have made a real difference early. Could have easily had 2 or 3 more picks. I just don't see any improvement from him vs last year. That's disappointing.

I hope this experience proves valuable to the freshman next year, because it gets worse from here on out.

 

[BZuppke]

I fully support Lovie and staff and am hopeful for the future. However, I can't understand putting Cam in there on the first play of a drive we had to have and then he throws a pick 6. Wouldn't you want to get some traction on that drive with George who has more game experience?

 

[illini80]

I fully support Lovie and staff and am hopeful for the future. However, I can't understand putting Cam in there on the first play of a drive we had to have and then he throws a pick 6. Wouldn't you want to get some traction on that drive with George who has more game experience?

Maybe the staff doesn't have much confidence in George either? I understand what you mean though. I thought the same thing when they got the ball at the 15 after the turnover and they ran in Thomas for his first play of his career.

 

[Dan]

[youtube]3dfjeTpRW4M[/youtube]
[YOUTUBE]e2Y_YI5JQYQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

[BZuppke]

How is it some teams excell in certain areas, under certain coaches? Clearly our defense is great at creating turnovers and will only get better. All teams want to do this. How is it that a Lovie coached team will excel in this area?

 

[the national]

I dont get the hate on the coaching staff. They are making teachable moments and pushing our young team. His clock management was fine. He could have used 1 timeout, but he wanted 1 last chance at the end. He saved 3 TO to have that chance. The offense has little to work with. They are just getting guys experience, wanting them to grow as intelligent players. Our pick-6 was bad but i thought we played up all around today. That interception on the goal line was the highlight. We are young, but getting better.

I appologize for my awful typing

 

[Glory Days]

Maybe the staff doesn't have much confidence in George either? I understand what you mean though. I thought the same thing when they got the ball at the 15 after the turnover and they ran in Thomas for his first play of his career.

I don't think the staff has real confidence in any specific position group. The wide receiver group has been a brighter spot than most, but their blocking vs Minnesota was putrid. They cost the Illini offense a ton of yards in negative plays and plays that could have gone much further.

The current QB situation is not good. The unquestioned team leader is now a seldom used H-Back. The No 1 QB was a grey shirt who wouldn't have even been recruited by Cubit if not for his last name. The freshman played on an awful high school team and has had so much learning just to understand football.

The RBs are beat up, and the current OL is the worst, right now, that we will ever see a Lovie Smith coached team put on the field. There is no depth, and we are starting one redshirt freshman who's got a very low ceiling, two very large freshmen who are too fat, and one freshman who doesn't even shave yet.

The DL just doesn't have enough a$$ to anchor in the trenches, and the green DEs are getting manhandled. The LB corp really didn't have thoroughbreds to begin with, and now the Illini are down to walk ons getting reps. The DBs are playing better, but, truthfully, they're not getting stressed much with only 25 pass attempts vs Illini in last two weeks combined.

This team will continue to benefit from some butt-whoopings in the final five weeks, but I expect there will be a nice improvement in overall performance next season.

 

[lexwaldez]

I don't think the staff has real confidence in any specific position group. The wide receiver group has been a brighter spot than most, but their blocking vs Minnesota was putrid. They cost the Illini offense a ton of yards in negative plays and plays that could have gone much further.

The current QB situation is not good. The unquestioned team leader is now a seldom used H-Back. The No 1 QB was a grey shirt who wouldn't have even been recruited by Cubit if not for his last name. The freshman played on an awful high school team and has had so much learning just to understand football.

The RBs are beat up, and the current OL is the worst, right now, that we will ever see a Lovie Smith coached team put on the field. There is no depth, and we are starting one redshirt freshman who's got a very low ceiling, two very large freshmen who are too fat, and one freshman who doesn't even shave yet.

The DL just doesn't have enough a$$ to anchor in the trenches, and the green DEs are getting manhandled. The LB corp really didn't have thoroughbreds to begin with, and now the Illini are down to walk ons getting reps. The DBs are playing better, but, truthfully, they're not getting stressed much with only 25 pass attempts vs Illini in last two weeks combined.

This team will continue to benefit from some butt-whoopings in the final five weeks, but I expect there will be a nice improvement in overall performance next season.

I'm starting to worry a little bit... are we SO depleted that next year represents only marginal improvements? We'll have more experience with our starters, sure, but where will improved depth materialize from? I am hoping we see fewer injuries next year as s&c starts to pay dividends. Looks pretty rough out there. This is going to be a long, tough slog. On the bright side, tailgating has been more fun.

 

[lexwaldez]

Future looks good.

However, why do coaches make changes when something is working? I think the present would be better if they stay with s working formula. ??????

I wondered this as well. They'd never admit it, but have they written the season off to a point where they want to see what they have to work with next year, develop some more players, give more people a chance, and start working on next season? Everything you can do now to reduce the likelihood of a repeat next year would seem like a very good idea.

 

[BRucks]

How is it some teams excell in certain areas, under certain coaches? Clearly our defense is great at creating turnovers and will only get better. All teams want to do this. How is it that a Lovie coached team will excel in this area?

We are able to strip the ball because that is what we focus on. That is also why our tackling is so putrid. First guy is always trying to strip the ball and doesn't bother wrapping up.

 

[SycIllini]

I fully support Lovie and staff and am hopeful for the future. However, I can't understand putting Cam in there on the first play of a drive we had to have and then he throws a pick 6. Wouldn't you want to get some traction on that drive with George who has more game experience?

I wondered this also. Why throw him into that situation where we likely need to throw and the game is on the line? Maybe George throws an int in that situation too. Who knows? Just felt like it turned a positive first game for Thomas to having a big negative at the end.

Overall I wasn't that disappointed with this game except for the end. While it would be nice to get a victory against an also not that great opponent what I really am looking for is competitive football against Big Ten teams. And I felt like we were in this game until the last few minutes of the 4th quarter. Hope that if we are able to compete as young as we are now then we can turn these to victories in the near future.

 

[riffraff]

Cam Thomas ended up being Illinois' leading rusher. I thought he played well, all things considered.

I was excited to see Cam Thomas enter the game, but then I thought "why burn his redshirt halfway through the season?" It's not like a win was necessary to save Lovie's job or make a bowl game. If he needed game reps, why not play him sooner?

 

[Soxfreak64]

I was excited to see Cam Thomas enter the game, but then I thought "why burn his redshirt halfway through the season?" It's not like a win was necessary to save Lovie's job or make a bowl game. If he needed game reps, why not play him sooner?

Right. If you're going to burn Thomas' redshirt against Minny, it had better be because they plan on going with him the rest of the year.

 

[UIGrad03]

We have 2 QBs committed in this next class, might as well play Thomas now that the season is lost.

 

[IlliniMed]

Right. If you're going to burn Thomas' redshirt against Minny, it had better be because they plan on going with him the rest of the year.

He should have been starting from Week 3 on

 

[IlliniMed]

It is clear he was not better than the 2 QB's ahead of him in practice. They would have been better off not burning his red shirt season.

Coulda woulda shoulda. I saw a QB who could run the ball and throw the ball if put in the right positions. Should have been on from Week 3

 

[RedRocksIllini]

Couple quick takes from being at the game.

Minnesota should fire their offensive coordinator. If they just run the ball between the tackles the whole game, they would have had 500 yards rushing and won very easily. We could not stop the straight-ahead runs. Our d-line was getting pushed around and our linebackers (the two or three that were more-or-less healthy) were nowhere to be found. Instead, they spent most of the first half trying to run way to the outside and mix in the occasional pass. Their QB is the worst I've seen (including our QBs). They did us a lot of favors with their playcalling.

From our side, the constant swapping of QBs seemed to be more confusing for us than them. Our offensive line is still learning how to pass-block and the QB changes made things more difficult for our guys. With Epstein and Dudek out and Malik Turner not getting involved much, we really have very few options on offense. However, Ricky Smalling is the real deal.

 

[BRucks]

If Minny wants to get rid of their offensive coordinator, I'll trade 'em even up.