Pregame: Illinois at Purdue, Saturday, October 26th, 11:00am CT, BTN

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#53      

mhuml32

Cincinnati, OH
Purdue has essentially abandoned the run and is still piling up major passing yards. Illinois has been getting gashed by the running game until Saturday. Will be interesting to see if Purdue sticks to their script or makes changes (Guess: They'll try to sling it 50 times against Illinois).

Purdue is having major offensive line problems but Illinois' pass rush has their own issues in B1G play. Which shows up on Saturday?


If Illinois doesn't have at least 45 rushing attempts by the end of the game.....
 
#54      

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
Purdue has essentially abandoned the run and is still piling up major passing yards. Illinois has been getting gashed by the running game until Saturday. Will be interesting to see if Purdue sticks to their script or makes changes (Guess: They'll try to sling it 50 times against Illinois).

Purdue is having major offensive line problems but Illinois' pass rush has their own issues in B1G play. Which shows up on Saturday?


If Illinois doesn't have at least 45 rushing attempts by the end of the game.....
Yep. Time to bring back the old "Feed the Studs". Dre and Reggie should get as many carries as they can handle.
 
#55      
Can't lay back in deep zone...they will pick it apart. If we know that, Lovie knows that, so I hope he has something up his sleeve.
 
#56      
Can't lay back in deep zone...they will pick it apart. If we know that, Lovie knows that, so I hope he has something up his sleeve.

I think if we get them in a 3rd and long early he will blitz to see how they pick it up.
 
#57      
Was our last road B1G win, excluding Rutgers, in 2015 against Purdue? It's time for history to repeat itself.
 
#58      
I was just discussing this with a friend and we independently came to the same conclusions. The players are talented and they play hard but they're making the same mistakes over and over. They're not getting coached up. So if what you say is correct, how do we fix it? New backs coach and DC in order? Anything else? How do we get better next year?
We need better position coaches and a DC who's recently experienced in designing successful P5 defenses. DL coach Clark has promise, but he should have gone through the minors before going P5. He needs to have experience with a wide variety of player skills and personalities so that he knows how best to teach and motivate his players, and develop recruiting networks in talent rich areas. Now he's trying to coach 'em up by "trial and error" and it ain't working so well. If former Dl coach Mike Phair had this group, I think it would be dominating now.

Coach McClain just isn't a P5 quality OL coach. I think Peter Principle would put him in D1A or lower. We could have hired a former Illini OL coach Harry Hiestand quality coach, and if we had, I think we'd be getting at least half the top recruits in Illinois and play would be much more disciplined and better. Recruits see Coach McClain then see OL coaches from Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Michigan, NW, MSU and Missou, and it's no contest. We need someone there who has at least 10 years of successful P5 OL coaching experience, and well developed OL recruiting networks. We had the money to hire someone like that, but Rod and Lovie set the bar low for some reason.

LB? the biggest problems our LBs have is missed assignments, angle and basic technique. They also are pretty horrible in their pass drops. Get a LB coach with 10 years top 25 coaching experience and it could have made a huge difference. Lovie just punted for nepotism and hired his unqualified son showing Lovie cares less about the team and fans than lining his families' pockets. The fans are paying the prices for that, not him.

Byrd and Keynodo Hudson have been disasters in recruiting and player development. Missed assignments and poor coverage and tackling by the secondary have been horrendous this year. He couldn't hold on to top players he already had on campus. Ron Hardge III was better than some that have dropped deep on the depth chart. Bennett Williams wasn't good enough for them, but apparently Oregon thought his transgressions weren't irredeemable as did Lovie. It was Byrd's job last year to birddog him to get back in the fold. If he needed to have him "escorted" to class or have a shadow to keep him out of trouble, he should've done it. Cameron Watkins would've helped, but they let him slip away to Memphis. They NEEDED top transfers this year in the backfield, but they got shut out. Recruit Thomson from Phillips had so many injury problems that he was a high risk, low payoff recruit. Beason was brought in bas an "athlete" by Hayes-stoker. Witherspoon was a lucky last minute catch, but we shouldn't have to rely on a 160# true freshman to start. What does the fact that he's starting say about the coaching of the rest of the unit? He had hardly any of their coaching and is doing better than many who did.

I really wish I knew why Lovie is doing what he's doing with staffing. If any reasonable person were in his shoes, they'd hire the best available to make the program successful. he's just hiring a bunch of unqualified cronies and longshots.

I really don't get him....
 
#59      
Been thinking more about this game.

As I stated in the Wisconsin post game thread, we have success when we play to our strengths and have looked pretty bad when we try to sling the rock.

1. Eat at RB's. Feed Reggie, feed Dre. Get them going early. Our best defense in this game will be a good offense.

2. Don't let Peters hold the ball to long. He is very talented and has a big arm but he tends to think himself into bad plays. Somewhat inconsistent OL play hasn't helped.

3. Don't worry. Purdue loves to pass. They average 59.1 yards a game rushing which is absurd. We might get behind by 7-14 early. DON'T PANIC. If we control the game in the long run(see point 1) we will be OK.

4. Keep em fresh. Even with injuries our DL rotation looked solid. Rotate them early so we can have our starters relatively fresh late in the game.

We Lose If: We try to get into a shootout with em.

We Win If: We control the LOS and run the football.
 
#60      
We need better position coaches and a DC who's recently experienced in designing successful P5 defenses. DL coach Clark has promise, but he should have gone through the minors before going P5. He needs to have experience with a wide variety of player skills and personalities so that he knows how best to teach and motivate his players, and develop recruiting networks in talent rich areas. Now he's trying to coach 'em up by "trial and error" and it ain't working so well. If former Dl coach Mike Phair had this group, I think it would be dominating now.

Coach McClain just isn't a P5 quality OL coach. I think Peter Principle would put him in D1A or lower. We could have hired a former Illini OL coach Harry Hiestand quality coach, and if we had, I think we'd be getting at least half the top recruits in Illinois and play would be much more disciplined and better. Recruits see Coach McClain then see OL coaches from Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Michigan, NW, MSU and Missou, and it's no contest. We need someone there who has at least 10 years of successful P5 OL coaching experience, and well developed OL recruiting networks. We had the money to hire someone like that, but Rod and Lovie set the bar low for some reason.

LB? the biggest problems our LBs have is missed assignments, angle and basic technique. They also are pretty horrible in their pass drops. Get a LB coach with 10 years top 25 coaching experience and it could have made a huge difference. Lovie just punted for nepotism and hired his unqualified son showing Lovie cares less about the team and fans than lining his families' pockets. The fans are paying the prices for that, not him.

Byrd and Keynodo Hudson have been disasters in recruiting and player development. Missed assignments and poor coverage and tackling by the secondary have been horrendous this year. He couldn't hold on to top players he already had on campus. Ron Hardge III was better than some that have dropped deep on the depth chart. Bennett Williams wasn't good enough for them, but apparently Oregon thought his transgressions weren't irredeemable as did Lovie. It was Byrd's job last year to birddog him to get back in the fold. If he needed to have him "escorted" to class or have a shadow to keep him out of trouble, he should've done it. Cameron Watkins would've helped, but they let him slip away to Memphis. They NEEDED top transfers this year in the backfield, but they got shut out. Recruit Thomson from Phillips had so many injury problems that he was a high risk, low payoff recruit. Beason was brought in bas an "athlete" by Hayes-stoker. Witherspoon was a lucky last minute catch, but we shouldn't have to rely on a 160# true freshman to start. What does the fact that he's starting say about the coaching of the rest of the unit? He had hardly any of their coaching and is doing better than many who did.

I really wish I knew why Lovie is doing what he's doing with staffing. If any reasonable person were in his shoes, they'd hire the best available to make the program successful. he's just hiring a bunch of unqualified cronies and longshots.

I really don't get him....

I think last year almost all promising coordinators saw Lovie as a sinking ship that wouldn't help them move up. The other problem is he wants to run his system and doesn't seem to want to give up control to someone he doesn't really "know." I think next year if he builds on this Wisconsin win and gets us bowl eligible or 5-7 it might be easier to hire a DC or at least a LB coach with promise because we know Lovie will be here.
 
#63      

Deleted member 654622

D
Guest
We cannot have one without the other. Rod has had a very good balance of pass and run, with more running plays. Josh Bebbe might be our best player on Offense. He needs attention and it is a pretty big deal when we can stretch the field.
What gives us the best chance to move the ball is the threat of the QB run. If Peters can run 3-5 times per game, everyone else will have much better opportunities.
 
#64      
We cannot have one without the other. Rod has had a very good balance of pass and run, with more running plays. Josh Bebbe might be our best player on Offense. He needs attention and it is a pretty big deal when we can stretch the field.
What gives us the best chance to move the ball is the threat of the QB run. If Peters can run 3-5 times per game, everyone else will have much better opportunities.

To an extent, I’d go another way. Our best chance of moving the football is by taking deep vertical shots down the field, whether they’re successful or not. Wisconsin played their safeties in deep quarters the last half of that game after Bhebe got behind them twice for potential TDs. That opened up everything for us offensively. If we show Purdue that we are able and willing to attack them deep down the field, we’re going to start to seeing things open up for us.
 
#65      

Deleted member 654622

D
Guest
We cannot have one without the other. Rod has had a very good balance of pass and run, with more running plays. Josh Bebbe might be our best player on Offense. He needs attention and it is a pretty big deal when we can stretch the field.
What gives us the best chance to move the ball is the threat of the QB run. If Peters can run 3-5 times per game, everyone else will have much better opportunities.
To an extent, I’d go another way. Our best chance of moving the football is by taking deep vertical shots down the field, whether they’re successful or not. Wisconsin played their safeties in deep quarters the last half of that game after Bhebe got behind them twice for potential TDs. That opened up everything for us offensively. If we show Purdue that we are able and willing to attack them deep down the field, we’re going to start to seeing things open up for us.

So what your saying is it is a pretty big deal when we can stretch the field lol
 
#66      
So what your saying is it is a pretty big deal when we can stretch the field lol

LOL, that it is. I think that’s a much bigger part of what opens things to for us than Brandon pulling the football down, which Wisconsin didn’t seem to react to much. But Bhebe? They reacted to that with a gigantic overreaction, Jim Leonhard changed his sets dramatically.
 
#67      
Peters pulling the ball and running is a gift. He gallops with the grace of a young Peyton Manning.

#18 isn't a coincidence.
 
#69      
Gonna record this one, lol.

Should be a good test. We should be able to put up some points. Game will ride on the D, I figure. Can see us getting thrashed to winning. Our coverage is shaky and PU's a good passing team. We need to pressure their QB, plain and simple. Otherwise, ...
double like
 
#70      

Chief64

League City, TX
Anyone know of an Illini section at Purdue this weekend? Looking into attending and would like to buy in the area of other Illinois fans is possible
 
#71      

Deleted member 654622

D
Guest
LOL, that it is. I think that’s a much bigger part of what opens things to for us than Brandon pulling the football down, which Wisconsin didn’t seem to react to much. But Bhebe? They reacted to that with a gigantic overreaction, Jim Leonhard changed his sets dramatically.
My deal with Peters pulling the ball down is he gets 10+ yards the rare times he does, and we always seem to score on the drive that he does it. I do not know that to be true but that is what I feel. Example from this Sat, Peters runs, next play Corbin goes 40+ for a TD. It is an impactful part of this scheme that does not get utilized, thus weakening its overall effectiveness. Everyone just flows to where the RB is going and gives us worse odds.
And I find the odds of Brandon getting some yards on a run play better then him hanging in the pocket long enough to throw deep. He has the arm, Bebe has the talent and I want/we need to see him take those shots. But that pocket has to be clean. Because that dude can't recognize a blitz if it busted through his RG and head locks him.....cause it has
 
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#72      

illini80

Forgottonia
Suddenly this is such a huge game for us. Purdue may be the toughest “must win” game left on the schedule. We need to find a way to dial up whatever they were doing the last 2 weeks again. Not sure if we can play man coverage with them, but I feel even less confident in the cover 2.
 
#73      
I liked BD Mil much better last year when Purdue came into this matchup with some momentum. Hot take after hot take in these threads... A lot of fun.

However, I’m with him here. I think we lose 38-31. Disappointing defensive effort after the heroic one before it
 
#74      

ivwilsoniv

Aurora, IL
My deal with Peters pulling the ball down is he gets 10+ yards the rare times he does, and we always seem to score on the drive that he does it. I do not know that to be true but that is what I feel. Example from this Sat, Peters runs, next play Corbin goes 40+ for a TD. It is an impactful part of this scheme that does not get utilized, thus weakening its overall effectiveness. Everyone just flows to where the RB is going and gives us worse odds.
And I find the odds of Brandon getting some yards on a run play better then him hanging in the pocket long enough to throw deep. He has the arm, Bebe has the talent and I want/we need to see him take those shots. But that pocket has to be clean. Because that dude can't recognize a blitz if it busted through his RG and head locks him.....cause it has
Don't forget that Peters overthrew a WIDE OPEN #9 on one of the plays right before he ran for a first down. I was so mad about that, haha. Thought we were doomed after that overthrow.
 
#75      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
The second level (LBs DBs) for Purdon't are susceptible to the run. When Reggie gets to that level he's gonna have a 200yd day. Rod....pay attention.
Beat them over the head with Dre then by the end of the 3rd quarter they won't be able to touch Corbin.

Establish the run....play action down the field. We can win this.
 
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