Pregame: Illinois at Rutgers, Saturday, October 6th, 11:00am CT, BTN

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#26      

LFOD

LFOD
LFOD
This is a must-win game, and I think we'll do it.
 
#28      

220Illini

2
220Illini
Second and Chalmers said:
We're probably going to be favored, right? Too early for a line prediction, but at this point I could see us giving a touchdown.
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I definitely think we will be favored given Rutgers' last two performances. Buffalo opened -6 against them and it was a beatdown. I think it will open somewhere around -6.5 Illinois being favored.

The last time Illinois came into a B1G game favored, you ask? 2016 season at Rutgers we came in as a 4 pt favorite on the road and won 24-7.
 
#29      

Selfcon4

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Selfcon4
My guess is, as usual, we play down to the competition. We play just good enough to lose. Whatever it takes to get the L . That has been our MO for years.
 
#30      

ILL2010MJ

ILL2010MJ
ILL2010MJ
Rutgers lost to Kansas by 41 and Buffalo by 29. They're not just the worst P5 team, they're one of the worst FBS teams.

We win and win easily 35-7.

Purdue will be the real challenge.
 
#31      

ChiCityIllini

C
ChiCityIllini
I am guessing we will be about 3-5 point road favorites v. Rugers if the game were happening this Saturday. Depending on how they perform against IU this could change
 
#32      

Deleted member 654622

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Guest
Deleted member 654622
Selfcon4 said:
My guess is, as usual, we play down to the competition. We play just good enough to lose. Whatever it takes to get the L . That has been our MO for years.
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IF this is the case and we play down to the competition then the Lovie hot seat talk should start. I have been a huge Lovie supporter and am realistic with what he started with. But Rutgers would be .500 vs all Division II teams. They need to dominate them, so they better be ready to play
 
#33      

RedRocksIllini

RedRocksIllini
Morrison, CO
RedRocksIllini
Selfcon4 said:
My guess is, as usual, we play down to the competition. We play just good enough to lose. Whatever it takes to get the L . That has been our MO for years.
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My pessimistic side agrees with this but I have a feeling we'll open our own B1G beer fridge and beat these guys. Ah, who's kidding who? We're not the sort of fans that are dumb enough to ever lock the beer fridge.
 
#34      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
Second and Chalmers said:
We're probably going to be favored, right? Too early for a line prediction, but at this point I could see us giving a touchdown.
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I'd imagine the line being about as close to even as possible.

Very similar games (USF & PSU). Offense looked legit against Penn State though. Our best offensive weapons are obviously Corbin and Epstein. Defensively, revolving doors might be better at this point. Whether is injuries and tiredness, or pure lack of skill, or poor coaching--I don't know. If this team expects to win games (yes even Rutgers, by far the easiest remaining game), our front 4 has to show the ability to limit rushing and get to the passer. They grade out as F on both accounts to this date.

My hope is that with our secondary players back (heard Williams got hurt during the game though), we can stack the box a bit more and perhaps throw a few blitz plays in there. The offense is coming along, I'd like to see a competent D before I start claiming any wins.
 
#35      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
ChiefIllini said:
I'd imagine the line being about as close to even as possible.
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I understand and agree with the spirit of "hey, we're bad too, this is two bad football teams, call it a tossup", but that's not how Vegas works.

Rutgers are a 17 point home dog to Indiana next week. Barring them surprising in that game, we will be favored by several points.
 
#36      

Poe's Law

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Poe's Law
Robert68 said:
The 4 most winnable games left on schedule define the level of progress imo. Rutgers Purdue Minn and NW are the games that if we can win say 3 of 4 it marks notable progress. 2 is some progress and 1 or 0 is not good. Maybe they can spring an upset somewhere else but these are the type of games the program has to start winning soon.
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I'd put Nebraska in this category ahead of NW but I'm nitpicking. 3.5 was my personal Over/Under for this season. Win less than 3 or less and it's going to be a long off season. Win 4 and things are trending up, more than that and I'll be ecstatic. It's tough to see a path to 4 wins that doesn't include Rutgers. As of right now Rutgers is the last game of the season where we are favored.
 
#37      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
Will be most important Illinois football game since.....early 2016 season (UNC, WMU, PU)? 2015 Minnesota game? 2014 Penn State game? Best comparison might be 1998 Northwestern game (first B1G win in two years, showed the roster progress)
 
#39      

Hoppy2105

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Little Rock, Arkansas
Hoppy2105
djkirkpatrick22 said:
Not sure if I'm just lost or missing something, but where has Calvin Avery been?
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He’s been playing but even top 300 freshmen DLs need a year or two to get into game shape/strength.

(Also, apparently he gets gassed easily)
 
#40      

Second and Chalmers

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Second and Chalmers
djkirkpatrick22 said:
Not sure if I'm just lost or missing something, but where has Calvin Avery been?
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He's played a decent amount. Definitely a talent, but he's got a pretty soft body at this point, and people have said his conditioning's not all that good so that limits his reps.

Freshman stuff. Let Joey Boese loose on him.
 
#43      

220Illini

2
220Illini
mhuml32 said:
Will be most important Illinois football game since.....early 2016 season (UNC, WMU, PU)? 2015 Minnesota game? 2014 Penn State game? Best comparison might be 1998 Northwestern game (first B1G win in two years, showed the roster progress)
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Completely agree. If we want a decent class we need to be able to show progress. Showing that we aren't the bottom dwellers of the B1G is a start. Rutgers is the beginning of that. It's hard to recruit when all we have to show is highlights of us competing but then eventually losing.
 
#44      

BZuppke

BZuppke
Plainfield
BZuppke
We need to soundly beat Rutgers and I believe we will. We need to beat Purdue as well. That sets us up at 4-2 needing to win only 2 of the next 6 to be bowl eligible. It is doable and we need to do it to gain respectability and keep recruiting momentum. I think we do it.
 
#45      

Hiyakids

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Hiyakids
We just need to win. At this juncture, style points are luxury. Rutgers took us to the wood shed last year at Memorial stadium, not that long ago. A win is progress
 
#46      

Illinibatt

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Illinibatt
BWBW said:
Go for the juggler
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#47      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Lovie Smith said DT Jamal Woods has a significant injury. Likely will be out a while, but Lovie didn’t say it’s a season-ender yet.
https://twitter.com/JWerner247/
 
#48      

ChiefIllini

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ChiefIllini
I think a big reason why our d line is performing poorly this year is lack of subs. Clearly the pressure they provide dips late in the game. Its likely not to get much better this year, but it's something we need to address. Losing Woods for whatever period of time hurts us so much.
 
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