Looking ahead to 2020

Status
Not open for further replies.
#1      

Dan

Admin
Fri.___Sept. 4___Illinois State
Sat.___Sept. 12__UConn
Sat.___Sept. 19__Bowling Green
Sat.___Sept. 26__--bye---
Sat.___Oct. 3____at Rutgers
Sat.___Oct. 10___at Nebraska
Sat.___Oct. 17___Purdue (Homecoming)
Sat.___Oct. 24___Minnesota
Sat.___Oct. 31___at Wisconsin
Sat.___Nov. 7____Iowa
Sat.___Nov. 14___at Indiana
Sat.___Nov. 21___Ohio State
Sat.___Nov. 28___at Northwestern
 
#2      
I'm convinced the 2 most important keys to 2020 are...
1. Peters health. He seems to have continued to get better and is starting to play with confidence.
2. LB play. I know the linebackers put up impressive stats, but they really struggled eye discipline on play action and getting depth in pass coverage. They were great in the run game for the most part.
 
#3      

mhuml32

Cincinnati, OH
Need to find a way to win two home games after 9/19.
 
#4      

cuillini

San Bernardino, Ca.
After this year, we really need to stay healthy.
 
#5      
Really need to see the lights go on for some seniors on defense like we saw with Harding, Green and our DTs this year.

most importantly a senior leap from Gay would be huge. Eifler has the all the tools but man he is out of position so frequently it’s maddening. Hobbs had some solid stretches but would like to see him ratchet it up another level. Carney I don’t what you do with - maybe he puts on some beef and slides inside?
 
#6      

ivwilsoniv

Aurora, IL
Maybe it’s just me but I only see 7 likely victories on that schedule.
 
#10      

chiefini

Rockford, Illinois
Beating Purdue and Minnesota will be key in us winning 7-8 games
Not sure if Minny loses many seniors, but after watching what they did to Auburn today, I wouldn’t count on this game as an Illini ‘W.’
P.S. I’m not a Fleck fan...
 
#11      

Deleted member 645583

D
Guest
Stay healthy, Illini. That's the key.

Brandon: l like what you told Tribune about finding a "home" at Illinois. You did a great job this season. With more help, who knows what can happen next season. IW: hang in there. So where do Beason and Ford and Verdis and others fit in next season? I think Illini are going to be better - but not by much. I hope I'm very wrong. (I remember 2007-8 which came out of the blue).

Lovie is the coach - you've got to go for stability in the program.

When's the next kickoff? Can't wait.
 
#13      
I'll use the Wisconsin & Oregon examples, two schools playing today that were once consistently bad & mediocre. They have built programs that are now consistently good. It takes time. I lived in Oregon in the 1990s and heard many jaded Ducks fans scoff that they'll never be consistently good! I had family in Wisconsin that heard the same rhetoric from Badger fans in the late 1980s & early 1990s.
Illini fans IT CAN HAPPEN to us also. It takes time. Good luck to coach Smith on the recruiting trail. I see seven wins next year, hopefully some more athletic & skilled recruits see what is being built in Champaign-Urbana & want to be a critical part of the rebuilding of this great program. It would be nice some of the top rated Illinois kids stayed home a problem both Wisconsin & Oregon had just a little over two decades ago keeping top rated Wisconsinites & Oregonians home.
Looks like Minnesota is heading in the right direction also. My better half is a gopher. That would be great for Illinois & the Big Ten when Illinois can once again be a consistent tough competitor in the league & nationally! Obviously a good thing for Illini nation and great for Big Ten football as a whole.
 
#14      
I am excited about 20-21 but I am also cautiously optimistic. I am excited that I heard or O line is returning and looking forward to adding Luke Ford with Barker to see what they can do at TE. We need some depth, speed, and size at WR like I've watched today in bowl games. Maybe our returning WRs get healthy and we add some impact recruits or transfers for 20-21. If our young DBs continue to get stronger and improve that should help our pass D. They are very young and should get better. We really lacked a pass rush yesterday I'd love to see someone step up or transfer in next season. It looks like 6-6 to me today but if we add these things and improve we could pull off some surprises like we did this season. We need to figure outca spot for Isaiah Williams and see what he can do and be as good as advertised. Ford and William's could be impact guys on offense after a year in our system
We are trending in the right direction but so are some other B10 teams we play like Indiana, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Nebraska is doing great in recruiting and will be better
 
Last edited:
#15      
Biggest key offensively is finding a go-to RB. Hate to say it, but we just can’t expect Epstein to play more than 6 games. Someone else has to step up. To put a positive spin on all of our injuries this year, a lot of WRs got game time. Keep them all relatively healthy next year and we’ve got the best pass catching depth since...?
 
#16      
I’m my opinion IW needs to be more of what he was in the bowl than a QB. But that’s the reason he is here to be a QB. But he’s too good to have sitting on the bench. And we need to see if we can get more athletic in the front 7 especially at LB for the cover 2. I really like the Gardner kid, he might surprise some people.
 
#17      

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
Biggest key offensively is finding a go-to RB. Hate to say it, but we just can’t expect Epstein to play more than 6 games. Someone else has to step up. To put a positive spin on all of our injuries this year, a lot of WRs got game time. Keep them all relatively healthy next year and we’ve got the best pass catching depth since...?
Hopefully Reggie can contribute and hoping Chase Brown can surprise as well. If O line can play better I'm not super worried about RB.
 
#18      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
I'll use the Wisconsin & Oregon examples, two schools playing today that were once consistently bad & mediocre. They have built programs that are now consistently good. It takes time. I lived in Oregon in the 1990s and heard many jaded Ducks fans scoff that they'll never be consistently good! I had family in Wisconsin that heard the same rhetoric from Badger fans in the late 1980s & early 1990s.
Illini fans IT CAN HAPPEN to us also. It takes time. Good luck to coach Smith on the recruiting trail. I see seven wins next year, hopefully some more athletic & skilled recruits see what is being built in Champaign-Urbana & want to be a critical part of the rebuilding of this great program. It would be nice some of the top rated Illinois kids stayed home a problem both Wisconsin & Oregon had just a little over two decades ago keeping top rated Wisconsinites & Oregonians home.
Looks like Minnesota is heading in the right direction also. My better half is a gopher. That would be great for Illinois & the Big Ten when Illinois can once again be a consistent tough competitor in the league & nationally! Obviously a good thing for Illini nation and great for Big Ten football as a whole.
I'm not sure I can wait 30 years.... ;)
 
#19      
I’m my opinion IW needs to be more of what he was in the bowl than a QB. But that’s the reason he is here to be a QB. But he’s too good to have sitting on the bench. And we need to see if we can get more athletic in the front 7 especially at LB for the cover 2. I really like the Gardner kid, he might surprise some people.
IW slot receiver 1 more year and then take the reins
 
Status
Not open for further replies.