Illini Football 2020

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#126      

Deleted member 654622

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Half filled might be a stretch. Last year we had only one home game where paid attendance was over 40k and that was due to the throngs of invaders from Nebraska. The other home games were in the vicinity of 35k. Actual butts in the seats would have been thousands less. We're way ahead of the curve if the NCAA limits attendance to, say, 50% capacity.
half was just easier to type then two thirds or one fourth if I am being completely honest. And yet I had to type not just one of them, but all three
hand-to-face-gif.gif
 
#127      
Half filled might be a stretch. Last year we had only one home game where paid attendance was over 40k and that was due to the throngs of invaders from Nebraska. The other home games were in the vicinity of 35k. Actual butts in the seats would have been thousands less. We're way ahead of the curve if the NCAA limits attendance to, say, 50% capacity.
with these numbers i dont see the east stand and south end getting fixed anytime soon
 
#128      

Deleted member 29907

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See the idea is to have a noisy crowd...
I get it - but there are some noises that are more obnoxious than others. The other idea is to enjoy the game without some knucklehead ringing or clapping something right in my ear. Oh, I also hate the whistlers who think for some reason everyone enjoys their two fingered talent. Now, everyone, off my lawn!
 
#129      
Out of curiousity has it been announced how this year will work with regards to eligibility? I assume it won't count but players can still grad transfer if they get their degree?
 
#130      
Player abuse scandal. Fired AD. Fourth head coach in five years. Depleted roster made worse by effectively losing a recruiting cycle thanks to "not ideal" interim coaching hire. 15 losing seasons out of past 20. Nationally-clowned Coach Beckman. Turmoil/turnover at the top of the administration. Fan support declining/ongoing bitterness from Chief retirement. Decrepit facilities.

It was a huge dumpster fire. Lovie and Whitman got us out of that, thank goodness.
I'm just glad there was a dumpster fire in the first place so we can keep pointing to that and feel good about Lovie
 
#131      

Deleted member 746648

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I'm just glad there was a dumpster fire in the first place so we can keep pointing to that and feel good about Lovie
If there was no dumpster fire we would've either fired lovie by now or he would have a better record than he does. It's really sad how low our expectations have fallen.
 
#132      
Yes, we ordered orange block I face coverings weeks ago. I expect a plan including mandatory face coverings and spacing. It will take some creativity to determine where everyone’s new seats will be located. Logic indicates that most everyone will be further away from the field than their purchased locations.

But I’ll soldier on. CANT WAIT TO SEE THIS TEAM!!
 
#133      

Deleted member 746648

D
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We are around top 30 in revenue, top 15 coaches salary, top 25 facilities (I understand this is recent) in a state with the second most talent in the region. I'm not saying we need to be competing for titles but why is 7 or 8 wins a season too much? It's ridiculous how pathetic this program is compared to our resources.
 
#135      

Illinir1

Camdenton, MO
From Restore Illinois Phase 4 Seated Spectators Events Guidelines:

" Note: As of release, outdoor spectator sports venues may operate at maximum of 20% of seating capacity for spectators. Capacity restrictions will be reassessed based on the latest science and public health metrics on an ongoing basis throughout Phase IV "

" 10. Tailgating is not permitted "

Memorial Stadium capacity 62,872 x 0.20 = 12,574 spectators
 
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#136      
Seriously? I can’t imagine a safer place to be than Memorial Stadium during recent home games. I might just bring grandma to the upper deck on Saturday afternoons just to make sure she has no chance of human contact.
 
#137      
If we qualify for a bowl game this year, this will be the fourth or fifth time in history Illinois has qualified for back to back bowl games. Do it again the following year, that is the 2nd time with 3 bowl games in a row. One more time and Lovie makes history for Illinois football. We are primed for a bowl game this year, and will be in position next year and the year following, the roster should be good enough for a bowl game. I think 4 in a row looks doable.
 
#139      

IlliniFan85

Colorado Springs, CO
If we qualify for a bowl game this year, this will be the fourth or fifth time in history Illinois has qualified for back to back bowl games. Do it again the following year, that is the 2nd time with 3 bowl games in a row. One more time and Lovie makes history for Illinois football. We are primed for a bowl game this year, and will be in position next year and the year following, the roster should be good enough for a bowl game. I think 4 in a row looks doable.

Unless they take away the non-con.
 
#140      
My expectations were obviously too high, but I don't know if they were any more unrealistic than what Michigan or Nebraska fans have, relatively speaking. I would hardly call Illinois a dumpster fire. It was a bowl team in 2015, and even the "not ideal" 2016 team managed to win 5 games. The player abuse scandal had no impact on anything other than to get the head coach fired, which I believe was the point of the investigation and report. Recruiting was poor, but not any worse than Purdue or even Minnesota, let alone Rutgers and Indiana. But I do think recruiting and facilities, obviously, are improved, so I don't want to imply that Lovie has been a complete failure, just way, way below expectations that come with that kind of compensation. And I imagine he's come up well below his own expectations as well.
Wow... Illinois football wasnt a dumpster fire when Lovie took over are you serious?
 
#141      

altenberger22

South Carolina
Clemson- 758-460. 21st all time
Wisconsin- 715-499. 33rd all time
Oregon- 668-449. 46th all time.

We aren’t even in the same ballpark of those teams imo. Also we have had only 3 top 30 recruiting classes since 2000. I just don’t think people are realistic with the expectations of the program. Realistically we should be similar to a school like Kentucky (89th all time), Rutgers (91st all time) and duke (93rd all time).
I believe you missed the point. Compare the all time records of these four schools in 1960, 1965 or 1970 --- or check out their respective 20-year histories in 1980. All three (other than Illinois) have made great strides in their programs over the past 30-40 years to get where they now are, and they're all perennial Top 15 programs.

We won our five national titles in 1914, 1919, 1923, 1927 and 1951. We then had Butkus and a kick-!!! Rose Bowl victory in the early 1960's. Then we had a stellar 12-year run with Mike White and John Mackovic in the 1980's. That's why we should have greater expectations for the program.

We have a career .501 win percentage and we're 79 games under .500 over the past 25 years. Some on here know only that 25-year history --- and hence many of our expectations are much, much too low.

This is not representative the football program many of us grew up watching.
 
#142      
For the program that Lovie took over, we probably should have paid him $10 million. That was a program that had so many things missing (including the timing of his hiring) that it was a horror in Power 5 football. Cubit's offensive strategy kept us in games that we should have been blown out of and that had basically, reached the end of the line.
Sounds good. So Cubit at $1.2M kept us in games and over achieved but Lovies $5M can’t do the same or better? I am not saying make a move but $5M should give you a better return on investment. I am sure he knows that as well. Let’s not add the difference in Assistant Coaches Salary.
 
#143      
Beckman made $1.8M. Lovie makes $5M. The results should not be comparable.
Unfortunately pay doesn’t necessarily correlate to results, but that said I‘m happier paying Lovie 5 million than Beckman for free. At this point, past results aren’t as important as where we go in the future. We were better last year. IMO Beckman was a disaster, wrong direction, clown show.

Lovie has made mistakes, but we are improving, we have shown with Beason & Williams that we are capable of recruiting some talent. If it is player development or good scouting I also think we have shown we can get really good players that are not going to impress based on scouting rankings.

Last year we absolutely killed it with transfers, personally 1 year isn’t a trend, so I think the jury is still out on how successful that strategy will be long term.

We also have recently had a recruiting spurt that has caught us up to the back of the pack in the B1G. Not good enough to get us to where we want to be, but it looks like if you squint, argue at how good we are at finding hidden gems, ... then it is at least possible to think it is passable.

Lovie has done enough to at least give us a shot out of our current hole. We really need a good year this year, an uptick in recruiting this year, & another uptick next year, & likely another good year with some key transfers.

Despite all that, I’m optimistic. I think we have a chance to be more than competitive in the west next year. I think improvement this year & getting Lovie off the hot seat could lead to a very nice class next year. Filling in the depth on the roster is I think our Achilles heel for long term stability.
 
#144      
We aren’t top 15 in coaches salary. Lovie was the 29th highest paid coach in 2019 and will be lower in 2020. Our assistant pool was good for 41st in college football. https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/football/assistant

Our assistant pool is in the bottom 3 of the big ten, our head coaches salary is in front of only Tom Allen, PJ fleck (who is gonna jump above Lovie in 2020) and mike Lockley. And no 6 or 7 wins isn’t too much to ask for but we are in the third toughest division in college football, it’s gonna be hard to find 4 big ten wins every year. Our revenue while top thirty is 11th in the big ten only in front of Rutgers, Purdue and Maryland.
Of course the salary and salary pools aren't as high as when he was first hired. He hasn't done anything to deserve a raise! You need to look at his salary and salary pool when he was first hired, not the fifth year of an unsuccessful run. And Lovie not hiring a defensive coordinator makes the salary pool appear smaller than the available pool. By the way, the assistants are getting HUGE raises this year.
 
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#145      
I believe you missed the point. Compare the all time records of these four schools in 1960, 1965 or 1970 --- or check out their respective 20-year histories in 1980. All three (other than Illinois) have made great strides in their programs over the past 30-40 years to get where they now are, and they're all perennial Top 15 programs.

We won our five national titles in 1914, 1919, 1923, 1927 and 1951. We then had Butkus and a kick-!!! Rose Bowl victory in the early 1960's. Then we had a stellar 12-year run with Mike White and John Mackovic in the 1980's. That's why we should have greater expectations for the program.

We have a career .501 win percentage and we're 79 games under .500 over the past 25 years. Some on here know only that 25-year history --- and hence many of our expectations are much, much too low.

This is not representative the football program many of us grew up watching.
He did miss the point. To add some numbers to your post, prior to 1990 (pre-Alvarez), Illinois was 461-385-47 and Wisconsin was 453-372-48. Since then, Wisconsin has gone 257-122-4 while Illinois has gone 141-214-2.
 
#146      
Clemson- 758-460. 21st all time
Wisconsin- 715-499. 33rd all time
Oregon- 668-449. 46th all time.

We aren’t even in the same ballpark of those teams imo. Also we have had only 3 top 30 recruiting classes since 2000. I just don’t think people are realistic with the expectations of the program. Realistically we should be similar to a school like Kentucky (89th all time), Rutgers (91st all time) and duke (93rd all time).
Clemson doesn't belong on this list, but if you go back to the early '90's, Illinois would be unanimously considered a better football program than UW and Oregon, not to mention Purdue, Minny, NW, IU, Baylor, etc, etc, etc. In the Big 10, only UM and OSU were clearly ahead of us, and we were coming off a really good stretch against OSU.

Obviously this isn't the early 90's, but the point is there is no reason Illinois shouldn't be in the top half of the Big 10 year in year out, just like they were from the beginning of college football through the mid-90's. We have the facilities, we have a lot of latent fan support, we are located in a good recruiting location, all it really takes is the right coach. This is Lovie's 5th year, he has an experienced roster and all his own players. And we are still picked by most to come in last in the Big 10 West, although there are a few intrepid souls who pick us 6th. We have the worst staff in the Big 10 and our recruiting is terrible. Maybe Lovie can beat expectations and win 6 or more this year, but I'm skeptical
 
#147      

Dbell1981

Decatur, IL
Hey ive got an idea: lets see what the team does this coming up year before writing them off and comparing them strictly to recruiting rankings.
 
#149      
None of this conversation matters until this season (hopefully) happens. This same conversation about Lovie and the state of the program he took over happens like every 3 months on this board I swear. This year will give us a clear indication of what direction we are headed in. Even winning just 6 with this talented roster would be a disappointment. And hopefully a succesful season (8 wins?) helps with recruiting as well. But for now, the conversation is pointless. Lovie's guys, the ones he used to tear down the entire roster in year 1, are upperclassmen now. This is his prove it season.
 
#150      
I don't want to get too deep into this, because I don't think the argument is unwarranted. But, I do think the case is a little overboard



Did they? Let's review the facts.


This seems to be the number one item of everyone hosting the Illini pity party. I'm sorry, but this "scandal" was well over by the time Lovie was hired. What effect did this "scandal" have on the football program, other than to get the head coach fired? Nothing. It was a non-issue, eclipsed by a scandal at Indiana and a much more serious scandal at Maryland. So why wallow in this one?




Fact: the "not ideal" 2016 recruiting class was rated higher and had a higher average rating than Purdue. In fact, Illinois had higher rated and higher averages than Purdue from 2013-2016, exceprt for 2014 when they were neck and neck. Yet, Illinois lost the 2017 and 2018 games by a combined score of 75-17.


Hate to break it to you, but Lovie hasn't been able to keep up with even this modest 1 in 4 winning seasons average. I guess we're still in a dumpster fire.

Purdue relied heavily on transfers, which are not included in the rankings. To suggest that our team is a dumpster fire, would be ridiculous. We have a solid group with P5 and NFL attributes. When you consider Illinois has one of the worst FBS records and Division 1 records and all division records in history, I think the level of talent is ahead of where we have historically been.

https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/?Conference=Big-Ten

Based on the talent composite, we had the 8th best team in the Big Ten last year. If anything it would make more sense to argue how bad Lovie has been coaching, given the talent composite.


You have a lot here pertaining to personnel, much of it overlapping, perhaps in an attempt to make things look worse than it was. The "not ideal" hiring of Cubit, who never should have been allowed to hire his son as offensive coordinator, was a mistake, a big one. But amid all of this, I don't recall players jumping ship like I would expect to see in a dumpster fire. Maybe we just have a different definition of dumpster fire. So if you want to call it a dumpster fire and keep on hosting your Illini pity party, don't let me stop you. Yes. the program is in a better situation than when Lovie was first hired, but can you honestly say it would be any different with pretty much any other hire with the kind of money he is being paid?

As much as I didn't like the Beckman hire, I don't think it was Beckman that ruined the program. It was having an interim coach for two years, which made it difficult to recruit. Lovie inherited a depleted roster. But this argument has been made over and over.

Now, this team is fully Lovie's team. There are only a handful of remaining players. This year, Lovie will have a lot of graduating players. This season the reload is complete. Let's not talk about the time before Lovie. He has 1 bowl game and this year he needs to have another bowl game. Really, less than 7 wins will be disappointing. 7 would be good enough. 8 or more is the sweet spot.
 
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