Maryland 20, Illinois 17 Postgame
The amazing thing is - it’s not just the context of the situation that made it a clear decision, it’s a clear go for it 99% of the time- only right before half or at the end of the game would it makes sense not to
it was a mind boggling decision for so many reasons
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I was encouraged this year because I thought we had actual coaches finally. I may be wrong.
This one hurt. Admittedly I spent last week thinking we would get our doors blown off. But, the defense had some great plays and we even got a few lucky bounces on offense.
And then....we pissed it away in a spectacular "illinois" meltdown with bad play calling and mental mistakes. I know we can't change the level of talent. But those mental mistakes really hurt to watch.
And then....we pissed it away in a spectacular "illinois" meltdown with bad play calling and mental mistakes. I know we can't change the level of talent. But those mental mistakes really hurt to watch.
Already done with Bert. Think I'm done with the program in all honesty. This was supposed to be the "super senior" year full of experience and discipline. May be back at some point, but I think I've stopped caring. So many more fun or productive things I could focus on than this garbage program.
We win this game if Sitkowski starts. Yet another embarrassing game for Illini football. Glad I went to bed in the third quarter.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I'm done with Bert, too. He's relentlessly pessimistic. I prefer Ernie. Some may call him Pollyannish but I like his can-do optimism.
Seriously, however, I'm completely sympathetic to your frustration about alternate uses of your time that would yield happiness. I'm optimistic about improvement over 2-3 seasons but in the near term this is painful football.
The one I couldn't believe was when he missed the receiver crossing right in front of him for a 5 yd pass towards the end of the game.
the definition of charity
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
The fact that we are arguing about which one is worse rather than which one is better says a lot more about our QB situation than any stats ever could.
Peters was terrible and will be terrible going forward. 6 year player and plays like this? His erratic HIGH throw got 2 receivers hurt. Had high hopes from him coming from the Michigan team, but I see why he didn't make it there. The O-line is worthless. Their effort make opposing DL players look so much quicker and stronger. Coaching was seriously bad the whole game with the play calling, but not going for the 4th and 1 and then stopping the clock (which only helped Maryland) by using 2 timeouts on the last drive lost this game. But the obvious fault and weakest link with this team is the defensive backfield that play unbelievely soft and at least10-15 yards off of opposing receivers then just let them catch the ball whenever they want with no resistance or pressure. Maryland DBs challenged every catch and made our receivers pay a price with hard hits, why don't the coaches see this?
Going forward why would any top players want to come to Champaign??? We needed a young dynamic coach with energy, a solid defense, and a creative offense (like Virginia) and we got none of this.
Going forward why would any top players want to come to Champaign??? We needed a young dynamic coach with energy, a solid defense, and a creative offense (like Virginia) and we got none of this.
Their DBs were faster than our receivers. Our DBs were slower than their receivers. Hence the soft coverage.
Their DBs were bigger and stronger than our small receivers. Our DBs were not bigger and stronger than their receivers. Hence the punishing hits. Also didn't help that our high passes left our receivers defenseless to hits.
I've emotionally divested myself from Illini football for the rest of the year. Best of luck to you who are better and stronger than I. That was the most embarrassing finish to a football game I may have ever seen. And I suffered through Hulu not allowing me to skip through commercial breaks and wrapping it up around 1am.
I have to think it will help us cut a year off the usual 3-4 year deal to 2-3 .
But let’s be honest , it all starts with the right QB for the system you want to run - and while anyone can point to Burrows or Fields as examples of what you can get via the portal , examples of Peters, Lunt & Sitkowski are far more realistic of what you usually get - serviceable guys that leave their original teams because they were recruited over & found themselves 2 or 3 on the depth chart .
we seem to have talent at RB .
we seem to lack a really talented TALL wideout
our line seems average at best
we need to score 30 points a game on average to expect to win 6 games , and 38-42 to win 8.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal
“This game ultimately didn’t matter and that’s why you go for it on 4th and since we didn’t I’m ending my fandom” is such an impeccable college message board vibe. Thanks to Bielema and the team for truly bringing Loyalty back, even faster than I expected.
ILFaninFL
- Nature Coast in Florida
Peters is fine in the flow of the offense. If he can set and throw within two seconds he shines. This offense is predicated on the run. When you lose your top two (for this game - more if you count the ones that didn't even dress), you lose a credible run threat. When the coaches saw we could only gain one or two yards a carry, they should have made a change to their play calling. I do not remember seeing one time the receiver handed the ball on a jet sweep. We sure faked it a lot. We also didn't see any screens to give our remaining playmakers a chance to do something.
When he is in obvious passing downs three things happen.
1) As stated earlier, our receivers are small and not very fast. When the opposing defense goes max coverage we don't have a playmaker that can gain separation or muscle their way into gaining an advantage. When the play is extended no defense should be able to cover everyone, but our receivers are not finding ways to get open.
2) An offensive line should be able to block three on five and create a pocket. Don't even get me started on what happens when there is a blitz. No quarterback can consistently be effective if he has linemen falling on them, or the defense in their face.
3) Peters has almost no pocket awareness. This is the main reason you can't have him waiting to make longer plays or having to run through read progressions. I give him credit for not forcing it to receivers that weren't open and causing an interception. He just is not your guy if you have to rely on throwing every down. Right now that would be Art.
The good thing that happened is you can see that once we get the players, we will win these games. We should have one this one, but the wheels fell off when we last our running backs. Even so, we were in this game until the end when all indications beforehand were that we would lose big -- and for good reason. Frankly, we had a shot in the UTSA game.
We also found our running back for the future. Josh McCray is going to be a beast before he is done. Combine him with a change of pace guy and we will be fine.
The sky is not falling. There are indications that we will become a better team. But there was a reason we lost so many games in the past and it wasn't all due to coaching. Maybe a defensive back that can actually tackle ... but that might be asking too much.
When he is in obvious passing downs three things happen.
1) As stated earlier, our receivers are small and not very fast. When the opposing defense goes max coverage we don't have a playmaker that can gain separation or muscle their way into gaining an advantage. When the play is extended no defense should be able to cover everyone, but our receivers are not finding ways to get open.
2) An offensive line should be able to block three on five and create a pocket. Don't even get me started on what happens when there is a blitz. No quarterback can consistently be effective if he has linemen falling on them, or the defense in their face.
3) Peters has almost no pocket awareness. This is the main reason you can't have him waiting to make longer plays or having to run through read progressions. I give him credit for not forcing it to receivers that weren't open and causing an interception. He just is not your guy if you have to rely on throwing every down. Right now that would be Art.
The good thing that happened is you can see that once we get the players, we will win these games. We should have one this one, but the wheels fell off when we last our running backs. Even so, we were in this game until the end when all indications beforehand were that we would lose big -- and for good reason. Frankly, we had a shot in the UTSA game.
We also found our running back for the future. Josh McCray is going to be a beast before he is done. Combine him with a change of pace guy and we will be fine.
The sky is not falling. There are indications that we will become a better team. But there was a reason we lost so many games in the past and it wasn't all due to coaching. Maybe a defensive back that can actually tackle ... but that might be asking too much.
illini80
- Forgottonia
Dang, after listening to some postgame podcasts that reviewed the pain step by step I feel even worse. I’m not sure Art is a better QB than Peters, but after 3 years he’s had his chance. I don’t need to see him again.
The number of injuries is disheartening. I thought Tank’s program was supposed to help. Maybe it has but damn. 6 RB’s and we are down to our last 2 4 games in.
Plenty of blame to go around and the coaches made plenty of bad decisions too.
I’ve given up on any expectations for this season, but I’m worried they way we are losing will hurt recruiting which is our only way out of this hell. We are so talent deficient at nearly every position it’s shocking. I still believe good coaching and average talent can be competitive, but the lack of awareness and football IQ on this roster makes that seem impossible. At this point I’m just watching for personal development and hoping for some depth guys to make a leap.
The number of injuries is disheartening. I thought Tank’s program was supposed to help. Maybe it has but damn. 6 RB’s and we are down to our last 2 4 games in.
Plenty of blame to go around and the coaches made plenty of bad decisions too.
I’ve given up on any expectations for this season, but I’m worried they way we are losing will hurt recruiting which is our only way out of this hell. We are so talent deficient at nearly every position it’s shocking. I still believe good coaching and average talent can be competitive, but the lack of awareness and football IQ on this roster makes that seem impossible. At this point I’m just watching for personal development and hoping for some depth guys to make a leap.
All week, that Bielema quote about "you can't coach confidence" ran and then he turns around and shows ZERO confidence in the offense to get 1 yard to potentially seal the game. That is completely unacceptable.
Yes. It was hard to watch. This game like Nebraska proved to me that there is enough talent to win. They need to EXPECT to win. BB has mentioned this several times as well. I thought the play calling the last five minutes was fine, but the player execution was not. It was like watching a different game.
The defense played inspired all game long and made many good plays that didn’t happen against Virginia. But on Maryland’s last touchdown it was Virginia all over again. No qb pressure, open receivers, and missed tackles. They missed 4 tackles in a row right before that last touchdown! Uhg
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Excellent, thorough analysis in that post. Thanks.
What he forgot to mention is you have to earn confidence too! Shocking that he defended three stuffed runs in a row and punting on 4th. I could see how he placed the confidence in the defense but the opening series of the second half should have reason for pause.
Everyone sold out on the runs because our tiny receivers couldn’t get separation from the speedy dbs. That was obvious. Had to wheel route the rb or curl the wr in the middle, only thing that worked.
How does he not see this as conservative? Most conservatives (not political, just in definition and mentality) have confidence they have everything to make things work. That’s the kind of confidence shown by BB, but we don’t have everything we need to win those games. Have to take risks.