I understand the old "strike while the iron is hot" mantra, That said, managing a defensive staff and team and running a whole program are entirely different animals. If I were he, I would stay another couple of years under CBB to fine tune my skill set and improve the pool of potential suitors.
Illinois 38, Wyoming 6 Postgame
illini80
- Forgottonia
I’m not sure if he was in for more than 1 play, but I loved the grab by Hank Beatty. Showed some great hands picking that ball off the turf on a low pass from Art.While we didn't complete much downfield, 71% completion rate and spreading the ball to a variety of pass catchers has me positively giddy. it looks like real offensive football out there
illini80
- Forgottonia
We had 12 different receivers with a catch and I think DeVito hit 11 of those. That’s fantastic. The key for all QB’s is how they can handle it when they are getting pressure. We didn’t see that much today of course, but it will be a key going forward. I certainly liked what I saw today. I’d expect a few new wrinkles every game, so I can’t wait to see how we match up against Indiana.
My son had a good idea. No halftime show. They should have had all the pee-wee football players on the field to run , throw footballs, and let them go on the turf.
illini80
- Forgottonia
I was there with my son and his youth football league. Even setting up a couple partial field flag football games for the pee wee would have been an awesome experience.
illini80
- Forgottonia
Not sure how to do it exactly, but I think it’s a great idea. There are a number of people who at least partially come for the halftime show, so they need to find a way to incorporate both. Maybe the pee wee game/experience could be before or after the game?
I attended the game yesterday. It was awesome to see the student section packed. I can't remember the last time we beat another team by 30 points! My "positive" comments are: Chase Brown is really good (not news); Tommy DeVito is definitely an upgrade at quarterback for us because he seems to process information quickly, be decisive, and get the ball out quickly; I really liked the fact that passes were thrown to so many different receivers; and the defensive players (unlike a few seasons ago) have been taught how to tackle properly. Areas of potential concern are: Our interior offensive line was unable to achieve the "push" that we'd like to see in short-yardage situations; the field-goal kicking needs to improve; the defensive pass pressure was pretty much non-existent; the defensive ends/linebackers didn't consistently hold the edge on the outside; and there was a surprising amount of too much "yapping" by some of the players. All in all, it was an impressive start to the season.
blackdog
- Champaign
Both sides seemed pretty evenly distributed but the east side almost entirely cleared out after half time because the sun and heat was pretty rough for most people. We went to go find shade at the half and a ton of people were just leaving. A lot didn't even make to half time.
It was funny watching the student section because they all moved into the bottom corner closest to the west side where there was some shade.
His stats look good but two of his three throws were erratic forcing the receivers to make great plays to bail him out. I hope it was just rust or 1st game nerves.
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
Saw that - both were really good catches - one right off the turf and other behind Hayden, I believe. But hopefully made the right read...
Very solid win - can't wait until Friday nite!
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
Sitkowski is the PERFECT QB I want on this team (in the backup role).
Devito is as interesting a QB that we’ve had in 10 years. I’d say that even if we don’t make it to 6 wins he might bring enough pizazz to the table that could really help our recently lackluster reputation / brand.
Sorry, but that’s a hard pass for me. Marching bands and cheerleaders and color guards and such are an integral part of the college football experience, and the Marching Illini are the best of the best. I don’t want a college football Saturday to become a sterile, pandering, soul-less event like every NFL game. There’s a time and a place for everything, and halftime at college football games is the time for marching band halftime shows. It’s not the time for a “run around the bases” event like after a minor league baseball game.
FYI, the MI didn’t perform on the field at halftime yesterday because the band had lots of people out sick and there would have been too many gaps in formation.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
PFF Grades are up:
Offense
(1) DeVito's game grade against Wyoming is higher than all season grades he received at Syracuse. PFF also says he was miles better throwing to the right side of the field than middle or left.
(2) Lots of good grades for the WRs, nothing standing out. By snap count the top-3 WRs are IW, Bryant, Hightower, (drop) Washington
(3) Very high grades for Reggie Love's three snaps (small sample alert!). Chase's pass block scores were excellent.
(4) Slaughter's scores were better than Crisler but neither was good. Pass blocking was strong across the board. Adams was the best of the bunch for run blocking.
Defense
(1) Run game defensive scores were better than folks would expect after looking at the box score. Some names that stick out - Quan (duh), Rosiek (mop up duty? Played seven snaps), Woods (best of the defense). The bad scores? Holmes and Darkangelo.
(2) Pass rush was underwhelming. Randolph was the best of the bunch.
(3) Not a surprise: Coverage scores were insane.
(3 - continued) Quan with an 89(!!). To provide context: Patrick Surtain II was the top PFF ranked CB going into the '21 draft and had one game that season better than Quan's game grade against Wyoming. This isn't a statement that Quan is at the same talent level or a first round pick but just to provide context that Quan's game grade is NFL draft caliber. A couple more of those and he'll be getting All-B1G buzz.
(3 - continued again) Witherspoon with an 85.2(!) coverage grade. Again, that's an excellent score.
(4) Linebackers had a day to forget. Hoping we see some bounce back against Indiana
Offense
(1) DeVito's game grade against Wyoming is higher than all season grades he received at Syracuse. PFF also says he was miles better throwing to the right side of the field than middle or left.
(2) Lots of good grades for the WRs, nothing standing out. By snap count the top-3 WRs are IW, Bryant, Hightower, (drop) Washington
(3) Very high grades for Reggie Love's three snaps (small sample alert!). Chase's pass block scores were excellent.
(4) Slaughter's scores were better than Crisler but neither was good. Pass blocking was strong across the board. Adams was the best of the bunch for run blocking.
Defense
(1) Run game defensive scores were better than folks would expect after looking at the box score. Some names that stick out - Quan (duh), Rosiek (mop up duty? Played seven snaps), Woods (best of the defense). The bad scores? Holmes and Darkangelo.
(2) Pass rush was underwhelming. Randolph was the best of the bunch.
(3) Not a surprise: Coverage scores were insane.
(3 - continued) Quan with an 89(!!). To provide context: Patrick Surtain II was the top PFF ranked CB going into the '21 draft and had one game that season better than Quan's game grade against Wyoming. This isn't a statement that Quan is at the same talent level or a first round pick but just to provide context that Quan's game grade is NFL draft caliber. A couple more of those and he'll be getting All-B1G buzz.
(3 - continued again) Witherspoon with an 85.2(!) coverage grade. Again, that's an excellent score.
(4) Linebackers had a day to forget. Hoping we see some bounce back against Indiana
To your point about the lack of pass pressure, I don’t think the Illini had a sack or a TFL. Given the opponent, I think that is concerning.
I believe the suggestion was to do this type of thing yesterday knowing that the MI could not take the field and there was a large group from a local league in attendance. The band played 2 songs and the 3 in 1. No harm from giving a group of youngest the experience of a lifetime.
That’s helpful clarification. Thank you. I probably misunderstood the suggestion.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
Hope some of these penalties can get cleaned up....reminded me of the Lovey years.....late hits, hits in the back,holding...Need some more discipline and I think Coach can get that point across. What's up with the kicker.....somewhere this season, these makeable field goals are going to really hurt us.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Also, I want to say the fan turnout around Chicago yesterday was great! Saw a ton of Illini gear and heard some I-L-Ls from waitresses and stuff who saw my shirt later that night. I genuinely think fan enthusiasm has seen a bump.
Agreed. Coach actually allows tackling in practice, unlike the previous guy. And yes, too much yapping and taunting. Maybe we should have expected that when we saw Brandon Lloyd march out onto the field in the pregame. Kudos to the students for a terrific turnout.
Short term memory
Last game of 2021 season we beat Northwestern by 33. Two different teams but hey we have a 2 game winning streak and both by 30+ points. Keep this thing rolling!
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
How did DeVito’s performance compare to our quarterback play over the past few years?