BZuppke
- Plainfield
StopWe're a basketball school anyway...
StopWe're a basketball school anyway...
Agreed. We hang 43 points on NW and it still translates to a loss. It was a rough year marked by a lack of discipline, mental mistakes, and stupid penalties - Illinois 749 to our Opp 573. We're what... -8 on turnovers? That's poison. We're 25 of 36 for TD's in redzone with Opp 34 of 53; we let opponents get into our redzone 53 times to our 36??? Opp out-rushed us 1802 to our 1517 yards. We improved in passing being roughly equal with opponents and leading them in total passing yards 3175 to 2737. I think it really was a case of us beating ourselves. That was just a very disappointing football season from the first to the last game. Transfer QB breathed some life into the team on the back end which was nice for a change. Damn shame we turned the ball over so much today to lose today but Northwestern was clearly the better team and that sucks.A wacky game but let’s face it: This team doesn’t deserve a bowl game. They had the talent, but never really put it all together.
The inability to fall on top of a football was a little bonus feature added for today
No more Big Ten West, things are not heading upUp. Players use this moment as motivation for the weight room. Got to build depth with the portal and recruiting
Yeah that was brutal. Can’t recall the TV officiating expert so matter of factor saying such a call was a mistake like that he did on that one.Were you ok with the refs picking up the flag on the failed 2 point conversion to tie? A lot of blame to go around today, mainly self inflicted. However, I am infuriated that the refs could get together and blow the pivotal play of the game. It is telling when the entire announcing booth says the call was missed.
Feel bad? I love all of our guys, but a couple of those players leaving made plays that were directly to poor outcomes. The coaches absolutely deserve criticism, but the players play the game. Today alone, we can point to more than a couple of absolutely demoralizing plays that had nothing to do with coaching.I feel bad for all the talent leaving and there’s a lot of it
I thought Paddock was the story of the year. It was such a joy to watch. With the ground game nonexistent, the season could have been really ugly. I hope Altmyer can get close to what we saw this year from Paddock.3 most frustrating things about this season:
1) That horrific loss to PU! Inexcusable.
2) The 4,384 stupid penalties at exactly the wrong time. No discipline especially early.
3) End of half defense. Actually…just the defense. Pathetic.
3 positive things:
1) Newton & Randolph. DOGS!
2) IW & Casey Washington. DOGS!
3) Altmyer is gonna be good but Paddock brought some serious excitement.
Seems like a ton of holes to fill next year. Not overly optimistic.
We will not have a more talented and experienced front 7 than we did this year for years and years and we couldn't get enough pressure on the QB - problem was scheme and play calling.Lunney had a good last 6 games. Henry had a terrible year. Are we last in the B1G now in PPG allowed?
I really agree with this. Yea I would like to win, but we have been very competitive all year long.! it has been since White and Macovic since that was the case.I’m gonna conclude my football season with this:
Last year was obviously exciting for how well the team did.
This year, while from 10000 feet above was a disappointment, was possibly the most entertaining football season I’ve ever watched as an Illini fan. Would I had preferred to win every game by 40? Yea. But good lord… every game this season (well most) was must see TV from kickoff to final whistle. Not Zook, Not Beckman, and Not Lovie ever provided the consistently entertaining product the way bielema has the past two years. I wish there wasn’t so much riding on winning because the entertainment value alone is worth the admission.
The season was a moderate failure (maybe even huge failure), but there were absolutely bright spots. And, I still feel positive about the future of the program. There’s just going to still be pains along the way.
I trust Bret… 97% of the time . I love listening to him talk about football, Illinois, and honestly anything. He seems way more knowledgeable than the last three coaches put together.
Now, hit the recruiting trail, hit the portal, and bring us some pieces.
Until next year (or as soon as the sting goes away), I’m signing out.
If I don’t check in before next July-ish, my family will get our season tickets again next year… for the 20th year in a row. We’ll see you at memorial stadium!
I-L-L!
So, by the numbers, did we officially finish last in the B1G west?