Valentine is a nice change of pace back and will be fantastic in time. Right now, he is too small and lacks the strength needed to be effective given our lack of ability to open up holes in the running game. He got a series early and struggled to get yards. Faegin is still our best back with the best chance of busting wide open runs as evidenced by his 34 yd run in this game when nothing was going.
Penn State 21, Illinois 7 Postgame
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Zero carries - don't get it.
just like in basketball where the blue bloods get all the best big men, in football the power schools get the best OLine and DLinemen. We couldn't open a hole or protect the QB, and they were able to get to the 2nd level pretty easily. You're not going to win very often when that happens.
I've pretty much always hated Lunney as a playcaller, but you've got to accept reality. We're not going to run right at a team like Penn State. You've got to use their strengths against them, if they are going to blast up the field, slide someone in behind the pass rush for a quick pass. Quick passes, provided they go beyond the line of scrimmage, extra blockers, roll the QB out, etc. In short, scheme up the victory.
We just tried to play smash mouth with a bigger, faster, stronger team. That's not wise. The defense did pretty well, but when the offense was repeatedly putting them in bad position, it's only a matter of time.
I've pretty much always hated Lunney as a playcaller, but you've got to accept reality. We're not going to run right at a team like Penn State. You've got to use their strengths against them, if they are going to blast up the field, slide someone in behind the pass rush for a quick pass. Quick passes, provided they go beyond the line of scrimmage, extra blockers, roll the QB out, etc. In short, scheme up the victory.
We just tried to play smash mouth with a bigger, faster, stronger team. That's not wise. The defense did pretty well, but when the offense was repeatedly putting them in bad position, it's only a matter of time.
We’re a pretty good team. Get better on the OL in the offseason and we can be a very good team next year.
I respect the mentality. Iowa built a program that wins minimum 9 games a year, so can we. There's nothing special about Iowa
Valentine had one touch on a shovel pass today. That’s it. You’re confusing him with McCray because it is impossible to tell their jerseys apart being #5 and #6.
Feagin frequently misses holes. Valentine was huge on the drive to salt the game away vs Kansas. 7 touches on that drive and made plays to get positive yardage where any other back gets stuffed for little to no gain.
I’m not saying Valetine should be getting 20 touches, but he’s clearly the most talented back in terms of finding the hole and his explosiveness in space.
They'd have to beat Michigan and Oregon probably. Kansas is horrible this year and Nebraska looks very meh despite their rankings when we beat them.
Theirs a reason that’s what nd and Iowa were recruiting him as.
My biggest issue with tonight is that mental mistakes. Lack of talent and depth can’t be corrected in a week but the mistakes can. Just look at the difference from last years game to this one. We have improved a lot as a program.
We have everything to be pissed about with those two rouge flags that came outa wherever... Stay the course!!!!!
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
If Illinois wins the games it’s supposed to win, 8-4 is the floor for this season. Those games that shouldn’t be solid win expectations outside of a WTF performance are Michigan, Oregon, and Rutgers.
But I think they win one of Michigan or Rutgers and finish 9-3.
But I think they win one of Michigan or Rutgers and finish 9-3.
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IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Because we don't have the linemen to hold the blocks and those plays take time to develop. When they're getting to the QB in 2 seconds, a throw like you're describing will result in a pick.
and speaking to this, can we please figure out some hot routes or run more screens. something? there are ways to scheme against aggressive pass rush- McCray had 30yds on a swing pass
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
The issue is that was a bust on their end when McCray ripped that off. Otherwise they were sniffing those out all night
and 69 others
“Timeout South Carolina”
How the hell did Bowling Green score 24 points in a half against that defense?
This is year 4 of a multi year build. We aren't yet at a spot where we can go toe to toe with everyone. We played a reasonably good game on the road against a top 10 opponent and did not get embarrassed. That's good news to me. If we go 8-4 and play in a NY Wknd bowl that will be heights we are rarely in. I'm encouraged by this game even though we lost. We are a tough out for any opponent on our schedule. How many times in the last 25 yrs could we say that?
Arrow is pointing up, folks.
Arrow is pointing up, folks.
Did you watch the same game as everyone else. They were flying up the field and in Luke’s face all day. The O line was really out played.
indeed they were
Luke had so little time . on more than a few plays , a PSU defender came after him from the LOS untouched
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
Tough L. I absolutely hate that we blew our chance on the goal line to go up 7 into halftime. But hopefully the team can use this to get 2 more wins and go into Eugene 6-1.
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