Pregame: Illinois vs Michigan, Saturday, October 19th, 2:30pm CT, CBS

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#326      
lexwaldez
The only thing I know is that it's going to be FUN. I was just getting used to being semi-confident about our Illini's chances in every game. Penn State? Okay. No problem. Purdue? Yeah, that second half stung a bit. I'm driving home from Chicago and listening to the game on the radio. Wow. I almost turned it off, but I had JUST enough confidence in a comeback to keep it on. We can't give up on these guys because they don't give up in the game. Let's just win another and move on. It's only the biggest game ever. I'm really trying to relax, enjoy the pageantry of it all, and watch some athletes compete out there for our entertainment. I sometimes forget how much those young men put on the line every game. Let's make Memorial Stadium shake for them. I ramble. Apologies.
 
#327      
SampsonRelpenk
I cannot recall a specific game I want us to win more than this one besides the 2002 Sugar Bowl and the 2008 Rose Bowl. This game is about the entire history of the program. Winning a title in 1951? Thrashing Washington in the first nationally televised college football game at the Rose Bowl? The east stands swaying? Beating the national champions in 1990? Outright conference champs in 2001? None of this happens without Red Grange humiliating the invincible Michigan Men 100 years ago. For a perennial loser of a program there are so many figures and moments for us be proud of as fans. Beat. Michigan. *

*this was posted without fact checking
 
#330      
AZILL
Would Feagin be better served to play LB next season? While I know knee issues affect every player position, but I wonder, are LB's less susceptible to re-injuring the knee or does it require less stress on the knees to play the position? IANADr
 
#331      
DeonThomas
Dkayak said:
We’ve all hyperextended a knee. Ouch! But I don’t understand the effects and treatment for of a more acute version. Anyone here know?
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Bret used the word "hip" during his presser earlier this week.
 
#334      
SoCal Illini
Battle89 said:
Commence the debate about whether the tail livery should be Block I, slant Illinois, arch Illini, or numbers / stars.

Also the tail / fuselage / wing best color combo. I'll take B/O/B.
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Chief on tail! Arched illini on the ball turret, slant Illinois along the sides next to cockpit, and a small block I on the side for every touchdown pass. Then gimme O/O/O monochrome for the fighting Illini Flying Fortress.
 
#336      
Illinir1
Screenshot_20241018_074647_X.jpg
 
#340      
LJ22
Calvin said:
Line is about 3½. Betters must be afraid after the Purdue game. Should be fun to watch a close one where we have the home field.
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I'm hopeful that the second half would have looked much different if Xavier Scott were playing. He doesn't make the D-line better but a couple of Purdue's long passes would have been contested and/or picked. Hope he's 100 percent for this game.
 
#342      
aaeismacgychel
Calvin said:
Line is about 3½. Betters must be afraid after the Purdue game. Should be fun to watch a close one where we have the home field.
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Don't think it had as much to do with the Purdue game as it was always going to go this way. The underlying advanced stats suggest Michigan by 4 and the assumption is more money would be riding on them to cover. It's why in my initial post I said I was surprised the opening line was as low as it was, as it seemed like it should settle somewhere around Michigan -4.5.

In any case those, this will all come down to whether we can stop the run and whether we can give Luke time to throw. The scary thing for us when it comes to advanced stats is that if Michigan skews more run in playcalling and we skew more pass, the line moves more in Michigan's favor as they are very good at running the ball and we've had a hard time stopping it, and on defense they are very good at rushing the passer (they're better than PSU) so Luke will have less time to throw. Going to need to play a really good game to win this one and winning the turnover margin would really help. We're due for some big defensive takeaways and a Scott Pick 6.
 
#343      
aaeismacgychel
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Add in a clear pick play first down on the last drive. Wouldn't mind throwing in an atrocious PI either.
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Yep, clear textbook offensive pass interference pick play right in front of the ref resulting in immediate advantage and a first down for Michigan and then there was a no call or review of Michigan's QB's knee being down that same drive, also extending the drive. It bears saying, if we want to win this one, we need to be at least 8pts better than them as the refs will be gifting them at least 1 score. And nothing says tradition like the refs absolutely hosing us against Michigan. Now I need to take deep breaths before I start thinking about Fumblegate.
 
#347      
Fighter of the Nightman
Calvin said:
Line is about 3½. Betters must be afraid after the Purdue game. Should be fun to watch a close one where we have the home field.
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This might be the first day game I can remember since 2007 where we will have a TRUE home field advantage of which a Big Ten program can be proud. The 2016 UNC and 2024 KU night games were great atmospheres (especially the latter), but that seems a bit easier for a hyped up night game. Considering we need a crowd above 52k or so to truly elevate the noise and that we have been pretty disappointing since 2007, these are the only contenders since then I can think of:

2011 vs. Ohio State: This is when we were 6-0 and ranked #16 ... and we still only got 55k in the stands, showing how awesome our recent uptick in attendance has been. While I'm sure the atmosphere was good to START the game (it was a "stripe out"), the game itself was such a dud that I remember our fans being so taken out of it.

2010 vs. #2 Ohio State: Kind of a forgotten game, but it was a sellout (back when that meant almost 63k!) and we played them pretty close. I remember some hype after this one that we might actually have a solid team.

2009 vs. Michigan: Disappointing season, but we were still drawing big crowds (60,119 for this one) from the Rose Bowl season, and people never quite gave up hope that this talented team would figure it out. We were 1-7 going into this game, but we demolished Michigan 38-13 on a beautiful day, largely fueled by Hawthorne's epic rundown.

2008 vs. Iowa: After such a weirdly disappointing and up-and-down season, this win vs. Iowa (to break a losing streak that went back to 2000) in front of a sold out crowd gave this season some hope. We were 5-4 after this one with games vs. WMU (neutral), OSU at home and at Northwestern ... 8-4 seemed like at least a possibility. Instead, we'd lose all three, haha. I DO remember the crowd being pretty pumped for this one.

And to be honest, none of those atmospheres compared to what we had for day games vs. #21 Penn State or #5 Wisconsin in 2007 ... they were simply the best we've had since. Here's to hoping Michigan's game Saturday is as electric as we've seen Memorial Stadium in decades!!
 
#349      
mhuml32
Josh McCray had his best game since the 9OT Penn State win and people are wondering if a guy with three career carries for one yard is going to make an appearance. Love Jordan Anderson but this is going even beyond the backup QB syndrome.

It's going to be very tough sledding inside against UM but would love to see the rotation get boiled down to McCray and Laughery. The blitzing this game is going to make Valentine almost unplayable this week.
 
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