Illinois 21, South Carolina 17 Postgame

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#776      
Genesis
Olaf Blab said:
I appreciate how Bielema didn't use barge formation until late in game so they couldn't adjust to it at halftime.

also Frank Beamer's special teams at Virginia Tech were always excellent...not just blocking kicks and punts. Nepo Baby Shane was a fail on Tuesday...missed a FG...blew a chance at FG with the Zookian formation...a better thrown ball that is a touchdown...but Ryan Meed saw the guy put his hands up, that is when he put his hands up, not PI even though his back was to the QB. that is 6 points left on field...

Met Ryan after game at team hotel, super nice kid, great representative of the program. Flight home yesterday was 2 hours late didn't care....

Beat Western Illinois.
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I appreciate how our staff regularly holds things in the bag until the fourth quarter. You must have confidence in yourself to hold plays in your pocket until it's too late for the opponent to respond.
 
#777      
Iamgroot
Ander1345 said:
I think Aaron Henry needs a lot of credit for sticking with a good gameplay against Sellers. I know it's sometimes boring and frustrating to watch the other team's offense dink and dunk their way down the field, but I think containing Sellers in the pocket and flowing to the football was the right move. We gave up a lot of yards but we never let the game turn in to a shootout by keeping ourselves within striking distance of taking the lead.
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For sure.im curious to see next season if more teams will line up and play sellers the way the illini did to perfection
 
#778      
SuperintendentChalmers
Olaf Blab said:
I appreciate how Bielema didn't use barge formation until late in game so they couldn't adjust to it at halftime.

also Frank Beamer's special teams at Virginia Tech were always excellent...not just blocking kicks and punts. Nepo Baby Shane was a fail on Tuesday...missed a FG...blew a chance at FG with the Zookian formation...a better thrown ball that is a touchdown...but Ryan Meed saw the guy put his hands up, that is when he put his hands up, not PI even though his back was to the QB. that is 6 points left on field...

Met Ryan after game at team hotel, super nice kid, great representative of the program. Flight home yesterday was 2 hours late didn't care....

Beat Western Illinois.
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Shane also tried to catch us off-guard by drop-kicking the opening kickoff, so he was 0-for-3 on special teams trick plays.
 
#779      
Curbelo Fanboy
My take on the whole "kerfuffle".

Did Bret have a valid point re: the t bar signal? Yes, he did. His gesture was a bit over the top but he made his point. He also called it out for all future SC opponents that will take note & coach their teams to always run thru the whistle on kickoffs against SC cause they don't follow the spirit of the t bar signal to call off the dogs.

Was Beamer an unhinged Temu Hurley from the start of the game? Without question he was & the whole kerfuffle sent him on tilt. Both guys should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike penalties but so be it.

Was Bret playing games with subs? Maybe a little but SC shoulda been able to adjust at some point during the game. They caused the issue by subbing late or trying to make multiple subs in between plays.

Is Bret a petty jackass at times? Absolutely but he's our petty jackass & I love the guy. I'd much rather have a guy on our sideline that will use every tactical advantage he can find (even if some think its gamesmanship) as opposed to some of the milktoast empty headseats we've had on the sidelines over the last 35 years (Zook, Tepper, Beckman). For the most part, all of our coaches (save Beckman) since Tepper have been seen as nice guys by the outside world. It's fine to be nice, but if our guy is a bit of a prick but wins, thats just fine with me. On balance, Bret seems like a respected guy in the profession by other coaches & he appears to have great buy in from his team. That's good enough for me.
 
#782      
GrapplingIllini
Guest said:
I perused the South Carolina fan board (24/7) yesterday and here are a few random thoughts:

1. The resort to violence. Bret may want to hire a bodyguard for a week or two. There were many posters who out and out wanted to punch BB in the face. And I don’t think they were being metaphorical.
2. Many not only now hate the University of Illinois (some said they previously had either favorable opinions or were neutral but now hate U of I) they also now hate the whole state of Illinois (one called it the commie state, LOL
3. The refs were in Illinois pockets, taking bribes to throw the game of course
4. Strangely enough, they were almost as critical of ESPN announcers as many on here are (including me)
5. And, of course, they had no understanding of what the whole BB/SB kerfluffle was actually about. They just saw it was taunting.
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Tell them President Lincoln and his General Sherman sent their regards 🇺🇸
 
#783      
Frumundawood
BZuppke said:
I wish Bret had not done that, but I 100% agree with where he was coming from. And the added benefit of getting in Beamer’s head was priceless. Bret
chuckling while Beamer is flipping out and burning a timeout - hilarious.
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I couldn’t be happier that he did it. I’ve spent most of my life watching the Illini not just wilt, but catastrophically collapse when the lights were brightest. Never the intimidator; always the intimidated. All the clown coaching moments, poor play calling, critical mistakes, penalties, confusion, etc always came from our sideline.

The gesture he made was a little thing that was misunderstood and led to a kerfluffle, but in the big picture the way it played out was really a signal that Illinois has, against all odds, arrived at Big Boy Football. That gesture has already morphed into a rallying cry all over Illini Nation that will be used for as long as Bret Bielema graces us with his presence, if not longer. It was a watershed moment for the program.
 
#785      
LFOD
Guest said:
I perused the South Carolina fan board (24/7) yesterday and here are a few random thoughts:

1. The resort to violence. Bret may want to hire a bodyguard for a week or two. There were many posters who out and out wanted to punch BB in the face. And I don’t think they were being metaphorical.
2. Many not only now hate the University of Illinois (some said they previously had either favorable opinions or were neutral but now hate U of I) they also now hate the whole state of Illinois (one called it the commie state, LOL
3. The refs were in Illinois pockets, taking bribes to throw the game of course
4. Strangely enough, they were almost as critical of ESPN announcers as many on here are (including me)
5. And, of course, they had no understanding of what the whole BB/SB kerfluffle was actually about. They just saw it was taunting.
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It's quite interesting, reading other teams' forums sometimes. I've run across some real trash ... juvenile, profane, violent. It makes me feel quite fortunate to be an Illini fan and have Dan's site here representing us.
 
#790      
and 69 others
GMAN55 said:
We havent seen the end of " the Barge " from Bret.
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Yet, I got beat up after posting this back in September:

and 69 others
Question for those of you who really know football. So we beat a great Penn St. team at their place by using The Barge. We certainly would not want to make a habit of that — we used it because we were out-manned significantly and Bret thought (correctly) it was our best chance. But couldn’t we break it out on occasion (I thought about it Saturday when we were having a hard time running the ball)? I’m guessing no, but I don’t know enough about football to know why we couldn’t break it out for a series here or there.
 
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#792      
Bbuck21
aaeismacgychel said:
Now back home from the game and man what a game it was. I still can't stop grinning ear to ear getting to see one of the greatest wins in the entirety of my Illini Fandom. There's a lot to say about the game, but much of that has been said in the 26 previous pages. But what I can add is my experience with South Carolina fans:

The stadium was probably nearing 60/40 Carolina as it looked like the SEC side was a bit fuller than the B10 side despite more tickets being sold on the B10 side. As well there were a large amount of Carolina fans who bought up sides in the first few rows on the B10 side. I was in one of those areas 2 rows from the field with more Gamecocks fans around me than Illini fans (though I was right next to Declan Duley's girlfriend- more on that later).

1. Overall I thought their fans were nice, respectful, and were good company who were there to cheer for their team. There's always bad apples, but honestly, I walked away more appreciative of them than what I saw of their coach and team on the field.

2. The Carolina fanbase seemed more organized and louder especially at the beginning of the game. However, they couldn't sustain that intensity for any large amount of time as the play of our team took them out of it.

3. When Carolina went up 10-7 and picked Luke off, the crowd noise and momentum was really starting to pick up and their fans were ready to explode. The extremely timely forced fumble and recovery put an end to that and their fanbase would not get any louder the rest of the game.

4. Beamer going ballistic had an untalked about effect on the fans there: For much of the first half it felt like much of the Illini crowd was just happy to be there and sit and watch some football. After that Beamer-Bielema exchange, the sea of orange turned into a tempest. Huge swaths of orange stood and cheered with an organized intensity that reminded me of the early 00s through the rest of the game. Momentum had completely shifted and as the game went on, the Illini Fandom and cheers took over the stadium, absolutely dwarfing the South Carolina faithful. The Illini Fandom was no longer just happy to be there, they believed they were they to win. Thanks, Beamer!

5. From multiple South Carolina fans mouths:
5a. They could not believe our physicality. Many said "this was the hardest their players had been hit all season". That we were a "tough physical bruising team" that "pushed them around harder than anyone".
5b. Several said our Illini were "massively underrated" and they had no idea why the national media wasn't higher on us. A few even went to say that "Your Illini are better than 'Bama this season". Yes, straight from their mouths, and they played both Bama and us.
5c. Almost every South Carolina fan I talked to thought both teams played their hearts out and that we were simply the better team. "Better coached", "Smarter", "More physical", "Nastier", "CFP level team". "Illinois deserved to be talked about more as a potential playoff team".
5d. Most said "This was a great game" between "2 really really good teams"

6. The most interesting moment for me was right before that 3rd and 2 McCray run to clinch it. The South Carolina fans were restless, sounds muted for the situation, and one of their fans started shaking Illini fans hands, saying great win. When people were like, dude, there's 2 minutes left, he said "If you run it, we can't stop you. We've got nothing left." I looked to the crowd and saw the hopefulness and belief in all of our Illini fandom's eyes and the total lack of belief in the South Carolina fans, and I thought back to almost every major moment in the past decades where our fans looked like that. Sad, pitiful, depressed, knowing that we're going to lose despite there being all sorts of time and possibilities left. And to see those tables flipped. The feeling was something else. The entire stadium of orange believed we were getting that 1st down.

And then McCray comes bursting through a hole the size of the Grand Canyon. The perfect ending to a masterpiece.

I-L-L my brethren!
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I-N-I. Thanks so much for sharing this.
 
#794      
biglug58
aaeismacgychel said:
Now back home from the game and man what a game it was. I still can't stop grinning ear to ear getting to see one of the greatest wins in the entirety of my Illini Fandom. There's a lot to say about the game, but much of that has been said in the 26 previous pages. But what I can add is my experience with South Carolina fans:

The stadium was probably nearing 60/40 Carolina as it looked like the SEC side was a bit fuller than the B10 side despite more tickets being sold on the B10 side. As well there were a large amount of Carolina fans who bought up sides in the first few rows on the B10 side. I was in one of those areas 2 rows from the field with more Gamecocks fans around me than Illini fans (though I was right next to Declan Duley's girlfriend- more on that later).

1. Overall I thought their fans were nice, respectful, and were good company who were there to cheer for their team. There's always bad apples, but honestly, I walked away more appreciative of them than what I saw of their coach and team on the field.

2. The Carolina fanbase seemed more organized and louder especially at the beginning of the game. However, they couldn't sustain that intensity for any large amount of time as the play of our team took them out of it.

3. When Carolina went up 10-7 and picked Luke off, the crowd noise and momentum was really starting to pick up and their fans were ready to explode. The extremely timely forced fumble and recovery put an end to that and their fanbase would not get any louder the rest of the game.

4. Beamer going ballistic had an untalked about effect on the fans there: For much of the first half it felt like much of the Illini crowd was just happy to be there and sit and watch some football. After that Beamer-Bielema exchange, the sea of orange turned into a tempest. Huge swaths of orange stood and cheered with an organized intensity that reminded me of the early 00s through the rest of the game. Momentum had completely shifted and as the game went on, the Illini Fandom and cheers took over the stadium, absolutely dwarfing the South Carolina faithful. The Illini Fandom was no longer just happy to be there, they believed they were they to win. Thanks, Beamer!

5. From multiple South Carolina fans mouths:
5a. They could not believe our physicality. Many said "this was the hardest their players had been hit all season". That we were a "tough physical bruising team" that "pushed them around harder than anyone".
5b. Several said our Illini were "massively underrated" and they had no idea why the national media wasn't higher on us. A few even went to say that "Your Illini are better than 'Bama this season". Yes, straight from their mouths, and they played both Bama and us.
5c. Almost every South Carolina fan I talked to thought both teams played their hearts out and that we were simply the better team. "Better coached", "Smarter", "More physical", "Nastier", "CFP level team". "Illinois deserved to be talked about more as a potential playoff team".
5d. Most said "This was a great game" between "2 really really good teams"

6. The most interesting moment for me was right before that 3rd and 2 McCray run to clinch it. The South Carolina fans were restless, sounds muted for the situation, and one of their fans started shaking Illini fans hands, saying great win. When people were like, dude, there's 2 minutes left, he said "If you run it, we can't stop you. We've got nothing left." I looked to the crowd and saw the hopefulness and belief in all of our Illini fandom's eyes and the total lack of belief in the South Carolina fans, and I thought back to almost every major moment in the past decades where our fans looked like that. Sad, pitiful, depressed, knowing that we're going to lose despite there being all sorts of time and possibilities left. And to see those tables flipped. The feeling was something else. The entire stadium of orange believed we were getting that 1st down.

And then McCray comes bursting through a hole the size of the Grand Canyon. The perfect ending to a masterpiece.

I-L-L my brethren!
Click to expand...
They could not believe our physicality. Many said "this was the hardest their players had been hit all season". That we were a "tough physical bruising team" that "pushed them around harder than anyone".

Mike Tyson Smile GIF


Thanks for posting this aa*! Great write up.
 
#795      
Illini4Chief
Can you imagine, that an Illinois player...came crashing down and hit the kickoff return guy .......all H would break loose. Might be an interesting call, when a freight train player flattens the dude,.........Well, I don't have to stop running because the T BAR is optional and not a requirement.
 
#796      
OrangeBlue98
Illini4Chief said:
Can you imagine, that an Illinois player...came crashing down and hit the kickoff return guy .......all H would break loose. Might be an interesting call, when a freight train player flattens the dude,.........Well, I don't have to stop running because the T BAR is optional and not a requirement.
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Beamer might have broken all blood vessels in his neck if this happened. And honestly, nothing could have happened because that is not an accepted fair catch signal per the NCAA rule book.

It's really a cheap and unethical play. And as others have mentioned, when the Illinois players slow up they become sitting ducks. Shane was perfectly willing to sacrifice player safety in the name of winning a football game.
 
#797      
Bbuck21
Ander1345 said:
Our late subbing is not out of the norm. SC would try to sub offensive personnel late after the radios shut off(less than 15seconds) on the playclock, and Bret would just take whatever time he wanted to. In a sense we were just using our D to do what they were trying to do on O.

If you watch the game again, notice that they couldn't do it back to us because we would sub early on the playclock.

The substitution rule makes it kind of pointless to try to do what they do on offense, so I don't know why they even bother.
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This is the entire scenario summarized cleanly. As I watched it happening, I started to wonder if Bret/Illini were subbing instantly on defense because he knew SC would sub "late", allowing him to have the last move? I know Bret/Staff have their guys "take their time" while subbing in repsonse to the offense sub. But, was his strategy to sub-twice, or did they always rotate guys quickly for fresh legs, then see what the offense does? Either way, he certainly outcoached Beamer. Which I suspect might not be that difficult to do.
 
#798      
Bbuck21
I have family members (BiLs, SiLs, nephews, son) that are fans of ACC and SEC teams, these are serious sports fans, and they can't stand ESPN.
 
#799      
Bbuck21
mhuml32 said:
All the new memes, bowl photos, success is a good reminder for some of you folks to pick out your favorite and make it your profile picture on this board. Helps quickly identify the same user flipping through comments.
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Fine. But, now all my favorites are gone.
 
#800      
sacraig
Mr. Tibbs said:
this is my somewhat weird reason I always liked him :
i’m 3rd generation Dutch immigrant and so are 90% of the midwest dutch . Bret is also . I don’t know him or any of his family , but I know lots of people just like him . if you went to one of my family reunions , seriously 1/2 the guys look just like him . my dad did especially .

so I always liked him for these odd cultural reasons . Iowa , Mich & Wiscy are also full of these small dutch towns & I always figured he was Iowa dutch as I didn’t know any Bielemas .

At some point after he was fired from Arky I found out he was from Prophetstown . When it became obvious to most of us that Lovie wasn’t the answer , I had him on my personal watch list. I was well aware he had a bad reputation among many of our fandom , so I really didn’t think Josh felt differently and never gave him a chance for our possible opening . imagine my surprise when we all found out Lovie was canned and that BB was already in discussions with JW . I really thought we were going to go after LL, who was out plan B .

So i have these obscure cultural reasons for wanting Bielema , and also why I follow coaches like DeBoer , DeVries & Spoelstra with interest . If you are dutch , you know dutch names
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I which part of The Netherlands does "Tibbs" originate?
 
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