Illini Football 2025

Status
Not open for further replies.
#677      
BalloonsTheElephant
mhuml32 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1960850916602733025
Click to expand...
Ryan Day looks like the fake Santa Claus they clone from the real Santa Claus in Santa Clause 2.
Santa Claus Drinking GIF by Freeform
 
#678      
biglug58
zentrails said:
I was an undergrad at UIUC in the late seventies, you are understating how bad things were not too long ago IMO. Back then we looked forward to winning maybe a couple of games at most.

I am thoroughly enjoying the Bret difference!
Click to expand...
I remember "Bye Bye Blackman" signs around campus!
 
#682      
zentrails
biglug58 said:
I remember "Bye Bye Blackman" signs around campus!
Click to expand...
Me too, my neighbor was a scholarship Illinois FB player and I rode to UIUC with him the day Blackman was hired, then at the end of the semester had to drop out and join the Navy for four years to avoid getting drafted in the Army.

Turns out he was one of our better FB coaches in that sorry era of Illinois FB
 
#684      
Orange_Blue
Noblesville Illini said:
Apparently we hired UNI coaching legend, Mark Farley, out of retirement 2 weeks ago. Announced by BB. Awesome!
Click to expand...

Farley is a good dude and a heck of a defensive minded coach. When UNI was dominating the MVFC, UNI was the top spender in the league. He was getting recruits around the country and could flat out coach. Enrollment declines and budget cuts led to decreased spending, making it impossible to remain competitive. The past 10 years, an incompetent AD and budget cuts changed everything.

TLDR: Farely is an incredible coach.
 
#685      
Saturdaze
Roller Coaster Thumbs Up GIF by History Colorado


Y’all ready for this roller coaster of a season to begin?!

Most preseason excitement since 2008 is a great feeling. There’s going to be close games, unfortunately injuries, bad calls, as is always the case, but hopefully this staff can keep them focused all season.

I’m very impressed with Bret so far, but Lunney going into a make or break season with a SR Altmyer. This season will be a high water mark for him given all the experience across the line and behind center.

Let’s let the fun begin.
 
#686      
Illiniguy74
biglug58 said:
I remember "Bye Bye Blackman" signs around campus!
Click to expand...
Too bad Coach Blackman didn't work out. Met him in Redwood and Ross in May, 1974. Buying an "interview suit" as was about to graduate. Introduced myself. He engaged me in a 3-4 minute conversation. Asked about my background and plans for the future. Wished me luck. A real gentleman in every regard.
 
#688      
2ndchance
biglug58 said:
I remember "Bye Bye Blackman" signs around campus!
Click to expand...
I do as well. There was a discussion on here a while back about previous Illini football coaches. The consensus was that Blackman was not that bad, which I agree with. Our non-Big 10 opponents in those days were usually pretty good teams - not a "directional" school.
 
#691      
Battle89
RIP_Chief_2003 said:
BB got .279 seconds of airtime in that clip…

I love the NW Skoronski shout! Go Maine South! Beat Lincolnway East! Friday Night Lights are BACK!
Click to expand...
And two words. "Dana Howard"

I was close, I said Simeon Rice. Now I'm all mad at Tepper again...
 
#692      
Mr. Tibbs
the real answer is Dick Butkus - bug was it limited to the last 40 years ?
 
#693      
bluemountain
zentrails said:
Me too, my neighbor was a scholarship Illinois FB player and I rode to UIUC with him the day Blackman was hired, then at the end of the semester had to drop out and join the Navy for four years to avoid getting drafted in the Army.

Turns out he was one of our better FB coaches in that sorry era of Illinois FB
Click to expand...
He was a good coach who had to deal with absolutely brutal schedules. In '72 our non-con schedule consisted of USC, Washington and Penn State, all of whom were ranked. Under today's scheduling, his teams likely would have gone bowling all 6 years of his tenure. He was also hamstrung by having Cecil Coleman as AD, who made Mike Thomas look like a genius
 
#695      
altgeld88
bluemountain said:
He was a good coach who had to deal with absolutely brutal schedules. In '72 our non-con schedule consisted of USC, Washington and Penn State, all of whom were ranked. Under today's scheduling, his teams likely would have gone bowling all 6 years of his tenure. He was also hamstrung by having Cecil Coleman as AD, who made Mike Thomas look like a genius
Click to expand...
The fact that any Big Ten team in the 1970s, let alone The Beloved, had an AD named "Cecil" makes me chuckle.

Blackman was a solid coach. He did indeed get shafted by the noncon schedules and the OSU-Michigan domination of the conference in the '70s.
 
#696      
Joel Goodson
bluemountain said:
He was a good coach who had to deal with absolutely brutal schedules. In '72 our non-con schedule consisted of USC, Washington and Penn State, all of whom were ranked. Under today's scheduling, his teams likely would have gone bowling all 6 years of his tenure. He was also hamstrung by having Cecil Coleman as AD, who made Mike Thomas look like a genius
Click to expand...

Moeller was the true masterstroke by Coleman though
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back