I said to the couple guys watching with me during the 1H (attending my 2yo twin grandkids B-day gathering), "Illini should start using quicker hit passes to counter Duke's commitment at the line of scrimmage". And they did. I had to laugh at how many great passes Luke made, but would miss a wide open receiver by 2 yards on a slant. I just laughed it off.
Illinois 45, Duke 19 Postgame
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Punt return and the Duke uniform malfunction. However, we took full advantage of them and that's what good teams do while minimizing our own mistakes (the RTP call by Daniel Brown was the biggest mistake I recall)
It's also worth mentioning that it was one of our special teams assistants that caught the two Duke guys wearing the same number, and was shouting it out for the refs to hear, which was then flagged. Not sure if the refs would've caught it otherwise. Bielema's attention to detail and getting staff and players prepared again wins the day
UI ... ?
That’s what you called offensive efficiency.
the national
- the Front Range
This could apply to a lot of games yesterday. After watching the full slate, I feel more impressed.
At halftime during one of the ESPN broadcasts yesterday, they talked about Illinois and said very complimentary things. In short “wait til they play 4qtrs of Bielema ball. We might seen an elite team in the Illini.” More than not were impressed by our performance. One guy on the panel even said he was “very impressed” with our line play on both sides. I immediately thought, what?! That o-line was horrible in the first half. But he quickly clarified and said that the coaches made the proper adjustments and “fixed the problem” which was a sign of great coaching. And “you can’t win championships without great coaching”. He also positioned us above Penn st, behind Oregon and Ohio st for power rankings in the big ten.
I’ll take it.
the national
- the Front Range
Kirk Herbstreit should be forced to wear an orange and blue suit next week on College Gameday for having picked Duke to win today.Go Illini!!!!!!
Wokker
- "The Good Land", WI
100%
Even the muffed punt, our gunners made their presence known and the PR def felt it-contributed to the fumble. Gunners got as close as they legally could. Even though it was a fair catch this is the little things that matter. That’s coaching.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
In the press conference, Bret said he prepared his punt kick team before the game for a muffed punt because teams are more likely to muff a punt during the noon game due to the placement of the sun.
Wokker
- "The Good Land", WI
That’s just next level stuff
and 69 others
“Timeout South Carolina”
I never heard that money was the reason he left. How much was he making here and how much at Georgia?
Coach said he left to be the feature back. 3 carries in garbage time over 2 games is not being featured.
And to be clear, I will always be thankful to Josh for his time here, especially the Citrus Bowl first down carry.
Krombopulos_Michael
- Aurora, Illinois (that’s a suburb of Chicago)
Yes. Sometimes it’s possible to be lucky AND good in the same game.
Even though we had some short fields, we clobbered them in time of possession by almost 13 minutes. That is BB ball, control the clock and wear teams down.
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100% we forced them, but we were a tad lucky we recovered ALL of them
Robert pointed out that last year, Nebby dropped the ball 5 times, and recovered all of them .
Coming into the season I had some questions about the WRs but I think this group is serviceable.
Clement and Bostwick were solid additions. I don’t think either are as dynamic as Franklin/Bryant, but they are still reasonable weapons. Know how to get open and don’t drop the football.
Then Beatty looks like a guy that spent all offseason watching Mikey Dudek tape and said “I can be that guy”. Elzy hasn’t shown much but he doesn’t have too if the other guys play solid. So the WRs I like.
I like Valentine as #1 RB. Give him the ball he’s got the vision and speed the others don’t have. Feagin I don’t see much in him. A short yardage back I guess? He just runs too upright and he has slow feet.
Defense I was impressed with Heckel. But the overall defense, even with 5 takeaways, looked a lot soft. Didn’t look like a stout “3 and out” defense. Very little QB pressure, not much RB stuffs. I think this unit is going to give up a ton of yards so have to hope they hold opponents to FGs.
Does it look like a top 10 team? No. But playing mistake free football should make the floor high. 8-9 wins this group should be able to get too.
Clement and Bostwick were solid additions. I don’t think either are as dynamic as Franklin/Bryant, but they are still reasonable weapons. Know how to get open and don’t drop the football.
Then Beatty looks like a guy that spent all offseason watching Mikey Dudek tape and said “I can be that guy”. Elzy hasn’t shown much but he doesn’t have too if the other guys play solid. So the WRs I like.
I like Valentine as #1 RB. Give him the ball he’s got the vision and speed the others don’t have. Feagin I don’t see much in him. A short yardage back I guess? He just runs too upright and he has slow feet.
Defense I was impressed with Heckel. But the overall defense, even with 5 takeaways, looked a lot soft. Didn’t look like a stout “3 and out” defense. Very little QB pressure, not much RB stuffs. I think this unit is going to give up a ton of yards so have to hope they hold opponents to FGs.
Does it look like a top 10 team? No. But playing mistake free football should make the floor high. 8-9 wins this group should be able to get too.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Can someone with GIF skills add Bielema’s face like we have for Underwood? Ideally, the smile as Beamer was losing his s*** if that’s possible.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
It’s really impressive how Bielema is so tuned into the little things. He’s easily the most detail-oriented coach we’ve had in any of the major sports since at least Weber. I’d go all the way back to Kruger.
Illinell
'03 IMPE All Star
- Bridgeport, Chicago
Solid summary and I'd agree. Our offense was slower to start but after the first couple of drives looked very solid. Our defense didn't seem to create much pressure, but I'm not sure we blitzed too much and seemed to play straight up outside of some corner schemes.
I'm hopeful our offense can be confident out of the gate, and that our D will get a little more creative with experience.
If we can be mistake free and manage what is a favorable schedule I'm hopeful we have at least 9 wins. That said, it's a v long season.
That is my biggest takeaway! And… Scoring efficiency!
We got some breaks but made things count!
Settled only once for a FG!
We seemed to come up with needed plays when it mattered… both sides of the ball!
Absolutely
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
funny how things work out. McCray bolting left a bigger opening for Valentine. and that's looking like it's gonna work out rather well
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