So how good is Illinois?

Status
Not open for further replies.
#1      

Curbelo Fanboy

Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Curbelo Fanboy
I don’t know if we truly have top 10 talent up and down the roster. I think the talent is closer to that level than in a long long time. Time will tell this year. but I do know a few things

- IL football has an identity like it’s not had in at least 35 years. Tough,smart and physical. Sometimes the playcalling seems conservative especially when those first down runs go nowhere early on. But today like in the bowl game that physicality wears down the opponent and the yards come much easier.

- when the game hits the fourth quarter Bert Ball takes hold. If we lead after 3 the 4th becomes very hard for the other team. Cause we keep feeding run after wearing down the d over the first 3 quarters

- don’t know what final record will be or if we’ll make the playoff but I do know whoever beats this team is gonna have to play for 4 quarters. Very rarely does a Bret coached team get run. And they just kind of grind it out and stay in the game. Oregon last year and Va in year 1 are the only exceptions in his tenure.

- we are starting to become a team no one wants to play against. Bret with gamesmanship and attention to the details on the sub rules has gotten 2 opponents off their game a bit now.
 
#2      
GatorMcKlusky
I know that sitting amongst a bunch of frustrated Duke fans yesterday who are too smart to know the rules of the game, Bret controls the narrative of the game with his substitution patterns on defense. Even confused the refs (that was a terrible penalty for twelve men on the field). That's the essence of Bret Ball - he controls the game clock.
 
#3      
EyeoftheIllini
I honestly don’t know how good this team is, and probably won’t have a good grasp on that until after the Indiana game. Yesterday was a big win, but the first half with the lack of rushing attack and all those TFL are hard to ignore. Yes, the Illini flipped the script in the second half, but some of that success as well as the first half lead is directly linked to Duke mistakes. Sure, the Illini helped cause some of those mistakes, but can’t overlook the fact that Duke had two fumbles (one lost) against Elon in week one, so ball security doesn’t seem to be a strength. And I’ve never been impressed with Diaz as a coach, and Illini making adjustments and dominating second half did nothing to change that opinion.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m bullish on this Illini team and THINK it could be really good. So many things to like about this team starting with Luke. I’m just not sure yet if this team is merely good or playoffs-bound really good. Looking forward to finding out. One thing I do know though is that Bret and staff have built something good here and they are certainly the group that can get Illinois football to playoffs-bound really good status.
 
#5      
Brosky
Very good team that I expect will only get better with time. Even if we go 10-4 again with a high level bowl invitation, it's still another strong step in the right direction for the program.
 
#7      
Illini in Italy
I'm just gonna enjoy the ride!

Excited Easy Rider GIF by Action Bronson
 
#8      
Username
Curbelo Fanboy said:
I don’t know if we truly have top 10 talent up and down the roster. I think the talent is closer to that level than in a long long time. Time will tell this year. but I do know a few things

- IL football has an identity like it’s not had in at least 35 years. Tough,smart and physical. Sometimes the playcalling seems conservative especially when those first down runs go nowhere early on. But today like in the bowl game that physicality wears down the opponent and the yards come much easier.

- when the game hits the fourth quarter Bert Ball takes hold. If we lead after 3 the 4th becomes very hard for the other team. Cause we keep feeding run after wearing down the d over the first 3 quarters

- don’t know what final record will be or if we’ll make the playoff but I do know whoever beats this team is gonna have to play for 4 quarters. Very rarely does a Bret coached team get run. And they just kind of grind it out and stay in the game. Oregon last year and Va in year 1 are the only exceptions in his tenure.

- we are starting to become a team no one wants to play against. Bret with gamesmanship and attention to the details on the sub rules has gotten 2 opponents off their game a bit now.
Click to expand...
I don't think we have top 10 raw talent - probably closer to top 20-30. I do think we have top 5 coaching, development, and culture. With our NIL budget and current (but improving) brand, that is what we need to continue to do for the foreseeable future.

I'm ready to start contributing to the BB statue building escrow fund today. I've never felt more confident in the direction of our FB program (class of 2002).

I can't scream it loud enough: I L L!
 
#9      
Curbelo Fanboy
Username said:
I don't think we have top 10 raw talent - probably closer to top 20-30. I do think we have top 5 coaching, development, and culture. With our NIL budget and current (but improving) brand, that is what we need to continue to do for the foreseeable future.

I'm ready to start contributing to the BB statue building escrow fund today. I've never felt more confident in the direction of our FB program (class of 2002).

I can't scream it loud enough: I L L!
Click to expand...
I agree. The only thing keeping me from saying he’s the best coach of my lifetime (since 71) is the passage of time. Mackovic and White were great and did it at a high level for multiple years in a row. Bret is on the way. And he is a top 5 coach in the country. Not “sexy” or flashy but he has em ready to go each week? They play smart ball and are well prepared. And he is really establishing that identity of some smash mouth ball as the game wears on if we have the lead. 7:00 drive in 4th yesterday. Owned the 4th in the bowl game. Etc
 
#10      
Guest
Curbelo Fanboy said:
I agree. The only thing keeping me from saying he’s the best coach of my lifetime (since 71) is the passage of time. Mackovic and White were great and did it at a high level for multiple years in a row. Bret is on the way. And he is a top 5 coach in the country. Not “sexy” or flashy but he has em ready to go each week? They play smart ball and are well prepared. And he is really establishing that identity of some smash mouth ball as the game wears on if we have the lead. 7:00 drive in 4th yesterday. Owned the 4th in the bowl game. Etc
Click to expand...
What do you mean not sexy?

biel-with-it-2_medium-3379813265.gif
 
#11      
lstewart53x3
Yeah, our offensive line got pushed around a bit in the first half.
Yeah, we gave up more yards than we gained.

We’re gonna need to clean that up to make the CFP.

But here’s what I’m encouraged about from yesterday:

1. Halftime adjustments. How many games over the past 20 years have been close, then we get out coached in the second half and lose? Great coaching can take you a long way in college football.

2. Depth. Which might’ve been just as important in the second half. We just wore Duke down. Again, we used to be the team hanging with a good team for 3 quarters then getting ran over in the 4th. Now we’re doing that to other teams. It’s glorious.

3. Opportunistic / efficient offense. Sure, we can’t count on 5 turnovers a game (and we didn’t need 5 to win, just 5 for it to be a blowout. A +2 likely wins it), but we made them pay for every single one of them. We scored on every drive in the second half. We were 100% in red zone opportunities on the game. That allows us to get the most out of every yard we gain.

4. Forcing turnovers. SURE, we had some turnover luck. We forced 4 balls to the ground and recovered all 4. You usually recover about half of those. So instead of 4 fumble recoveries, we probably should have only had 2. BUT 2 STILL WINS THE GAME. And forcing 4 fumbles in a game isn’t luck, that’s preparation and skill.

5. A gamer at QB. Luke stayed calm under pressure. He took some sacks that he probably shouldn’t have, but he never put the ball on the ground and he never threw the ball into harms way. He’s a straight up winner and that can take you so far in college football.
 
#13      
Calvin
To my eye, there are some weaknesses. This team has some studs that can compete with anyone, but going down the roster, the speed and talent overall is not top-10. But we see it all the time that coaching, development, and veteran players can outplay rosters that look like they have more raw talent, so that's the question for me.

That was a good Duke team. They made mistakes that were at least partly because of how our guys played, but I won't be surprised if they get into the top-25 this season. Their schedule looks pretty manageable so they're going to rack up some wins.
 
#14      
Birdus
We will see just how good we are in the next 3-5 weeks. I was not overly impressed with Duke. Sure their q.b. will get only better but Indiana, USC, O. State, and Washington will determine a lot. If we can get 3 or 4 out of 5, we still have a chance to make the playoffs. Anyone of those teams will beat us if we play like we did against Duke in the 1st half. If we beat Indiana, USC, Washington (which will be very difficult there), and stay within 7-10 on Ohio State, we will definitely have a very good chance at winning out.
 
#15      
Curbelo Fanboy
Calvin said:
To my eye, there are some weaknesses. This team has some studs that can compete with anyone, but going down the roster, the speed and talent overall is not top-10. But we see it all the time that coaching, development, and veteran players can outplay rosters that look like they have more raw talent, so that's the question for me.

That was a good Duke team. They made mistakes that were at least partly because of how our guys played, but I won't be surprised if they get into the top-25 this season. Their schedule looks pretty manageable so they're going to rack up some wins.
Click to expand...
This is pretty much where I am at. I don't think we have top 10 talent up & down the roster. We do in a few spots. We do have a veteran team & a pretty good QB. Extremely well coached. Sometimes that combo allows a team to exceed the level that just pure talent would allow them to achieve.

We are like a baseball team with a real good closer. If you are going to beat Illinois you better do it by the end of the 3rd quarter cause if Bret gets to the 4th quarter with the lead the ball goes in the deep freeze. As the opposing D wears down our run game seems to step up & salt games away.
 
#17      
mhuml32
Curbelo Fanboy said:
I don’t know if we truly have top 10 talent up and down the roster. I think the talent is closer to that level than in a long long time. Time will tell this year. but I do know a few things

- IL football has an identity like it’s not had in at least 35 years. Tough,smart and physical. Sometimes the playcalling seems conservative especially when those first down runs go nowhere early on. But today like in the bowl game that physicality wears down the opponent and the yards come much easier.

- when the game hits the fourth quarter Bert Ball takes hold. If we lead after 3 the 4th becomes very hard for the other team. Cause we keep feeding run after wearing down the d over the first 3 quarters

- don’t know what final record will be or if we’ll make the playoff but I do know whoever beats this team is gonna have to play for 4 quarters. Very rarely does a Bret coached team get run. And they just kind of grind it out and stay in the game. Oregon last year and Va in year 1 are the only exceptions in his tenure.

- we are starting to become a team no one wants to play against. Bret with gamesmanship and attention to the details on the sub rules has gotten 2 opponents off their game a bit now.
Click to expand...


(1) It's not a top-10 team by power rankings.
(2) It's a team that can be playoffs good by resume rankings, but it will take quite a few good breaks against the upcoming sequence of games after WMU.
 
#18      
Illwinsagain
mhuml32 said:
(1) It's not a top-10 team by power rankings.
(2) It's a team that can be playoffs good by resume rankings, but it will take quite a few good breaks against the upcoming sequence of games after WMU.
Click to expand...
Not sure if I would use the term "breaks". The next several games after WMU is losable. But other than tOSU, they are also reasonably winnable. And we don't know about tOSU yet. I think of breaks being required when you are the underdog. I get that a turnover often is referred to as a break, but it quite often is forced. I do think that the double 8's penalty this past weekend was a break and it certainly had a big impact. UI did nothing to earn that, except notice it and make sure that the refs did too. So, now I am just confusing myself. Maybe breaks is the right word. All I know, this version of the Fighting Illini has me feeling good about their chances every week.
 
#20      
altgeld88
lstewart53x3 said:
5. A gamer at QB. Luke stayed calm under pressure. He took some sacks that he probably shouldn’t have, but he never put the ball on the ground and he never threw the ball into harms way. He’s a straight up winner and that can take you so far in college football.
Click to expand...
One thing that concerned me Saturday early on (and into the 3Q) is that our line was not giving Luke time in the pocket. His feet weren't set well and led to inaccurate throws. As the 2H wore on their D line became tired and/or our O Line did a better protection job, and that's when he hit his stride.

Mensah had all day to set up in the pocket, roll and throw, and gashed our secondary for 2-1/2 quarters. Our D line needs to put more pressure on the QB and we've got to do a better job in the secondary. Too much blown coverage and mismatches. Thank goodness that the 1H combinations of Mensah and his WRs/TEs fell into two categories: either Mensah threw dimes to receivers who couldn't catch or he overthrew the ones who could catch. We dodged multiple bullets there.

Also, TBF, Duke's lines on both sides of the ball were much bigger and quicker than I expected.
 
#22      
Fly Illini Fly!
Second place is 1st loser said:
How good is Illinois?

They'll be as good as their defense will allow them to be. So, how good is their defense? That's the real question and will provide the answer to the level of success this season.
Click to expand...
That's something you'd adequately say when it's a situation of little to no question marks on one side of the ball (like for instance, 2022 with the defense). I'd need to see significant improvements from our rushing attack and O-Line to reasonably buy into it. Maybe we get there, but not yet.

With that quarterback, Hank's emergence and so much overall talent on the outside... if you can start rushing for 160-180 yards/game, and decent protection... then your getting into the conversation of we can compete with just about anybody.
 
#24      
mhuml32
Illwinsagain said:
Not sure if I would use the term "breaks". The next several games after WMU is losable. But other than tOSU, they are also reasonably winnable. And we don't know about tOSU yet. I think of breaks being required when you are the underdog. I get that a turnover often is referred to as a break, but it quite often is forced. I do think that the double 8's penalty this past weekend was a break and it certainly had a big impact. UI did nothing to earn that, except notice it and make sure that the refs did too. So, now I am just confusing myself. Maybe breaks is the right word. All I know, this version of the Fighting Illini has me feeling good about their chances every week.
Click to expand...

This is looking at each specific game. Yes, each game is reasonably winnable, but Illinois needs a sequence of reasonably winnable games to all go in Illinois' favor. Even assuming that Illinois loses to Ohio State, Illinois needs to win @Indiana, USC, and @Washington to be a favorite to make the playoff. I'm guessing that bettors would place Illinois' chances of winning that three-game sequence at.....+400 at best? +1000 at worst?
 
#25      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
mhuml32 said:
This is looking at each specific game. Yes, each game is reasonably winnable, but Illinois needs a sequence of reasonably winnable games to all go in Illinois' favor. Even assuming that Illinois loses to Ohio State, Illinois needs to win @Indiana, USC, and @Washington to be a favorite to make the playoff. I'm guessing that bettors would place Illinois' chances of winning that three-game sequence at.....+400 at best? +1000 at worst?
Click to expand...
Just go 2-1 and set up a reasonable path to 10-2.

We'll see from there...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back