That punt was because the TE dropped a catchable pass, though.Washington's possessions:
Touchdown
Touchdown
Punt (!!!)
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
End of game
That punt was because the TE dropped a catchable pass, though.Washington's possessions:
Touchdown
Touchdown
Punt (!!!)
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
End of game
Absolutely brutal. I mean, what the hell? Washington is not that good.Washington's possessions:
Touchdown
Touchdown
Punt (!!!)
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
End of game
Your post gives me some hope.The fact that Bret even entertained the question of him calling the defense(even though he said he has too many responsibilities to do it) should tell you guys a lot
Oh Bret is PISSED …
I stand corrected. The reporters did, in fact, ask the questions that needed to be asked. It's up to Bret to do the thing that needs to be done. Unfortunately, the defense has been our undoing this season. Hopefully, it can be patched up enough to get a couple more wins and still have a great season.
Good. He should be. But he has to own it too. He gave Henry the job. Is that Jim Leonhard's music I hear??Oh Bret is PISSED …
but also one of those drives should've been a pick 6..That punt was because the TE dropped a catchable pass, though.
I don’t think any losses are acceptable in the last four games with the team Illinois brought back this year and the quality of the opponents. NW will be tough but they shouldn’t lose to them at home.First off - While individual games can be disappointing and discouraging, I will never (well at least in the next decade plus) be pissed off with an 8-4 or 9-3 season. A 10 win season followed by and 8 or 9 win season? Heaven. Didn't think it was possible. I don't need/demand national championships. All I've ever wanted was "gimme a bowl game 3 out of every 4 years."
I just want that stated upfront when I say the following. That was one of the most horribly coached games I've seen in a long long time. The defense was an abomination. Insane strategy. Poor execution. Bad discipline. UW dropped a 3rd down pass which would have been an easy first down. That was the only "stop" of the game. Henry coached scared. He didn't do anything to try and get pressure. Not once. He was scared of Williams running and he let him sit back and pick us apart. The worst part is the D looked disinterested. They looked like they were going through the motions. Just appalling how bad everything on that side of the ball was from top to bottom.
And look, I get it probably doesn't change anything, but 32 seconds, 3 timeouts at your 34 and you run out the half. You just furiously got back in the game, and you throw up the white flag because you're scared of making a mistake? I'm a judge the process not only the results guy. You can make the worst decision in the world and get lucky; you can make the best decision and fail. Either way, I'm still going to judge the decision first. And not meaningfully trying to at least get in FG range at the end of the half was a HORRIBLE decision.
Finally, the DL is a joke. This was supposed to be one of the strongest units coming in to the year, and they have been bad all year, but today was a new level of incompetence. They were absolutely invisible the entire game.
Finish 3-1 or 4-0 and I'll still be happy with the season. But today was a bad look, not simply because they lost, but because the coaching staff seemed inept and overmatched.
Apples to Oranges comparison especially considering the landscape of the sport and also general inflationBret Bielema's current annual salary is $7.7 million, while Ron Zook's (as an example) salary during his last coaching position at Illinois was $1.5 million in 2009.
When you spend 3-5X on the program, you need to expect signifcantly better results.
Getting to a bowl game or 8 win season is not what we need to expect with this kind of spending.
not disagreeing exactly, but the inflation rate of college football has possibly been 3-5x in that same time period? money flowing into the sport making the pie biggerBret Bielema's current annual salary is $7.7 million, while Ron Zook's (as an example) salary during his last coaching position at Illinois was $1.5 million in 2009.
When you spend 3-5X on the program, you need to expect signifcantly better results.
Getting to a bowl game or 8 win season is not what we need to expect with this kind of spending.
This should have happened over the bye. The defense has been bad for a while now. This season was a golden opportunity to arrive, but we are walking back towards solid program instead of a very good one.Oh Bret is PISSED …
Bret Bielema's current annual salary is $7.7 million, while Ron Zook's (as an example) salary during his last coaching position at Illinois was $1.5 million in 2009.
When you spend 3-5X on the program, you need to expect signifcantly better results.
Getting to a bowl game or 8 win season is not what we need to expect with this kind of spending.
Plus it's an arms race. Plenty of teams spending like this to win 5 gamesnot disagreeing exactly, but the inflation rate of college football has possibly been 3-5x in that same time period? money flowing into the sport making the pie bigger
Speed is still an issue for Illinois.One thing is for sure we need more athletes on the field.