Illinois 30, Tennessee 28 Postgame

[Gbop]

There was one thing I’m not sure has been mentioned but several times Tennessee players went out of their way to slam our guys down hard rather than just tackle them. Isn’t that a foul?

I noticed that too. Many of them I think we’re just skirting the line of being a foul, but really I think it came down to it just being typical SEC thuggery. A lot of the same things happened last year against South Carolina and weren’t called.

 

[Ander1345]

They mentioned Tennessee worked on trying to beat soft shell coverages with condensing the offense.

They should try harder.

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

I thought the announcers were just fine, until I read the game thread and realized I was delusional.

On the Vols message board, both the announcers and officials were biased toward Illinois. The fans were clearly watching a different broadcast showing entirely different angles.

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

Also on the Vols board, I counted no less than 13 different versions of this post. The fans were all on the same page, even if the Vols coaching staff disagreed.

 

[Ander1345]

Also on the Vols board, I counted no less than 13 different versions of this post. The fans were all on the same page, even if the Vols coaching staff disagreed.

View attachment 46049

Let us score like Bret didn't have a plan for the scenario already? What are are they gonna do, suplex our guys into the endzone?

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

Also on the Vols board, I counted no less than 13 different versions of this post. The fans were all on the same page, even if the Vols coaching staff disagreed.

View attachment 46049

are there really any examples of teams doing this and it working out ?

i’m sure there is an outlier , but I’m guessing it’s about 10% successful at best

 

[BrownTown]

I say this in jest , but it is too late for Feagin to convert to Linebacker?

That's gonna be a crowded room. If Javari Barnett can stay healthy (his biggest issue throughout HS) he is going to steal some carries, too. He is electric

 

[illinifan1987]

I’ll be in Knoxville in mid-January and have tickets to see the Vols v Texas A&M at Thompson-Boling. I’ll be wearing my brightest orange Illini quarter-zip or, if I’m feeling unkind, a blue Illini sweatshirt.

 

[TheChief4Life]

Let us score like Bret didn't have a plan for the scenario already? What are are they gonna do, suplex our guys into the endzone?

To be fair… Illinois has tackled quite a few people into the end zone this year…

 

[Illinir1]

Yeah, I switched to the radio feed about five minutes into the game. Brings back memories of living in Illinois and listening to the ag commercials . . .

"Lorsban, the root worm insecticide that controls cutworms too!"

Haha. Through the wonders of the internet, at our Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, game watch we synced Brian Barnhart and team, on WDWS, to the game. I heard several Wyffels Hybrids seed commercials, which I don't think I would have heard on ESPN commercial breaks.

 

[band camp]

Also floated on the Vols board, paraphrasing...Bret ordered Olano to kick the ball short of the goal line and let the returner score.
I didnt think much of the comment until laying in bed, wondering about why Olano would kick to the returner when he could have easily put it in the back of the end zone.
If Bret and staff did put the whammy on, its genius. Right?

 

[pvaughn8]

Also floated on the Vols board, paraphrasing...Bret ordered Olano to kick the ball short of the goal line and let the returner score.
I didnt think much of the comment until laying in bed, wondering about why Olano would kick to the returner when he could have easily put it in the back of the end zone.
If Bret and staff did put the whammy on, its genius. Right?

We were kicking into the wind in the 4th

 

[blackdog]

I say this in jest , but it is too late for Feagin to convert to Linebacker?

After this game I really hope they condense the RB rotation to Valentine and Laughery. Those two when healthy have shown a lot more than Feagin.

 

[RML]

are there really any examples of teams doing this and it working out ?

i’m sure there is an outlier , but I’m guessing it’s about 10% successful at best

The issue, really, is whether it's more successful than letting the other time run out the clock and then try a chip shot game-winning field goal as time expires.

 

[Illini fan in Tennessee]

Illinois should have won 30-21 in my opinion. The kickoff return for a Touchdown was a fluke play. Have a nice day

 

[OrangeBlue98]

It all starts with the AD. Wisconsin’s modern day rise started with Pat Richter who hired Alvarez and Bennett. Along the same lines Nick Saban said years ago that who coaches will work for is a big unspoken factor in most hires.

In Josh We Trust

Which is why I’m still baffled that Penn State and Michigan got the coaches they did with the ADs they have.

But like I said in a different post, programs like that just have more room for error.

 

[MDchicago]

are there really any examples of teams doing this and it working out ?

i’m sure there is an outlier , but I’m guessing it’s about 10% successful at best

Lou Tepper's Illini not supplying the outlier. Link

 

[ILLI die hard]

Who is everyone's underclassmen/potential returner pick for next year's team?

(In the vein of Beatty showing out last year vs. USC)

Feels like Knapik stepping up could be a HUGE benefit as we continue to retool the line. (I know we'll still hit the portal for OL)

 

[Username]

I only perused about a page and half. It's funny how many of them are blaming the 1H missed FG. ANd how little respect some had for Illinois. There were some reasonable posts, clearly the true football fans, that had realistic perspective. Such as one that stated if Illinois needed a TD to win, they would have. Also, a poster or 2 that knew the KO return left too much time for Illinois.

Sounds like a whole lot of similarities w/what the SC fanbase had to say after last year's bowl game.

 

[WolfpackIllini]

What I love most about this era of Illini football is for most of my fandom my goal was just to make bowl games.

I didn’t care if we were 6-6 or 7-5. I didn’t care if we played a MAC team in Detroit. I didn’t care if we won or lost.

I just wanted to be a part of it all. Have something to look forward to all of December. Be able to watch my team play one more time over the holidays.

Bowl games are fun. You’re playing a similarly ranked out-of-conference opponent. You get a full month of anticipation and discussion leading up to it. You get trick plays and crazy finishes.

And for most of my fandom, we didn’t get to have that fun. It was reserved for other programs, but not ours.

When Lovie Smith pulled out that bowling ball after the comeback win over Michigan State, man, I was excited. And that was for an average team that later lost in the Redbox bowl to Cal.

Today, we aren’t just making bowl game, we’re making good ones. The Reliaquest, the Citrus, the Music City bowl all against SEC teams. And we aren’t just making good ones, we’re competing in them. And we aren’t just competing in them, we’re winning them!

Two in a row. Back to back bowl champions.

This is the program I’ve always wanted and now we have it. I’m just so damn happy.

Rest up, ladies and gentlemen. The transfer portal opens Friday. It’s time to gear up for a threepeat.

Wow! Post of the Decade.
How about someone bump this post first thing every monday?
stew-man: you done good. really good!

 

[RaisedMyBoysIllini]

the only time on special teams where it’s ok to hold and block in the back is when the ball is muffed - because the flag doesn’t matter you need to keep the ball. Thats what happened on the ko return, tenn muffed it, their guys started holding and blocking in the back, but nothing was called.

 

[HereSoIDontGetFined]

Every day that goes by – year after year – we are reminded again of the brilliant rock star hirings by the Illini AD of the football coach and the basketball coach. Two brilliant hires that have greatly elevated the state of where the two sport’s programs were before they came on board.

It all started back then years ago. As a famous White Sox announcer often famously said... “Don’t Stop Now, Boys!”.

Yep, which goes even further back to the brilliant hiring of the Illini AD which raised some eyebrows at the time.

 

[OrangeBlue98]

Sounds like a whole lot of similarities w/what the SC fanbase had to say after last year's bowl game.

The through line is, “Illinois?? We lost to ILLINOIS???”

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

Also floated on the Vols board, paraphrasing...Bret ordered Olano to kick the ball short of the goal line and let the returner score.
I didnt think much of the comment until laying in bed, wondering about why Olano would kick to the returner when he could have easily put it in the back of the end zone.
If Bret and staff did put the whammy on, its genius. Right?

Wind was blowing against that direction all day. Every kick was short of the end zone.

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

Sounds like a whole lot of similarities w/what the SC fanbase had to say after last year's bowl game.

The South Carolina fans were extremely delusional, assuming their one-year ascension to the mid-upper tier of the SEC put them in blue blood territory. The Tennessee fans I’ve seen, at least outside of their game thread (which we know is always a show on any board) have been respectful and reasonable. They’ve been upper tier before and they recognize when their otherwise good team falls a bit below their norm.