Illinois 42, UAB 23 Postgame
Lol, playoff dreams still alive.
Take a breathe there, Katen.
. Great start.
Okay, now itās my time for thoughts.
1. Regarding the crowd. Heck yeah the student section was great! Full for SOOOOO much of the game. However, as for the rest of the fan base, I am so disappointed in how little football fandem knowledge our fanbase has. Was the stadium full-ish? Sure. They were not loud. They barely cheered. Barely stood. Where I was, they didnāt even celebrate when we scored TDs. Iām not sure why anyone paid tickets to go to the game and do the same thing they couldāve done at home. I remember when Mizzou put out a āhow to be a fanā video 5 or 6 years ago and so many people on this forum (and elsewhere truthfully) criticized them. I thought then, and I still think it now: Illinois needs to do this.
2. The new audio/visuals are something to behold! Not a fan of the micād up band playing through the speakers. Sounded bad. But wow. Such a cool experience for the crowd to sit through and not get excited about.
3. Regarding the defense. I also agree with those that have said it appears as if this new scheme is understood by the guys and it does put them in position to make plays. They just didnāt. The tacklingā¦ ouch. The number of times we would get other RBs at the line and then heād breakthrough for 5 or 6 yards was frustrating. Like others have said, hopefully there was a little āholding backā in some of the looks too. But weāve said that every year for a decade. Weāll see what we have against duke.
4. Offense will be okay.
5. I get that the final score was 42-23, and some want to say it should be viewed more like 28-23 due to the pick six and Hail Mary. But thatās fair. The last TD UAB scored was against our backups, and it was obvious. Also, the D did their part on that pick six. Why would we not count that? The Hail Mary was some luck, but it just seems weird we start categorizing āpoints that really donāt countā.
6. Night games are fun. Thursday night games are probably my least favorite night game, but still, one of my favorite experiences at Memorial Stadium! And Iāve had season tickets for 22 years.
1. Regarding the crowd. Heck yeah the student section was great! Full for SOOOOO much of the game. However, as for the rest of the fan base, I am so disappointed in how little football fandem knowledge our fanbase has. Was the stadium full-ish? Sure. They were not loud. They barely cheered. Barely stood. Where I was, they didnāt even celebrate when we scored TDs. Iām not sure why anyone paid tickets to go to the game and do the same thing they couldāve done at home. I remember when Mizzou put out a āhow to be a fanā video 5 or 6 years ago and so many people on this forum (and elsewhere truthfully) criticized them. I thought then, and I still think it now: Illinois needs to do this.
2. The new audio/visuals are something to behold! Not a fan of the micād up band playing through the speakers. Sounded bad. But wow. Such a cool experience for the crowd to sit through and not get excited about.
3. Regarding the defense. I also agree with those that have said it appears as if this new scheme is understood by the guys and it does put them in position to make plays. They just didnāt. The tacklingā¦ ouch. The number of times we would get other RBs at the line and then heād breakthrough for 5 or 6 yards was frustrating. Like others have said, hopefully there was a little āholding backā in some of the looks too. But weāve said that every year for a decade. Weāll see what we have against duke.
4. Offense will be okay.
5. I get that the final score was 42-23, and some want to say it should be viewed more like 28-23 due to the pick six and Hail Mary. But thatās fair. The last TD UAB scored was against our backups, and it was obvious. Also, the D did their part on that pick six. Why would we not count that? The Hail Mary was some luck, but it just seems weird we start categorizing āpoints that really donāt countā.
6. Night games are fun. Thursday night games are probably my least favorite night game, but still, one of my favorite experiences at Memorial Stadium! And Iāve had season tickets for 22 years.
You are being kind.
I like the aggressive scheme a lot. Seemed like guys were just a hair late or they ran past the play. Tackling was atrocious. These are things that can be fixed and I believe will. Defensive line seemed to play better in the 2nd half. Some younger guys got in toward the end. That's always good to see.
Will we be a 10-2 team? Probably not but I think we go to another pretty nice bowl in what most would consider a transition year. Offense looks like they are going to be fine. I really like Hauser. He seems to have the pulse of the team. Look, some people posted about the hail mary and said it was the defenses fault. While that may be partly true, you gotta get the ball there to have a chance. Kid's got a good accurate arm and got a few wheels to boot.
Will we be a 10-2 team? Probably not but I think we go to another pretty nice bowl in what most would consider a transition year. Offense looks like they are going to be fine. I really like Hauser. He seems to have the pulse of the team. Look, some people posted about the hail mary and said it was the defenses fault. While that may be partly true, you gotta get the ball there to have a chance. Kid's got a good accurate arm and got a few wheels to boot.
Love Hauser and Valentine, those dudes are legit. The defense needs a lot of work, tackling drills.
If the game had ended like this, it would have been a little easier to take but we played some young guys so, I am glad they got in although they gave up that last drive.
I had the same concern, but we just scored so quickly several times.
I disagree about the play calls after the ball was downed at the two. You would think our O-line would be good enough to get enough yards for a manageable 3rd down. We were controlling the gameā¦no need to get cute and risk a turnover.
Hereforit
- Littleton, CO
Quick question for anyone that might have insights, insiders or others. How confident are we in Embleton as the GM? Is the lack of Jimmyās and Joeās at least partially a GM thing or purely a funding issue? Iāve heard the BB comments about no money for the D yet that always struck me as odd for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is Josh has basically said itās on him and not Bret, and those two have a seemingly great relationship so I highly doubt Bret is throwing Josh under the bus, therefore I wonder if there isnāt some sort of cover for another area here?
I could easily be reaching here, just feels like there we are missing a piece here. Insights appreciated.
I could easily be reaching here, just feels like there we are missing a piece here. Insights appreciated.
Yes, but LB should have cost a lot less relatively. And that position seems to be really lacking. Need quality players in that role Ć la a Matthew Bailey. Players are either too young and inexperienced or not talented enough it seems. Hopefully they find the right combo. I donāt even know which players are considered LB but run support lacking. May have to use Bailey more support in run than pass. Get him closer to the line.
Offense was solid.
Defense, they were in position to make tackles and didn't, and when they did it seemed everyone besides Bailey gave up too many extra yards after contact. Brett will have them busy working on this. If they can clean this up and make tackles when in position it can improve. If not could be rough as starting next week.
Defense, they were in position to make tackles and didn't, and when they did it seemed everyone besides Bailey gave up too many extra yards after contact. Brett will have them busy working on this. If they can clean this up and make tackles when in position it can improve. If not could be rough as starting next week.
My thoughts about this game, as if they matter, defense was in the right place most of the game. They need to be more physical and wrap up better, but I didn't see too many busts that are a major concern to me. Usually that gets cleaned up from game 1 to game 2. If it is still a problem in game 2, then I will be more concerned. With all of the movement and games that we will be playing, I kind of expected some of these issues in game 1.
I really did like the way our specials played and how efficiently our offense seemed to operate. Again, the offense needs to be more physical, but I think that gets cleaned up by Bielema.
I really did like the way our specials played and how efficiently our offense seemed to operate. Again, the offense needs to be more physical, but I think that gets cleaned up by Bielema.
Same here.
Honest question - is the new scoreboard so visually and audibly overwhelming that the fan base is reacting like they are at an IMAX theater instead of a football game? I know our crowds have always been pretty sedate, but watching on TV last night, it just felt like we were in an empty stadium again.
Alternately, is it just that the TV production turns down the crowd mic because the board is so loud at times? Or is it just me?
For such a full stadium, it just didn't seem like it to me (on TV).
Houser was successful because he was upright all game and had time to make plays. He was well protected by the O line. Zero sacks .Got a lot to clean up before Duke. Houser looks the part. Defense not so much.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Wellā¦ if you take away the defensive touchdown, of course youāre gonna be less enthused about the defense.
I had the game on but was distracted most of the time. Did Feagin play much at TE? And if so, how did he look?
Feagin played 12 snaps.
i dont feel particularly good about 7-5 period. my expectations are higher for this program.
games like this is why itās nice to open with a team you can beat while still working out the kinks in a new D scheme .
weāll be okay , but itāll be pretty tough to win more than 7 games .
overall , our O may even be better than last year due to what I think will be a better run game .
weāll be okay , but itāll be pretty tough to win more than 7 games .
overall , our O may even be better than last year due to what I think will be a better run game .
Iāve had the same opinions about our crowd noise for years. We have to be the least rowdy football fans in the country. I remember going to an Ohio State game in the late 90s early 2000 when Kitner was the quarterback and the crowd was lame. We were losing but scored some late game touchdowns and the crowd just sat on their hands. Itās almost like they didnāt care or didnāt know they were suppose to cheer. I mean come on! Itās football! We have too many of these kind of fans. Donāt get me wrong I love for the fans to come and fill the stadium but please make some noise! We are trying everything to get the crowd loud but after awhile it seems like nothing works. I donāt like the ILL ā¦INI chant started by the PA announcer. It needs to be organically started. I do agree with āteachingā the fans how to cheer. If it takes a video, especially one that Mizzou created, Iām all for it. The best game and crowd I have seen lately is the Kansas game in 2024. We were loud and cheering which is the way it should be. If we want to become a better football program the crowd has to be more involved than it is. A true home field advantage will never materialize until we do. Great win though!
I can remember when people wre not too happy with him. I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment.