Why give the opposition the ball at midfield?
Purdue 24, Illinois 17 Postgame
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Right now, it feels like the last two years were the same mirage we’ve seen several times over the last 30 years.
I hope this time is different.
I hope this time is different.
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
This is one of those losses that make you say at least I'm alive, and you've got to be grateful for that. Just a total reality check, you still get to hug your loved ones. I really don't know what to say.
Trying to be the smartest doesn’t always work out.
Hats off to Illini fans showing up.and wearing orange. The crowd was as good as it gets. And while the stadium experience is indeed impressive, what matters is the product on the field. Ii have been a big fan of Bielema, especially when I compare him with our last three coaches, but it seems his CEO approach is not getting it done. I get that NIL might help get some better talent, but there is still an art called coaching. Set the money aside and get the guys you have ready to compete. Pride, effort, grit. I would like to see some of that. Without heart this program doesnt have a chance. Dont blame your donors for bad football. Put the CEO hat aside and put the coaching hat back on. Nobody cares how much the kids get paid, what I want to see is more fight and something that looks like they know how to play the game. This is embarrassing!
Yes, in the end it is just a game, for entertainment purposes only.
Bret commented on it. Said they saw that Purdue had a DT in on kickoffs and they didn’t think he had the hands to be there basically. Said he bobbled it for a second or something
Ryllini
- Lombard
This whole situation we are in is self inflicted and it lands squarely at the feet of Bret and Josh. Josh might need to tighten the screws here. Yea, AHen was out of his league. In retrospect, for all parties Walters and Purdue and Bret and Illinois, we probably should've tabbed Kane and not AHen. Ahen is an elite DB coach and probably would've been better for him to do that more. Would've Kane worked out here, idk, hasn't been great at Purdue, but different situation at the time. All I know, there was zero reason to overhaul the defense, we didn't have the money to do so, and guess what, we watched dudes walk out the door and now we have a staff from Montana that is going to collect the most money they've ever made.
Where is the money coming from to buy a whole new defense next year? We lose a lot on offense, the O-line won't be cheap, and I'm sure certain offensive staff members aren't getting cheaper. If we win 3 or 4 this year and follow that up with hopefully 5-6 next year depending on how the schedule breaks, you don't have to squint to see the end of big Bret here.
In my opinion, it didn't have to be this way.
One more thing, what in world are we doing with Feagin? I always felt that big boy could've been more physical as a runner, but what value has he been at TE. A concussed TE now. His value was at RB and still is.
Where is the money coming from to buy a whole new defense next year? We lose a lot on offense, the O-line won't be cheap, and I'm sure certain offensive staff members aren't getting cheaper. If we win 3 or 4 this year and follow that up with hopefully 5-6 next year depending on how the schedule breaks, you don't have to squint to see the end of big Bret here.
In my opinion, it didn't have to be this way.
One more thing, what in world are we doing with Feagin? I always felt that big boy could've been more physical as a runner, but what value has he been at TE. A concussed TE now. His value was at RB and still is.
The defense is doing pretty much what it is supposed to do, and that’s give the offense a chance to win games.
Offense had a chance to win against Duke because the defense only allowed 3 pts in the second half iirc, and the offense had 3-4 positions when they could have taken the lead, but they couldn’t get it done.
Today, the defense forces punts on back to back possessions. In front of the band, students, and the awesome fans sitting in the north west part of the stadium. Instead of getting a chance to do that for a 3rd time we squib kicked.
Offense had a chance to win against Duke because the defense only allowed 3 pts in the second half iirc, and the offense had 3-4 positions when they could have taken the lead, but they couldn’t get it done.
Today, the defense forces punts on back to back possessions. In front of the band, students, and the awesome fans sitting in the north west part of the stadium. Instead of getting a chance to do that for a 3rd time we squib kicked.
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Yes I have said for the past few years that we have looked like we operate in slow motion in comparison to other p4 programs.
Cook
- Richmond, VA
Thanks. I went back and rewatched it. The DT #96 was in the middle of the field standing on the 30. He never touched the ball and easily let the returners behind him come up and field it well before any of our cover team had gotten within 15 yards. Their returner #99 not a DT, picks it up on the 24 as our coverage is at the 39.
#99, even if not their best hands guy, was lined up on the 25 and had plenty of no pressure time to field that little softball fluff kick before we could have anybody even in the vicinity to pressure him or recover anything.
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Going into this game:
Purdue had the worst run defense in the B10, at -24% worse than the national average.
Illinois had the second worst run defense in the B10, at -4% worse than the national average.
Yet, despite Purdue being so bad:
-- Laughery 12 carries for 49 yards
-- Anderson 4 carries for 13 yards
-- Valentine 2 carries for 1 yard
That's only 3.5 yards per carry (between our RBs).
Purdue had the worst run defense in the B10, at -24% worse than the national average.
Illinois had the second worst run defense in the B10, at -4% worse than the national average.
Yet, despite Purdue being so bad:
-- Laughery 12 carries for 49 yards
-- Anderson 4 carries for 13 yards
-- Valentine 2 carries for 1 yard
That's only 3.5 yards per carry (between our RBs).
Number 0 hasn’t needed to wash his jersey once. Never seen a player avoid contact so adroitly
Some things I want to go back and rewatch but I probably won’t.
When Dixon got blasted late and they called PI on PU, could that have been targeting? Looked like a horrible helmet to helmet hit on a defenseless WR.
Barnett 0 attempts.
blackdog
- Champaign
Laughery 4.1 YPC and has looked good the last 3 games. Obviously without Valentine he will get more touches but he needs to be featured a lot more anyway
He needs to see the field
Because it was a gift, conditionally given for stadium improvements.