Illinois at UCLA, Friday, November 13th, 8:00pm CT, FOX

#51      
Fighter of the Nightman
This has been mentioned, but I’m praying our West Coast Illini descend upon the Rose Bowl! However good UCLA is, they’ll never have an elite home field advantage … I hope a lot of orange in the stands can give us that extra boost we need for the upset W!!
 
#54      
AssemblyHallForever
HereSoIDontGetFined said:
Looking like UCLA might be top 6 by the time we come to town. Kentucky was blown out today and Miami on their way to their first loss against ND.
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I was not overly impressed with UCLA. Minnesota’s defensive backs were terrible yesterday as they let several receivers get past them. Their back up QB is average at best but their run game is stout. It will take a near perfect game to win in LA but crazier things have happened. We are playing with house money so we really have nothing to lose here.
 
#55      
Joel Goodson
they're good, possibly very good, but they're far from great (light years). we can beat these guys. much better than a puncher's chance. really looking forward to the game (and hoping I can stay up, lol)

desperately hoping Renfro is good to go
 
#56      
HensonHall71
Minny seemed to be hanging with UCLA outside of two 75 yard TD passes on back to back one play TD drives in the second half! Kind of remarkable to give that up back to back, so we have to limit those big plays but I don’t think we’ll be overwhelmed- their QB likes to run, but our rush is so ineffective it seems we’re happy to drop back - rush three or four and keep the QB in front of us which I think will work well against them.
 
#58      
joebcrazy13
Amazon Football GIF by NFL On Prime Video
 
#59      
ChiefGritty
the Castle on Daniel said:
I am INFURIATED we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory vs Duke and Purdue. WE WOULD BE A ONE LOSS TEAM GOING INTO THE FINAL STRETCH! THE GAME VS IOWA WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR ALL THE MARBLES!!
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I very rarely relate to this stuff, and this is a particularly potent example.

We haven't improved DESPITE those struggles and challenges, we have very clearly improved BECAUSE of those struggles and challenges.

Hauck would have lasted longer had we beaten Duke for one thing, but it goes deeper than that.

We are right where we need to be, all the stronger for what has transpired.
 
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#61      
AssemblyHallForever
IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
How good is ucla offense? Our defense has been better recently but those first few weeks of atrocious play are still baked into our analytics.
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Hard to say, Minnesota’s DBs couldn’t find several UCLAs receivers as they got behind the backs for at least 21 of their 34 points. UCLA has a solid run game but they haven’t been tested by a good defense all year. Maybe our D can get to their back up QB and neutralize their running game. We can win this. If we win out, UCLA loses to USC, IU knocks off USC and Michigan beats OSU, we could play IU in the B1G championship game.
 
#62      
the Castle on Daniel
ChiefGritty said:
I very rarely relate to this stuff, and this is a particularly potent example.

We haven't improved DESPITE those struggles and challenges, we have very clearly improved BECAUSE of those struggles and challenges.

Hauck would have lasted longer had we beaten Duke for one thing, but it goes deeper than that.

We are right where we need to be, all the stronger for what has transpired.
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I get what you mean. Sadly we'll never know for sure, but there is a timeline where the Illini are in the top 12 with one loss at OSU...We're just not living that reality. Happy for our alternate reality selves though. I'm sure Illini Loyalty in that branch of the multiverse is lit rn.
 
#64      
Illini2010-11
Mr. Tibbs said:
Ucla is -10.5
seems fair to me
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I agree. They are 9-0 and have looked pretty good in the process. I really do not see what some are saying about UCLA. They just went into Minneapolis and took control in the 4th quarter against a pretty darn good football team.

I, of course, want an Illini win. But I will be perfectly happy if we keep it to a one possesion game and a chance to win on the last drive.
 
#65      
Joel Goodson
HensonHall71 said:
Minny seemed to be hanging with UCLA outside of two 75 yard TD passes on back to back one play TD drives in the second half! Kind of remarkable to give that up back to back, so we have to limit those big plays but I don’t think we’ll be overwhelmed- their QB likes to run, but our rush is so ineffective it seems we’re happy to drop back - rush three or four and keep the QB in front of us which I think will work well against them.
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"seemed to be"? nope, they were, no ifs, ands or buts. outside of that minor quibble, totally agree
 
#66      
STLflyinIllini
Will have to wait for the injury report, but during the game, announcers kept saying how thin UCLA has become on the OL after a few more of their linemen were injured during the Minnesota game.
We have not performed very well thus far when traveling to the west coast, but if we can get that figured out, we may be able to win. A month ago I thought we would have no shot in this game. BB has done a tremendous job getting this figured out.
 
#67      
CaptainCrutch
I’m not overthinking this. I predicted the win on Oregon, Nebraska, and have them beating Iowa and northwestern. We have the ability to give up big plays and I think ucla takes advantage of it. We have yet to play well the west coast and I’m not predicting that to change now. Rare that a Midwest team does. 8-4 finish.
 
#68      
Mr. Tibbs
CaptainCrutch said:
I’m not overthinking this. I predicted the win on Oregon, Nebraska, and have them beating Iowa and northwestern. We have the ability to give up big plays and I think ucla takes advantage of it. We have yet to play well the west coast and I’m not predicting that to change now. Rare that a Midwest team does. 8-4 finish.
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we need to play our best game of the year AND we need lady luck on turnovers .
it will be a tough task to beat them . very possible but likely a 1-4 or so chance
 
#69      
AssemblyHallForever
Illini2010-11 said:
I agree. They are 9-0 and have looked pretty good in the process. I really do not see what some are saying about UCLA. They just went into Minneapolis and took control in the 4th quarter against a pretty darn good football team.

I, of course, want an Illini win. But I will be perfectly happy if we keep it to a one possesion game and a chance to win on the last drive.
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Minnesota is not a good football team. They are average at best. 21 of UCLAs Points came from Minnesota’s DBs let UCLA receivers blow by them like cars on an expressway. UCLA hasn’t played anyone this year as Minnesota has been their toughest opponent. Maybe Wisconsin. They are due for a let down. Let that letdown be against us.
 
#70      
lstewart53x3
AssemblyHallForever said:
Minnesota is not a good football team. They are average at best. 21 of UCLAs Points came from Minnesota’s DBs let UCLA receivers blow by them like cars on an expressway. UCLA hasn’t played anyone this year as Minnesota has been their toughest opponent. Maybe Wisconsin. They are due for a let down. Let that letdown be against us.
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UCLA hasn’t played a difficult schedule, sure, but 9-0 is 9-0. They’re #1 in SOR and #11 in SP+ with a top 30 offense and a top 10 defense.

This will be an incredibly difficult game to win. If we win, it will be the highest ranked team in SP+ that Bret’s ever beaten here.
 
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#71      
Fly Illini Fly!
lstewart53x3 said:
UCLA hasn’t played a difficult schedule, sure, but 9-0 is 9-0. They’re #1 in SOR and #11 in SP+ with a top 30 offense and a top 10 defense.

This will be an incredibly difficult game to win. If we win, it will be the highest ranked team in SP+ that Bret’s ever beaten here.
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They feel like Indiana in 2025 to me.

Complain will complain about the schedule, but fact remains they’re a really good football team.

Had their quarterback not gotten hurt, they might’ve been a natty contender.
 
#73      
Illini2010-11
AssemblyHallForever said:
Minnesota is not a good football team. They are average at best. 21 of UCLAs Points came from Minnesota’s DBs let UCLA receivers blow by them like cars on an expressway. UCLA hasn’t played anyone this year as Minnesota has been their toughest opponent. Maybe Wisconsin. They are due for a let down. Let that letdown be against us.
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Let's pump the breaks slightly. Sure, their schedule has been relatively soft, but they also went into Eugene and won. Are the due for a letdown...maybe. However, they are very well coached and ready for us.

UCLA is a very solid football team. I believe an Illini win in Pasadena would be the best of Coach B's tenure here.
 
#74      
AssemblyHallForever
Illini2010-11 said:
Let's pump the breaks slightly. Sure, their schedule has been relatively soft, but they also went into Eugene and won. Are the due for a letdown...maybe. However, they are very well coached and ready for us.

UCLA is a very solid football team. I believe an Illini win in Pasadena would be the best of Coach B's tenure here.
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When Oregon was not playing well and they threw 7 picks. Whats sad is that UCLA only scored 17 points. We are playing with House money and all the pressure is on UCLA. Plus they have Michigan on the road the next week. They may be over looking us to get to get a win in the Bug House.
 
#75      
AirTran
AssemblyHallForever said:
When Oregon was not playing well and they threw 7 picks. Whats sad is that UCLA only scored 17 points. We are playing with House money and all the pressure is on UCLA. Plus they have Michigan on the road the next week. They may be over looking us to get to get a win in the Bug House.
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UCLA's offensive line is very, very good. Both on the run and pass protection. It's going to be on the D to keep us in the game.
 
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