UCLA 22, Illinois 14 Postgame

#101      
Chukwuwumba
skyIdub said:
Have to credit UCLA defense. Whatever our offensive game plan was, they came out and drove a cement truck through it.

As for our offensive game plan, you can’t wait til middle of the second half to find your TE’s and run some dink and dunk for your QB to get into some kind of rhythm. Trying to force the ball to covered WR’s is(was) a disaster in the making.
Houser’s got guts. I’d like to see them stay inside his body though. Gotta have better OL play.
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Offensive plan was to run every first down. And pass every 2nd and long. Didn’t put the offense in a good situation.

2nd quarter needed to change it up and made no changes. Would have liked to see Boyd out there running run options in the rain, when it was obvious Lunney was not comfortable with the normal passing scheme. Or just push throw and pass more to try to open up the defense. Seemed like ucla defense was keyed on pass/run all game because of down and distance.

Need more hot routes built into play call because Houser was just not comfortable and line was giving up pressures.
 
#102      
Genesis
I hope that Lunney now believes that his TE's can be effective pass catchers. I was wondering why we we weren't passing to the TE's when all of a sudden we used Feagin and it paid off multiple times (2:25 and 1:13 of the 3Q, 11:38 of 4Q, then 10:53 to Abney). Once the UCLA DB's had to focus on or TE's, that opened up 4 passes to our WR's and a second TD. We need to use them throughout the game.
 
#103      
Fly Illini Fly!
From my understanding (hopefully I don't have the wrong interpretation):

The biggest concern on the defense right now, is how the staff handles two positons: CB2 or Free Safety.

Resetich started the year at Safety, but has underwhelmed. Cox and Morris split time at CB2, but Cox is out for the season, and Morris has underwhelmed.

In comes Tanner Heckel, who's done his best to fill both spots.

Last night, they moved Heckel from safety to corner, and put former walk on Ben Clawson at safety.

Seems like a bit of a juggling act right now.
 
#104      
The Sprouting Divot
kyillinifan said:
The announcers on TV were terrible. Willis Reed comparing to UCLA qb. He didn't look hurt when he came in. Correct me if I'm don't think I saw on tv any pro Illini crowd. We had our opportunity to win. Other than their Oregon game we played them the toughest.
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We heard a brief, but very loud and distinct "I L L/I N I" chant at one point.
 
#105      
illini80
AirTran said:
My first Illini game was 1967 - the expectations haven't changed in 60 years!

But I think the point is this team competed against a better team and with 3 turnovers and UCLA taking away our best offensive player. Have to say I am equally impressed with both the way our players carried themselves and the way they were coached.

So the one change since 1967? The football program via the AD/Coaching staff - is as competitive on the field and on the sidelines as it ever has been. Now if we could only up the financial support, then we would be an outside contender every year.
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That would be great if we had that financial backing, but my mind cant comprehend that the top programs are getting $40M+ every year to support their football programs. And its going up fast. Every. Single. Year. And here I am looking at my budget, thinking I can't afford B10+, Peacock, ESPN+, plus whatever else they decide to throw a few games on on top of the $125/mo cable bill. 🤣
 
#106      
Bbuck21
eas23 said:
I disagree. UCLA's defense is really good and there ended up only being the 2 early drops from Clement and Dixon.

Houser panicked in a clean pocket and rushed throws all night long.
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I agree, except those 2 drops were BIG. Also, I believe Collins dropped more than one. It was a little frustrating to see the bad throws after we saw terrific throws (the 2 TDs were exceptional).
 
#109      
Bbuck21
Genesis said:
I hope that Lunney now believes that his TE's can be effective pass catchers. I was wondering why we we weren't passing to the TE's when all of a sudden we used Feagin and it paid off multiple times (2:25 and 1:13 of the 3Q, 11:38 of 4Q, then 10:53 to Abney). Once the UCLA DB's had to focus on or TE's, that opened up 4 passes to our WR's and a second TD. We need to use them throughout the game.
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I had just said to my son that I can not figure out why Feagin hasn't been a bigger part of the offense all year. Then they throw him the ball 3 times (including the TD) within about 5 plays over 2 possessions. And that was that. Nothing before, nothing after. :unsure:
 
#111      
TheChief92
Was at the game and hoping to see the Rose Bowl in all its sunset glory. Weather was ridiculous but somehow even worse when we had the ball. Lots of Illini fans there. Not overly impressed by UCLA and I don’t think their fans fully believe in them yet either. On to the next one. I L L
 
#112      
lstewart53x3
BZuppke said:
Houser has done well but Altmeyer would have won that game for us.
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I’m glad we have Houser. He’s a good QB and far better than many of the QBs we’ve had over the years, but you’re right, he’s no Luke. You could argue if we retained just Luke from last season and everything else stayed the same, bad defense and all, we would’ve beat Duke, Purdue, and UCLA, and we’d be 9-1 right now.
 
#113      
PasadenaIllini
It's fun to support a team that fights like hell for everything, even when the chips are down. Did our QB or coaches always make the best decisions in this game? Probably not. But you can't doubt the stones shown by our team out there. The catches our receivers made knowing they would be blasted were absolutely insane. The fighting by our guys in the trenches despite the two-time zone energy sapping factor...you can't doubt it. And when Brett went running onto the field to support his QB and team, you can understand why his players never quit on him.
 
#114      
lstewart53x3
I’ve seen the offensive line catch flack for this game and that is fair, they weren’t great, but that’s an absolutely elite defense. They rank 5th in the country in QB pressures. Here’s our QB hurries over the past 4 games:

Oregon - 1
Maryland - 2
Nebraska - 2
UCLA - 10

So my gut says this is more of a “UCLA’s defense is really good” than “we need wholesale changes across the offensive line”.
 
#116      
Calvin
Tough one...felt very winnable. Tip of the hat to their defense --really played their hearts out. And ours considering where we were earlier in the year.
Just not a good game for our offense. Seemed a step slow for a lot of plays, and QB struggling on a wet day just too much to overcome.
Loved the effort though. Felt they tried to overcome the mistakes all the way to through the fourth quarter.
 
#117      
AirTran
illinoistradition said:
I felt they could have run a fake screen and hit Dixon on a go with how much UCLA was biting on the bubble screen. Never did see it, which is unfortunate.
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When they are playing Dixon MTM with one cover, the fakes and misdirection won't work - the other 10 defensive players specific role and responsibilities are to play the scheme and ignore Dixon - which they did.
 
#118      
AirTran
Bbuck21 said:
Why did we keep throwing WR screens/swings against very fast DBs in man coverage?
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To widen the field - i.e. take away inside leverage, which worked the first few plays - but as I have said, UCLA played a lot of man cover.
 
#119      
AirTran
TheChief92 said:
Was at the game and hoping to see the Rose Bowl in all its sunset glory. Weather was ridiculous but somehow even worse when we had the ball. Lots of Illini fans there. Not overly impressed by UCLA and I don’t think their fans fully believe in them yet either. On to the next one. I L L
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Yep, they are worst 9 - 0 team of all time that leads the B1G in many defensive categories. They are at Michigan next week. We will have more of a picture then.
 
#121      
Illiniaaron
BryceHopkins said:
If you want to watch the Oregon game tomorrow you can get more of Brando/Gardener
Rachel Dratch Television GIF by Saturday Night Live
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Aretha Franklin Pass GIF
 
#124      
Illiniaaron
Disappointing result, a real missed opportunity. I really enjoy how hard Illinois plays and is giving itself a chance to win every game. Neither team played particularly well.
 
#125      
Illini2010-11
The most laughable thing in the broadcast was the constant praising of UCLA fans. The zoom outs showing the tarps over a majority of the stadium (naturally way too many seats at Rose Bowl for their fan base).

Yes, the weather was bad, but it is clear that there is little support for the program. I almost feel bad for their players, as they are competing for a championship and get such a small turnout on a consistent basis.
 
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