ZERO sacks given up by the Offensive Line.
People expected a rough game from them, but the pass protection numbers are pretty good.
People expected a rough game from them, but the pass protection numbers are pretty good.
Duke 31, Illinois 27 Postgame
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We're rotating alot of Linebackers. Staff just hasn't figured out the correct combination that works.
We also missed a wide open touch down
Realistically it’s all gem related. They shouldn’t be this caught off guard what the prices for players is going to be. We thought we had McCollum,coenen and tomiwa all coming back. If we just had 1 of those guys imagine how much better the dline would be.
Hereforit
- Littleton, CO
Agreed in full.
The transfer portal opened again for Montana players after the coaching change and while Bobby was named your DC. No players chose to leave.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
This was regarded as an unacceptable viewpoint during portal silly season by our great and wise soothsayers of course.
The transfer portal opened again for Montana players after the coaching change and while Bobby was named DC, no players chose to leave for any program.
100% agree! Our best unit had the ball, down 4, at home w/plenty of time and we basically took a knee. I am still flabbergasted by H2 and the way that game ended. My wife had to hear about it for the next 3 hours on our drive home.
How many millions have you donated? The simple fact is that managing a program now includes securing enough funding from mega rich supporters to put a superior product on the field. That is on Josh, first and foremost, and BB. While they have raised the program expectations through several great seasons (which we are grateful for) it now takes even more to sustain it or raise it even higher. And part of that is putting funding toward talent. Not scoreboards or stadium name signage. And your assistants better be able to recruit players who are at the top of the league in talent.
It most certainly is not on US! The stadium was sold out and we had how many pages of a game thread? The fan support is most certainly there! This fanbase has suffered for the better part of my 50+ year life. And you want to blame them? No
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Should we have asked Larry Gies to take the tens of millions spent on the scoreboard and instead set up an annuity that funds NIL football every year to some extent? I realize that alone not enough but it would be something to help our apparent NIL deficiency
Very real chance that Houser's more talented.
Altmyer against Duke: 4 sacks
Houser against Duke: 0 sacks
If you add 4 sacks to the game last night, we likely lose by 20.
Also, the Offensive Coordinator put the ball in Luke's hands at the end of games. But last night, he took the ball out of Houser's hands. So, I don't think it's a fair comparison just yet.
illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
How many of those "best players" played well yesterday? I would say only 3-4 of those players we retained actually played well. So, we drained most of our NIL budget for players that don't play that well. How many other schools literally start over and go out and get a lot of transfers? For example Mizzou lost almost all their players on defense from last year and had to replace them with transfers. Right now Mizzou is 2-0 and the defense has played pretty well with new players. Sometimes you need to start all over. I thought X Scott was horrible yesterday. I bet we gave him a big bad of money to stay.
realistically if illinois doesn't connect on that lucky hail mary against UAB at halftime last week this team could be 0-2.....
Aaron Henry has to be thinking multiple things but…
“People bitched when I only rushed 3 on 3rd down, now the whole defense has 3 lineman?”
“People bitched when I only rushed 3 on 3rd down, now the whole defense has 3 lineman?”
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
Rose colored glasses, this game reminds me of Indiana 2022. I'm NOT suggesting our defense will be the same level, but it was a game where we shot ourselves in the foot, were sloppy, and missed a wide open TD.
Sadly, we don't have a B1G west schedule like last time, and will face much better qbs, but the B1G does seem down. This was just such a crucial game for 7 wins and now that path gets much harder, but if we clean things up we can get there.
Sadly, we don't have a B1G west schedule like last time, and will face much better qbs, but the B1G does seem down. This was just such a crucial game for 7 wins and now that path gets much harder, but if we clean things up we can get there.
The reason Iowa wins so many close games, is they don't turn away points. When they have 3 points available, they take it.
Way too often we do the exact opposite, and throw away those 3 points on 4th down.
Also, most of the time we go, it's 4th & 2 or 4th & 3 instead of 4th & 1. It's a big difference.
Way too often we do the exact opposite, and throw away those 3 points on 4th down.
Also, most of the time we go, it's 4th & 2 or 4th & 3 instead of 4th & 1. It's a big difference.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Dear Larry Gies,
Buy a defense.
That’s what reverberated through my head for the entire two hour drive home.
Why did we just give up, with plenty of time on the clock? Even this morning it’s baffling. Such a contrast with the “never give up” and “fight to the very end” spirit we saw the last few years. This was still very winnable via our passing game. Reminder - no sacks were allowed. Instead we tucked our tail, curled up, and died. So sad to watch.
Just like Bowick, Hollins and Kariem would’ve helped. At this point I would’ve taken Cole risky and played him at wr
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I think very, very highly of Barry Lunney, who is not the one who chose the change in philosophy, but between that new philosophy and the strengths of his new quarterback, he needs to chug a Red Bull and embrace his inner Dana Holgorsen.
We kept trying to run an immaculate, clock-absorbing, classic game winning balanced drive. Those aren't the circumstances anymore. Pedal to the metal go get as many points as you can.
I said this last year and I'll repeat it because it's important to be fair to the current DC. Fans blame coaches regardless of circumstance. That's just how it is, especially at the college level.
Henry had no business being singled out for the struggles of the defense because the only real time it was rough was when we played teams that just out manned us athletically, most notably Oregon and Indiana. That was a joke. However, I can't think of any other games that we went into thinking......we literally can't stop anything against any team and the only way we win is to be on the right side of a shootout. He had Jacas, who definitely made his presence felt, despite being double teamed. He did have that, but he had the same corners, backers and interior D-Linemen.
This year, same personnel, without Jacas, and worse outcomes and very little hope. I don't blame the DC. He's trying to make lemonade out of lemons.
If a coach is going to be criticized, ultimately, it's Bielema's roster. The talent is his.
More importantly, the money isn't there to fund both sides of the ball. That's painfully obvious. In the day and age of NIL and the portal, you get what you can afford and pay for. In basketball, we have the money to put together a team with a top flight 7, 2 off the bench with upside, then developmental projects. We've done well with talent selection as well. That's kudos to Brad.
Unless our NIL gets into that $45M range(for football alone), we'll struggle. Look at what the top teams spend. They're all in excess of $50M.
You're forgetting Washington.
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