Illini Football 2021
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illini80
- Forgottonia
I just don’t see it that way. Competition is never a bad thing and they all are getting an extra year too.
Are fans of Illinois....Illinois....football, actually debating whether having an All B1G LB coming back is a good thing??
Get a new coach and...
yea most of the faithful, knowledgeable fanbase would be absolutely ecstatic with 5-6 wins
6 wins and bowl eligible is more than I can really even pray for. I don't want God to laugh at me.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
Clearly, you haven't had enough orange Kool-Aid. I usually wait until July/August before getting crazy thoughts, like winning the B1G West. This year, it's coming early.
Last season two teams laid over 40 points on our defense. One team shredded us with over 50 points. Irregardless of how many wins we will get, I expect these types of things to be a thing of the past. We lose by a field goal, that's a victory compared to the season from hell.
Saw tweet from Jeremy Werner that reported Illini will have 17 “super seniors,” 5 more than any other B1G team. Based on performance of team last year, that could be a double-edged sword. But from an experience and depth side should help. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks BB will get more out of and put his players in a better situation to succeed than Lovie did. I think bowl eligible is a realistic expectation for the team. If they don’t get there, I won’t be calling for BB’s head — but I’d be a bit disappointed.
Will they tackle during spring and fall ball?
Deleted member 747671
D
Guest
I think bowl eligibility is more of the hope than the expectation, if that makes any sense. By no means is not accomplishing that a failure. Lovie got to bowl eligibility once in 5 seasons, expecting BB to match it in year 1 is aggressive, but fun, hopeful, and not unattainable.
The super seniors give BB a ton of depth if nothing else. I just hope it doesn't prevent him from doing what he wants. If he wants to shuffle up the offensive line (moreso switch a couple positions, I don't see younger guys really supplanting the starters) he should do it. Maybe he likes Palcho at guard, Verdis at center, stuff like that. I think there's a few young DL that could get to 50/50 or better in terms of playing time or even supplant the older guys (Coleman, Randolph, Newton, maybe even Barnes). I'm interested to see how WR and DB stacks up. I think those are the areas that are almost carte blanche based on returners and performance. If there's going to be a surprise starter, I'd put money on it being at WR or DB.
Steel sharpens steel - having good players around makes other players better, not worse.
illini80
- Forgottonia
I’d be curious to know the actual number of seniors this year and the number of super seniors coming back for those teams. I would guess we also had the most seniors in the B10 this year, but I don’t really know. Also which other teams have the most SS‘s returning is important. Were they underachieving teams or good teams that now have really really good depth?
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
If last season was the season from hell, then you haven't been an Illini fan for very long.
illini80
- Forgottonia
It wasn’t quite hell, but it was close enough to feel the heat.If last season was the season from hell, then you haven't been an Illini fan for very long.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
It was hellish, I'll give you that.
It was HELL thinking that our resident Rip Van Winkle was going to be in charge beyond the current season, turning quite Purgatory-ish (is that a word?) as we gazed around the ranks of potential coaches following our heroic AD chasing out the sleeper in chief, and now there seems to be a Bright Light as we gaze into the future. Is that fair?
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
I like the idea of referring to our previous football coach as Rip. Nice double entendre.It was HELL thinking that our resident Rip Van Winkle was going to be in charge beyond the current season, turning quite Purgatory-ish (is that a word?) as we gazed around the ranks of potential coaches following our heroic AD chasing out the sleeper in chief, and now there seems to be a Bright Light as we gaze into the future. Is that fair?
I was with the team during the last season of Jim Valek. And the first 3 seasons with Bob Blackman.If last season was the season from hell, then you haven't been an Illini fan for very long.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
In that case, you certainly have endured much misery.
With today's NC scheduling, you would have been looking at 4 winning seasons during your years with the team.
So tell us about the locker room before the Ohio State game in 68.
valid point
I was a student from 79-83. We had 3 non cons. one was often an academy, one was almost ALWAYS a Pac12 school (then Pac8) and the third was usually a Big8 (Mizzou or Nebr) or a school like Pitt .
What year did we and alot of our peers start scheduling one or two Mac or similar schools to pad the W's ?
late 80's - early 90's ?
were we late to that party and schools like Minnesota start doing that first ?
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Hey, the previous year 3 different opponents put 63 points on the board. Progress.
Yes, but rock beats scissors.
Dan
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