Illini Football 2021

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#1      

the juiceman cometh

T
the juiceman cometh
Not sure if this is the right place for it, but pretty cool news regarding a former Illini staffer, Ashton Washington, who was hired by the Bears as a full-time scout. It's the first time the organization has hired a female in that role.

chicago.suntimes.com

Bears hiring Ashton Washington as first female scout

They’ve promoted former intern Ashton Washington to a full-time scouting role, NFL senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion Sam Rapoport said Sunday.
chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com

Not a ton he got right in his time here, but credit where it's due to Lovie for giving her the opportunity.
 
#2      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
Last night they sent an email saying student tickets were going to be free for the Maryland game and today they announced that Block I is sold out again. This is the kind of stuff they need to do more often to get students engaged. Next might be updating their music at the games and not only playing songs that appeal to millennials and Gen x.
 
#3      

GilThorpe

GilThorpe
GilThorpe
the juiceman cometh said:
Not sure if this is the right place for it, but pretty cool news regarding a former Illini staffer, Ashton Washington, who was hired by the Bears as a full-time scout. It's the first time the organization has hired a female in that role.


Not a ton he got right in his time here, but credit where it's due to Lovie for giving her the opportunity.
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there is tons of league pressure for teams to start hiring women in roles traditionally only open to men.

best of luck to her. I hope she is better at her job than Pace or Nagy are at theirs
 
#4      

Pennsy

P
Pennsy
blackdog said:
Last night they sent an email saying student tickets were going to be free for the Maryland game and today they announced that Block I is sold out again. This is the kind of stuff they need to do more often to get students engaged. Next might be updating their music at the games and not only playing songs that appeal to millennials and Gen x.
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The Illini Anthem at halftime had the field mics overmodulated and resulted in 2 DJs sounding like they were screaming/hollering unintelligebly. I heard a recording afterwards and you could actually understand and enjoy it.
 
#5      

illinoistradition

I
illinoistradition
blackdog said:
Last night they sent an email saying student tickets were going to be free for the Maryland game and today they announced that Block I is sold out again. This is the kind of stuff they need to do more often to get students engaged. Next might be updating their music at the games and not only playing songs that appeal to millennials and Gen x.
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Sorry, but nearly every major stadium in the country plays music appealing to younger fans. Quite frankly, watching the game last night, the student section was really the only segment of fans actually getting into the game and cheering. The shots of the "regular" crowd were sad--so many people sitting down, even after Illinois got a big defensive stop (which did not happen often) or scored. I don't blame them for focusing most of the gameday music experience towards younger fans at this point.
 
#6      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
illinoistradition said:
Sorry, but nearly every major stadium in the country plays music appealing to younger fans. Quite frankly, watching the game last night, the student section was really the only segment of fans actually getting into the game and cheering. The shots of the "regular" crowd were sad--so many people sitting down, even after Illinois got a big defensive stop (which did not happen often) or scored. I don't blame them for focusing most of the gameday music experience towards younger fans at this point.
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The opposite is what is happening. The current students are Gen Z not Millenials or Gen X. They are playing music from the early 2000s when most of the current students were babies. During the Nebraska game every time they played a song and showed the student section it looked like they had never heard it before.
 
#7      

illinoistradition

I
illinoistradition
blackdog said:
The opposite is what is happening. The current students are Gen Z not Millenials or Gen X. They are playing music from the early 2000s when most of the current students were babies. During the Nebraska game every time they played a song and showed the student section it looked like they had never heard it before.
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Ahhh good call. Got mixed up on my generations there. I agree with that take from past games I’ve been to. As someone who went to a lot of different stadiums during college, Illinois was way behind in keeping up with more current music that was popular with the team and students. I actually heard a song in the broadcast last night that I had never heard until going to Minnesota’s stadium…in 2009. Super popular with the players then. Not sure now.
 
#8      

Illinivek23

Illinivek23
Gurnee
Illinivek23
I would think JW has his staff attending other B1G and SEC (?) games to benchmark our GameDay experience with others. Probably the last piece to come together as fans jump back on the bandwagon and generate that energy.
 
#9      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
blackdog said:
The opposite is what is happening. The current students are Gen Z not Millenials or Gen X. They are playing music from the early 2000s when most of the current students were babies. During the Nebraska game every time they played a song and showed the student section it looked like they had never heard it before.
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But these kids also watch Friends on Netflix and listen to The Killers, so 🤷‍♂️
 
#10      

redwingillini11

redwingillini11
White and Sixth
North Aurora
redwingillini11
I may have placed a wager (small of course) on Illinois to cover the spread against UTSA. I vow to not bet on Illinois for the rest of the season. Illinois Football don't want me to put that evil on them.
 
#11      

JFGsCoffeeMug

JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
Chicago
JFGsCoffeeMug
redwingillini11 said:
I may have placed a wager (small of course) on Illinois to cover the spread against UTSA. I vow to not bet on Illinois for the rest of the season. Illinois Football don't want me to put that evil on them.
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Look What You Did You Little Jerk 90S GIF by Home Alone
 
#12      

Navy_illini

N
Navy_illini
I think one of the most frustrating things being an Illini football fan is we have NFL talent. We have about the same amount of players in the NFL as Indiana Purdue Michigan State Maryland and Minnesota. However we have not had the same results
 
#13      

Homecoming 2019

Homecoming 2019
Chicago
Homecoming 2019
Hogfan said:
Best of luck to the Illini. Bielema had a bell curve tenure at Ark. 3-9, 7-6, 8-5, 7-6, 4-8. Not well thought of, seemed more like an over paid used car salesman. But we fell for it and had to pay him millions to leave.
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Since 1990 Illinois has finished the regular season ranked 4 times to Arkansas' 5 times, it's very interesting to see the differences in our fanbases ideas of success.
 
#14      

GilThorpe

GilThorpe
GilThorpe
Hogfan said:
Best of luck to the Illini. Bielema had a bell curve tenure at Ark. 3-9, 7-6, 8-5, 7-6, 4-8. Not well thought of, seemed more like an over paid used car salesman. But we fell for it and had to pay him millions to leave.
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coaching is sometimes a crap shoot

Nick Saban went to Miami Dolphins and crapped the bed.
In retrospect, BB should have never left Wisconsin for the Arkansas & the SEC. Like when Mackovic left us for UT in the early 1990's.
Sometimes, the move you DONT make is the smart choice.
 
#15      

Illwinsagain

Illwinsagain
Cary, IL
Illwinsagain
GilThorpe said:
coaching is sometimes a crap shoot

Nick Saban went to Miami Dolphins and crapped the bed.
In retrospect, BB should have never left Wisconsin for the Arkansas & the SEC. Like when Mackovic left us for UT in the early 1990's.
Sometimes, the move you DONT make is the smart choice.
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Where was this advice 4 years ago, when I left for "greener pastures", only to find out that it was filled with "B&!!$#**"? Of course, it has worked out now.
 
#16      

bluemountain

B
bluemountain
Hogfan said:
Best of luck to the Illini. Bielema had a bell curve tenure at Ark. 3-9, 7-6, 8-5, 7-6, 4-8. Not well thought of, seemed more like an over paid used car salesman. But we fell for it and had to pay him millions to leave.
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If I remember right he inherited a dumpster fire and got things on the right trajectory pretty quickly. I just took a look at the results for 14-16 and the only losses he had to non-ranked teams were to a 10-2 Matt Campbell coached Toledo team, an 9-4 MSU team and a bowl bound Texas Tech team. I remember Razorback fans were pretty happy with him at that point. The wheels definitely came off that last year, but I thought he was going through some personal issues at that point.
 
#17      

Go Nats 88 Illini

Go Nats 88 Illini
Fairfax, VA
Go Nats 88 Illini
But he also took over after Smith was put in for a year and there was no stability and no success recruiting. BB did not inherit an 11 win team, he followed a 4-8 team. And yes, we want him. Glad you are having some early success this year - the Razorbacks haven't been tearing things up much since BB left, but I have no bone to pick with Arkansas, but the trashing of BB should be beneath you. Just go cheer for the hogs.
 
#18      

BRucks

BRucks
BRucks
Hogfan said:
Best of luck to the Illini. Bielema had a bell curve tenure at Ark. 3-9, 7-6, 8-5, 7-6, 4-8. Not well thought of, seemed more like an over paid used car salesman. But we fell for it and had to pay him millions to leave.
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It must be hard for fans of normal football schools to understand the frustration of Illini fans. We've had more than those four victories that you mock in Bielema's final year at Arkansas only four times in the last decade. Five wins or more is out of the ordinary for us. Lovie did it once. Cubit did it once. Beckman did it once. There are only two bowl games in that stretch. If Bielema duplicates that five year stretch that you've outlined above he'll be given the keys to the city.
 
#21      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
Hogfan said:
Bielema came in on the heels of petrino's firing due to the motorcycle crash with a former razorback volleyball player in April 2012. petrino's teams won 10 and 11 games. Petrino's successor was hired due to no one available and he stunk. Bielema had been trashing the SEc and came in talking he was gonna run run run. He built a little success until his oline coach quit. That oline coach was Sam Pittman, the current razorback coach. After Pittman quit, Bert couldn't recruit or coach and just waited to get fired so he could cash in.

Y'all want him you deserve him.
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Another member of Axe Grinders Local 151. Carping seems to be the common theme.
 
#23      

Illinifanalways

I
Illinifanalways
I would love to see Spann get more opportunities on the field. Last week Casey was targeted 9x and caught two passes. Now some of the targets might not have been his fault. The same route over and over from Casey. Ten steps turn around on the sideline and catch the ball. It seems like that there is no creativity with the TE in the play. We have some very good players. On Spann's two TD's the O line geve Art plenty of time. Would love to see some more creativity on the offensive side of the ball. Our O line is not Wisc O line. Beat the turtle Friday night.
 
#24      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
Illinifanalways said:
I would love to see Spann get more opportunities on the field. Last week Casey was targeted 9x and caught two passes. Now some of the targets might not have been his fault. The same route over and over from Casey. Ten steps turn around on the sideline and catch the ball. It seems like that there is no creativity with the TE in the play. We have some very good players. On Spann's two TD's the O line geve Art plenty of time. Would love to see some more creativity on the offensive side of the ball. Our O line is not Wisc O line. Beat the turtle Friday night.
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I’m thinking Spann still might be a bit raw in his route running or something. Have they targeted him on any short or intermediate routes? All I can remember are the longer passes. That said damn he’s been very good with those, and sure hope he can add more to his arsenal. But you’re right Casey hasn’t been the answer. Navarro hasn’t looked all that good either. I was hoping to see Hightower and/or Armstrong get involved now that they’re back from injury, but think they had one target between them. I thought Hightower looked pretty good last year, so that was disappointing.
 
#25      

Illinifanalways

I
Illinifanalways
I agree about Navarro and Washington. Let's hope that we see Spann on some shorter routes. Maybe they don't want to put Spann across the middle just yet, but boy he has made some pretty catches. In the UV game if I am not mistaken he only was targeted once in the game. We have to get a little more creative to get in front of the chains. Let's hope that BP is the answer to hit the TE's.
 
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