Illini Football 2024

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#27      
Fighter of the Nightman
mhuml32 said:
Since 2017:

Purdue 40-43 (.492)
Illinois 32-50 (.392)

The Brohm era missed only one bowl by not qualifying. There are always exceptions to the rule, that said: Winning brings attendance, not the other way around.
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2017 was a long time ago. I’m not saying we should sell out every game, but our fans are slower to jump on the bandwagon when things go well than Purdue fans. We should have had a sellout in 2022 when we were sitting at 7-1.
 
#30      
Illini-Rule
Fighter of the Nightman said:
2017 was a long time ago. I’m not saying we should sell out every game, but our fans are slower to jump on the bandwagon when things go well than Purdue fans. We should have had a sellout in 2022 when we were sitting at 7-1.
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I think our history plays into that somewhat. Fool me once.....
 
#31      
Fighter of the Nightman
Illini-Rule said:
I think our history plays into that somewhat. Fool me once.....
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Again, I am not disagreeing. We have had it about as rough as any fan base out there. However, it has been my experience that (reading social media comments, watching the attendance trends and talking to Illini fans in real life) we have let our football utility make a portion of our fan base uniquely negative even when things aren't that bad, and this makes our rebound in attendance difficult. It's just unfortunate, is all. If we start out the year with a decent record and upset someone like Kansas or Nebraska, Michigan should sell out!!
 
#32      
Dbell1981
#35      
kmunt09
What is the advantage to the University to not having $10 tickets to a majority of the games in the extremities of the East Balcony? And also for not lowering tickets considerably to seats in the lower bowl of the East side for a majority of the games?

Are they still pricing themselves higher than the interest level of the average person for most games?

My goal would be to get as high of an attendance as possibly, no matter what you’re giving the tickets away for.
 
#36      
fuddrules
kmunt09 said:
And also for not lowering tickets considerably to seats in the lower bowl of the East side for a majority of the games?
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To not piss off the season ticket holders and others who have bought 3 game packages.
Otherwise, I'd just do nothing and buy a few days before the game. Then sit where I want.

They'll end up moving tickets to various clubs, charities, etc..., when the time is right. Most will never know.
 
#37      
Genesis
All those who think we're going to win 7 or 8 games this year have a great opportunity ahead of you. "Based on early betting," this sight ranks us 126th with a projected 2.1 wins. No way we only win 2 or 3.
https://www.teamrankings.com/ncf/

We have 2 sure wins, 4 toss-ups and 6 with a low probability of winning. Thinking we'll split the toss-ups and win 4 total, and I'd be happy with 5.
 
#41      
BZuppke
I understand using past history as a guide to future success but it is really meaningless. If we are saying Bret will not be able to do any more than our past several coaches then yes our history would be a guide. If we believe Bret is a difference maker for us then our past history is meaningless. I choose the later. 8 plus wins.
 
#43      
Fighter of the Nightman
BZuppke said:
I understand using past history as a guide to future success but it is really meaningless. If we are saying Bret will not be able to do any more than our past several coaches then yes our history would be a guide. If we believe Bret is a difference maker for us then our past history is meaningless. I choose the later. 8 plus wins.
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I’m on the more optimistic side to be sure (2021 and 2022 were an astonishing breath of fresh air compared to Lovie), and I definitely think people are being way too pessimistic regarding the new Big Ten and what it means to us.

However, last year’s massive disappointment really has justifiably zapped some of the enthusiasm for fans. We should have held on for wins vs. Iowa and Northwestern for 7 wins and a bowl. If we’d shown up vs. Purdue or Nebraska (based on how they both played in other games), we’d have been talking NINE wins. Imagine what momentum would feel like if we had accomplished that!

I think this is a huge year for Bret and the program. We do not have the on-paper talent of most of our peers, and expectations are once again low. It’s time for the staff to step up and work their magic.
 
#44      
Ander1345
blackdog said:
A good deep dive of what should be obvious to everyone: Altmeyer was an average B1G QB in only his first year as a starter with 2 more to go. We haven't had even that much very often recently. I would hope and expect that we see significant improvement with more experience/reps.
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Let's hope he learned a little from watching Paddock. Paddock wasn't a world beater but he succeeded despite the limitations of the offense.
 
#45      
OskieWowWow
blackdog said:
A good deep dive of what should be obvious to everyone: Altmeyer was an average B1G QB in only his first year as a starter with 2 more to go. We haven't had even that much very often recently. I would hope and expect that we see significant improvement with more experience/reps.
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Good article. Love that the OL issues were emphasized, it's almost impossible to succeed as a first year starting QB with how poor the OL play was. I know that a lot of people like Bart Miller, but if he can't get the line performing this year, we might need to consider going a different direction, given that a solid OL is the most realistic way we can get to 6 wins most years
 
#46      
Orange_Blue
Fighter of the Nightman said:
However, last year’s massive disappointment really has justifiably zapped some of the enthusiasm for fans. We should have held on for wins vs. Iowa and Northwestern for 7 wins and a bowl. If we’d shown up vs. Purdue or Nebraska (based on how they both played in other games), we’d have been talking NINE wins. Imagine what momentum would feel like if we had accomplished that!
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I was listening to a Big 12 Podcast preview paying particular attention to Kansas. Kansas '24 sounds a lot like Illinois '23. New coordinators, lots of questions for key positions. I say this, because I was thinking the same way as you are. We had a tale of two season halves last year. First part was embarrassing, the team seemed lost and played poorly. Second half of the season was 3-3 with all 6 games being within 4 points.

I am optimistic until proven otherwise. I see a real possibility of Illinois starting 4-0 heading to Penn State.
 
#47      
Fly Illini Fly!
Orange_Blue said:
I was listening to a Big 12 Podcast preview paying particular attention to Kansas. Kansas '24 sounds a lot like Illinois '23. New coordinators, lots of questions for key positions. I say this, because I was thinking the same way as you are. We had a tale of two season halves last year. First part was embarrassing, the team seemed lost and played poorly. Second half of the season was 3-3 with all 6 games being within 4 points.

I am optimistic until proven otherwise. I see a real possibility of Illinois starting 4-0 heading to Penn State.?
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The first road game of the season thing...it's just became impossible for me to not buy into it at this point. Maybe I'll shift my views if proven otherwise at NEB this coming year but that game year after year after year has just been...

just inexplicably unwinnable in so many different ways - blowouts, chokes, etc...seems like a curse at this point.

Prediction wise right now - I'll go 3-1 - I think KU is a W.
 
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#48      
lstewart53x3
Fly Illini Fly! said:
The first road game of the season thing...it's just became impossible for me to not buy into it at this point. Maybe I'll shift my views if proven otherwise at NEB this coming year but that game year after year after year has just been...

inexplicably so awful...in so many different ways - blowouts, chokes, etc...seems like a curse at this point.

Prediction wise right now - I'll go 3-1 - I think KU is a W.
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All I know for certain is we’ll be 5-6 heading into the northwestern game.
 
#49      
bluemountain
I'm sticking with my 7-5 call. We will be 3-5 going into the home stretch, with stories about BB being on the hot seat. Then we win the final 4, also winning the bowl game to set up some strong momentum going into 2025
 
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