Illini Football 2024

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#151      
KenR
What is the consensus here as to whether Altmeyer will come back to Illinois for his last year of eligibility. I might be a bit too optimistic but if Luke ups his game in accordance with being a year older, more experienced and physically more mature he has the possibility of putting together an extraordinary senior season. Just wondering what ya'll think.
 
#153      
HensonHall71
KenR said:
What is the consensus here as to whether Altmeyer will come back to Illinois for his last year of eligibility. I might be a bit too optimistic but if Luke ups his game in accordance with being a year older, more experienced and physically more mature he has the possibility of putting together an extraordinary senior season. Just wondering what ya'll think.
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The consensus is that he will stay for his Sr. year - he's not a projected NFL QB right now and why disrupt a good thing to transfer to another school with a new scheme, new coaches just for one year. It's the wild wild west in college football right now, so you never know if someone throws a lot of money at him, but it makes all the sense in the world for him to come back

We need to get him a #1 WR in the portal and he would be set up to have a great year, the complementary receivers look promising for next year and I can see Beatty, Elzy, Collins stepping into a larger role next year, but there isn't another PB on the roster obviously. I think that is the biggest question mark coming into next year. We'll need other transfers, like DT's an OL or two but the biggest impact will be a #1WR - the good news is we should be able to throw a lot of money at that position, because we don't have a ton of needs elsewhere.
 
#157      
Mr. Tibbs
Toews said:
I'd be surprised if Luke left (and also heartbroken). I don't see the NFL as a path right now and while he could go into the portal and probably make a lot of $, I think he may be just outside the echelon of player for the title contenders who would probably be the only teams he'd leave for.
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agree

I just don’t see him leaving for various reasons , although he certainly could find some program somewhere to throw more money at him .

what is he majoring in ?
 
#159      
JKR
chiefini said:
As a 40 year season football ticket holder, I agree that Beckman shouldn’t have ever been hired, but I totally disagree that Josh shouldn’t have hired Lovie. The excitement and hope Louie’s hire brought helped not only bring fans out of the doldrums, it brought fannies into the seats. Yes, it didn’t turn out the way Josh, fans, or I hoped, but at the time, it was a brilliant move in my humble opinion. Although I was dubious about Josh hiring Bielma, Bret quickly dispelled all my doubts, and I am now thrilled that he is my Illini coach, and as more and more fans buy season tickets, it seems Illini Nation agrees.
:illinois: :hailtotheorange: :illinois:
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Au contraire. Lovie had only one year where average attendance exceeded 40k and that was his first season. It was downhill after that with only 36k in his last two years (prior to covid). Attendance under Beckman was considerably better. You really have to go back to WWII to find worse attendance, though there were a couple stinkers during the Valek years.
 
#160      
phats22
JKR said:
Au contraire. Lovie had only one year where average attendance exceeded 40k and that was his first season. It was downhill after that with only 36k in his last two years (prior to covid). Attendance under Beckman was considerably better. You really have to go back to WWII to find worse attendance, though there were a couple stinkers during the Valek years.
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tumultuous times, indeed

giphy (20).gif
 
#161      
ktal
HensonHall71 said:
The consensus is that he will stay for his Sr. year - he's not a projected NFL QB right now and why disrupt a good thing to transfer to another school with a new scheme, new coaches just for one year. It's the wild wild west in college football right now, so you never know if someone throws a lot of money at him, but it makes all the sense in the world for him to come back

We need to get him a #1 WR in the portal and he would be set up to have a great year, the complementary receivers look promising for next year and I can see Beatty, Elzy, Collins stepping into a larger role next year, but there isn't another PB on the roster obviously. I think that is the biggest question mark coming into next year. We'll need other transfers, like DT's an OL or two but the biggest impact will be a #1WR - the good news is we should be able to throw a lot of money at that position, because we don't have a ton of needs elsewhere.
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Get that WR who kept eating our lunch at Purdue. He's gotta be looking for greener pastures, if he's got another year.

And it would be nice to take Walters' star player, to boot. ;)
 
#162      
mhuml32
ktal said:
Get that WR who kept eating our lunch at Purdue. He's gotta be looking for greener pastures, if he's got another year.

And it would be nice to take Walters' star player, to boot. ;)
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He blew the game against Michigan State. If we are looking at attainable WR options in-conference, give me Ian Strong from Rutgers. His size makes him a excellent Franklin replacement.
 
#163      
bluemountain
mhuml32 said:
Now it's the 9th best team.


1. 1994
2. 1989
3. 1983
4. 2001
5. 1999
6. 1982
7. 2022
8. 1984
9. 2024
10. 1976
11. 1990
12. 1995
13. 2007
14. 1973
15. 2010
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This list makes no sense whatsoever. how can a 7 win 1994 team be ahead of 10 win teams and Big 10 champs? How are losing seasons in 73 and 76 on the list but a 6 win team in 74 is off the list?
 
#164      
mhuml32
bluemountain said:
This list makes no sense whatsoever. how can a 7 win 1994 team be ahead of 10 win teams and Big 10 champs? How are losing seasons in 73 and 76 on the list but a 6 win team in 74 is off the list?
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The ranking system goes by (a) margin of victory/loss and (b) who you played. The 1994 Illinois team went 7-5 but played the 7th hardest schedule that year, which means they ranked as the 10th best team that year. For comparison, the 2007 team went 9-4 but played the 47th best schedule, leading to an SRS ranking as the 28th best team.
 
#165      
Illiniaaron
Illini2010-11 said:
I was a student at the time, and I remember it being a super cold day; however, I was excited to get to attend another home game that was not during a break. The game was fun until the fluke 2-point conversion for Fresno in OT (it was my first OT game in person for college football). The paid attendance showed as close to 50,000, but it was hardly half full in the stands at best.

It was some strange scheduling, as I recall. The week before, Illinois played at Cincinnati on Black Friday. Very odd to have two non-conference games to close out season.

As for timing, I think it was agreed upon between the two schools, as the year after the game was the same weekend in Fresno (the week after demolishing NW at Wrigley).

Those were two very demoralizing losses to Fresno in 2009 and 2010 -- the 2-point conversion loss followed by Illinois "missing" a field goal over the upright (stupid high school size uprights).
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I remember an unbelievably egregious spot by an official in that road game at Fresno State when Illinois went for it on fourth down with a Qb sneak. Clearly made it but the sideline official spotted it like a yard and a half behind where it should have been. Don’t think I’ve ever been more pissed off at a call in an Illini game.
 
#166      
BretMyBeachHouse
the juiceman cometh said:
Counterpoint: 1 bad recruiting cycle under Cubit would have been better than 5 years of no traction under Lovie, assuming we made a good hire in 2017. We entered the 2016 hiring cycle late, which is why we had to go left field with Lovie. In retrospect, sacrificing 1 season and 1 recruiting cycle would have been better than sacrificing 5.

And yes, Whitman could have found someone. In 2021 a Kansas team that had averaged 1.5 wins a season over the prior 6 years was able to convince Leipold to take that job. That job was absolutely a worse job than the Illinois job in 2016/2017.

Lovie was a bad hire, not a necessary evil.
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I can't speak to KU because I don't know who they were competing against for Leipold. But the Lovie hire was outside of the typical cycle which is what made it possible.

I also think Whitman likely had some credibility issues coming in. Pretty young. Pretty inexperienced. The Lovie hire wiped that out. It set up future success.
 
#167      
BalloonsTheElephant
BretMyBeachHouse said:
I can't speak to KU because I don't know who they were competing against for Leipold. But the Lovie hire was outside of the typical cycle which is what made it possible.

I also think Whitman likely had some credibility issues coming in. Pretty young. Pretty inexperienced. The Lovie hire wiped that out. It set up future success.
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We also made a savvy financial play and let Tampa Bay pay half his salary the first couple years since he was fired and still getting checks from them.
 
#169      
ktal
BretMyBeachHouse said:
I can't speak to KU because I don't know who they were competing against for Leipold. But the Lovie hire was outside of the typical cycle which is what made it possible.

I also think Whitman likely had some credibility issues coming in. Pretty young. Pretty inexperienced. The Lovie hire wiped that out. It set up future success.
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Thanks for bringing up the credibility issue, because you're right, Lovie's was the only endorsement Josh needed to put that issue directly to pasture. Huge impact.

Unfortunately, I've had too many opportunities to read coaching search threads on this very board. There was enormous consternation over whether or not we would be able to ever hire a credible coach again after the Beckman fiasco. Why would an up-and-comer risk derailing their career coming here? Why would a proven coach do it, as opposed to accepting almost any other position in what were then four stable-appearing conferences.

Lovie lent Illinois his credibility, and Josh made great use of it, while establishing his own. Now he is probably one of the most credible AD in the country...that's a guess, as those aren't my normal circles. But I referred to Lovie as the most professionally accomplished coach ever hired at Illinois, and I realized that might have recently been surpassed by Petros Kyprianou. No way that happens with an AD on unsure footing or just lacking credibility.
 
#170      
Illini2010-11
ktal said:
Thanks for bringing up the credibility issue, because you're right, Lovie's was the only endorsement Josh needed to put that issue directly to pasture. Huge impact.

Unfortunately, I've had too many opportunities to read coaching search threads on this very board. There was enormous consternation over whether or not we would be able to ever hire a credible coach again after the Beckman fiasco. Why would an up-and-comer risk derailing their career coming here? Why would a proven coach do it, as opposed to accepting almost any other position in what were then four stable-appearing conferences.

Lovie lent Illinois his credibility, and Josh made great use of it, while establishing his own. Now he is probably one of the most credible AD in the country...that's a guess, as those aren't my normal circles. But I referred to Lovie as the most professionally accomplished coach ever hired at Illinois, and I realized that might have recently been surpassed by Petros Kyprianou. No way that happens with an AD on unsure footing or just lacking credibility.
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Whitman had such a difficult task when coming into the DIA. The basketball team was stuck in neutral (NIT teams at best) and the football program was in complete disarray. The Lovie hire, at a minimum, allowed some professionalism back in the program, while some more focus could be spent on the basketball program that was also disappointing. Groce was relieved of his duties in March 2017. If Josh had waited until after the 2016 football season to make his first football hire, it is very unlikely that Whitman would have been making another coaching hire a few months later. I truly believe that by hiring Lovie Smith in March 2016, the Illini were able to land Underwood to lead the basketball program about 1 year after the Lovie hire.

The volume of work that Josh did in his first 15 months, when you think about hiring new head coaches for the 2 biggest revenue generating sports teams in the program, was quite amazing. The basketball program is in some of the best stability in decades, and the football program is finally gaining some sustained footing with a home run second hire. Before hiring Whitman in 2016, who would have thought we would be looking at an administration where the basketball team made the Elite 8 and the football team is in fringe contention for a CFP in 2024?

Josh will hopefully have a statue somewhere on the campus after he retires.
 
#171      
pvaughn8
Illini2010-11 said:
Josh will hopefully have a statue somewhere on the campus after he retires.
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How about a tandem statue with Lovie who had such charisma he even elevated the basketball team.

Actually I'm being foolish and short sighted. We just build a Bill Cubit statue! Without his under-qualification and as a consequence short term contract, we may have never had the flexibility to hire the great program changing Lovie Smith! Imagine if we didn't extend Cubit for one year
 
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#173      
Mr. Tibbs
pvaughn8 said:
How about a tandem statue with Lovie who had such charisma he even elevated the basketball team.

Actually I'm being foolish and short sighted. We just build a Bill Cubit statue! Without his under-qualification and as a consequence short term contract, we may have never had the flexibility to hire the great program changing Lovie Smith! Imagine if we didn't extend Cubit for one year
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didnt we go from having Lovies son as DC to having Cubits son as OC ?
 
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