Illini Football 2026

#432      
Bbuck21
Fly Illini Fly! said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2086818257328070977
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My favorite moment was when USC (Lincoln Riley) threw to the end zone on first down from the 14 yard line. This left almost 2 minutes and 3 TOs for the Illini to march into FG range. This was right after I said to my son, "The best strategy is for the Illini to let them score". After the TD, we and the other knowledgeable fans near us, were laughing because it was perfect. That entire final drive was the best.
 
#433      
Bbuck21
Illinisam said:
That defense was phenomenal. I think it was 1990ish when we played Arizona tough. If that team had an offense that complimented the defense we might have won the Big Ten that year. The Tepper years were frustrating from an offense perspective. Other than Greg Landry as the OC for a year or so Tepper neglected having a good offense.
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I remember watching that team at Soldier Field against WSU. Simeon Rice single-handedly kept us in the game. My buddy and I were thinking we should put him at QB just to see :).
 
#434      
Illiniguy74
Mr. Tibbs said:
gotta give credit to Tate
I recall seeing him often in 81-83 when I worked at AH & I thought he was an old guy then -but obviously he was simply 55 then
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Time and circumstances have certainly changed LT. He's mellowed over the years. There was a time before sites like these where he had almost exclusive access to the administrators, coaches and players. It was a great situation for him. He knew it and tended to be arrogant when dealing with the rank and file fans. Having said that, I will also say that I always looked forward to the Gazette landing on my doorstep so that I could read his articles. He was an excellent scribe who would tell it like it is, in his opinion anyway.
 
#435      
lstewart53x3
blackdog said:
Full BTN training camp segment.

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Did not know this:

IMG_0671.jpeg
 
#436      
SuperintendentChalmers
Illiniguy74 said:
Time and circumstances have certainly changed LT. He's mellowed over the years. There was a time before sites like these where he had almost exclusive access to the administrators, coaches and players. It was a great situation for him. He knew it and tended to be arrogant when dealing with the rank and file fans. Having said that, I will also say that I always looked forward to the Gazette landing on my doorstep so that I could read his articles. He was an excellent scribe who would tell it like it is, in his opinion anyway.
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For many years, LT wasn't just the top chronicler of Illini sports, but a very influential figure who could, and occasionally did, sway the athletic department on major issues.
 
#437      
BretMyBeachHouse
SuperintendentChalmers said:
For many years, LT wasn't just the top chronicler of Illini sports, but a very influential figure who could, and occasionally did, sway the athletic department on major issues.
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A ton of respect for Tate. and tatelines and SMSL were the only source for recruiting news for a couple of decades.

That said, I think your point above was actually perhaps the biggest downside on Tate. I think he was part of the reason Guenther kept the support he had for so long. Tate could only see what Guenther was doing and never really looked at it in context to what was happening in the rest of the college landscape. Compared to our past, it was great. Compared to our peers, not so much.
 
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