Illinois 14, Minnesota 6 Postgame

#76      

BRucks

BRucks
BRucks
ChiefKingfisher said:
You really never know what you're gonna get with this team.
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Life is like a box of chocolates

My momma always said, "Eat shot or die, forest!” By. life was like a box of chocolates is one of the various quotes from Mrs. Gump repeated by her son during the movie. Used to explain how life is uncertain, it is seen at the beginning of the movie, and makes an appearance in the sequel to the...
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#77      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
ChiefKingfisher said:
You really never know what you're gonna get with this team.
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Compare the results to the betting lines and you'd say yeah, this is a wildly inconsistent team.

But I feel like that's not really the case on a play-to-play, drive-to-drive basis.

We do what we do, we play Big Ten football, shrink the game as small as we can, and have played a ton of small-margins type games.

All I know is it is a sight for sore eyes to see us just lining up and playing and matching our opponents at the line of scrimmage. There's no gimmickry here, we are just playing the football we intend to play, in Year 1 of a new era, very different from what we're used to at Illinois.
 
#78      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
Two thoughts that spring to mind:

1. Holy cow, take a bow Ryan Walters. If he vs Mike Sanford today were a boxing match, the referee needs to step in and stop the fight. Masterclass, Minny had no clue.

2. It wouldn't be me if I couldn't come up with a negative, I feel like that's the first game this year, win or loss, that really felt like we were carried by the super seniors. Veteran savvy from Peters, great OL performance, Carney and especially Gay had their best performances of the year, it does make you wonder what it looks like when we lose that experience and depth in the trenches.
 
#84      

Ramrod2010

R
Ramrod2010
ChiefGritty said:
Two thoughts that spring to mind:

1. Holy cow, take a bow Ryan Walters. If he vs Mike Sanford today were a boxing match, the referee needs to step in and stop the fight. Masterclass, Minny had no clue.

2. It wouldn't be me if I couldn't come up with a negative, I feel like that's the first game this year, win or loss, that really felt like we were carried by the super seniors. Veteran savvy from Peters, great OL performance, Carney and especially Gay had their best performances of the year, it does make you wonder what it looks like when we lose that experience and depth in the trenches.
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I'm pretty sure you're playing into the "being negative" bit, but it is a fair point.

Though I would say if it is our fourth win that finally gets us the "aha, there is our experience showing through" moment then maybe there won't be as big of a drop-off as you might expect.
 
#87      

trtl

T
trtl
Let’s lock up Ryan Walters. This is arguably a less talented defense than last year and they are performing at a ridiculous level. And very few dumb penalties, which were a staple of our defense in the past few years.
 
#88      

illini80

illini80
Forgottonia
illini80
trtl said:
Let’s lock up Ryan Walters. This is arguably a less talented defense than last year and they are performing at a ridiculous level. And very few dumb penalties, which were a staple of our defense in the past few years.
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We win the last 2 (big if) and it will be tough to hold him if the right job comes along. He was considered close before coming here and someone might take a chance. Honestly I think we get one more year and he’s gone unless we go backwards. People are taking notice of what he’s done.
 
#90      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
Ramrod2010 said:
Though I would say if it is our fourth win that finally gets us the "aha, there is our experience showing through" moment then maybe there won't be as big of a drop-off as you might expect.
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We've definitely leaned on the super seniors less than I thought we would.

On offense we haven't had breakthroughs ahead of them, we've just sat through some disappointing final campaigns from guys like Peters, Palcho and Barker.

But on defense the likes of Barnes, Newton, Randolph, etc have really stepped up and outplayed their more experienced counterparts.
 
#96      

Mr. Roberts

Mr. Roberts
Mr. Roberts
I sat through the absolutely godawful Illinois- Purdue game in the third row of the north end zone of Ross-Ade Stadium. Watched Peters sail those throws over the head of the receivers and right into my lap. If you would have told me that Illinois would beat the Big Ten West leader and Purdue would beat the Big Team East leader on the same November day, I would have bet you any amount of money that you were wrong.

Unreal.
 
#98      

IlliniBorn

I
IlliniBorn
sully said:
Agreed. I'm obviously happy/pleasantly surprised with the big road win today (against another ranked team) but it does frustrate me to think how many games we literally gave away this season (Purdue, San Antonio, Rutgers, Maryland) I'll just label it as growing pains with a brand new coaching staff. No need for me or other Illini fans to cry over spilled milk. It is what it is and I'm just going to enjoy this impressive Illini win today
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This team had a lot of changes to get used to. Defensively they have done well. Offensively they have a way to go. Needs a QB, line and receivers in my opinion. And maybe a better OC. Overall they are beating my expectations.