Watched a lot of this on B2N. I saw a young team with a lot of commitment and belief. There were some bad plays but not many. Not being in CU any more I missed out on the day to day pessimism of recent years. What I see today looks like a team that's playing great defense, giving up some yards but controlling the clock and both lines of scrimmage. Typical Lovie Smith team. I used to get so frustrated with his style on the Bears, but for a college team rebuilding, his style fits perfectly. Guys are taking over the line when it matters, we're getting turnovers, we're doing well on special teams. We controlled the clock and ran down the 4th quarter on both sides of the ball when we had to. A good win. The hype train hasn't left the station yet, but the engine's warming up.
Illinois 20, Western Kentucky 7 POSTGAME
illinifan87
- The Windy City
Score could've been more lopsided if the offense wasn't so incompetent.
For a group of young guys, defense was incredible. Scary unit in a year or 2.
I know WKU isn't very good but just feels like this team is a QB and some patching up on the OL from being a quality squad. God love Crouch, good kid, but he is really bad and limits the offense so much.
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For a group of young guys, defense was incredible. Scary unit in a year or 2.
I know WKU isn't very good but just feels like this team is a QB and some patching up on the OL from being a quality squad. God love Crouch, good kid, but he is really bad and limits the offense so much.
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Sorry Boyd not Lowe.
illinifan87
- The Windy City
Saw a lot of people trashing McGee's play calling. Some of his stuff was super cute and he went away from the run, but his QB missed a ton of throws and I thought McGee adapted well as the game went on. And guys flat out didn't execute either (dropped passes, missed blocks, bad snaps, fumble, poor passes).
Give McGee a legit dual threat QB (Coran Taylor) and this offense could do some things.
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Give McGee a legit dual threat QB (Coran Taylor) and this offense could do some things.
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DrewD007
- Woodridge, IL
Biggest problem I see with Crouch is it seems he knows who he wants to throw the ball to before the snap and very rarely looks at more than that one receiver and will make the throw regardless if they're double (or in one instance tonight, triple) covered.
That said, we are 3-0 in games he starts so I'll take it.
That said, we are 3-0 in games he starts so I'll take it.
Agreed. He forced one to Dudek? Or Turner down the sideline and underneath was Dom Theiman had no defender within 8 yards of him
DrewD007
- Woodridge, IL
JDHalfrack
- Springfield, IL
Wasn't this middle/late 4th quarter, though? The place emptied right at the beginning of the 4th quarter (not sure why). It was definitely full in there last night. The student section was about 70% full, but the stadium seemed very full and very loud.
Granted, I sit in the corner horseshoe on the east side, so I'm under these seats and don't get to see them all game. These might have been empty the whole time.
Granted, I sit in the corner horseshoe on the east side, so I'm under these seats and don't get to see them all game. These might have been empty the whole time.
JDHalfrack
- Springfield, IL
Oh. Then damn... that is kind of depressing. It was a fun atmosphere, and it seemed much fuller. Wish we could consistently fill the stadium.
I was actually really pleased with the way the defense stepped up. One of the areas I was really concerned about from last year was taking bad angles and fundamental tackling. I really thought today was going to a be a bad one but I am glad I was wrong! Really fundamentally sound defensive effort today!
the offense is just so weak, I am not sure how we score against B1G opponents. However, the turnover machine named Lovie is bringing those talents to ILL. Seeing that pick6 was awesome. Can we win next week?
Deleted member 533939
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It's all up the defense. Crouch literally can't throw.
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Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
^^^This. Our weakest link is QB, which is quite surprising to me since there are RS and true Frosh playing all over the place. McGee has his work cut out for him trying to gameplan around Crouch's limited abilities. I'm hoping we'll see some wildcat and other non-trad formations as we get in to B1G play to at least try to keep defenses honest.
The O-line last night was unbelievably cohesive given the changes they've gone through. Good work by Allegretti for his first start at C, with little issues exchanging the ball, and the one fumble was on Crouch.
I'm not expecting to win more than 1 more game, but these guys were fun to watch last night.
Deleted member 29907
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Disagree - Crouch hit some very nice passes yesterday. Did he stare own a more than a few - yes. So did Sheelhasse as I recall. I don't really get all of the negative passing discussion. Give him credit when he does well. There were more than a few dropped passes as well.
Huge difference between a drop and a receiver doing their best and getting a hand on the ball. Crouch is our best option, but if he doesn't improve I'm not joining Robert in looking for six wins.
Keep in mind, that as good as the defense was, if we don't get the pick six, its 13-7. If we don't force the fumble while they're driving late in the first half its at least 13-10 and possibly 13-14. We fell on all (4?) of our fumbles.
I'm glad the defense was awesome tonight.
EfremWinters84
- S. Carolina
Just finished watching on TiVo.
Defense: Very impressive game! Love watching all three levels of defense, and we seem to have some young talent across all 3 -- DL, LB and Secondary. I see that we're now the #28 rated Defense in the nation, giving up just 14 points a game. Youth and speed -- love it!
Offense: OL improved immensely. QB play is extremely weak. In order to add value as the starter, Crouch will have to run the ball more if he can't improve his throwing. And if I counted correctly, I believe we fumbled 4 times, recovering all of them. So we could have easily lost the turnover battle and the game. Need to clean that up before USF!
TV Announcers: J. Leman and Dave Revsine!!!! Can't beat having two ILLINI guys on the call. As we wait for ESPN Game Day to make an appearance at Memorial Stadium, I think I'll take these two guys every game in the mean time!
Defense: Very impressive game! Love watching all three levels of defense, and we seem to have some young talent across all 3 -- DL, LB and Secondary. I see that we're now the #28 rated Defense in the nation, giving up just 14 points a game. Youth and speed -- love it!
Offense: OL improved immensely. QB play is extremely weak. In order to add value as the starter, Crouch will have to run the ball more if he can't improve his throwing. And if I counted correctly, I believe we fumbled 4 times, recovering all of them. So we could have easily lost the turnover battle and the game. Need to clean that up before USF!
TV Announcers: J. Leman and Dave Revsine!!!! Can't beat having two ILLINI guys on the call. As we wait for ESPN Game Day to make an appearance at Memorial Stadium, I think I'll take these two guys every game in the mean time!
ivwilsoniv
- Aurora, IL
I was there sitting actually right near where Whitman took that picture (but about 20-30 rows up from there. The student section actually filled up pretty good by the beginning of the second quarter and the rest of the stadium looked full except for the East Balcony, as noted above. The East Balcony was probably only about 40% full, which I think is why they keep the recruits on the east side of the stadium! "Look at our cool luxury boxes and full stadium!"
That being said, the atmosphere was decent. Place went nuts on the Pick-6.
Illiini
- In the land of the Nittany Lion
Wait. What? Two days ago WKU was a 7.5 point favorite and high scoring team and we had a young defensive line that couldn't be expected to shoot straight and and and.
Here's a little look back:
It's going to be a disappointing game for Lovie.
Hilltoppers take a heartbreaker in Champaign
Western Kentucky to end it's 0-6 winless streak against the Big Ten.
WKU wins 31-24.
WKU win probability 67 percent
Illini will have to be better than they were
WKU wins
More choose WKU
Hilltoppers have more firepower
I could go on, and yes, there were some picks for Illinois, but even those who did choose the Illini said it would be close and a lot of scoring by WKU. No one saw WKU getting shut down on offense like they were. So a message for all those Doubting Dougs our there, your crow is waiting...and it's served cold.
Disclaimer: I didn't make prediction...but I don't call myself an expert, or particularly knowledgeable for that matter. Just a note, though, to those who said Illinois will go 2-10 for 2017...they have to lose every game for the rest of the season to do so. Yeah, it could happen.
Here's a little look back:
It's going to be a disappointing game for Lovie.
Hilltoppers take a heartbreaker in Champaign
Western Kentucky to end it's 0-6 winless streak against the Big Ten.
WKU wins 31-24.
WKU win probability 67 percent
Illini will have to be better than they were
WKU wins
More choose WKU
Hilltoppers have more firepower
I could go on, and yes, there were some picks for Illinois, but even those who did choose the Illini said it would be close and a lot of scoring by WKU. No one saw WKU getting shut down on offense like they were. So a message for all those Doubting Dougs our there, your crow is waiting...and it's served cold.
Disclaimer: I didn't make prediction...but I don't call myself an expert, or particularly knowledgeable for that matter. Just a note, though, to those who said Illinois will go 2-10 for 2017...they have to lose every game for the rest of the season to do so. Yeah, it could happen.
