Illinois 21, Oregon 10 Postgame

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#151      
Whiskey Looping GIF by Buffalo Trace Bourbon
What are you doing on the football board!? We need injury updates on the basketball board.
 
#158      
That was a culture stabilizing win. The defense got pushed around on the first drive, but after that were flying all over the field. After the 75 yard rd run, the Illini offense controlled the run game, which opened up the key late td pass.

Really can't be said enough how important this win is for keeping the program momentum going.

Getting to 6 wins looks much better than before, and if the product from today shows up the rest of the season, then we may be 7+ wins good by end of year.

In game thread I stated that the Illini defense would be prescription for out of sync Oregon offense. I was completely wrong. It was the other way around. Also kind of surprising the hype that surrounded Raiola all those years...this guy lacks complete confidence with his arm. He missed so many open receivers, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest.

No letting up next week. Go Illini!
 
#160      
I’m in NYC at my daughter’s wedding. I’m so jacked! All those of little faith. I didn’t predict a win, but I also didn’t think we were falling. We have a great head coach and OC. Don’t discount them. They outcoached Lanning and company. Old school Big Ten. Boo Rah!!!!
 
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#162      
I know in the game thread there was a lot of trying to figure out what the Ducks were trying to do (or what they were even thinking of trying to do) on offense. And as I sit here watching the late games I think I might have an answer

View attachment 52142
(Will Stein, former Oregon OC and current Kentucky HC - who happens to be 6-1)

We obviously had/have our own DC issue this year, seems likely that Bret isn't the only coach out there that might miss on a coordinator hire.
Lanning was asked in the post-game if he'd replace the OC. He said everything is on the table.
 
#163      
I noticed a couple of times during the game they got the young guys more involved. Newton and Eberhart both got some snaps and a couple of the younger DBs were also involved. I like being able to mix those guys in a little bit more.
 
#164      
One more thing about today's game:

I know Oregon isn't having the season they expected to have and they're without their QB and starting receivers. But! They're still ranked #11 in SP+ and #10 in FPI. That might be the highest ranked team in the metrics that Bret's beat here so far? USC last year finished #13 in FPI. Michigan in '24 was #29. Tennessee last year was #19. South Carolina was #15 in '24.

So yeah, I think that's the best win on paper in Bret's tenure, unless I'm forgetting one.
 
#166      
Did we give X Scott (a little bit of a tough year so far) a lot of credit for running down the Oregon guy, saving a very long, sure TD that eventually limited it 10-0 instead 0f 14-0, and we shut them out the rest of the game. Gave us a nice boost on D when we really needed it then complemented it with Aiden's TD run a little later that boosted the O

Two huge reasons we won, IMO
 
#167      
Great win. The entire season I have been floored that Resetich is continually playing safety and fielding punts/kicks. He has no business on the field. Seems like a good dude, but not a Big Ten player. I was at the game today and keyed on him the first half. Continually took horrible angles and when he did meet a ball carrier, he bounced off because he was not wrapping up. He did not play much in the secondary in the 2nd half. I hope that continues. I feel bad dogging on the guy, but we cannot continue to run him out there.
 
#168      
IMHO... BB is the best program coach since Ray Eliot retired in 1959... Yes M.White was exciting and flashy, but he was not a 'sustainable program' type coach...
As I said earlier in this thread. Or the game thread. Bret is the best coach of my lifetime and I’m 55 on Monday. No question about it. Such a good in game coach. He just seems to know how to manage the clock and the game. He is good at recognizing what his team can and can’t do and avoiding the stuff they can’t do.
 
#169      
Fun with numbers!

The 225 rushing yards Illinois put up was the most a Big Ten opponent had put up on Oregon since the 2024 Big Ten Championship win over Penn State when the Nits put up nearly three bills on the ground.

The last time Illinois passed for two touchdowns and less than 100 yards was a win over Indiana in 2007 when Juice Williams threw for 98 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 200+ that day.

I looked back at least as far as 1994 and didn't find a game where Illinois threw for 2TD and fewer yards. Someone with a media guide might be able to find an example.
 
#170      
I didn't know that not only was Oregon's starting qb out, but 4 of their top 5 receivers were also out for today's game. That adjusts my measuring stick for this win considerably. Our run game had me cheering though. That was impressive. And going toe to toe with both of their lines was pretty cool to see.
 
#171      
Was it noted in the pregame that this was the first game in the Bielema era where the starting quarterback was our own high school recruit? Doesn't really mean much considering how successful DeVito and Luke were as transfers, but just a fun side note.
 
#172      
One more thing about today's game:

I know Oregon isn't having the season they expected to have and they're without their QB and starting receivers. But! They're still ranked #11 in SP+ and #10 in FPI. That might be the highest ranked team in the metrics that Bret's beat here so far? USC last year finished #13 in FPI. Michigan in '24 was #29. Tennessee last year was #19. South Carolina was #15 in '24.

So yeah, I think that's the best win on paper in Bret's tenure, unless I'm forgetting one.
I have a hard time seeing the team we watched today ending up with those metrics, but we'll see.

Hopefully Dante Moore is able to come back and have an impact, it's a shame what happened to him obviously and that has hugely impacted them.
 
#175      
One more thing about today's game:

I know Oregon isn't having the season they expected to have and they're without their QB and starting receivers. But! They're still ranked #11 in SP+ and #10 in FPI. That might be the highest ranked team in the metrics that Bret's beat here so far? USC last year finished #13 in FPI. Michigan in '24 was #29. Tennessee last year was #19. South Carolina was #15 in '24.

So yeah, I think that's the best win on paper in Bret's tenure, unless I'm forgetting one.

They only played with 4 scholarship wr. With that being said it’s still a team with a ton of talent and it’s a very good win for the program.
 
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