Illinois 24, Ball State 21 POSTGAME

#76      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
I'd like to believe our fans aren't any dumber than other teams', so I'll choose to believe that the fans who are already giving up on Lovie and using the irrational and self-absorbed "here we go again, woe is me as an Illini fan" attitude (as if any thinking individual wouldn't have expected at LEAST a three-year rebuild) are truly outliers. As for this season individually, I'll wait to see how we come out vs. Western Kentucky and, obviously, at USF.
 
#77      

Adnarel

A
Adnarel
You're going to hear a lot of coach hate. We've been conditioned to call for the heads of coaches due to a frighteningly extended period of baaaad coaches. Some people think it's normal.
 
#78      

BMo79

B
BMo79
A win is a win, by 1 or 100 it still counts the same.


there were a lot of things to shake our heads about, from play calling to pass blocking. But a lot of good things were there to see as well. A ton of young guys playing, Mikey D played got hit didn't get hurt, Crouch can throw the ball fairly well , little off target most of the game, but Heck its not like he has played tons and he is comig back off being hurt. We found a RB for the next 4 years. Turner could of had a huge day if we would fof had a little better passing but still showed a lot. The young guys on D should get better each game. all in all I was happy with the game, and I think Lovie will be just fine in 2 more years if he can bring in smiliar classes
 
#79      

BillyBob1

BillyBob1
Champaign
BillyBob1
Anyone else notice on Dudek's last return, we only had 10 players on the field? Counted twice thinking I made a mistake!
 
#80      

Ubermensch

Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
Ubermensch
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I'd like to believe our fans aren't any dumber than other teams'
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Dumber? No. Much more exposed to terrible football year after year after year than most big universities? Obviously. But focus on the fans rather than the product if you think it will help gather more Ws. I need to try that. I've analyzed the horrible football 'til I'm blue in the face and it never seems to help.
 
#82      

chief78

chief78
Florida
chief78
chief2007 said:
Look at total yards, first downs, time of possession, etc. Illinois was outplayed by a MAC team. Could be only win all year.
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Maybe so, but the only thing that really matters is the final score. The Illini had a bad third quarter that made it feel like a bad game, but did what they had to in the 4th. I think they will improve through the season and surprise someone. Based on yesterday, we do have a few good play players (3M's) and if our offensive line play improves we should be able to get the ball to them on a more frequent basis.
 
#85      

EfremWinters84

E
S. Carolina
EfremWinters84
IlliniMed said:
Where was smallimg all game ?
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First of all, we're NOT a passing team this year. Therefore, if it's true we're going to average just 10-12 completed passes per game this season, you might figure Turner, Dudek, Epstein and RB's/TE's to get 90% of those. That leaves just a couple others for all of those talented, young WR's.

Probably not a good year to be a young Illini WR (with a young OL and a running QB).
 
#86      

breadman

B
Herndon, VA
breadman
I know I saw a lot to like and a lot of loose ends that the coaching staff needs to clean up. So even in Lovie's own words, a win is a win, no more, no less. I also think that these next 2 games will be won on ILLINI Pride alone.

By the way, the TV announcers did say that BSU's defensive front 4 were all seniors. So, you could say that is one reason our OL did not look too good.
 
#87      

ILL_INI

ILL_INI
ILL_INI
Coming into the game, Ball State's defensive line was considered their strength, led by All MAC Anthony Winbush (#98) at defensive end. He ended up with 3 sacks.
 
#88      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Deleted member 29907
EfremWinters84 said:
First of all, we're NOT a passing team this year. Therefore, if it's true we're going to average just 10-12 completed passes per game this season, you might figure Turner, Dudek, Epstein and RB's/TE's to get 90% of those. That leaves just a couple others for all of those talented, young WR's.

Probably not a good year to be a young Illini WR (with a young OL and a running QB).
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Your sample size is quite small. Not sure we should call the season on one game. Net is - we don't know how this team will respond, how good or mediocre Ball State will end up being, etc. The coaches may have to leave a back or two in the back field to help Chayce re: pass rush and they'll have to step up. And over time, I'd expect Chayce to get more confidence on reads, pressure, etc. We actually had alot of receivers open on Saturday - the game just needs to slow down for him.
 
#89      

FiveStar

F
FiveStar
VAIllini35 said:
Your sample size is quite small. Not sure we should call the season on one game. Net is - we don't know how this team will respond, how good or mediocre Ball State will end up being, etc. The coaches may have to leave a back or two in the back field to help Chayce re: pass rush and they'll have to step up. And over time, I'd expect Chayce to get more confidence on reads, pressure, etc. We actually had alot of receivers open on Saturday - the game just needs to slow down for him.
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I don't doubt we had a bunch of guys open, but if you can't even start your progression because you're being flushed or hit when you finish your drop, it doesn't matter.
 
#90      

Soxfreak64

Soxfreak64
Bloomington
Soxfreak64
Didn't see many quick-hitters in the BSU game. With the downfield blocking ability of our WRs and Epstein/Dudek's speed and shiftiness, I have to imagine this team could really thrive off the quick drag routes and the screen game.

Was there a single screen pass last game? Were they keeping it off film? Usually a good way for the QB to break into the game.
 
#93      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
Soxfreak64 said:
Didn't see many quick-hitters in the BSU game. With the downfield blocking ability of our WRs and Epstein/Dudek's speed and shiftiness, I have to imagine this team could really thrive off the quick drag routes and the screen game.

Was there a single screen pass last game? Were they keeping it off film? Usually a good way for the QB to break into the game.
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With how the o-line performed, I'd be worried how they would perform something more complex than traditional pass protection.
 
#95      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
It wasn't pretty, but I was very happy to see some fight in this team to comeback and win. The two biggest areas of improvement that are needed and have been pointed out already are offensive and defensive lines. It's going to be a long season, but if they can retain that fight while gaining important experience then I'll be happy no matter the record.
 
#96      

Ga65

G
Ga65
Was Larry Boyd hurt or was it coaches decision? May have been discussed and I missed it but thought he was going to be a starter.
 
#97      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
1. Our punter is legit. In fact, Special Teams is a large strength this year. Typical Lovie.
2. Dudek and Epstien have 1st team B1G written all over them.
3. If our line can improve, we will win games. If it cant... Well we better hope we block game winning FGs a lot...
4. Everyone needs to remember this is a young and inexperienced team. I know its old rhetoric but this team will be better by years end. Every game we should see improvement.
 
#99      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
I give the players a lot of credit for pulling that game out considering how bad things looked in the 4th quarter, especially with a lot of them playing their first collegiate game. I was predicting a 3-9 season and am sticking with that although I was hoping to see a better performance on Saturday. I have faith that Lovie and his coaches will get this program turned around, but we all know this is probably going to be an ugly season. I hope we can see gradual improvement each week from this young team, but they are going to find it very difficult once the conference season begins. I was disappointed in the performance of the o-line; why are we having such trouble recruiting at that position? It seems like the same problem every year. Did not understand the going for two after the first td or why they didn't run some clock before the last td either. Anyway on to W. Kentucky, a win this week would surely make a 3-4 win season possible.
 
#100      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
Lake Camelot said:
Dudek maybe, probably. Epstien, way, way too early.
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chief2007 said:
Dudek is my favorite player and he won't be close to 1st team all big ten.
Epstein not in the conversation.
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I was more talking about a year or two from now. Should've been clearer, but if they are given a halfway decent line and QB they have the talent to reach that level. Look what they did with a shaky Crouch and an Oline that looked straight out of high school.