Illinois 24, Nebraska 13 Postgame

#251      
Dkayak
RockfordIllini said:
Maybe it was just me, but last night really felt like a return to Aaron Henry bend but don’t break style. I wonder if that was a specific game plan for Nebraska with the idea they’d likely shoot themselves in the foot if we kept things in front. Certainly worked.
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It wasn’t just you. Brett mentioned it post game, in this video, also posted elsewhere. Here’s the Google summary:

"Let’s just keep the ball in front of us, don’t let the ball get over top of us," was the core defensive philosophy Illinois head coach Bret Bielema stressed to interim defensive coordinator Roger Cooper and his defensive staff.

Bielema discussed this bend-but-don't-break mindset following the Fighting Illini's 24-13 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Acknowledging that the style can test a team's composure, Bielema noted: "I know it gets boring and sometimes you give up some yards... Sometimes patience is a virtue and if you get in a hurry bad things can happen, but I really liked the demeanor of our guys."

By focusing on sound tackling and preventing explosive, over-the-top plays, the resurgent Illini defense successfully limited Nebraska to just a single play of 20+ yards (a 51-yard touchdown). Keeping everything underneath forced the Huskers into inefficient, long drives that ultimately stalled out, helping Illinois lock down their fourth straight win and secure bowl eligibility.

 
#252      
HensonHall71
This game seemed like a carbon copy of the Oregon game- it starts off with them dominating and you wonder if it’s going to be a blowout because we can’t stop them and our offense can’t do anything and then it flips and all of a sudden our defense steps up big time and our offense starts making plays. The flip of the switch seemed to be Aidan’s long TD against Oregon and the fake FG against Nebby. Both convincing wins in the end despite not being turnover driven

It does make me wonder if we can get off to better starts what this team can do- it almost seems like Cooper needs to see what the other team is doing then is able to adjust to stop it.

I think we have a legit shot against UCLA if we can avoid an early hole- they don’t look as unbeatable as an undefeated team normally does
 
#253      
Dkayak
BretMyBeachHouse said:
Nice post but I disagree that they want a turnaround like ours. They want titles. Which is why they fired at least one good coach.
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Voltaire said “The best is the enemy of the good”. Churchill later said “Perfection is the enemy of progress”.

I’ll take Illinois’ progress over Nebraska’s pursuit of titles. I just want to watch good football.
 
#254      
RML
Illiniguy74 said:
It annoys me when people call out Mike White for being "fast and loose with the rules". His transgressions were minor comparatively, in the relative scheme of things and especially by today's standards. They were magnified by a vindictive NCAA and the negative influence of certain opposing schools and coaches. In my mind, he will always be an Illini of great standing.
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Amen. My recollection (perhaps exaggerated in my memory) is that we got sanctioned for giving a visiting recruit a pair of socks.
 
#256      
TheChief4Life
HensonHall71 said:
This game seemed like a carbon copy of the Oregon game- it starts off with them dominating and you wonder if it’s going to be a blowout because we can’t stop them and our offense can’t do anything and then it flips and all of a sudden our defense steps up big time and our offense starts making plays. The flip of the switch seemed to be Aidan’s long TD against Oregon and the fake FG against Nebby. Both convincing wins in the end despite not being turnover driven

It does make me wonder if we can get off to better starts what this team can do- it almost seems like Cooper needs to see what the other team is doing then is able to adjust to stop it.

I think we have a legit shot against UCLA if we can avoid an early hole- they don’t look as unbeatable as an undefeated team normally does
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Nebraska was never dominating. At least, it never felt like it at the game.
If anything, it felt like we were still trying to figure out how to sustain drives; and it had nothing to do with Nebraska.

Quite honestly, Nebraska looked like garbage. In fact, I was surprised to see that they had 400+ yards against us. It was never a game that felt that way.
 
#259      
Chief Piasa
BZuppke said:
I was a student in those days. Schembechler played a big role in our persecution by the ncaa. What was going on in Ann Arbor was far worse.
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BZuppke said:
I was a student in those days. Schembechler played a big role in our persecution by the ncaa. What was going on in Ann Arbor was far worse.
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Schembechler never forgave us for firing his boy Moeller for winning 6 games in 3 years; he wanted our program to die and he had the pull to do it. I’ve hated those cheating SOB MI cheaters with white-hot heat ever since.
 
#260      
Illinirog70
Dkayak said:
It wasn’t just you. Brett mentioned it post game, in this video, also posted elsewhere. Here’s the Google summary:

"Let’s just keep the ball in front of us, don’t let the ball get over top of us," was the core defensive philosophy Illinois head coach Bret Bielema stressed to interim defensive coordinator Roger Cooper and his defensive staff.

Bielema discussed this bend-but-don't-break mindset following the Fighting Illini's 24-13 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Acknowledging that the style can test a team's composure, Bielema noted: "I know it gets boring and sometimes you give up some yards... Sometimes patience is a virtue and if you get in a hurry bad things can happen, but I really liked the demeanor of our guys."

By focusing on sound tackling and preventing explosive, over-the-top plays, the resurgent Illini defense successfully limited Nebraska to just a single play of 20+ yards (a 51-yard touchdown). Keeping everything underneath forced the Huskers into inefficient, long drives that ultimately stalled out, helping Illinois lock down their fourth straight win and secure bowl eligibility.

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The announcers said that the 'huskers had FOUR drives eleven plays or longer in which they scored ZERO points! Two missed field goals and two "ran out of downs." Now that's playing "bend but don't break" to the nth degree. Over 400 yards on offence and only two touchdowns, one where our defenders ran into each other.
We contained their QB very well, which is always key.

Great job, defense !!
 
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