Illinois 30, Tennessee 28 Postgame
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Big Jack
- Decatur
Sorry to hear this Slim you can watch the game from where it picked up in the library on YTTV.
#1. Bret Bielema can coach. In just a few weeks after the final regular season game Bret took a porous offensive line that nearly got Luke killed a few times and pulled them together into a cohesive unit. He also took the defensive backs and shored them up. The defense was outstanding today. Bret has brought the Illini back to respectability in 5 short years. 2 bowl wins back-to-back, 2- 9-win seasons back-to-back.
2. The offensive line did give Luke time to maneuver and only allowed 1 sack. Great bounce back.
3. The defense was superb. They had 4 sacks, made Aguilar uncomfortable and rushed for most of the game. They never allowed a deep pass all day. The fumble recovery in the end zone was the difference in the game.
4. The running game with 3 backs and Luke helped the Illini make long drives, run the clock down and kept the Vols offense on the sidelines. My son was upset after the Vols returned kickoff for a touchdown, but I said Luke will drive them down and give them a chance at the end. He did just that.
5. Luke is a stud, gutsy and smart. He is one of a few quarterbacks if you give him time on the clock he will beat you. Wish he had 1 more year eligibility. If a pro team don't pick him up, they are nuts.
6. Game balls should be given to each player on the team because it was a team win.
2. The offensive line did give Luke time to maneuver and only allowed 1 sack. Great bounce back.
3. The defense was superb. They had 4 sacks, made Aguilar uncomfortable and rushed for most of the game. They never allowed a deep pass all day. The fumble recovery in the end zone was the difference in the game.
4. The running game with 3 backs and Luke helped the Illini make long drives, run the clock down and kept the Vols offense on the sidelines. My son was upset after the Vols returned kickoff for a touchdown, but I said Luke will drive them down and give them a chance at the end. He did just that.
5. Luke is a stud, gutsy and smart. He is one of a few quarterbacks if you give him time on the clock he will beat you. Wish he had 1 more year eligibility. If a pro team don't pick him up, they are nuts.
6. Game balls should be given to each player on the team because it was a team win.
Great win. They got just enough pressure at times including the strip sack TD to impact the game. Drove me mad when they would rush only 3 including the 3rd and 15 conversion but they weren't Bears defense bad.Thought OL played well protecting Altmeyer and especially opening up the run game in the 2nd half. Some big short yardage runs when they needed them helped seal the game.
Tennessee not beating a single bowl team is the exact definition of preseason poll bias. All of their "talent" kept them ranked nearly all year.
Living in Knoxville, I can tell you there was not much appetite for this game…the pulse of this town went dead when Vandy handed them their own !!! in Neyland. It’s playoffs or bust…Heupel isn’t a very popular guy right now
Lotta Vols fans think their team looked unmotivated and slow. Let me just say that as an expert on being unmotivated and slow they were not. Bret is just a dangerous man when he has that much time to gameplan and the game just went kind if weird down the stretch. I think their players actually had a step pretty consistently on our guys on O their defense just couldn't get off the field when they needed to. They played hard and so did we.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
When I played football in high school, I was the holder. I always focus on the snap and hold when I watch placekicking. As soon as I saw the snap was perfect and wasn’t muffed, I knew the game was over. I was infinitely more worried about the snap and hold than I ever was about Olano’s kick.
Told Mrs. Summer when it happened, but that kick return ended up being the best thing that could happen for us.
Every day that goes by – year after year – we are reminded again of the brilliant rock star hirings by the Illini AD of the football coach and the basketball coach. Two brilliant hires that have greatly elevated the state of where the two sport’s programs were before they came on board.
It all started back then years ago. As a famous White Sox announcer often famously said... “Don’t Stop Now, Boys!”.
I read a little (very little) Tennessee post game fan comments. There was a lot of whining about, who did not play for the vaunted Vols.
Said the same to my wife, and added; Luke, your table is set to solidify legend status. He didn't disappoint.
Seriously. They have a track record now of playing well after a bye/bowl prep. With the talent coming in with '26 (Don't forget there is still another signing day), and the opportunity to go up another level in '27, this thing is here to stay.
Illinir1
- Camdenton, MO
Below is the pre-game preview of Tennessee on FightingIllini.com. Talk about flipping the script (no helmet pun intended), the Illini defense held the #7 scoring team in the nation (40.8 points/game), that averaged 287 passing yards per game to 28 points and 121 yards passing/278 yards total. And it wasn't the Tennessee defense, which had SIX defensive touchdowns during the season, scoring on defense, it was our beloved Illini defense. Just going to soak in the glow for the rest of bowl season.
From FightinIllini.com:
Running back DeSean Bishop has also fueled the Volunteers offensively, one of just 29 players in the country to score 14 or more total touchdowns this season. Bishop is just 17 yards shy of 1,000 for the season.
Tennessee has been aggressive on third and fourth down, with a .510 third down conversion percentage, and an even higher .733 conversion percentage on fourth down, the seventh-highest in the country.
From FightinIllini.com:
Opponent Scout: Tennessee Offense
The Volunteers own the 7th-best scoring offense in the nation (40.8 points / game), led by quarterback Joey Aguilar, who averaged 287 passing yards per game, ranking sixth in the country, and totaled 3,444 yards in the air, good for 7th in the nation. 2025 SEC Freshman of the Year Braylon Staley was one of Aguilar's top targets, earning 806 yards on 64 receptions, including 6 touchdowns.Running back DeSean Bishop has also fueled the Volunteers offensively, one of just 29 players in the country to score 14 or more total touchdowns this season. Bishop is just 17 yards shy of 1,000 for the season.
Tennessee has been aggressive on third and fourth down, with a .510 third down conversion percentage, and an even higher .733 conversion percentage on fourth down, the seventh-highest in the country.
Opponent Scout: Tennessee Defense
Tennessee ranks second in the country with six defensive touchdowns, the program's most since 1996, and is tied for sixth in the nation with ten fumble recoveries. Seven Volunteers have recorded multiple sacks, led by sixth-year pass rusher Dominic Bailey, who tallied 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.DeonThomas
- South Carolina
In history..............?
Not when you have (1) 5 Natty's in football, (2) multiple trips to the Final Four in basketball, plus (3) Red Grange and Dick Butkus statues in front of your football stadium, (4) Lou Henson's 423 wins over 20 years at the helm, and (5) four NFL QB's in a 10 year span with Wilson, Eason, Trudeau and George --- and three of the four were drafted in the first round.
But I do agree that we're "building on it." We're nearing the point where we can now start to compare the 2020's to the 1980's.
Not when you have (1) 5 Natty's in football, (2) multiple trips to the Final Four in basketball, plus (3) Red Grange and Dick Butkus statues in front of your football stadium, (4) Lou Henson's 423 wins over 20 years at the helm, and (5) four NFL QB's in a 10 year span with Wilson, Eason, Trudeau and George --- and three of the four were drafted in the first round.
But I do agree that we're "building on it." We're nearing the point where we can now start to compare the 2020's to the 1980's.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I’ll be in Knoxville in mid-January and have tickets to see the Vols v Texas A&M at Thompson-Boling. I’ll be wearing my brightest orange Illini quarter-zip or, if I’m feeling unkind, a blue Illini sweatshirt.
Idk, there's also a scenario where they have the ball last and use the whole clock to march down the field and score a TD to win as time expires.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
It all starts with the AD. Wisconsin’s modern day rise started with Pat Richter who hired Alvarez and Bennett. Along the same lines Nick Saban said years ago that who coaches will work for is a big unspoken factor in most hires.
In Josh We Trust
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