Illinois 38, Michigan State 37 OT Postgame

#176      
ChiefGritty
bluemountain said:
I'm not sure there is a P4 team with worse talent on D than us
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The worst place on a football team to be bad is quarterback.

The second worst is defensive line, and in the college game it's a closer second than you'd think.

We don't have bulk, don't get push and can't set an edge. Everybody else is helpless and desperately forced to compensate in those circumstances.
 
#177      
Second place is 1st loser
ChiefGritty said:
The worst place on a football team to be bad is quarterback.

The second worst is defensive line, and in the college game it's a closer second than you'd think.

We don't have bulk, don't get push and can't set an edge. Everybody else is helpless and desperately forced to compensate in those circumstances.
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Having bad linebackers is right up there. Our inability to find backs out of the backfield or keep the Tight Ends in check is glaring. They just lack the speed, quickness and athleticism to be effective. Its painfully obvious. That's almost impossible to coach. Once we add in the extremely poor tackling(which can be coached up)......this is what we end up with.
 
#179      
fatt lacosse
This is our ninth straight season with at least one Big Ten win. This is now our longest such stretch since 1979-1996.

Maryland gives us the opportunity to make that nine straight seasons with MULTIPLE big ten wins.

Should we aim higher than this? Sure. Am I gonna celebrate this like i cherish the fact that we’ve never lost to an FCS team? Absolutely.
 
#182      
RabidDawgClassic
fatt lacosse said:
This is our ninth straight season with at least one Big Ten win. This is now our longest such stretch since 1979-1996.

Maryland gives us the opportunity to make that nine straight seasons with MULTIPLE big ten wins.

Should we aim higher than this? Sure. Am I gonna celebrate this like i cherish the fact that we’ve never lost to an FCS team? Absolutely.
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This fun fact is not so… fun. 🫤
 
#183      
ChiefGritty
Second place is 1st loser said:
Having bad linebackers is right up there. Our inability to find backs out of the backfield or keep the Tight Ends in check is glaring. They just lack the speed, quickness and athleticism to be effective. Its painfully obvious. That's almost impossible to coach. Once we add in the extremely poor tackling(which can be coached up)......this is what we end up with.
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A good DL that keeps LB's clean can make ordinary talent play up, and indeed has done that for Bielema's defenses here a lot.

The panicked "overreaction" during the portal season at us just being left without sufficient bodies, size or talent along the DL was in fact exactly as consequential in the trajectory of the program as it looked, it was an under-reaction if anything.
 
#184      
RockyMtnIllini81
zentrails said:
It was close looked like he was just a hair past the line, then came back a little to get the ball
too close for refs to make the call in that situation thank goodness, but even the PI part of it was too close to call, IMO
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It looked to me like the receiver was at the line of scrimmage. However he was not beyond the neutral zone. Good no call.
 
#185      
Second place is 1st loser
ChiefGritty said:
A good DL that keeps LB's clean can make ordinary talent play up, and indeed has done that for Bielema's defenses here a lot.

The panicked "overreaction" during the portal season at us just being left without sufficient bodies, size or talent along the DL was in fact exactly as consequential in the trajectory of the program as it looked, it was an under-reaction if anything.
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10000000000000% fact. If your DL can't keep OL from getting to the next level, it doesn't matter what you have. A pass rush makes your corners and safeties better and if the DL that can, at least, fight the OL to a stand still makes the LBs life a lot easier. A great DL removes the necessity to blitz.

You're absolutely on point.
 
#187      
Illiniindian
fatt lacosse said:
This is our ninth straight season with at least one Big Ten win. This is now our longest such stretch since 1979-1996.

Maryland gives us the opportunity to make that nine straight seasons with MULTIPLE big ten wins.

Should we aim higher than this? Sure. Am I gonna celebrate this like i cherish the fact that we’ve never lost to an FCS team? Absolutely.
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We need more fans like you.
 
#188      
RML
zentrails said:
Yep, us with a frosh QB, seemed unlikely that we'd get the second OT TD AND the 2pter, while our D wasn't stopping them much at all until that last play. why not tie it up with the extra point kick and take your chances with the second round of OT? I don't get the stategy there
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I wonder if the thinking was that that's the one chance you have in OT to go bold. If you go on offense first, you would need to be crazy to go for two. Its when you're on D first in either the first or second ot that you have your only chance to "steal" a win (the other team no reasonable chance to match you.)
But I agree it was a stupid call in that game, given our d and a backup QB.
 
#189      
therealmiket86
Second place is 1st loser said:
Having bad linebackers is right up there. Our inability to find backs out of the backfield or keep the Tight Ends in check is glaring. They just lack the speed, quickness and athleticism to be effective. Its painfully obvious. That's almost impossible to coach. Once we add in the extremely poor tackling(which can be coached up)......this is what we end up with.
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Do we have a linebacker that can get off a block?
 
#190      
hangdog
HensonHall71 said:
What he said “Under NCAA Rule 7-3-8, defensive pass interference rules only apply if a legal forward pass crosses the neutral zone (the line of scrimmage).” the ball never got close to crossing the line of scrimmage
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Appreciate the rule clarification. I stand corrected, as the ball never reached the 3 yard line, even if the receiver did.
 
#191      
WWWWRocU
This game still has my head spinning a day later.
Was definitely encouraged by the improvement in the defense after 2 weeks. As the game progressed, I started wondering if they can keep it up for the full 4 quarters. Well, no. So maybe next game they will take that next step. I understand the lack of talent, but still, the games must be played.
Clayton, just Clayton.
And Barnett better hurry up and learn how to secure that ball.
 
#192      
Noblesville Illini
ChatGPT Image Oct 11, 2026 at 04_06_29 PM.png
 
#193      
bluemountain
Second place is 1st loser said:
Having bad linebackers is right up there. Our inability to find backs out of the backfield or keep the Tight Ends in check is glaring. They just lack the speed, quickness and athleticism to be effective. Its painfully obvious. That's almost impossible to coach. Once we add in the extremely poor tackling(which can be coached up)......this is what we end up with.
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Yes. And while talented D-Linemen are a limited resource, talented LB's are much more common and there is no reason a P4 team should be as deficient as we are in that area
 
#194      
FloridaMan
Can someone provide a replay of Barnett's supposed ball - security - concerning runs?? I just re-watched his 15 yarder and 8 yarder and he has the ball cradled as far as I could see on the replays. Somehow that narrative is out there but I would really like to see a clear example of it. Now, if an insider has information that it has been a concern during practices, then that is another matter and I am all ears. But, have we actually seen it in game carries?
 
#196      
Vinegarben
This team plays ugly. Defense dominated the Spartans the first 24 minutes then all hell broke loose. Illinois couldn't stop me [I m 80] in the 2nd half. Spartans completely dominated the field in the 2nd half. Only a stupid call by the Spartan coach allowed the Illini to get an undeserved win.
The refs couldn't get the call right on the onside kick. How can you review the play to see if the Spartan player touched the ball in or out of bounds when the kicking team was called off side. Then we got this extra view from nowhere! The Big Ten and the officiating have looked stupid with the replays. Well I look for the Illini to get a thorough !!! kicking against Oregon. Very poor roster build.
 
#197      
rjeffreys
HensonHall71 said:
What he said “Under NCAA Rule 7-3-8, defensive pass interference rules only apply if a legal forward pass crosses the neutral zone (the line of scrimmage).” the ball never got close to crossing the line of scrimmage
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Learn something new every day as I wondered why PI wasn't called. Yay us...
 
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