So good .....
Illinois 38, Northwestern 28 Postgame
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Just as a sidenote in case anyone thinks it looks bad or whatever.....this tweet is a bit misleading. He never said that we're currently a top 10 team. He said if a few things went our way, we would've been.
chiefini
- Rockford, Illinois
Luke’s take on unity and loyalty and Bielma in the postgame video are recruiting mantras. Illinois FamILLy is not just a token motto; it’s the basis for the entire football team culture. In addition, I love Luke’s take on the SEC, which is both impressive and aggressive at the same time: “We ain’t gonna be afraid to play anybody!” I’m hoping that these awesome feelings and lifetime memories keep Luke at Illinois next year…
P.S. From everything he said postgame about winning 10, it sounds like PB is going to play in the bowl game. 
P.S. From everything he said postgame about winning 10, it sounds like PB is going to play in the bowl game. Definitely above 70% Illinois fans. And it actually wasn’t as cold as people complaining. We were fine with a blanket.Honestly, 80 - 90 % Illini crowd. I believe others there would concur. Illini nation is
Pat's agent will be telling Pat he'd be out of his mind and outright stupid to play in the bowl game and he'd be right. However, I will say that from a legacy standpoint, saying you alone hold the single season record for touchdowns in a season with the clincher coming against Alabama perhaps just perhaps it's enough for Pat to to say call me stupid then. It'd be something for sure. And if he were to play, he deserves to have that record individually.Luke’s take on unity and loyalty and Bielma in the postgame video are recruiting mantras. Illinois FamILLy is not just a token motto; it’s the basis for the entire football team culture. In addition, I love Luke’s take on the SEC, which is both impressive and aggressive at the same time: “We ain’t gonna be afraid to play anybody!” I’m hoping that these awesome feelings and lifetime memories keep Luke at Illinois next year…
I loved watching B Lloyd play. Pat is right up there with him. Fantastic season and wish him nothing but the best no matter what he chooses.
The hit he took in yesterday's game which, for a second, looked bad, should have been all of the information needed to make an incredibly easy decision on a meaningless game(if you're a draft prospect). You sit out and let individual workouts, workouts the week of the Senior Bowl(or game of the like) and the draft combine do all of the talking for you.
Oh absolutely. There's no question Pat should sit out and spend his whole time preparing for the combine. And training for the combine is different from training to play football. However, people don't always do what they should. I do think there's a non-zero chance he wants the individual record badly enough to suit up. I still see it as highly unlikely he does, but it'd make for a hell of a story.
My rational brain agrees but . . .
Pat did not even make the final 70 list for the Biletnikoff award as college football's best receiver and Illinois was not exactly spotlighted on national TV games other than the Oregon blowout where Pat had a pedestrian 3 catches for 26 yards against the very best defensive backfield in college football. IF Pat and Luke could team up against what will undoubtedly be a favored SEC Team on national TV at the December 31 Citrus Bowl with Pat establishing the Illinois season record for touchdown receptions with a two touchdown, 100+ yard game leading Illinois to an upset win on national TV and a 10 win Illinois season, that publicity certainly might be worth the injury gamble, especially if lots of NFL prospects sit out their bowl games. A SportsCenter Top 10 highlight one handed touchdown grab could also help the buzz and his NFL draft stock while cementing his Illinois legacy in the pantheon of ILLINI legends.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
With all due respect, I just don't think NFL scouts care about "buzz" or anything of that sort. They have enough contacts, game video, etc. to make an informed assessment of a player's prospects. I would be willing to make an educated guess that Pat Bryant's work in a setting like the Senior Bowl will be more important than what he does in a bowl game.
If Bryant wants to play the bowl game, I'd love to see it. But if he decides with the advice of his team to sit out the bowl game, I completely respect that decision. After watching that one Notre Dame player absolutely destroy his knee in the Fiesta Bowl a few years ago, I will never fault someone in Pat Bryant's shoes for making a decision in his long-term best interests.
Not so sure. He hasn’t been getting. The recognition he deserves nationally and a strong performance in a bowl game against a team SEC could raise his draft stock.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Bryant already cemented his Illinois legacy. And no, the publicity in a non-CFP bowl will never outweigh the injury risks, nor will it greatly change his draft stock. The best chance of moving draft stock is through the Combine process.
No "due respect" needed, as I already indicated what my rational mind thought and I don't disagree with you.
BUT: in a world where both the transfer portal and the NFL injury concern will legitimately water down both the bowl games and the college football playoff results, I do think that what a truly outstanding bowl game performance can do may matter more that it has in the past in helping a handful of players draft stock. I would never question any ILLINI player's decision to sit out a post season game. I do think that for a player like Pat Bryant it may just be a closer decision making that call than it is for a guaranteed high round draft choice, as PFF now has him listed as a mid 4th round pick.
I’m well aware, man. Doesn’t change anything about what I said.
Plus he could get a gigantic insurance policy that pays off big if he gets hurt in the bowl game.
It's up to Pat though obviously and I'm good with whatever he decides to do.
And if Pat plays, who could justify not playing? I’m impressed by Pat’s standing by his teammates who worked hard during the season.Luke’s take on unity and loyalty and Bielma in the postgame video are recruiting mantras. Illinois FamILLy is not just a token motto; it’s the basis for the entire football team culture. In addition, I love Luke’s take on the SEC, which is both impressive and aggressive at the same time: “We ain’t gonna be afraid to play anybody!” I’m hoping that these awesome feelings and lifetime memories keep Luke at Illinois next year…
I know a lot of people say that bowls that don’t lead to a national championship are useless. Not so. Otherwise, when are there realistic nonconference games? The buy games? No, these end-of-season games with relative parity mean a lot more. I’d rather see more than fewer.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
I disagree that star players sit. Rules need to change - if you’re getting paid NIL you should be required to play.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
For CFP games where they are playing for championship, I agree. The non-CFP bowl games have become glorified celebratory exhibition games. Could you imagine requiring a star player to play in the Motor City Toilet Bowl?
For non-CFP bowl games, I want the players to do what is best for them. If they decide to play, great; if they decide to sit out, more playing time for players they will be playing next year. The bowl practices are almost more valuable in some senses than the game itself.
Nah, the end game should be putting guys in the league or at least off to a better start in real life than they would have had without college athletics and an experience at U of I.
School isn't the end game for these kids.
With NIL and the fact players like Pat are getting paid decent $$$ right now, I wonder if playing in a bowl will be less of a hard pass for the future NFL guys.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Isn't it 0-6? The graphic BTN had on in the bar before we went in said they were 0-5 at Wrigley. The loss Saturday would have made them 0-6.
I don’t know - Mendenhall made a ton of money from his Rose Bowl game- seeing him run away from the USC defense put a spotlight on him that wasn’t there before
I think the same could happen for PB playing an SEC school and doing well. Big games against good teams will definitely sway scouts minds- it just does.
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