Illinois 38, Rutgers 17 POSTGAME

#76      

JoeJ

J
JoeJ
Happy we won and have won more than two games. It is not mocking if you have not done it recently. 700 days is a long time. I have added 2 grandchildren in the meantime.

Thought Bush looked awful right at the start, but he got a little bit of rhythm and looked better than MJ, and he can run. Glad to have MJ in reserve. Granted we could of looked a lotbetter, but when couldn't you have said about Illini football. We actually won a Big Ten game, and could have shut it off with 5 minutes plus left confident in a victory! Anyone reading this probably left it on for the entirety. Let's beat Purdue!

GO ILLINI!
 
#79      

FT35

FT35
Naperville
FT35
For those who are underwhelmed by this win, what were you expecting? We got outplayed and barely beat Kent State in the season opener. If there was a time to be undewhelmed or angry, it was then.

What difference does it make if we won by 21 or 38 points? That's a beating of a P5 team on the road that is pretty close to us in terms of talent. 247 sports released a breakdown of talent by roster in terms of their recruiting ratings and we are one spot ahead of Rutgers:

https://247sports.com/Season/2018-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/

Regardless of what is going on a Rutgers, it's not a talent issue. They aren't even as young as we are. I would think part of the issue is that they've gone back and forth between Pro Style and Spread offenses in the past three years with three different OCs. This doesn't explain why they are so bad on defense, since Ash is a defensive guy, but they managed to stay with a touchdown of IU.

Also, the criticisms of AJ are odd. There's a reason why he's at his 4th college in 5 years and this was just the third start of his career. Again, not sure what you are expecting? All the criticisms of him in terms of passing are valid, but there's a reason why he failed at Nebraska, Iowa Western and Virginia Tech. There are obvious problems but it's blatantly obvious that he adds a dimension to this offense that is very much needed. I'm also beyond thrilled that he had no TOs yesterday. It's been three years since a QB led us to 38 points against anyone.

If we had better WRs, I'd roll with MJ, but we don't. The OL also appears to be a bit better at run blocking as opposed to pass protection.

Arizona was third in the country in rushing last year so Rod's offense works best with a more mobile QB. MJ has played about as well as can be expected and hasn't really done much wrong. It's just the system and the lack of playmakers at WR that limit what he can do. He'll have plenty of opportunities in the future.
 
#82      

220Illini

2
220Illini
I liked how we dialed up more blitzed yesterday. That was something that was talked about a great deal in the pre game thread and we definitely blitzed more than usual.

We have such a weakness in our MLB's pass coverage. I know DelShawn has 3INTS. That doesn't mean he's good in pass coverege. He and Hanson are just too slow. A certain Trinity Catholic linebacker might help with our speed at that position.
 
#84      

BD mil

B
BD mil
The question I have is how bad was Rutgers. Your back looked like tony Dorsett. Is he that fast or did they have low talent for the MAC
 
#85      

FiveStar

F
FiveStar
I’m happy that the breakdown confirmed holding as much as I swear I saw it on tv.
 
#86      

MadSeason

MadSeason
MadSeason
BD mil said:
The question I have is how bad was Rutgers. Your back looked like tony Dorsett. Is he that fast or did they have low talent for the MAC
Click to expand...

Both. Rutgers is bad but Corbin is really good too. 87 yds against Penn ST and 98 against South Florida.
 
#87      

BD mil

B
BD mil
MadSeason said:
Both. Rutgers is bad but Corbin is really good too. 87 yds against Penn ST and 98 against South Florida.
Click to expand...

He needs more. I’ll tell you how our defense is gonna come out.. just like Khalil Tate and Arizona. They’ll spy the QB play the run all the way and dare your QB to pass all day.

But yeah he looks like a good one
 
#88      

MadSeason

MadSeason
MadSeason
BD mil said:
He needs more. I’ll tell you how our defense is gonna come out.. just like Khalil Tate and Arizona. They’ll spy the QB play the run all the way and dare your QB to pass all day.

But yeah he looks like a good one
Click to expand...

Oh sorry I was talking about our running back, but our QB has some jets too. I 100% agree with you, that I think Purdue will load the box and make us beat them through the air.
 
#89      

BWBW

BWBW
BWBW
FiveStar said:
I’m happy that the breakdown confirmed holding as much as I swear I saw it on tv.
Click to expand...

Too bad the officials didn't see all the holding. I hope they see all the Purdue holding
 
#91      

breadman

B
Herndon, VA
breadman
One of these days Carmoni is going to hold onto one of those long passes. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
 
#92      

Deleted member 533939

D
Guest
Deleted member 533939
Regardless of whether or not Carmoni catches one pass, AJ was not impressive throwing the ball. And on that pass, AJ should have thrown it way earlier.
 
#93      

Double ACL

D
Double ACL
Great to see this victory. I think it is the first sign to show that this program has turned the corner.
 
#94      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
BD mil said:
The question I have is how bad was Rutgers. Your back looked like tony Dorsett. Is he that fast or did they have low talent for the MAC
Click to expand...

I've seen some Big Ten teams that just didn't have any good players, or didn't really have any sort of a plan of what to do (Illinois has been down both of those roads), but I'm not sure I've ever seen a more disinterested Big Ten team than that Rutgers bunch. I'd be calling for Ash's head if I were a Rutgers fan, that's a team that is rendering a very clear verdict on their coach.
 
#95      

drew306

D
drew306
[No jinx] AJ hasn't thrown a pick. Of course he's not the best pure passer, but oh my god does his mobility make a difference. About 3-4 times yesterday he avoided a sack in situation where, without naming names, a couple of our recent QBs would have gone down and probably fumbled as well.
 
#96      

Hoppy2105

H
Little Rock, Arkansas
Hoppy2105
Chief86 said:
Regardless of whether or not Carmoni catches one pass, AJ was not impressive throwing the ball. And on that pass, AJ should have thrown it way earlier.
Click to expand...

He definitely holds on to the ball a bit long, but that was an incredibly catchable ball that Green dropped.

Plus the back shoulder pass to Smalling for the TD was right on the money. I’d say that was impressive.
 
#97      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Deleted member 29907
FT35 said:
For those who are underwhelmed by this win, what were you expecting? We got outplayed and barely beat Kent State in the season opener. If there was a time to be undewhelmed or angry, it was then.

What difference does it make if we won by 21 or 38 points? That's a beating of a P5 team on the road that is pretty close to us in terms of talent. 247 sports released a breakdown of talent by roster in terms of their recruiting ratings and we are one spot ahead of Rutgers:

https://247sports.com/Season/2018-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/

Regardless of what is going on a Rutgers, it's not a talent issue. They aren't even as young as we are. I would think part of the issue is that they've gone back and forth between Pro Style and Spread offenses in the past three years with three different OCs. This doesn't explain why they are so bad on defense, since Ash is a defensive guy, but they managed to stay with a touchdown of IU.

Also, the criticisms of AJ are odd. There's a reason why he's at his 4th college in 5 years and this was just the third start of his career. Again, not sure what you are expecting? All the criticisms of him in terms of passing are valid, but there's a reason why he failed at Nebraska, Iowa Western and Virginia Tech. There are obvious problems but it's blatantly obvious that he adds a dimension to this offense that is very much needed. I'm also beyond thrilled that he had no TOs yesterday. It's been three years since a QB led us to 38 points against anyone.

If we had better WRs, I'd roll with MJ, but we don't. The OL also appears to be a bit better at run blocking as opposed to pass protection.

Arizona was third in the country in rushing last year so Rod's offense works best with a more mobile QB. MJ has played about as well as can be expected and hasn't really done much wrong. It's just the system and the lack of playmakers at WR that limit what he can do. He'll have plenty of opportunities in the future.
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I for one am happy with the progress. But, I don't recall AJ failing at Nebraska and Tech - rather he was a bad fit at Nebraska and just had tough competition at Tech for starter.... and if we were not at the point of trying to win games this year I might be more inclined to help build MJ for next year - but for now, while he throws a good ball, he still has alot to learn and this is not the year to wait on him.
 
#98      

220Illini

2
220Illini
Going back through the game thread makes me happy I don't post in there during games. Within 8 minutes of game time some of ya'll would have had to be talked off a ledge. One mistake and people have "seen enough" of AJ. That must be the same crowd I see in all of Jeremy Werner's twitter replies. Highlight of this past week was a poster suggesting putting MJ out there on passing downs and AJ on running downs as if that is an innovative strategy for success that nobody would pick up on. Oh well. All of the pregame and postgame talk is usually quality, though.
 
#99      

BexleyIllini

B
BexleyIllini
Second and Chalmers said:
I've seen some Big Ten teams that just didn't have any good players, or didn't really have any sort of a plan of what to do (Illinois has been down both of those roads), but I'm not sure I've ever seen a more disinterested Big Ten team than that Rutgers bunch. I'd be calling for Ash's head if I were a Rutgers fan, that's a team that is rendering a very clear verdict on their coach.
Click to expand...

Ash's contract runs through 2022 (http://www.dailytargum.com/article/2017/11/rutgers-football-chris-ash-5-year-contract-extension). Not sure if a school like Rutgers can afford to buy him out even if the fans want him out. I think they're going to stink for a long while.
 
#100      

ILL_INI

ILL_INI
ILL_INI
It kind of sucks that Illinois didn't score a touchdown on every possession and three and out Rutgers on each of their possessions. Maybe they can do better against Purdue. Ohio State beat Indiana by 23, so the 21 point win is kind of a disappointment.