Illinois 38, Wyoming 6 Postgame

#102      
If attendance is going to improve some effort is going to have to be put into getting people into the stadium in time for the kickoff. There was a block-long line five or six people wide waiting to get into the southeast entrance at the time of the kickoff. There were simply not enough people checking bags and taking tickets. At least 10,000 missed the start of the game and the first touchdown.
 
#103      

DeonThomas

South Carolina
I may have missed it earlier. What was Saturday’s attendance? Upper east side was sparsely populated. Bottom east side looked 65% full. Guessing we did not hit 40,000.

Students alone should get us to 40k each game.
 
#105      
Thought Sitkowski looked good the last 2 series in mop up duty. I think we're lucky to have 2 experienced QBs ready to go.
Eh I am hoping Devito stays healthy. Hoping not to see much of Sitkowski except for in mop up duty/manage the 4th quarter like we did the first game. He managed the game which is the only thing they asked of him. He was 3/3 which is a bit misleading. His throw to Hayden was behind him and Beatty made a great low grab. Neither one were in stride and misplaced. The only one he nailed was the yard shovel pass which Morris took for 11 yards.
 
#106      
Eh I am hoping Devito stays healthy. Hoping not to see much of Sitkowski except for in mop up duty/manage the 4th quarter like we did the first game. He managed the game which is the only thing they asked of him. He was 3/3 which is a bit misleading. His throw to Hayden was behind him and Beatty made a great low grab. Neither one were in stride and misplaced. The only one he nailed was the yard shovel pass which Morris took for 11 yards.
While I agree that DeVito is certainly the better of the two and him remaining healthy is better for the team, I think you’re being a bit unfair to Sitkowski. Yes, his passes weren’t perfect, but they were at least close enough to be caught and were. DeVito had some bad throws too — at least one that I can remember was not catchable. So judging Art on the amount of time he played and with the backups might not be the fairest thing.

Give me DeVito over Sitkowski all day long and we all hope DeVito stays healthy. But in the event that he doesn’t, as the OP says, having an experienced back up is a good thing.
 
#107      
Call me a hater, but other than one nice pass downfield I don't think Devito did anything impressive in that game. Defense and Chase Brown won that game. Averaging 5 Y/A and only getting a couple completions more than 10 yards beyond the LOS is going to be a serious problem against teams with stronger defenses like in B10 play. I wish we could have seen some more designed QB runs or options with Brown so we could get a better sense of Devito's athleticism. So far I didn't see anything that made me think he was better than Peters.
 
#108      
Call me a hater, but other than one nice pass downfield I don't think Devito did anything impressive in that game. Defense and Chase Brown won that game. Averaging 5 Y/A and only getting a couple completions more than 10 yards beyond the LOS is going to be a serious problem against teams with stronger defenses like in B10 play. I wish we could have seen some more designed QB runs or options with Brown so we could get a better sense of Devito's athleticism. So far I didn't see anything that made me think he was better than Peters.
I don't think we were hoping or looking for impressive. What we were looking for was competent. He showed some mobility and got the ball out quickly and ACCURATELY. We definitely were trying to not show our downfield passing game and were more than content to get the ball in hands of playmakers quickly and let them work.
 
#109      
Call me a hater, but other than one nice pass downfield I don't think Devito did anything impressive in that game. Defense and Chase Brown won that game. Averaging 5 Y/A and only getting a couple completions more than 10 yards beyond the LOS is going to be a serious problem against teams with stronger defenses like in B10 play. I wish we could have seen some more designed QB runs or options with Brown so we could get a better sense of Devito's athleticism. So far I didn't see anything that made me think he was better than Peters.
Didn't have to. They aren't going to put stuff on film for other teams to see if they don't have to. Also not going to put the QB in harms way running the ball when they don't need to. His pocket presence is a lot better than BP and he gets the ball out a lot faster than BP did.
 
#110      

blackdog

Champaign
Call me a hater, but other than one nice pass downfield I don't think Devito did anything impressive in that game. Defense and Chase Brown won that game. Averaging 5 Y/A and only getting a couple completions more than 10 yards beyond the LOS is going to be a serious problem against teams with stronger defenses like in B10 play. I wish we could have seen some more designed QB runs or options with Brown so we could get a better sense of Devito's athleticism. So far I didn't see anything that made me think he was better than Peters.
He ran and executed the plays that were called. He threw a really nice sideline pass to Bryant in the hole between corner and safety that we haven't seen in a long time. There was also a really nice seam pass to Reiman that he dropped on the 2nd drive of the game. Really there weren't many opportunities for more because they just didn't call any deep shots or even run many deeper routes at all, mostly because they didn't need to and why give other teams film of those plays.

What he did do was actually go through multiple progressions with good footwork and found open guys on the play. 477 yards total yards, 7-16 on 3rd down, and 0 turnovers are all numbers to feel pretty good about.
 
#111      
Didn't have to. They aren't going to put stuff on film for other teams to see if they don't have to. Also not going to put the QB in harms way running the ball when they don't need to. His pocket presence is a lot better than BP and he gets the ball out a lot faster than BP did.
Yeah that's fair, guess next week will be a big test.
 
#112      
Call me a hater, but other than one nice pass downfield I don't think Devito did anything impressive in that game. Defense and Chase Brown won that game. Averaging 5 Y/A and only getting a couple completions more than 10 yards beyond the LOS is going to be a serious problem against teams with stronger defenses like in B10 play. I wish we could have seen some more designed QB runs or options with Brown so we could get a better sense of Devito's athleticism. So far I didn't see anything that made me think he was better than Peters.
TD's adjusted yards per attempt (3 TDs and 0 INTs) was 6.4, and his 27 for 37 came out to 73%. Yep, about like Peters's numbers, except more completions. DeVito seems to step away from pressure easily and knows how to throw the ball away, so he wasn't sacked. Like you, I want to see him go downfield successfully a few times. I hope we have the receivers to do that; Hightower and Bryant may be the guys. Wish we had Imatorbhebhe.
 
#113      
Call me a hater, but other than one nice pass downfield I don't think Devito did anything impressive in that game. Defense and Chase Brown won that game. Averaging 5 Y/A and only getting a couple completions more than 10 yards beyond the LOS is going to be a serious problem against teams with stronger defenses like in B10 play. I wish we could have seen some more designed QB runs or options with Brown so we could get a better sense of Devito's athleticism. So far I didn't see anything that made me think he was better than Peters.
I think he is better than Peters, but I’m not sold yet that he’s anything more than competent. Granted with the bad run of QBs we’ve had that is something to be celebrated. He did what was asked of him and did it well. I just need to see more than dink and dunk passes against an out manned Wyoming to jump on the bandwagon. But I’m jogging next to it to be in a good position to jump on should I see more positives. Hopefully we see those on Friday night.
 
#114      

jjv0004

Greenville, SC
It's a W but I think you can learn almost nothing from that win. Who actually knows if this team is any good. Wyoming is hot garbage. Indiana will provide answers.
 
#115      
While I agree that DeVito is certainly the better of the two and him remaining healthy is better for the team, I think you’re being a bit unfair to Sitkowski. Yes, his passes weren’t perfect, but they were at least close enough to be caught and were. DeVito had some bad throws too — at least one that I can remember was not catchable. So judging Art on the amount of time he played and with the backups might not be the fairest thing.

Give me DeVito over Sitkowski all day long and we all hope DeVito stays healthy. But in the event that he doesn’t, as the OP says, having an experienced back up is a good thing.
I wasn't rough on Sitkowski at all. The two downfield passes he made were not accurate at all. Hayden and Beatty(backups) made great catches on both those balls. After those two throws he got one shovel pass and that was it. I even said he did a fine job managing the game and that was his role in the game. They were just winding that clock down and that is all that needed to be done. I totally agree it is better having an experienced backup but really hope we don't have to rely on Sitkowski at least this season.

Sitkowski can get us some wins but DeVito has the intangibles and instinct to throw the ball away or escape the pocket. If we rely on Sitkowski to throw the ball 30+ times a game we are in real trouble. DeVito did have some bad throws, going to happen when you throw it 37 times in a game. Same time he also threw a hail mary into the endzone at the end of the half that was incomplete(could have been intercepted and I have no problem with that), threw a few passes away and also had some balls that should have been caught. Like most will say it will depend how he plays during the bigger games but I loved what I saw from DeVito. Peters and Sitkowski were sitting ducks last season that didn't sense when pressure was coming. Sure it will happen with DeVito but I love his ability to get the ball out of his hands or even just throw it away.
 
#116      
... DeVito has the intangibles and instinct to throw the ball away or escape the pocket...

This is also what I saw. Yes small sample size, less talented component, etc, but he always appeared controlled, not sped up.

Yes, the passes were short, and he did miss on a few, but he made more on time on target throws in the game yesterday then I've seen in quite some time.

I love our prior teams, and they definitely fought but Qb play often felt frenetic, reactive, or forced. deVito reliably took what was given (72% on 37 throws! Just check recent yrs game by game completion % for comparison. And yes, caveats still acknowledged)

The entire offensive scheme, while again vanilla, felt much more cohesive as well. I'm excited to see how the team grows this year. It's nice to have more than competent coaching
 
#117      

illini80

Forgottonia
This is also what I saw. Yes small sample size, less talented component, etc, but he always appeared controlled, not sped up.

Yes, the passes were short, and he did miss on a few, but he made more on time on target throws in the game yesterday then I've seen in quite some time.

I love our prior teams, and they definitely fought but Qb play often felt frenetic, reactive, or forced. deVito reliably took what was given (72% on 37 throws! Just check recent yrs game by game completion % for comparison. And yes, caveats still acknowledged)

The entire offensive scheme, while again vanilla, felt much more cohesive as well. I'm excited to see how the team grows this year. It's nice to have more than competent coaching
He definitely was not forcing throws that weren't there. I'm not sure how many times he threw it away, but must have been 3 or 4. That's a good thing.
 
#118      
He definitely was not forcing throws that weren't there. I'm not sure how many times he threw it away, but must have been 3 or 4. That's a good thing.
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#119      
He definitely was not forcing throws that weren't there. I'm not sure how many times he threw it away, but must have been 3 or 4. That's a good thing.
I know it is commonly assumed that this is his last year - but is it? I'm no expert in all of these covid and red shirt rules but isn't there a red shirt rule that says that a year in which you play 4 games or fewer you can receive an extra year? He played only 3 games last year and 4 the year before. He played 12 and 8 in the prior two years. If he plays at least 5 games this year then he will have exceeded the minimum number of games in only 3 out of 5 years. Could he petition for a 6th year??
 
#120      
PFF Grades are up:

Offense
(1) DeVito's game grade against Wyoming is higher than all season grades he received at Syracuse. PFF also says he was miles better throwing to the right side of the field than middle or left.
(2) Lots of good grades for the WRs, nothing standing out. By snap count the top-3 WRs are IW, Bryant, Hightower, (drop) Washington
(3) Very high grades for Reggie Love's three snaps (small sample alert!). Chase's pass block scores were excellent.
(4) Slaughter's scores were better than Crisler but neither was good. Pass blocking was strong across the board. Adams was the best of the bunch for run blocking.

Defense
(1) Run game defensive scores were better than folks would expect after looking at the box score. Some names that stick out - Quan (duh), Rosiek (mop up duty? Played seven snaps), Woods (best of the defense). The bad scores? Holmes and Darkangelo.
(2) Pass rush was underwhelming. Randolph was the best of the bunch.
(3) Not a surprise: Coverage scores were insane.
(3 - continued) Quan with an 89(!!). To provide context: Patrick Surtain II was the top PFF ranked CB going into the '21 draft and had one game that season better than Quan's game grade against Wyoming. This isn't a statement that Quan is at the same talent level or a first round pick but just to provide context that Quan's game grade is NFL draft caliber. A couple more of those and he'll be getting All-B1G buzz.
(3 - continued again) Witherspoon with an 85.2(!) coverage grade. Again, that's an excellent score.
(4) Linebackers had a day to forget. Hoping we see some bounce back against Indiana
This really does match the eye test. I did think this was a banner day for the defense in coverage and the ridiculously high grades align well with my thought that this was the best we've looked in coverage since 2001. Martin and Witherspoon were both dominating their assignments and controlled their sides of the field. And the best part of it was that this performance looked repeatable. If we can get even a decent pass rush out of our front four, opponents are going to really struggle throwing the ball against us. It really bodes well for us if we can get ahead early and force opponents to have to test our secondary to get back in the game.
 
#121      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
This really does match the eye test. I did think this was a banner day for the defense in coverage and the ridiculously high grades align well with my thought that this was the best we've looked in coverage since 2001. Martin and Witherspoon were both dominating their assignments and controlled their sides of the field. And the best part of it was that this performance looked repeatable. If we can get even a decent pass rush out of our front four, opponents are going to really struggle throwing the ball against us. It really bodes well for us if we can get ahead early and force opponents to have to test our secondary to get back in the game.
I never really know what to do with those PFF things, but in broad strokes they match what I saw which was that while we were a bit disappointing in the trenches given the level of opposition, they had no answer for our skill position players on either side of the ball.

Kerby Joseph, Quan Martin, Sydney Brown, Tony Adams and Devon Witherspoon was a heck of a DB unit last year, that's the kind of length and ball hawking we had hoped the Lovie era would lead us to, alas.
 
#122      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
He definitely was not forcing throws that weren't there. I'm not sure how many times he threw it away, but must have been 3 or 4. That's a good thing.
BB mentioned this in his presser .............DeVito will progress as the whole team will in the weeks to follow , but we got a keeper at QB! now.....I haven't felt that way in quite a few years and it feels good..................it really really does......
 
#123      

illini80

Forgottonia
I know it is commonly assumed that this is his last year - but is it? I'm no expert in all of these covid and red shirt rules but isn't there a red shirt rule that says that a year in which you play 4 games or fewer you can receive an extra year? He played only 3 games last year and 4 the year before. He played 12 and 8 in the prior two years. If he plays at least 5 games this year then he will have exceeded the minimum number of games in only 3 out of 5 years. Could he petition for a 6th year??
Good question. I would think so, but hopefully someone with better knowledge will weigh in. Seems like he could have a red shirt year and a covid year so that would give him 6.
 
#124      

illini80

Forgottonia
I never really know what to do with those PFF things, but in broad strokes they match what I saw which was that while we were a bit disappointing in the trenches given the level of opposition, they had no answer for our skill position players on either side of the ball.

Kerby Joseph, Quan Martin, Sydney Brown, Tony Adams and Devon Witherspoon was a heck of a DB unit last year, that's the kind of length and ball hawking we had hoped the Lovie era would lead us to, alas.
#coachingmatters
 
#125      
BB mentioned this in his presser .............DeVito will progress as the whole team will in the weeks to follow , but we got a keeper at QB! now.....I haven't felt that way in quite a few years and it feels good..................it really really does......
It also looked like he was going through his progressions much better and quicker than the other quarterbacks that we have used the last couple of years.