Houser helps out himself on that count also. Got out of the grasp a couple of times of would be tackles for sacks and gets the ball out quicker. Including a throw away to avoid a sack instead of hanging on to it trying to make a play when nothing was available. That was one of the weaknesses of Luke's game, he took a lot of sacks hanging on to it too long and not just chucking it out of bounds.
Illinois 42, UAB 23 Postgame
What did folks think of X? Did they avoid throwing his way?
I believe that he was also open on the 2nd TD to Dixon and could have easily been the one to score.
Looking back, if the first guy to get to the ball carrier is able to wrap up and either bring him down or at least hold on long enough for the cavalry to arrive, even half the time, this game is closer to 49-10. So that's something. Problems seem more execution than scheme.
Feel like defense will improve but have to continue to work on getting pressure and making those tackles. Offense will have to carry the team but man looks like we have a good on at QB1. Offense line has to be consistent with push as well for the running game but I think we will have a good team. Excited to have football back! ILL
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
I had a feeling they didn't want to put too much of our TE actions on film.
He was out there quite a bit. At least 2 plays in the red zone it looked like he was the first read for Hauser but was well covered. 0 targets on the night though.
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
Yes, and then Abney was wide open on the 2nd read but KH just tucked it.
but at least we are putting pressure on the QB...something i do not remember much of last year. Even with a stud Edge rusher.
lol this is what they showed when the Houser hail mary was completed
TheFlyingIllini1317
- Chicago, IL
Hopefully we tackle a lot better as the season goes on, saw we hardly did in camp. I did see some things I like from the defense, tho. Most of their pass plays came against a young Ty Cox, and they didn't even try to throw at X or Juice.
I'd love this defense if we this was Beerman's senior year and we had some guys up front better at holding the point of attack. Little worried they had so many yards while they didn't even bother throwing at two of our db's. Maybe Brown coming back helps, and I think we need Platt back. Would get this offense into a higher gear, little slot production yesterday. BEAT DUKE!
I'd love this defense if we this was Beerman's senior year and we had some guys up front better at holding the point of attack. Little worried they had so many yards while they didn't even bother throwing at two of our db's. Maybe Brown coming back helps, and I think we need Platt back. Would get this offense into a higher gear, little slot production yesterday. BEAT DUKE!
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
That was a very well designed & executed play. Feagin went to the corner on a wheel route type of route & Dixon on the slant underneath that. And then Houser laced the throw in there. Good stuff.
blackdog
- Champaign
The side to side ILL-INI has been dead for years. No idea what happened but it seems like nobody wants to start the ILL part
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Thoughts on the Defense etc....
-I imagine our scheme was very vanilla (especially early). First game in new system against a winnable opponent screams being very basic.
-The first down D got a little better as the game went on.
-The UAB QB made a few big play throws under extreme pressure. Props to him.
-Will the 3-3-5 scheme work? Time will tell. And TBH, you have to have some level of talent sufficient for the scheme you run regardless of what that scheme is. 3 man fronts & 4 man fronts have both won at high levels of football in college & pro. The key is having enough personnel of quality for what you try to do.
-I kind of like the concept of trying to skin the cat a different way than everyone else. Even in our wildest dreams we aren't gonna get talent on par with the OSU's & Bamas of the world. If we thing a different scheme allows us a chance to recruit to that scheme with more "gettable" high end talent then it could prove a great move in the long term. Sort of like the teams that were the earliest to move to the mobile QB spread offenses in the 90's. Some of those early adpoters had a tactical advantage for a # of years where they could punch above their weight class cause they were running schemes that people weren't familiar with & didn't see very often. That levels out over time but can be a way to advance the brand if it works out.
-For all the D didn't do, the team did not make the "fatal mistakes" that a Zook, Beckman, Turner, etc team would have. We made UAB actually score the points they got. No freebies. Also very few penalties & no turnovers. Win the games in the margins as Bret likes to say. There is value to that. As long as Bret is here, IMO he has earned an inherent trust that he knows what the heck he is doing. He's proven to be a very good coach. He knows how to win games & instill a winning culture. It ain't always pretty but he seems to know how to find a way. I'll back that guy til proven otherwise.
-The program is objectively light years ahead of where it was say 10 years ago. The atmosphere is improved. Fans more engaged & invested. The scoreboard & in game experience is high level. A LOT of foundational work has been done. The work remains to improve the talent across the board to take a leap from being a decent/good team to one that can go toe to toe with the big dogs & sometimes beat them.
-I imagine our scheme was very vanilla (especially early). First game in new system against a winnable opponent screams being very basic.
-The first down D got a little better as the game went on.
-The UAB QB made a few big play throws under extreme pressure. Props to him.
-Will the 3-3-5 scheme work? Time will tell. And TBH, you have to have some level of talent sufficient for the scheme you run regardless of what that scheme is. 3 man fronts & 4 man fronts have both won at high levels of football in college & pro. The key is having enough personnel of quality for what you try to do.
-I kind of like the concept of trying to skin the cat a different way than everyone else. Even in our wildest dreams we aren't gonna get talent on par with the OSU's & Bamas of the world. If we thing a different scheme allows us a chance to recruit to that scheme with more "gettable" high end talent then it could prove a great move in the long term. Sort of like the teams that were the earliest to move to the mobile QB spread offenses in the 90's. Some of those early adpoters had a tactical advantage for a # of years where they could punch above their weight class cause they were running schemes that people weren't familiar with & didn't see very often. That levels out over time but can be a way to advance the brand if it works out.
-For all the D didn't do, the team did not make the "fatal mistakes" that a Zook, Beckman, Turner, etc team would have. We made UAB actually score the points they got. No freebies. Also very few penalties & no turnovers. Win the games in the margins as Bret likes to say. There is value to that. As long as Bret is here, IMO he has earned an inherent trust that he knows what the heck he is doing. He's proven to be a very good coach. He knows how to win games & instill a winning culture. It ain't always pretty but he seems to know how to find a way. I'll back that guy til proven otherwise.
-The program is objectively light years ahead of where it was say 10 years ago. The atmosphere is improved. Fans more engaged & invested. The scoreboard & in game experience is high level. A LOT of foundational work has been done. The work remains to improve the talent across the board to take a leap from being a decent/good team to one that can go toe to toe with the big dogs & sometimes beat them.
Really nice opening game for Houser, I counted two passes that he would have wanted back (second one ended up being a defensive penalty that lead to his rushing TD, so he made up for it). Dixon looked ready for a big role. Passing game generally looked sharp as hoped for.
I was disappointed in the rushing attack. It started great, 82 yards on the first 4 carries, including Valentine's huge TD run. The rest of the game was 68 yards on 22 carries. That's not good enough against UAB. It was especially noticable in short yardage and other likely running situations. When we start backed up on our own two-yard line, runs for 1, -1, and 6 then punt. Next drive, 3rd and 3, we only get 2, then stuffed on 4th down. We did pick up a couple of 3rd and shorts on the opening drive of the third quarter, credit there. But then more struggles on the next drive, stuffed on 3rd and 1 before BARELY picking up the 4th down.
The good news is that Lunney clearly has experience using the passing attack to help unlock the rushing attack. But it feels like the same issues we have been seeing over and over again for several years now.
I was disappointed in the rushing attack. It started great, 82 yards on the first 4 carries, including Valentine's huge TD run. The rest of the game was 68 yards on 22 carries. That's not good enough against UAB. It was especially noticable in short yardage and other likely running situations. When we start backed up on our own two-yard line, runs for 1, -1, and 6 then punt. Next drive, 3rd and 3, we only get 2, then stuffed on 4th down. We did pick up a couple of 3rd and shorts on the opening drive of the third quarter, credit there. But then more struggles on the next drive, stuffed on 3rd and 1 before BARELY picking up the 4th down.
The good news is that Lunney clearly has experience using the passing attack to help unlock the rushing attack. But it feels like the same issues we have been seeing over and over again for several years now.
Katin Houser's 4 incompletions: 2 drops and 2 throw aways.
Really a flawless debut.
Really a flawless debut.
The north end zone is what happened.
No, this issue predates the new audio and visual improvements. The stadium was about as dead as it could be whenever the scoreboard videos and the animations weren’t playing. The student section kicked !!!, nearly everyone else in the stadium was dead. I had a really great time as far as all of the stadium improvements, but as far as the fans, it was one of my most disappointing stadium experiences ever.
A big concern of mine was our short yardage situations, RB seem to find no holes or creases. I missed most of 4th quarter do to travel. Was a big back like J. Anderson involved at all ?
Glad to see BTN has matured in quality for their 20th season on the air
The chant works significantly better when it is bouncing between the East and West sidelines than when it is bouncing between the students and everyone else. The dimensions of the stadium and the speed of sound make it very difficult for fans sitting in the horseshoe to chant in unison with fans sitting on the sidelines in the north end zone. Ultimately, I think moving Block I out of the East stands has led to 20 years of mediocre ILL - INI chants.
Use the giant board to prompt it side by side instead of the PA announcer leading
Why? We haven’t been to 3 straight bowl games in over 30 years.
