Illinois 48, Southern Illinois 10 Postgame

#28      
i get the criticisms but to gently push back.....Houser threw to 7 different receivers today, 3 TEs had receptions and trimble/Clement both had 5 catches.

the pick was terrible and big ten defenses are going to sell out on Dixon but i actually thought he did a better job of distributing today
 
#31      
I dont think there are any redshirts anymore. Only 5 years to play 5. Besides the obvious, the leg drive and yards after contact is super impressive as a freshman. Can only imagine he's going to get a lot better. You can tell he's extremely hard to tackle so thats exciting.

The thing about it is, you have Alexis coming in next season with that same type of size at 6'0, 220+ but even more explosive with a 4.4 40. You can already imagine them running all over the B1G but I'm still interested to see them do that this year.


By the way I'm really hoping Dixon continues this pace. Another 2-3 TDs vs OSU would put the rest of the nation who is still sleep on notice. He'll be in his home state as well so should be interesting.
I imagine Ohio State will make it a priority to lock Dixon down. Hopefully we can keep that from happening.
 
#33      
i get the criticisms but to gently push back.....Houser threw to 7 different receivers today, 3 TEs had receptions and trimble/Clement both had 5 catches.

the pick was terrible and big ten defenses are going to sell out on Dixon but i actually thought he did a better job of distributing today

That was 100% by design. The pick he threw, he looked Dixon's way three times prior to the snap and forced it between three guys when then underneath was wide open. I felt he was forcing it to get Dixon a touchdown, but 88 was probably scoring on a decent throw.
 
#35      
I imagine Ohio State will make it a priority to lock Dixon down. Hopefully we can keep that from happening.


That’s what Duke did in the 2nd half. Dixon has played great but we can’t just lock in on him. On the int stoffel was wide open and would’ve scored. Dixon needs the ball as much as possible but don’t force it into triple coverage
 
#36      
Great observation. He's locked in on Dixon every play. SIU isn't capable of taking it away. Duke, in the second half, was. Every team we play from here on our will be able to. It's easy enough to just shade a safety over. Now, if it's a matter of none of our other receivers being able to create separation......that's a whole different problem.

Hopefully platt is back soon.
 
#37      
Production over salaries at this point. Barnett will reap the rewards next season. Gotta play him to keep him here because I'm pretty sure other programs will see the same things we just did.

100%. They are stuck paying the salaries regardless of how much guys make. The best players need to be on the field. We paid Terrance Brooks a lot of money and he sat on the bench
 
#38      
Hopefully platt is back soon.
I'm hoping his speed and Houser's arm can give us some explosive plays and take some of the attention off of Dixon.

Is Valentine banged up? He has looked a little hesitant (but just calling plays up the middle for him isn't helping..). I was hoping that toss to him near the goal line would get him going, alas.

I hate to say it, but let's enjoy Barnett now. He looked great today. My cynical take is that the players are auditioning for their new teams and highest paycheck next year with little loyalty. I don't blame them, but it makes it hard to get too excited for our Illini next year or worry about splitting time with incoming players.
 
#39      
"Get Collin Dixon a TD, defense show some improvement, no injuries, and lots of backups getting second half reps. I really, really want this score to be a very lopsided. Illinois hasn't scored 50+ in regulation since 2018 Minnesota."


Almost a clean sweep on my wishlist.
 
#40      
I'm hoping his speed and Houser's arm can give us some explosive plays and take some of the attention off of Dixon.

Is Valentine banged up? He has looked a little hesitant (but just calling plays up the middle for him isn't helping..). I was hoping that toss to him near the goal line would get him going, alas.

I hate to say it, but let's enjoy Barnett now. He looked great today. My cynical take is that the players are auditioning for their new teams and highest paycheck next year with little loyalty. I don't blame them, but it makes it hard to get too excited for our Illini next year or worry about splitting time with incoming players.

Valentine still looks thin and he doesn’t break tackles. He looked really hesitant to hit the hole today. Laughery will hit the hole but with his injury history you have to be careful to limit his touches.
 
#41      
I probably missed this but did Laughery get hurt during the game?
 
#44      
Mac's missing confidence on returning punts and probably thinking too much about where he should be on defense. If he ain't running on instincts we need to see next man up
 
#45      
Let's use the OSU game as a clinic; work on things that need work. If we come back home at 2-2, that's okay. We start a new season beginning with Purdue. Other than Oregon, we're capable we're capable of beating all the other teams on the schedule.
 
#46      
Houser is a terrific passer, but as others have said, he needs to get other receivers involved more. We've got potentially good tight ends; he needs to find 'em.
 
#49      
The Illini played a pretty good game overall. The offense seem to click, made some big play, passing game was good, running was fair. The defense, learned how to tackle and stopped the running game although SIU passing game made some big plays. Now that I have said all that this came against a weaker opponent. The real test for Mr. Hauck's defense will be tested over and over next week against a much better team in the Buckeyes. With a great effort the Illini can make it respectable. Time will tell.
 
#50      
I was thinking BEFORE the game yesterday that what Bielema's Wisconsin teams were famous for were road grader offensive linemen and bull-rushing running backs. We've really had neither in his tenure here...until yesterday. I loved Chase Brown, but he was a darter, not a pounder.

The linemen are still MIA but Javari Barnett (6'1" 235) sure looked promising. I LOVE the way he runs and think he needs to have 15-20 carries each game. Pounding the rock will further establish the running game, use up the clock and keep our feeble defense off the field. It may be old school, but it's the way that the upper echelon of teams still win.

Now to find those road-graders....
 
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