Boy it must be nice to not only have all the talent in the world, but also be incredibly lucky with injuries.
Illinois at Ohio State, Saturday, September 26th, 11:00am CT, FOX
I don’t remember Logan Farrell getting hurt again. I’m guessing we see Daniel Brown and Matelau. Hopefully Dez is also good to go we need the depth
I loved Mike White, but he had to go - he was a walking rules violation.Dream last night, It was 1980 and Dave Wilson went crazy in Columbus OH. We lost 49-42. Watch at 16:31 Wilson hits Mike Martin deep, he has a clear path on the OSU 20 yard line but gets stripped by OSU defender. I knew we had something with Mike White. Never should have fired him.
Drive-Thru: Illinois at Ohio State (1980)
Drive-Thru highlights a classic against the Illini. Dave Wilson had an NCAA then-record 621 yards passing for Illinois, but Ohio State won 49-42.www.elevenwarriors.com
And that's with a big conference payout that helps balance spend. The arms race and lack of a cap are going to change the competitive landscape.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Fighter Jr. is 3? No way! Time flies. Enjoy your throwback Saturday!I'm choosing to go into this weekend with a positive outlook! My wife will be at a bachelorette party, and my mother in law has begged to take Little Fighter (will be three in December!) to her house for the weekend. So, while I'll miss the hell out of both of them ... my Saturday will be a bit of a throwback to my pre-marriage and pre-dad days.Got my TV setup going on our back deck, and I'll be posting up to watch our guys try to shock the world, and I'll head to the bars with a buddy of mine for the 2:30 pm slate!
Anyway, the point is I will go in with low expectations, eternal hope and will not get mad if / when we lose. However, this got me thinking ... win or lose, what were the times in my Illini football fandom lifetime where we gave a shockingly good performance vs. an elite team? Just eyeballing things since circa 2006 when I truly started watching every game as an eight grader, I identified the following games where I was NOT expecting us to compete and (again, win OR lose) we rose to the occasion. I'll once again reiterate that these are supposed to be "extreme" examples analogous to us heading to OSU this weekend ... I fully expected us to compete at PSU in 2024, for example. It is also obviously relative to fan expectations.
Anyway, here's my list, along with the Sports Reference links in case someone who is more of a football guru than I am could identify some type of pattern.
2006 - L 10-17 vs. #1 Ohio State
2007 - W 28-21 at #1 Ohio State
2010 - L 13-24 vs. #2 Ohio State
2019 - W 24-23 vs. #6 Wisconsin
2021 - W 20-18 (9 OT) at #7 Penn State
2022 - L 17-19 at #3 Michigan
So, setting aside things that would NOT be relevant as inspiration for this year's team (e.g., alleging that our 2022 team was just more talented or that 2021 PSU turned out to be overrated, etc.) ... what do we have to do to look like we belong on the same field as OSU on Saturday? Just skimming these games individually...
2006 - L 10-17 vs. #1 Ohio State
- Our offense only turned it over twice, below our season average of 2.9 per game.
- Our defense held OSU to 224 yards of offense vs. their season average of 385 yards per game.
2007 - W 28-21 at #1 Ohio State
- The obvious one is that Juice threw for 4 passing touchdowns, whereas he only averaged 1 per game.
- Our defense nabbed 3 turnovers from OSU, well above their season average of 1.7 per game.
2010 - L 13-24 vs. #2 Ohio State
- Some might be surprised this is on the list, but I very much remember this being talked about on other teams' message boards and a sort of statement that Illinois might actually be good. OSU never led by more than 4 points until we failed to stop a Buckeyes TD with just 1:49 left to put the game out of reach. We had them on the ropes. Anyway...
- We held OSU to 290 yards of offense compared to their season average of 449.
- On the same note, we held OSU to 16 first downs compared to their season average of 22 per game.
2019 - W 24-23 vs. #6 Wisconsin
- Other than the absolutely horrendous clock management by Wisconsin that even gave us a shot at the end, our defense forcing 3 turnovers was the biggest factor (Wisconsin averaged 1.6 per game).
2021 - W 20-18 (9 OT) at #7 Penn State
- Our defense was able to hold PSU's offense to 227 yards compared to their average of 376 per game.
- Even more importantly, we look to have shut down PSU's run game (allowing just 62 rushing yards vs. their average of 108 per game). This is likely what allowed us to "muck up" the game and hang around, allowing our guys to make the big plays late to steal the upset.
2022 - L 17-19 at #3 Michigan
- This was just a really hard-fought game between two very good teams playing tough football, and I have no problem saying that Michigan pretty much pulled it out because of that awful call.
- With that said, our defense showed up. McCarthy had a completion percentage of 65% that year, and we held him below 53%. Michigan's rushing attack averaged 239 yards per game, and we held them to 168. Michigan averaged less than 1 turnover per game, and we managed to turn them over.
TL;DR
If you agree with my list, it seems they divide up into these broad categories as the biggest factors for why we exceeded expectations as big underdogs. Obviously some of these results combine these factors, but I am trying to generalize.
1) Our defense turned in such a good performance that we could dictate how the game was played and hang around all game.
- 2006 - L 10-17 vs. #1 Ohio State
- 2010 - L 13-24 vs. #2 Ohio State
- 2021 - W 20-18 (9 OT) at #7 Penn State
- 2022 - L 17-19 at #3 Michigan
2) We had an exceptionally good offensive performance put us over the edge.
- 2007 - W 28-21 at #1 Ohio State
3) We relied on turning our opponent over to steal a win.
- 2019 - W 24-23 vs. #6 Wisconsin
So ... what's our path to a respectable performance? I feel like it unfortunately HAS to begin and end with the defense putting forth the type of performance we had no idea they were capable of. And that would almost certainly mean Houser is having a hell of a game, both keeping the defense off of the field and giving the defense some confidence / urgency to compete in what is still a close game. Anyone else have any paths to a miracle??
Regarding a pattern v. OSU in the past 50 years, can't beat the 1983-94 period:
1983 - Illini 17 - OSU 13 - first win v. OSU since 1967 / first win v. OSU at home since 1966
1985 - Illini 31 - OSU 28
1988 - Illini 31 - OSU 12 (@ Columbus) - first win @ OSU since 1967
1989 - Illini 34 - OSU 14
1990 - Illini 31 - OSU 20 (@ Columbus)
1991 - Illini 10 - OSU 7
1992 - Illini 18 - OSU 16 (@ Columbus)
1994 - Illini 24 - OSU 10 (@ Columbus)
Four straight wins at The 'Shoe, the first two of which I had the pleasure of attending. Those were the days.
Then there was the epic 1980 game when Dave Wilson slung the pigskin for 621 yards and 6 TDs. Down 28-0, the Illini roared back and lost 49-42. That was the day when Big Ten football entered the modern era. Buckeye fans, who had never seen anything remotely close to that passing game, gave the Illini a standing ovation as they exited the field.
I may watch this Saturday morning before any games start. BTW, Ohio State was ranked #7 that day as well. 621 yards is still the record at Ohio Stadium.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I believe that 621 is still the record in the Big Ten by a wide margin. Somewhere at home I have a PDF of an old NCAA record book. Wilson outstripped the existing NCAA record, IIRC, by ~100-150 yards at least. At the time it was an earthquake in the game, particularly in the BT. Before then, you had BT QBs averaging at most just under 200 ypg. Mark Hermann of Purdue came along in the late '70s and was the first to really rack up yards averaging in the high 200s per game under Jim Young and Leon Burtnett (Jim Everett came along several yrs after Hermann at QB IIRC and was prolific, too).
Even Woody and Bo, beginning to use the pass more, had QBs only averaging in the low 100s per game in the late '70s.
Mike White's offense using Dave, Tony Eason and then Jack Trudeau, and Purdue's under Young and Burtnett, were pioneering IIRC. Those QBs (Illini and Boilers) led the conference in passing for the better part of a decade.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I remember hearing when I was in junior high that Illinois has won "7 of its last 10 in Columbus," and I could NOT believe that was true. However...
2007 - W 28-21 at #1 Ohio State
2005 - L 2-40 at #12 Ohio State
2001 - W 34-22 at #25 Ohio State
1999 - W 46-20 at #25 Ohio State
1997 - L 15-41 at #4 Ohio State
1995 - L 3-41 at #2 Ohio State
1994 - W 24-10 at #17 Ohio State
1992 - W 18-16 at #21 Ohio State
1990 - W 31-20 at #20 Ohio State
1988 - W 31-12 at Ohio State
It's easy to forget since we have now lost 10 straight to OSU and haven't beaten them since the 2007 upset, but we were historically a huge thorn in their side, and I believe we still have the most wins vs. them of any team not named Michigan. In the two decades from 1988 to 2007, the rivalry was 9-9, and several of our losses were incredibly good and close games (3-point loss in 2000, 2OT loss in 2002, had #1 OSU on the ropes in 2006, etc.). Obviously we never rivaled their prestige as a program overall, but it was a genuinely good series. And then since 2007, we really only played them tough once, the aforementioned 2010 loss at home. It would be lovely to even just give them a scare on Saturday!!
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Dude... I was 22 months old when they won in Columbus in '67, and 22 years old when they finally won there again in '88. That was a long a$$ drought.
Apologies for the multiple postings concerning that 1980 game; however, it's important IMO that the young ones (that means you, Fighter!!) realize how important that game was, not only to our program, but to college football.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I grew up pretty much my whole fandom life being jealous of you guys getting to witness the 1980s as Illini fans, so I can only imagine! So thankful that the Whitman Era has restored our athletic department to respectability, because MAN was the Mike Thomas stretch depressing...Dude... I was 22 months old when they won in Columbus in '67, and 22 years old when they finally won there again in '88. That was a long a$$ drought.
Apologies for the multiple postings concerning that 1980 game; however, it's important IMO that the young ones (that means you, Fighter!!) realize how important that game was, not only to our program, but to college football.
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
He'd fit right in today. RIP
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
When it originated in the 1920s the Buckini was considered much too risque to wear in public.Anyone know why it was named Illibuck instead of Buckini???
I'll see myself out.
The Sprouting Divot
Invisible and Bulletproof
- Miracle Mile
In the 1920s, the word "bikini" was not atoll used in the same way that it's most commonly used today.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
However, it was not thong before its meaning was transformed.
So was Bo. But he was evil enough to project his guilt onto White. It succeeded, White left, and Bo and his team doctor went to commit malfeasance of the highest order. And he got a statue too! #Boknew
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Last time we won at every (pre-West Coast addition) Big Ten stadium.
2025 - Purdue
2024 - Rutgers
2024 - Nebraska
2023 - Minnesota
2023 - Maryland
2022 - Northwestern* (also beat them at Wrigley in 2024)
2022 - Wisconsin
2021 - Penn State
2019 - Michigan State
2011 - Indiana
2008 - Michigan
2007 - Ohio State
1999 - Iowa
The Iowa one really hurts, lol ... but OSU is our second longest drought. Would be so epic if we snapped that streak!
2025 - Purdue
2024 - Rutgers
2024 - Nebraska
2023 - Minnesota
2023 - Maryland
2022 - Northwestern* (also beat them at Wrigley in 2024)
2022 - Wisconsin
2021 - Penn State
2019 - Michigan State
2011 - Indiana
2008 - Michigan
2007 - Ohio State
1999 - Iowa
The Iowa one really hurts, lol ... but OSU is our second longest drought. Would be so epic if we snapped that streak!
I think the only real chance we have of competing is Hauck's defensive plan holding up. Back in Montana they call him "Big Game Bobby" and it wasn't because he had a great record in big games.