Illinois vs Purdue, Saturday, October 3rd, 3:15pm CT, BTN

#53      
ChiefGritty
illinoistradition said:
Hot take: if we were 3-1, Hauck would not have been fired yesterday. It might have happened eventually, but it would have been harder to do if our only loss was on the road to a team that, without an epic collapse against Texas, would be #1.
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I totally understand this take and it's possible it's true, but I would lean toward the other side of it.

This press conference may give us some greater clarity, but my sense is this is less of a "the defensive performance simply sucks too much, we need a drastic shakeup", and more of a "there are big operational problems internally and there was not alignment between Hauck and BB on what was necessary to fix it".
 
#54      
TheFlyingIllini1317
mhuml32 said:
Nervous Hot Ones GIF by First We Feast
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Nervous because Wake now looks much better than expected, they have a great coach. ND has an elite defense so not taking much away from that one. Still expecting a win based on how our offense looked vs OSU, especially if we get Matelau, Henderson, and Platt back.
 
#57      
Fighter of the Nightman
People hate when you say something hyperbolic about "just one game," but put me in the camp that this is a stand-and-fight, do-or-die situation for this program to some extent. Again, I get that sounds crazy ... and that some wacky scenario could transpire where we lose to Purdue but win out and go 10-3 and everyone is super happy. However, in the context of where we stand TODAY, we simply must not lose this one.

Unlike with basketball and other topics, my approach to being a football fan is much more about "vibes" and broad momentum. Since Bret got here, the only time I could not positively spin a narrative about our program was 2023, and even then I could reason that we barely missed a bowl after losing a ton of talent from the 2022 squad. I can't help but feel that I sort of stand at the precipice here, though. Get to 4-2, and it's easy to feel fine that we got our toughest test out of the way, it didn't go as horribly as it could have and now we are facing forward with potential wins in front of us. Drop to 3-3 by losing to arguably the worst team in the league at home? All of a sudden the emotional high of winning 19 games in the last two seasons before this one seems like a memory that is it at least on its way toward fading.

I think we get back on track, the offense is angry and ready to score, the defense turns in a shockingly good performance and we cruise 31-13.
 
#58      
Ander1345
Bret really thought that after a month of no changes we'd fix not even being able to field 11 players? It doesn't add up. No way Bret wasn't already thinking this after the Duke game.

It might have been a mutual parting, but it was inevitable.
 
#59      
BryceHopkins
Fighter of the Nightman said:
People hate when you say something hyperbolic about "just one game," but put me in the camp that this is a stand-and-fight, do-or-die situation for this program to some extent. Again, I get that sounds crazy ... and that some wacky scenario could transpire where we lose to Purdue but win out and go 10-3 and everyone is super happy. However, in the context of where we stand TODAY, we simply must not lose this one.

Unlike with basketball and other topics, my approach to being a football fan is much more about "vibes" and broad momentum. Since Bret got here, the only time I could not positively spin a narrative about our program was 2023, and even then I could reason that we barely missed a bowl after losing a ton of talent from the 2022 squad. I can't help but feel that I sort of stand at the precipice here, though. Get to 4-2, and it's easy to feel fine that we got our toughest test out of the way, it didn't go as horribly as it could have and now we are facing forward with potential wins in front of us. Drop to 3-3 by losing to arguably the worst team in the league at home? All of a sudden the emotional high of winning 19 games in the last two seasons before this one seems like a memory that is it at least on its way toward fading.

I think we get back on track, the offense is angry and ready to score, the defense turns in a shockingly good performance and we cruise 31-13.
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I always appreciate your optimism, Fighter...but, unfortunately, we're trying to get to 3-2 this Saturday, not 4-2...

further, a loss will drop us to 2-3, not 3-3 :-(

For what it's worth, I also predict an Illini win this Saturday :)
 
#61      
Illini2010-11
BryceHopkins said:
I always appreciate your optimism, Fighter...but, unfortunately, we're trying to get to 3-2 this Saturday, not 4-2...

further, a loss will drop us to 2-3, not 3-3 :-(

For what it's worth, I also predict an Illini win this Saturday :)
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This is exactly right. There is a huge difference of going to Spartan Stadium at 2-3 compared to 3-2. Simply cannot be 2-4 going into the Oregon game. If that happens, we very well could be seeing a four win team at best.

The goal for the team has to be getting to 4-2 when the Ducks come to town. Going 3-3 in the first half of the season is not good, but it maintains the ability to get to bowl eligibility. Winning this weekend on Homecoming will take off some of the pressure of going on the road next week. Simply put, this is the most important two game stretch of the season. A split is needed at worst, so we need to take advantage of playing at home this weekend.
 
#62      
cuillini
My question is how will this affect the players? Have they given up, or do they approach the rest of the season with a "us against the world" attitude?
 
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