Pregame: Illinois vs Toledo, Saturday, September 2nd, 6:30pm CT, BTN

Status
Not open for further replies.
#301      

Illini2010-11

I
Sugar Grove
Illini2010-11
UofToledoFans said:
Go take it up with the Illinois Inquirer guys who agree with me. This schedule if unscathed is beautiful. But ya don't get a trial, nor rest before your first B1G matchup.
Click to expand...
If the team really needs that much rest before game 3 of the season, then the offseason conditioning program was terrible! There is a reason why Game 11 tends to be the cupcake game for Nick Saban. The SEC beats up on each other for many weeks, and it is nice to have "rest" before the Iron Bowl. For teams that want to be upper echelon, you want the "rest game" to come later in the season, not in the first 3 weeks of the season when players should be freshest.

For a majority of us, having FAU before Purdue is beneficial, as the Purdue game is more important to win than the Penn State game. Honestly, the Penn State game is house money if the Illini are 2-0 or 1-1. The FAU and Purdue games have always been the most important September games going into the season, as those two games are more make and break than an away game against a much improved Kansas team or home game against a ranked Penn State. A good, tough matchup against a top-tier MAC school in Week 1 is very good prep for away game at Kansas.

Your rest argument is just weak, IMO.
 
#302      

UofToledoFans

UofToledoFans
UofToledoFans
Illini2010-11 said:
If the team really needs that much rest before game 3 of the season, then the offseason conditioning program was terrible! There is a reason why Game 11 tends to be the cupcake game for Nick Saban. The SEC beats up on each other for many weeks, and it is nice to have "rest" before the Iron Bowl. For teams that want to be upper echelon, you want the "rest game" to come later in the season, not in the first 3 weeks of the season when players should be freshest.

For a majority of us, having FAU before Purdue is beneficial, as the Purdue game is more important to win than the Penn State game. Honestly, the Penn State game is house money if the Illini are 2-0 or 1-1. The FAU and Purdue games have always been the most important September games going into the season, as those two games are more make and break than an away game against a much improved Kansas team or home game against a ranked Penn State. A good, tough matchup against a top-tier MAC school in Week 1 is very good prep for away game at Kansas.

Your rest argument is just weak, IMO.
Click to expand...
There's lots of logic here. To me it's the 6 days before Kansas, not Kansas per say. You also have no control over that, as it's which ever TV network and Kansas that picked the time slot.


I like opening the year with FCS and then the most winnable, yet competitive game directly after. Ya get your feet wet, but don't show too much on film. Toledo follows that model nicely most seasons. The MAC also doesn't have bye weeks, as it's the 10 day layover from Saturdays to Midweek in November with some 6 to 8 day layoffs.


It's all preference.
 
#303      

UofToledoFans

UofToledoFans
UofToledoFans
Knee brace said:
working out GIF by Mind Pump Media

The Toledo guy the night before our game
Click to expand...
Why not during in section 110?
 
#305      

zentrails

Z
zentrails
altgeld88 said:
Gary Moeller would like a word with you. Truly a misunderstood diamond in the rough he was whilst prowling the Memorial Stadium sidelines. A veritable Bill Belichick during his tenure with the Browns.
Click to expand...
Moeller was HC when I was an undergrad at UIUC and I lived in Cleveland throughout the entire "massive headwound" Belichick era. Talk about lousy luck! LOL
 
#309      

the national

the national
the Front Range
the national
UofToledoFans said:
Toledo has Bielemas number. Actually 6-0 vs. the state of Arkansas all time. 1-0 vs. Michigan. 1-0 vs. Penn State as well. All points of pride for a "MAC" team.

Toledo was known as Giant killers for decades. Now hardly any P5s have played us. Notre Dame should have been on that trophy case. Gotta take a knee and a kick a fg... we've learned.
Click to expand...
Dance Party Dancing GIF by Cameo

(Beware of the Rockets)
 
#311      

Orange_Blue

O
Orange_Blue
UofToledoFans said:
Yes haha. He made national news for quite literally overlooking a team. I'm not sure any coach in my lifetime has made fun of another team for a schedule and gone out to lose that week to a "weak" opponent.
Click to expand...
Not wanting to add more worry, but I was at the 2012 #12 Badger game where Bert's team barely beat FCS Northern Iowa. The game came down to the last minute. So, being an Illini fan and knowing Bielema usually has one egg (2022 - Indiana, 2021 - Virginia) - I don't think many are picking the Illini to dominate. I would guess a close game, Illini pull it out late.
 
#316      

Battle89

Battle89
Battle89
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Agree with everything you said. Attendance also naturally lags - our attendance in 2009 when we were 3-9 was way higher than we were drawing in 2011 when we started off 6-0. Why? Because 2009 was still enjoying coming down from the Rose Bowl high, and fans in 2011 were waiting to see if we were for real! Spoiler alert ... we were not. :(

2023 really is huge. I hate to be melodramatic, but the national narrative constructed by people who don't follow our program really could vary this wildly with the following records this season:

5-7: "Arkansas Bielema" is real Bielema, and Illinois was "good" (still finished losing 4 of 5!) because Chase Brown was a beast and DeVito was better than expected. Once he was gone, they literally went right back to the same losing record as 2021. Plus, they played in the Big Ten West. Yeah, they're better than they were under Lovie but not by that much, and their ceiling will be random 8-win seasons and mostly 6-6 seasons. It's just hard to win there, and this is the best coach they have had in a long time.
9-3: Bret Bielema flat-out knows how to win in the Big Ten, and this isn't your dad's Illinois; they finally have someone who can realize that program's potential. He took them from 2 wins to 5 to 8 to 9, with this latest season being an IMPROVEMENT after losing a ton of talent to the draft! Memorial Stadium has even turned into a hard place to play! It really isn't hard to win there, they just needed to wait for the right guy, and that looks to be Bielema!

Again, might sound dramatic ... but this year can make or break our ascension, so to speak. Perception is fragile.
Click to expand...
Spot on. I'd add the following to the 5-7 scenario for the defense-minded national analysts:

"2022 credit goes to Ryan Walters and the incredible defense he constructed, with half the starting team signed by NFL clubs."
 
#317      

altgeld88

altgeld88
Arlington, Virginia
altgeld88
Battle89 said:
Spot on. I'd add the following to the 5-7 scenario for the defense-minded national analysts:

"2022 credit goes to Ryan Walters and the incredible defense he constructed, with half the starting team signed by NFL clubs."
Click to expand...
I will always wonder how much of that remarkable defensive performance should be properly attributed RW, how much to his staff, and how much to the talent of the players concerned.
 
#320      

TheGMan

TheGMan
TheGMan
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Agree with everything you said. Attendance also naturally lags - our attendance in 2009 when we were 3-9 was way higher than we were drawing in 2011 when we started off 6-0. Why? Because 2009 was still enjoying coming down from the Rose Bowl high, and fans in 2011 were waiting to see if we were for real! Spoiler alert ... we were not. :(

2023 really is huge. I hate to be melodramatic, but the national narrative constructed by people who don't follow our program really could vary this wildly with the following records this season:

5-7: "Arkansas Bielema" is real Bielema, and Illinois was "good" (still finished losing 4 of 5!) because Chase Brown was a beast and DeVito was better than expected. Once he was gone, they literally went right back to the same losing record as 2021. Plus, they played in the Big Ten West. Yeah, they're better than they were under Lovie but not by that much, and their ceiling will be random 8-win seasons and mostly 6-6 seasons. It's just hard to win there, and this is the best coach they have had in a long time.
9-3: Bret Bielema flat-out knows how to win in the Big Ten, and this isn't your dad's Illinois; they finally have someone who can realize that program's potential. He took them from 2 wins to 5 to 8 to 9, with this latest season being an IMPROVEMENT after losing a ton of talent to the draft! Memorial Stadium has even turned into a hard place to play! It really isn't hard to win there, they just needed to wait for the right guy, and that looks to be Bielema!

Again, might sound dramatic ... but this year can make or break our ascension, so to speak. Perception is fragile.
Click to expand...
I don't think they will even need to get to 9 wins to get that kind of response. I think 8 wins gets it. Probably even 7 to a lesser extent since I don't think anyone would "blame" the team for back tracking a little after losing so many big players after last year. I would think most national pundits would count 7 wins as still a really good achievement. Obviously, 8 or 9 wins would be better, but I think anything over 6 wins, and the team is going to get a lot of praise.
 
#321      

Illini2010-11

I
Sugar Grove
Illini2010-11
TheGMan said:
I don't think they will even need to get to 9 wins to get that kind of response. I think 8 wins gets it. Probably even 7 to a lesser extent since I don't think anyone would "blame" the team for back tracking a little after losing so many big players after last year. I would think most national pundits would count 7 wins as still a really good achievement. Obviously, 8 or 9 wins would be better, but I think anything over 6 wins, and the team is going to get a lot of praise.
Click to expand...
I believe you are correct. With most books setting the win total for Illini at 6.5, I think hitting 7 wins would be seen as a successful season from the national narrative (especially if it is 7-5 regular season). The schedule this year is not doing any favors, so 7 wins looks good. Anything above that is widely successful.
 
#322      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
TheGMan said:
I don't think they will even need to get to 9 wins to get that kind of response. I think 8 wins gets it. Probably even 7 to a lesser extent since I don't think anyone would "blame" the team for back tracking a little after losing so many big players after last year. I would think most national pundits would count 7 wins as still a really good achievement. Obviously, 8 or 9 wins would be better, but I think anything over 6 wins, and the team is going to get a lot of praise.
Click to expand...
Illini2010-11 said:
I believe you are correct. With most books setting the win total for Illini at 6.5, I think hitting 7 wins would be seen as a successful season from the national narrative (especially if it is 7-5 regular season). The schedule this year is not doing any favors, so 7 wins looks good. Anything above that is widely successful.
Click to expand...
Good points all around. I also think it depends on who the wins are against. If we go 7-5 but knock off Penn State on national TV, that is an insanely more successful season to me than going 7-5 but losing to Kansas, Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa (i.e., our five most difficult games). Additionally, I think fans would be a lot more positive about a season where we, say, start off 1-2 or stand at 3-4 after a loss to Maryland but then finish with only one more loss (presumably either to Wisconsin at home or Minnesota/Iowa on the road). I think the only way 7-5 could be a momentum killer is if we have a season like 2008 where one step forward is met with one step back. Something like this would likely leave a lot of fans somewhat disappointed, even with 7 wins and some of them arguably being decent wins:

W vs. Toledo (1-0)
L at Kansas (1-1)
L vs. #7 Penn State (1-2)
W vs. Florida Atlantic (2-2)
W at Purdue (3-2)
W vs. Nebraska (4-2)
L at Maryland (4-3)
W vs. #19 Wisconsin (5-3)
L at Minnesota (5-4)
W vs. Indiana (6-4)
L at #25 Iowa (6-5)
W vs. Northwestern (7-5)

I think to maintain momentum with a 7-win season, we either have to start strong to build hype or end strong to build momentum going into a bowl. A see-sawing 7-win season might deflate optimism a bit. I think it is very clear, though, that 8 wins or more is a smashing success.
 
#323      

lstewart53x3

lstewart53x3
Scottsdale, Arizona
lstewart53x3
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Good points all around. I also think it depends on who the wins are against. If we go 7-5 but knock off Penn State on national TV, that is an insanely more successful season to me than going 7-5 but losing to Kansas, Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa (i.e., our five most difficult games). Additionally, I think fans would be a lot more positive about a season where we, say, start off 1-2 or stand at 3-4 after a loss to Maryland but then finish with only one more loss (presumably either to Wisconsin at home or Minnesota/Iowa on the road). I think the only way 7-5 could be a momentum killer is if we have a season like 2008 where one step forward is met with one step back. Something like this would likely leave a lot of fans somewhat disappointed, even with 7 wins and some of them arguably being decent wins:

W vs. Toledo (1-0)
L at Kansas (1-1)
L vs. #7 Penn State (1-2)
W vs. Florida Atlantic (2-2)
W at Purdue (3-2)
W vs. Nebraska (4-2)
L at Maryland (4-3)
W vs. #19 Wisconsin (5-3)
L at Minnesota (5-4)
W vs. Indiana (6-4)
L at #25 Iowa (6-5)
W vs. Northwestern (7-5)

I think to maintain momentum with a 7-win season, we either have to start strong to build hype or end strong to build momentum going into a bowl. A see-sawing 7-win season might deflate optimism a bit. I think it is very clear, though, that 8 wins or more is a smashing success.
Click to expand...
To me, our next step is beating who you’re supposed to beat.

We’ve had seasons where we knock off a top 10 team, yet don’t even make a bowl. That’s empty calories.

Good teams win the ones they’re supposed to win. You do that long enough and even the Penn St game at home becomes a should win game.
 
#324      

Illini2010-11

I
Sugar Grove
Illini2010-11
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Something like this would likely leave a lot of fans somewhat disappointed, even with 7 wins and some of them arguably being decent wins:

W vs. Toledo (1-0)
L at Kansas (1-1)
L vs. #7 Penn State (1-2)
W vs. Florida Atlantic (2-2)
W at Purdue (3-2)
W vs. Nebraska (4-2)
L at Maryland (4-3)
W vs. #19 Wisconsin (5-3)
L at Minnesota (5-4)
W vs. Indiana (6-4)
L at #25 Iowa (6-5)
W vs. Northwestern (7-5)

I think to maintain momentum with a 7-win season, we either have to start strong to build hype or end strong to build momentum going into a bowl. A see-sawing 7-win season might deflate optimism a bit. I think it is very clear, though, that 8 wins or more is a smashing success.
Click to expand...
I would take the results above in a heartbeat (though I want to see a win in Iowa City badly due to my in-laws being Iowa alumni). While some would be disappointed, having back-to-back winning regular seasons is foreign to the new generation of Illini fans. I was 4 years old the last time the Illini had consecutive winning regular seasons (the Mackovic years of 1988-1991)! Get to seven wins in the regular season, regardless of the wins, and we should all be very happy. Win a bowl game to get to 8 wins...resounding success.
 
#325      

GILL-INOIS

G
GILL-INOIS
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Good points all around. I also think it depends on who the wins are against. If we go 7-5 but knock off Penn State on national TV, that is an insanely more successful season to me than going 7-5 but losing to Kansas, Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa (i.e., our five most difficult games).
Click to expand...
Illinois has overachieved every season BB has been here so far. He has added some real nice pieces to this team and depth looks much stronger at the bottom of the roster than it use to look. (If the WR corp can stay healthy think we are in for a great surprise)

I have been drinking the Kool-Aid from day 1 of BB era. Expectations change season by season but majority of casual fans want to see this program in a Bowl game whether we end up 7-6 or 6-7. If those can be the bad years more times than not than we are spoiled from what we have endured in the past. Last season we lost 5 games by a total of 29 points. Strong defensive team that had offensive problems pushing it in for the TD and special teams were questionable at times. If this team can find more balance on those two facets than we could be in for something special this season.

All around no give me games this season. Same time we avoid the likes of Ohio St and Michigan while playing Penn St and Wisconsin at home. I have been more excited for football than basketball for the 3rd straight season. Here is to another great season 🍻
 
Status
Not open for further replies.