Indiana 24, Illinois 14 POSTGAME

#26      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Deleted member 631370
lexwaldez said:
We might have one more win than we currently do?
Click to expand...


Agreed.

This is a bad team even without the injuries. The fact is, our QB play is among the absolute worst in the country. And you're not going to win many games with QB play as atrocious as ours.

Most have fairly written this season off as a learning experience. But I'm very concerned about next season. I see 4 wins total -- 2 in Big Ten play. I expect our defense and our running game will be improved, but the QB position needs to get significantly better. That all hinges on Cam Thomas, because George has shown no improvement over the course of the season.
 
#27      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
Lovie has ID players who are performing above their ranking. Unfortunately many are injured and once again they are freshmen.

We have young impact players who look very promising in the future at RB, WR, DE, TE. Our punter, CB, and Cam Thomas also look much better than expected.

Need to build off this class to add depth and impact players on the line, especially offense.

Next year we might be looking at 3-5 wins. It is tough to see a total rebuild, but need to stay the course. Lovie had won on the highest level. It was a 4 year plan to be competitive, not BIG champs.

In the meantime enjoy the development of Smalling, Dorsey, Epstein, Cam, The DEs, etc...
 
#28      

Deleted member 3875

D
Guest
Deleted member 3875
BRucks said:
I thought, everything considered, that attendance was pretty good in the middle part of the game. Lots of empty seats at kick off and then again in the fourth quarter.

Every coach since Moeller has made a bowl by his third year and Moeller was fired after that third year miss. Lovie had better win more than four games next year.
Click to expand...

The huge contract (and buyout) will be the dark cloud over this program for several more years.
 
#29      

BWBW

BWBW
BWBW
I don't want to directly contradict a couple of recent posters, their comments are quite apropos. However, I can see next year as being another two win season. We have too little depth and are prone to injuries. We may also have a true freshman QB running the team. We probably won't have enough depth until 2019 to overcome the injuries that happen and have a stable QB situation. Perhaps then 3-5, maybe 6 wins will be possible.
 
#30      

BZuppke

BZuppke
Plainfield
BZuppke
Teams rarely make the kind of steady improvement some talk about here - 2 wins this year, 4 next, 6 after that. When it comes together we’ll go from 2-4 wins to 7-9 or something. Our D has played well enough to win most games we’ve played this year and we all know the utter lack of offense is killing us. We lose in the fourth qtr because the D is worn down.

QB will improve dramatically over the next year or two and all of a sudden we’ll think McGee is a genius. There’s a reason he didn’t start the year with George or Cam. One will never get us there and the other had no experience whatsoever. Don’t forget that Cam will be improved next year (he’s made great strides already) and we have some good QB recruits coming in. I for one think we’re bowling next year.
 
#31      

Oldtoysrock

O
Sarasota, Florida
Oldtoysrock
brapp33 said:
Yea and that was a senior! There are way too many boneheaded mistakes that fall on the coaches not youth! It would be one thing if we lost games and were disciplined but we are not. I don't know why that's too much to ask for??? I don't think Lovie ball is the way to go. He just doesn't seem passionate about coaching. He has the same expression whether something good or bad happens.
Click to expand...



Sad, but true.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
#32      

ebakola

ebakola
ebakola
FlCowboy94 said:
Are you truly confident just because we have a lot of young guys starting that when they are upperclassman we will have one of the top defenses in the big or the country .....I would like to hope so but one doesn't always equal the other
Click to expand...

I’m confident that we will have a top defense in the B1G (at least). I have to be. Otherwise, what was the point of bringing a former NFL defensive-minded coach and former pros on the coaching staff? It’s not a sure thing, but what else do we have to look for - more of the same??
 
#33      

ebakola

ebakola
ebakola
As far as who the QB will be, I’m guessing Taylor. We’re looking pretty good at WR, TE, and RB, so the QB doesn’t have to be all-World - just someone who can run the syetem.
 
#34      

Illini_1979

Illini_1979
Oregon
Illini_1979
BZuppke said:
Teams rarely make the kind of steady improvement some talk about here - 2 wins this year, 4 next, 6 after that. When it comes together we’ll go from 2-4 wins to 7-9 or something. Our D has played well enough to win most games we’ve played this year and we all know the utter lack of offense is killing us. We lose in the fourth qtr because the D is worn down.

QB will improve dramatically over the next year or two and all of a sudden we’ll think McGee is a genius. There’s a reason he didn’t start the year with George or Cam. One will never get us there and the other had no experience whatsoever. Don’t forget that Cam will be improved next year (he’s made great strides already) and we have some good QB recruits coming in. I for one think we’re bowling next year.
Click to expand...

Completely agree with everything said here. :thumb:
 
#36      

MadSeason

MadSeason
MadSeason
BZuppke said:
Teams rarely make the kind of steady improvement some talk about here - 2 wins this year, 4 next, 6 after that. When it comes together we’ll go from 2-4 wins to 7-9 or something. Our D has played well enough to win most games we’ve played this year and we all know the utter lack of offense is killing us. We lose in the fourth qtr because the D is worn down.

QB will improve dramatically over the next year or two and all of a sudden we’ll think McGee is a genius. There’s a reason he didn’t start the year with George or Cam. One will never get us there and the other had no experience whatsoever. Don’t forget that Cam will be improved next year (he’s made great strides already) and we have some good QB recruits coming in. I for one think we’re bowling next year.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with everything you said. Even if we don't go bowling I guarantee we will be one of the most improved teams in the Country.

I for one have been impressed with the skills Thomas has flashed. People don't seem to realize how hard it is to QB a Big Ten team as true Freshman.

Maybe we should see Thomas' growth next year before we write him off. Would have been a shame to judge Kittner after his Freshman year
 
#37      

Illiini

Illiini
In the land of the Nittany Lion
Illiini
We are losing games in the trenches. That play is going to improve as soon as we have 19 year olds stepping into those spots. And that will make the job of any QB easier. JGJ wouldn’t be dropping his balls if he weren’t running for his life.

And defense, was it Purdue that we saw the scrum pushed for a 5 yard Purdue gain after the “runner” hit the line, with just pure muscle? If some Illini hadn’t figured out how to get the runner on the ground. I thought they were going to push him 40 yards to the end zone. We need bigger muscles.

All that said, Mikey hurt again? Man, that sucks. He deserves better.
 
#38      

Ransom Stoddard

Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Ransom Stoddard
Was at the game on Saturday, 2nd row behind the Illini sideline. Besides the horrible play on the field, this was not a sideline that acted like it could (or even wanted to) win a game. Sure, there was some high-fiving and helmet slapping on the handful of good plays, but these boys just looked whipped, and there were an awful lot of players in street clothes because of injury.