Maryland 20, Illinois 17 Postgame

On one hand, it can’t be overstated just how badly we blew that; we should absolutely not have lost that game in regulation under almost any circumstances.

On the other hand, I was expecting a blowout loss. While the fashion of losing was concerning, I now feel we have the personnel to compete in games again (UVA must be good), and IF we don’t let this break us, we will have a chance in some more games. As others have said, how we respond next week is huge.

Tough loss. I decided last week that I wasn’t going to dwell on the negative and try to find positive steps. Saw quite a lot of people posting prior to the game and early that they were expecting to be able to turn off game early with Illini down big. Well that wasn’t the case. Granted that might have been easier than the ending we saw, but at least Illini were in it til the end.

Have to feel good about about the RB situation going forward. Maybe not so excited about the run play calling, but not too far fetched to believe if McCray and Chase had not gotten hurt game would have ended differently. Hopefully nothing serious that will keep them off the field for too long.

Don’t remember seeing Illini attempt any long pass play to Spann (though maybe I missed it), but I was encouraged to see him hit on a short pass play. Hopefully means he’s developing. Not sure why we’re not seeing more of Hightower and Armstrong yet given lack of separation we’ve seen from Washington and Navarro. I am encouraged that we have 3 WRs committed for next year, including our two highest rated recruits. Hopefully those 3 with Williams, Spann, and maybe a transfer along with Navarro (like him as a possession guy, just can’t be a top option) will give us a good WR corps.

Defense certainly looked better. Still too many mistakes but they were playing with emotion — and the good kind not the emotion that led to several personal foul penalties near end of VA game. Three sacks, 7 tackles for loss and 2 turnovers are a stat line I can live with.

If entering the game, you were told that the game may well be decided by a McCord and Hayes kick, I’m thinking quite a few people would have been feeling good about a win. And no I’m not blaming this loss on them, but a made FG and a 55 yard punt (which wouldn’t have even been Hayes’ long for the game) rather than his final 39 yard punt could well have led to a win or at least an OT game.

More work to be done, things to be cleaned up and recruiting to finish, but not everything supports pessimism. It’s a process and not a speedy one — but people giving up on BB and staff already seems very premature and short sighted.

Dan said:

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Thoughts.................

1. I'm sick of hearing about credit to the other team.....Just once can a coach say ""we screwed the pooch as far as coaching decisions and this loss is on the staff.
2. Sounds like BP will remain the starting QB.......Color me unimpressed with his ability to win games.........I think we win if Art had played the whole game..JMHO
3. Defense played great.....offense played terrible in maintaining mo......Interception was a killer after the fumble recovery....Blocked FG and that interception cost us 6 points and we would have won...
4. mccray is a beast....that TD run was fantastic and gives me hope...BP does NOT........

You can blame coaches all you want, but these player are bad they're lacking size,speed and most importantly football IQ. BB has a roster full of FCS players.
These players haven't been coached for years, they just don't get it. This team isn't going to move forward until these seniors are out of here. I personally only see 3 B10 players on offense Brown, McCray and Barker and if Brown and McCray don't get hurt we win that game. I still believe BB is absolutely the right man for the job just has nothing to work with but he will get those players

Pittsfield said:

You can blame coaches all you want, but these player are bad they're lacking size,speed and most importantly football IQ. BB has a roster full of FCS players.
These players haven't been coached for years, they just don't get it. This team isn't going to move forward until these seniors are out of here. I personally only see 3 B10 players on offense Brown, McCray and Barker and if Brown and McCray don't get hurt we win that game. I still believe BB is absolutely the right man for the job just has nothing to work with but he will get those players

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I never said BB wasn't the right guy for us now......But his and staff decisions are worrisome....JMHO

And I understand the need for better players......Lovie and lasagna boy put us here.....BB will upgrade talent level, I'm sure of that...........

EyeoftheIllini said:

Not sure why we’re not seeing more of Hightower and Armstrong yet given lack of separation we’ve seen from Washington and Navarro.

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They have not been healthy, although I thought they both were dressed.

Three things stand out to me. Poor tackling, poor secondary coverage, and we have no quarterback.

pruman91 said:

Thoughts.................

1. I'm sick of hearing about credit to the other team.....Just once can a coach say ""we screwed the pooch as far as coaching decisions and this loss is on the staff.
2. Sounds like BP will remain the starting QB.......Color me unimpressed with his ability to win games.........I think we win if Art had played the whole game..JMHO
3. Defense played great.....offense played terrible in maintaining mo......Interception was a killer after the fumble recovery....Blocked FG and that interception cost us 6 points and we would have won...
4. mccray is a beast....that TD run was fantastic and gives me hope...BP does NOT........

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5. We need to see more Spann the Man. Looks like one of our best wr when he plays

lexwaldez said:

Congratulations Illinois football! There is now a level zero.

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I've resigned to this being UI football. It's comical, you really couldn't really make this stuff up. Whenever you think we've hit rock bottom, we can impress you with a new low. Just wait and see.

Thor_1974 said:

Sorry all. My Illinois fandom is officially finished. I’ve been a fan for over 30 years. This program has no hope and what I witnessed tonight and especially last week is an embarrassment. I’m going to see if I can sell my apparel on eBay if I’m lucky enough to find someone to buy it. Best wishes to you all.

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pruman91 said:

I never said BB wasn't the right guy for us now......But his and staff decisions are worrisome....JMHO

And I understand the need for better players......Lovie and lasagna boy put us here.....BB will upgrade talent level, I'm sure of that...........

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I wasn't pointing you out pruman91 I agree with you BB will get done what needs to get done and I'm also sure of that. I was just tired of seeing all blame go toward a staff that's been here 8 months when you have 4,5,6 yr players that just don't get it.

pruman91 said:

Thoughts.................

1. I'm sick of hearing about credit to the other team.....Just once can a coach say ""we screwed the pooch as far as coaching decisions and this loss is on the staff.
2. Sounds like BP will remain the starting QB.......Color me unimpressed with his ability to win games.........I think we win if Art had played the whole game..JMHO
3. Defense played great.....offense played terrible in maintaining mo......Interception was a killer after the fumble recovery....Blocked FG and that interception cost us 6 points and we would have won...
4. mccray is a beast....that TD run was fantastic and gives me hope...BP does NOT........

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I’m already sick of hearing about “the process” and players needing to learn how to win. That may be true for first year players, but the majority of starters are in their fourth, fifth or SIXTH(!) seasons. Not to single out one guy, but watch the Maryland offensive highlights and note how many times a chunk play got sprung due to Hansen biting on a fake or filling the wrong gap.

If the old guys can’t get it done, start giving the youngsters experience, because they aren’t going to learn how to win by sitting on the bench.

illini80 said:

They have not been healthy, although I thought they both were dressed.

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Pretty certain they were listed as healthy last week too (think Armstrong had a target in that game), but didn’t practice much. BB said during the week that both were practicing so I was hoping to see them make there way in.

I will agree with BB that 2 big turning points in the game were the blocked FG in the first half and the interception of BP on the first play after the fumble recovery.......... points that were badly needed so we didn't have that abysmal last offensive series by the Illini....And we called timeouts to preserve time for final terp drive which resulted in game winning fg......................

I'm still so pissed off that we lost and those two turning points were among many turning points which cost us a victory on a night that the D played it's best game of the year , even with numerous mistakes all game long.....

But , I will not turn my back on the FB team as some have stated....that's not how I approach the Illini programs......Sure, i will criticize when I think it's needed but the Illini have my undying support and always will..........And I will be watching ALL the games and cheering and cussing when I feel the need to express those undying support feelings..........

I have no idea about what is going to happen next week.

Historically, ILL teams have not come back well from a loss like this.

I've been a fan for too long to quit being a fan but I've also been a fan long enough to not expect much.

GilThorpe said:

I have to think it will help us cut a year off the usual 3-4 year deal to 2-3 .
But let’s be honest , it all starts with the right QB for the system you want to run - and while anyone can point to Burrows or Fields as examples of what you can get via the portal , examples of Peters, Lunt & Sitkowski are far more realistic of what you usually get - serviceable guys that leave their original teams because they were recruited over & found themselves 2 or 3 on the depth chart .

we seem to have talent at RB .
we seem to lack a really talented TALL wideout
our line seems average at best

we need to score 30 points a game on average to expect to win 6 games , and 38-42 to win 8.

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don't want to be the orange colored glasses guy because it was painful. BUT, McCray is the real deal, that's somone to get excited about. that TD run was beautiful; loved the straight arm

i haven't enjoyed the merry go round at RB (yes, there have been injuries). would be very happy if it was a healthy dose of McCray, Brown with some Norwood/Love thrown in

Don’t get me wrong, I am disappointed in starting 1-3 and there are things to address and fix. I was hoping for a better start. To put things in perspective though, we are 1-3 against teams that are a collective 9-1 (the 1 loss being NB to us). Nebraska is also hanging tough with the #3 team in the country. We should be 2-0 in conference play right now and that is tough to swallow. Still believe the ship is captained by the right guy and heading in the right direction but there will be storms ahead.

SKane said:

I've been a fan for too long to quit being a fan but I've also been a fan long enough to not expect much.

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Like you, I fall prey to the sunk cost fallacy. I want to move on but I can't. It's like Charlie Brown taking those three steps toward the ball while Lucy's holding it. This time will be different, I tell myself. Really. Except now I don't think in terms of the next game, or next month. It's more like the season or two after next.

pruman91 said:

I will agree with BB that 2 big turning points in the game were the blocked FG in the first half and the interception of BP on the first play after the fumble recovery.......... points that were badly needed so we didn't have that abysmal last offensive series by the Illini....And we called timeouts to preserve time for final terp drive which resulted in game winning fg......................

I'm still so pissed off that we lost and those two turning points were among many turning points which cost us a victory on a night that the D played it's best game of the year , even with numerous mistakes all game long.....

But , I will not turn my back on the FB team as some have stated....that's not how I approach the Illini programs......Sure, i will criticize when I think it's needed but the Illini have my undying support and always will..........And I will be watching ALL the games and cheering and cussing when I feel the need to express those undying support feelings..........

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Kudos, sir. if anyone is discouraged enough to cash it in at this point given what we've seen, they didn't have realistic expectations to start with. i mean, Underwood had losing records his first 2 years here AND WE'RE (historically) A BASKETBALL SCHOOL. football? gonna take more patience, me thinks

LoveLovie said:

Coaching sucks

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The offensive coordinator played not to lose. Run some clock and punt and leave it up to the D. I'd much prefer to use the full offense and get several first downs and make them use their timeouts. We seem to have a solid 2-3 yard run game on first down. Not really something to build on. Our receivers are not getting separation from the defenders. Could it be that our vanilla offense is just that easy to read?

LFOD said:

Damn hard fought battle. Different effort than last two games. I’m devastated by this loss, but have more hope for future games than I had yesterday.

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We fought to the end, which is always a good sign. Bret played this out like he had his Wisconsin horses to do it. He doesn't. Peters needs much better blocking support and offensive play calling that creates confusion in the defense. We don't even throw quick slants (a nice way to get 6 yards on first down). Illini O coordinators have neglected the middle third of the field for years. They finally hit Navarro for a 19 yarder over the middle. I was hoping for so much more from the new OC. He needs to pick up his game.

pruman91 said:

I will agree with BB that 2 big turning points in the game were the blocked FG in the first half and the interception of BP on the first play after the fumble recovery.......... points that were badly needed so we didn't have that abysmal last offensive series by the Illini....And we called timeouts to preserve time for final terp drive which resulted in game winning fg......................

I'm still so pissed off that we lost and those two turning points were among many turning points which cost us a victory on a night that the D played it's best game of the year , even with numerous mistakes all game long.....

But , I will not turn my back on the FB team as some have stated....that's not how I approach the Illini programs......Sure, i will criticize when I think it's needed but the Illini have my undying support and always will..........And I will be watching ALL the games and cheering and cussing when I feel the need to express those undying support feelings..........

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Preach! Thats what Loyalty means right?

Edh said:

We fought to the end, which is always a good sign. Bret played this out like he had his Wisconsin horses to do it. He doesn't. Peters needs much better blocking support and offensive play calling that creates confusion in the defense. We don't even throw quick slants (a nice way to get 6 yards on first down). Illini O coordinators have neglected the middle third of the field for years. They finally hit Navarro for a 19 yarder over the middle. I was hoping for so much more from the new OC. He needs to pick up his game.

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Yeah man. V Lowe got destroyed on that play when Peters got tripped up. Dont think that was on the OC. I thought they had a few good gains between the hashes. I could be wrong.

pruman91 said:

I will agree with BB that 2 big turning points in the game were the blocked FG in the first half and the interception of BP on the first play after the fumble recovery.......... points that were badly needed so we didn't have that abysmal last offensive series by the Illini....And we called timeouts to preserve time for final terp drive which resulted in game winning fg......................

I'm still so pissed off that we lost and those two turning points were among many turning points which cost us a victory on a night that the D played it's best game of the year , even with numerous mistakes all game long.....

But , I will not turn my back on the FB team as some have stated....that's not how I approach the Illini programs......Sure, i will criticize when I think it's needed but the Illini have my undying support and always will..........And I will be watching ALL the games and cheering and cussing when I feel the need to express those undying support feelings..........

Click to expand...

Pittsfield said:

You can blame coaches all you want, but these player are bad they're lacking size,speed and most importantly football IQ. BB has a roster full of FCS players.
These players haven't been coached for years, they just don't get it. This team isn't going to move forward until these seniors are out of here. I personally only see 3 B10 players on offense Brown, McCray and Barker and if Brown and McCray don't get hurt we win that game. I still believe BB is absolutely the right man for the job just has nothing to work with but he will get those players

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Your phrase bolded sums it up nicely... We're small, we're slow, we're soft and the best experience we have is how to lose...