Maryland 20, Illinois 17 Postgame

#151      
I still cannot wrap my head around just how bad a decision it was to punt on 4th and 1 from the opposing 40. It's mindwarpingly stupid.

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#153      
Somewhat OT, what was the fan attitude during our 2-10 2006 campaign? Obviously we had a few more game changing recruits on the way, but we were in a few games vs. pretty good teams until late even though we came up short in all of them.

If we only win 2-3 games this year or something, but we lose close ones vs. teams like Purdue and even have an Iowa/Wisconsin on the ropes before losing, I’ll personally consider it a very nice step in the right direction and maybe even start to develop some real optimism IF recruiting picks up.
 
#154      
What he forgot to mention is you have to earn confidence too! Shocking that he defended three stuffed runs in a row and punting on 4th. I could see how he placed the confidence in the defense but the opening series of the second half should have reason for pause.

Everyone sold out on the runs because our tiny receivers couldn’t get separation from the speedy dbs. That was obvious. Had to wheel route the rb or curl the wr in the middle, only thing that worked.

How does he not see this as conservative? Most conservatives (not political, just in definition and mentality) have confidence they have everything to make things work. That’s the kind of confidence shown by BB, but we don’t have everything we need to win those games. Have to take risks.
Mike White was masterful coaching passing offense with quick passes and routes...I sure miss those days...

As many have said, we have some matchup weaknesses...but that's where coaches make their money... applying tactics and strategies to balance those weaknesses.
 
#155      
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.
I'm not complaining on the last series, although that loss of 3 first down run call made zero sense. I am clearly not a fan of the play calling. What pissed me off most was the series where we took the ball over and "ran the clock" with a couple of 1 yard runs and punted it away with 4+ minutes on the clock and expected the defense to win it for us. My theory is that you continue running the offense and try to lay a couple or three 1st downs on them and make them use their TOs. Maybe even toss in a play action pass and go for the score. You know, like go out and try to win the game. By using the middle of the field, I mean the area between the hash marks and at least 10 yards downfield. That's been a NoGo zone for the Illini for too long.
 
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#156      
Their DBs were faster than our receivers. Our DBs were slower than their receivers. Hence the soft coverage.
Their DBs were bigger and stronger than our small receivers. Our DBs were not bigger and stronger than their receivers. Hence the punishing hits. Also didn't help that our high passes left our receivers defenseless to hits.
So why wouldn’t you use the TEs? I would have said TEs and RBs, but the Illini were getting thin at RB. I think Illinois at the TE position is as good as anyone in the B1G.
 
#157      

Illiniaaron

Geneseo, IL
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.
It went from ridiculous to sublime when Peters completed the pass to the offensive lineman on third down on the last drive. How does either guy not know this is against the rules? At that point it became keystone cops.
 
#158      
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.
BB always had great O-lines at Wisconsin. The Illini’s current line is poor by comparison. Hopefully recruiting will bring in bigger and better lineman… Peter’s was disappointing but he was also rushed a lot, and our receivers are average at best. We still ignores using the TE’s despite having two pretty good ones.
 
#161      
We've been complaining that our receivers get no separation but I've heard no love for Jeresaty. Nice route and some quality YAC.
True that. Jeresaty got at least five yards open by suckering his defender into rushing the QB. And IIRC, that was the play immediately after he and Pihlstrom played matador defense, allowing the nose tackle a free path to Peters on a 3 man rush.
 
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#163      
we are the program where tight ends RARELY get thrown to. it’s such a shame .

is our line that bad that we need our TE’s to pass block ?
After watching the past few games and seeing Lowe get pancaked/bull rushed numerous times, I’d say the answer to this is resoundingly yes. I think Barker has NFL potential, but he is not being utilized as much as he needs to be.
 
#164      
Somewhat OT, what was the fan attitude during our 2-10 2006 campaign? Obviously we had a few more game changing recruits on the way, but we were in a few games vs. pretty good teams until late even though we came up short in all of them.

If we only win 2-3 games this year or something, but we lose close ones vs. teams like Purdue and even have an Iowa/Wisconsin on the ropes before losing, I’ll personally consider it a very nice step in the right direction and maybe even start to develop some real optimism IF recruiting picks up.
That 2006 season was actually one of my favorites at the time. After being numbingly bad, the improvement was jawdropping, and I was excited for the future.
 
#165      
Pure and simple - the players aren't here to be a Big Ten caliber football team. We have some nice running backs, a decent kicker and a pretty good punter. That's it. Unfortunately, the rest are MAC level. It will take several recruiting classes just to get to fair.

We can hammer the coaching, and it was questionable at the end, but what plays can you call that you know will work when your slower and smaller across the field. Lovie built this. We are starting from itch (which comes before scratch). Basketball is coming.
You are actually blaming this on Lovie?!!
 
#168      
we all (or most of us) thought the number of 6th year seniors on our team was going to give us a little advantage this year. its not.
lets face it, by year 5 or year 6 in college , you are who you are going to be in the game of football.
Experience is nice to have, but it really only helps with the mental part of the game and not the physical part.
you are not bigger, stronger or quicker at age 23 than you were at age 21

Our O line is just not able to give our QB the time he really needs to play pro pocket style. We need a guy who can quickly run out and improvise.

I think its time to switch things up a little.
 
#170      

GrayGhost77

Centennial, CO
we all (or most of us) thought the number of 6th year seniors on our team was going to give us a little advantage this year. its not.
lets face it, by year 5 or year 6 in college , you are who you are going to be in the game of football.
Experience is nice to have, but it really only helps with the mental part of the game and not the physical part.
you are not bigger, stronger or quicker at age 23 than you were at age 21

Our O line is just not able to give our QB the time he really needs to play pro pocket style. We need a guy who can quickly run out and improvise.

I think its time to switch things up a little.
I'd say most if not all of the benefit of having so many 6th year seniors is negated by the fact they all have to learn a new scheme under new coaches.
 
#171      

altgeld88

Arlington, Virginia
That 2006 season was actually one of my favorites at the time. After being numbingly bad, the improvement was jawdropping, and I was excited for the future.
This. I recall vividly cleaning the grout on my kitchen floor (don't ask; new house and the prior owner was a complete slob) while watching the MSU game (goodness, I miss John L. Smith.) Our winning FG sent me into paroxyms of elation, so long had it been (23 months) since we won a BT game. We lost nearly every game that season, but only got blown out once or twice. You could sense the promise of 2007.

2005, on the other hand, was a relentless cavalcade of pain and humiliation. Penn State was up 56-0 on us at halftime in Champaign on Homecoming. Paterno was merciful in the second half and we outscored them 10-7. Not that I still remember that 16 years later.
 
#173      

the national

the Front Range
For some perspective, my wife (an Iowa grad and faithful Hawkeye) said that the playcalling was totally Kirk but we just don’t have good enough (disciplined) players to execute. She also commented how bad the talent is. “Shocked!!! I thought Lovie was better than this. He really should have been fired years ago!. No wonder you Illini fans are so mad! You’ve been playing with JV players for years!”

she’s not wrong. 😑
 
#174      
For some perspective, my wife (an Iowa grad and faithful Hawkeye) said that the playcalling was totally Kirk but we just don’t have good enough (disciplined) players to execute. She also commented how bad the talent is. “Shocked!!! I thought Lovie was better than this. He really should have been fired years ago!. No wonder you Illini fans are so mad! You’ve been playing with JV players for years!”

she’s not wrong. 😑
It must be incredible that Lovie found a way to take most of that same slow, soft, small talent to a bowl game two years ago. I didn't even like Lovie but, you all are making him into a giant among coaches.