Northwestern 45, Illinois 43 Postgame

bluemountain · Nov 27, 2023

KnoxIllini2 said:
This season was encapsulated perfectly by the Northwestern game. We were able to do enough offensively to keep it interesting. The defense could not get enough stops, or if they got a stop, we'd cost ourselves yardage with penalties or the defense would be instantly rewarded by the offense (or special teams) turning it over.

A win would have done wonders for the program, but now we have eight plus months to gnash our teeth about 5 games that came down to 6 or 7 plays combined. Newton targeting against Wisconsin. Paddock magic in back to back weeks. Altmyer to Washington against Toledo. The picked up pass interference/defensive holding flags against Iowa and Northwestern. The muffed punts (THE MUFFED PUNTS?!). The kickoff return that was recovered by Nebraska (was it Nebraska?), just the whole Nebraska game was embarrassing.

I brought someone to their first Illini weekend, and they felt very welcomed. However, they gave the fan experience a "C, C-," ouch (they're a Sooner). With that said, the adding "I-L-L, I-N-I's" after first downs was a nice touch. We don't have many football traditions, so hopefully an Illini chant for first downs can become a new norm.

All in all, another beautiful afternoon of football left the beloved frustrated and wondering, "what if?"

If only we had a tradition and beloved symbol we could point people to....

altgeld88 · Nov 27, 2023

Dawgss4life said:
How can I ever trust this coaching staff to important decisions after telling everyone how altmeyer was hands down the best quarterback in the room? Don’t tell me Paddock wasn’t throwing those same darts in the spring. They promised altmeyer he would start. They fam well knew who the better passer was yet they took that chance.
Watch what happens when the transfer window opens. You’re not going to be happy..

Illinir1 · Nov 27, 2023

SescIllini said:
Adding USC, Oregon, Washington and UCLA to the Big Ten means we are the easy win. Remember this is entertainment and for Illinois to win these games we have to win them by 7 points to win by one point.

I get that the four new teams coming to the B1G are more talented than our Illini right now. But give those teams a few years in the B1G to see where they trend. Defense is an afterthought in the PAC12 (UCLA 299 ypg, Ore 307 ypg, Wash 400 ypg, USC 439 ypg vs. Illini 378 ypg (11th in B1G))? And I look forward to seeing pass-happy PAC12 teams playing in the snow in the Midwest in November. Ask pre-B1G perennial national title contender Nebraska what a cake walk joining the B1G has been.

BRucks · Nov 27, 2023

altgeld88 said:
To be fair, Coach Zuppke, reclining in his temperature-controlled man cave across Fourth Avenue from the stadium lo these 66 years takes nothing if not the very long view on the matter.

Don't believe everything that you read governor. A man can't post from the great beyond.

Illini2010-11 · Nov 27, 2023

Dawgss4life said:
How can I ever trust this coaching staff to important decisions after telling everyone how altmeyer was hands down the best quarterback in the room? Don’t tell me Paddock wasn’t throwing those same darts in the spring. They promised altmeyer he would start. They fam well knew who the better passer was yet they took that chance.
Watch what happens when the transfer window opens. You’re not going to be happy..

Dkayak · Nov 28, 2023

Dawgss4life said:
How can I ever trust this coaching staff to important decisions after telling everyone how altmeyer was hands down the best quarterback in the room? Don’t tell me Paddock wasn’t throwing those same darts in the spring. They promised altmeyer he would start. They fam well knew who the better passer was yet they took that chance.
Watch what happens when the transfer window opens. You’re not going to be happy..

It made sense to start the guy with a long future ahead of him, probably as a tiebreaker. Having two good choices like is a good problem, better legs vs better arm. It also made sense to keep JP playing toward the end for momentum reasons and to protect the recovering LA from sacks. I’m confident Luke understands too and isn’t going anywhere.

Fighter of the Nightman · Nov 28, 2023

One more minor bummer for this game is that our attendance (42,310), while actually pretty "good" for the last home game vs. NU compared to most years, dropped our season average below 50,000.

Illiniaaron · Nov 28, 2023

Illinir1 said:
I get that the four new teams coming to the B1G are more talented than our Illini right now. But give those teams a few years in the B1G to see where they trend. Defense is an afterthought in the PAC12 (UCLA 299 ypg, Ore 307 ypg, Wash 400 ypg, USC 439 ypg vs. Illini 378 ypg (11th in B1G))? And I look forward to seeing pass-happy PAC12 teams playing in the snow in the Midwest in November. Ask pre-B1G perennial national title contender Nebraska what a cake walk joining the B1G has been.

If I'm remembering correctly, Penn St. was a perennial contestant for the national title before they joined as well. Having to play OSU and Michigan every year makes that a little tough.

altgeld88 · Nov 28, 2023

Fighter of the Nightman said:
One more minor bummer for this game is that our attendance (42,310), while actually pretty "good" for the last home game vs. NU compared to most years, dropped our season average below 50,000.

I didn't realize that 42k draw on Saturday. That's really encouraging given the date and weather. Augurs well for next season's draws.

Illiniaaron said:
If I'm remembering correctly, Penn St. was a perennial contestant for the national title before they joined as well. Having to play OSU and Michigan every year makes that a little tough.

They often were under Paterno from the late '60s, though certainly not annually. As an independent their schedule sometimes contained a handful of Top-20 teams, other years fewer. I'm guessing here but would bet that their schedule these days is on balance not that much more difficult. And Ohio State and Michigan aren't always Top 5 or even Top 10 at times. It ebbs and flows. OSU has had quite a run since hiring Tressel in '01 but less so in the '80s and '90s... good but not stellar. And Michigan was often mediocre after Carr retired, under Hoke and RichRod, until Jimbaugh found his mojo a couple seasons ago.

BRucks · Nov 28, 2023

altgeld88 said:
I didn't realize that 42k draw on Saturday. That's really encouraging given the date and weather. Augurs well for next season's draws.

They often were under Paterno from the late '60s, though certainly not annually. As an independent their schedule sometimes contained a handful of Top-20 teams, other years fewer. I'm guessing here but would bet that their schedule these days is on balance not that much more difficult. And Ohio State and Michigan aren't always Top 5 or even Top 10 at times. It ebbs and flows. OSU has had quite a run since hiring Tressel in '01 but less so in the '80s and '90s... good but not stellar. And Michigan was often mediocre after Carr retired, under Hoke and RichRod, until Jimbaugh found his mojo a couple seasons ago.

Keep in mind that those 42k were tickets sold, not butts in seats. That number would be thousands fewer as many season-ticket holders stayed away. Students were nearly nonexistent.

Point-Illinois · Nov 28, 2023

Illinir1 said:
I get that the four new teams coming to the B1G are more talented than our Illini right now. But give those teams a few years in the B1G to see where they trend. Defense is an afterthought in the PAC12 (UCLA 299 ypg, Ore 307 ypg, Wash 400 ypg, USC 439 ypg vs. Illini 378 ypg (11th in B1G))? And I look forward to seeing pass-happy PAC12 teams playing in the snow in the Midwest in November. Ask pre-B1G perennial national title contender Nebraska what a cake walk joining the B1G has been.

I love how the B1G just sucks the life and excitement out of programs.

Room for one more…

blackdog · Nov 30, 2023

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1730021887982416135