Illini_1979
- Oregon
Have never been to a Ducks game. Looking forward to the experience.Welcome to Eugene, hope you have a wonderful time up until kickoff...
Oregon game (Oct. 26th): 2:30pm CT, CBS
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Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Dan Lanning came out and said it was 100% intentional and was solely to run more time off the clock. Those 4 seconds turned out to be the reason that they won the game. That is great awareness of the rules, but if it is intentional like that, there should be an unsportsmanlike call (same way I have been advocating for an unsportsmanlike call when players clearly fall on field to fake an injury to slow game down). It is impossible to be able to tell intent on that play, of course, but it is something that the coach openly admitted to doing this.
Perhaps he'd like or doesn't care if they make a rule change. Could be just a kick in the pants to the rules committee and take advantage of it while you can.
I agree with you . it is unsportsmanlike and at that point in the game make it as such . intent or not doesnt matter .
just make it a rule that doing so in the last 2 minutes gives a team the option of restoring the time lost
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
So you don't have to have replay assess the time loss, just call it a 5 (10, 7, whatever) second add-on, same idea as the 10 second runoff for offensive penalties.
Exactitude isn't important, and having the game pause for a stupid delay to haggle over a second or two would be a disaster, the point is just to disincentivize this.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
If we don't get #BPOTR for this game, then it (A) clearly is not on Bret's radar as a possibility or (B) he has a hatred of that look for some reason, lol. Because we need to draw on this epic energy when we go to Eugene!!
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
I generally agree. However, it should not even need a review. It is quite easy to tell when the last snap took place, and should in theory be communicated down to the on-field officials in quick order. If we can do it sitting at home easily, then they should be able to do it on the field quickly without needing a formal review.
Weather looks like about 60 degrees and cloudy. They project rain showers that day, however, "It NEVER rains in Autzen"
Looks like a 12:30 kickoff. As for getting to Autzen, I personally think using one of the shuttle buses is the best or walk from campus or even downtown. If you're staying downtown or in that area, might want to checkout the Fifth Street Market. Saturday is also the Farmers Market and the Saturday Market good place for getting a bit of Eugene vibe. It's getting a little late in the year for the Farmers Market, still worth the visit. One of my faves is the Hideaway Bakery at Farmers.
Also, I'd recommend checking out the athletic facilities a bit, especially Hayward Field (track & field), see my avatar.
Great food, wine and beer in the Pacific NW so enjoy.
If you're flying in to PDX you'll have a great view of Mt Hood (11,000 ft elev) out one side and Mt St Helen's (8,000 ft elev formerly 9,600 ft) and Adams (12,800 ft elev) out the other.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Edit: thought I was in the Michigan threadIf we don't get #BPOTR for this game, then it (A) clearly is not on Bret's radar as a possibility or (B) he has a hatred of that look for some reason, lol. Because we need to draw on this epic energy when we go to Eugene!!
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
We will get completely destroyed if we play anything like last Saturday.
But that's true of every game left on our schedule really.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Conversely, if we play like we did against Nebraska and Oregon plays like it did against Idaho ... could be a shocker in the making.
Bottom line is we need to show up and not make silly mistakes ... second half vs. Purdue better have lit a fire, because it was unacceptable on so many levels, lol.
Let's not worry too much about this one yet. If Oregon shows up and plays an "A" game, what we do honestly won't matter all that much. Oregon has blown a lot of teams out over the years, if it happens to us, we don't have to like it, but fine so be it. Truth is, I look at their play, and I just have trouble seeing how they're anything but a bad matchup for us. Their overall speed is lightning fast. And one of the biggest weaknesses we've had defensively is our lack of speed and inability to get off blocks or get pressure. Oregon also really puts your linebackers out in space and that has been troublesome for us already this season.
Overall, we need to have Oregon show up and play a D or F game. Just low energy, lackluster play. They typically have 1 mid-season game like that a year. Have to hope it's ours as that's how we win. Otherwise we’ll probably just be debating the merits of losing this game by 20 vs. losing this game by 40. It's also why I think this game is so unimportant overall for us despite them being a #1 or #2 ranked team as we should lose this game well over 90% of the time. This game doesn't break our season, it's how we perform in the other more 50/50 games as those are winnable if we play well. This Oregon game, we could play well and still lose by over 3 touchdowns easy.
That's our main hope in my opinion right there. We play our best game of the season and Oregon sleepwalks. I want it to happen, I hope it will happen, but we'll need some special season magic in this one to make it so.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Here's a message board topic
If you were given the choice of beating Michigan or Oregon, one is a win and one is a loss, which would you take?
Would Oregon being #1 or not change your answer?
I don't think anyone will be surprised that for me it's Michigan without a millisecond's hesitation.
If you were given the choice of beating Michigan or Oregon, one is a win and one is a loss, which would you take?
Would Oregon being #1 or not change your answer?
I don't think anyone will be surprised that for me it's Michigan without a millisecond's hesitation.
Illini_1979
- Oregon
Thanks for the information. I have lived in the Portland area for over 20 years so am familiar with the Pacific NW.
I did purchase a couple of shuttle bus passes. That seems like a great way to get to the game. We'll get there early and explore, as I haven't spent too much time on campus, although I am pretty familiar with the Eugene/Springfield area.
I hope the Ducks can keep up with us and make it a competitive game.
I'll be rooting for the Ducks Friday in their game against Purdon't.
Same. Let's beat Michigan on a special day in front of a packed house and make it convincing that we're the better team. Even if we knocked off a #1 Oregon it would feel fluky, and we'd all know Oregon is still the better team.
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
If you give me a choice between beating Michigan or ANY other team I will always choose Michigan.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I'm with you. While Oregon is the flashier opponent on paper and any road win vs. a top 5 opponent is staggeringly impressive no matter what, the Michigan game is fundamentally more important for the long-term growth of the program. A few reasons why I think so:
1. It's Michigan. Michigan is a long-time Big Ten opponent (making it naturally more meaningful for our fans), and the fact is they have owned us. Since (and including) that infamous home loss to them in 2000, we are 2-12 vs. them. For a matchup that clearly gets our fans excited, we are a less than an afterthought to them most years. While beating ranked KU teams can excite fans, beating ranked Michigan teams helps to win back the battle-hardened skeptics who gave up on us in the past. To let this opportunity to beat a still-ranked Michigan team that is ALSO significantly down compared to previous years slip through our fingertips would just be too heartbreakingly Illinois for me to handle. On that similar note...
2. Winning at home is essential for building the fan base. This is our second sellout game of the season, and that is obviously two more than we had in the 7 previous seasons that allowed fans. When we win big road games and draw a big crowd only to faceplant at home in front of our own fans, I think it damages the fan base's psyche in a unique way ... think the 2022 MSU home game. In the age of NIL and conference expansion, we need to do everything possible to continue to grow our fan base, and to call beating a ranked Michigan team in Champaign in front of a sold out crowd a "golden opportunity" is QUITE the understatement!
3. The pageantry of this game. I think this is slightly less important than the first two, but it is still very important. All the celebrations, the sold-out crowd, the national exposure on CBS, the meaningful history behind THIS matchup on this specific anniversary ... it feels like we are playing to both defend our legacy of a rich tradition drawing back to Red Grange AND fighting to keep all of the progress we have made under Bielema. While every win continues to reshape the image of Illini Football, this one seems like it would send an especially loud statement ... certainly louder than beating KU at home (who now looks awful and is historically worse than us) or winning at Nebraska (a team so talented at blowing leads and choking in clutch moments that it has become a meme).
Winning at Oregon would be absolutely epic ... but I think if we lose to Michigan and beat Oregon somehow, a lot of people in the college football world will just see an "erratic Illini team that has some pieces but is inconsistent" ... and they have seen that numerous times in the past. Beating Michigan at home speaks to a more rock-solid toughness and pride in our program, IMO. GOTTA have this one at home.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Without a doubt, give me a home victory in front of a sellout crowd against the defending chumps. It is a huge sell for all of the recruits in town, as well as the casual fan viewing in. Put it this way, I will be disappointed losing to Michigan, not so much to Oregon.
An Oregon win would be better in terms of making the playoff, but we need to get to the point where coming into Memorial Stadium is one of the most difficult wins.
The goal for this season should be defending home turf (7-0). We are 57% there and can get 71% there with a victory on Saturday.
I’ll take a solid victory over Michigan over what would be regarded as a flukey squeaker over Oregon.
This. The frustrating part of Bielema's tenure is how poorly we have defended our home field. We have had some major wins on the road, and then we faceplant at home. That has to change to continue to get fans to buy in. My hope is that with a good year this year, we can get to 50k season ticket holders. That would be huge and avoid situations like we are going to see with the MSU game (they just released a 4 for $69 deal, and there are a LOT of tickets remaining--that could be embarrassing if we are ranked going into that game).
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
Any other year, and I would probably say a win over #1 Oregon would be better than a win over a relatively sad Michigan team. But Saturday is a historic day. I want us Illinois fans to have a special moment like that at home. Although, it still is close because a win on the road against #1 would be something to hold onto forever...
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