Yeah I get some of that. Shivers is a small guy from Auburn who is real quick at RB and can catch and quick in open space. The other RB played at UNC and had like 40 carries in 3 years. Think they snagged a WR from Tennessee who had one career catch. Same goes with some of the D guys they had. Number of those DL have like a few tackles in career at most. Guess they are just trying to overhaul bodies in a years time. Throw in new OC and DC.
Pregame: Illinois at Indiana, Friday, September 2nd, 7:00pm CT, FS1
- Status
I thought we played Iowa in Champaign this year?Since I am always talking about the all-time series records in the basketball threads, I thought I would mention that Indiana is one of the few Big Ten opponents that we have an all-time winning record against ... so let's keep it that way!!
vs. Indiana: 44-24-3
vs. Rutgers: 5-3
vs. Northwestern: 56-54-5
vs. Iowa: 38-37-2gonna have to win in Iowa City this year to keep this one alive!
vs. Purdue: 45-46-6 ... so close to keeping this one even last year!
vs. Wisconsin: 38-44-7
vs. Minnesota: 31-40-3 ... hilariously, Bret is 8-0 vs. the Gophers, including last year ... they must hate that!
vs. Michigan State: 19-26-2
vs. Ohio State: 31-68-4
vs. Michigan: 23-71-2
vs. Nebraska: 5-13-1
vs. Penn State: 6-20
vs. Maryland: 0-2
Can you imagine what these would have looked like before our utterly awful previous two decades? We have lost 8 in a row to Iowa, for example - we must have REALLY been dominating that series at one point! I also know we were leading vs. Wisconsin and Purdue until relatively recently.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
I dont bet on the beloved, at least I never have before. I dont bet on sports and and dont want to start that habit. its a long term loser for all but about 2% of the people.
but lets hope the points arent needed for anyone to win money betting on the Illini tomorrow night.
We do
All true. But outside of QBs, most of the transfers from P5 schools you see usually have very little in the way of stats because of injuries or being buried on depth chart. And the ones at other positions that have stats that look decent or better usually aren’t coming to Illinois or Indiana. But doesn’t mean those players won’t be productive at the new school and improve it. Heck Bhebhe had two career catches prior to joining the Illini. Now granted he was highly rated coming out of HS, but he didn’t even play the year prior albeit cuz of injuries I think. Just can never tell. But I’ll go out on a limb and say most would have been more excited about the Illini signing the transfer WR from TN than they were about the Kody Case signing.
I get what you are saying and not calling them scrubs at all. Same time some of them just have never had game action or very little. Throw in most of our transfers this year are more fill in spots and depth(Devito is exception), guess these guys for Indiana will get thrown to the fire real quick. Not sold on the defense for Indiana yet even with the added bodies. Hopefully they can just have a "learning week" against us and get better after that
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
UMass is a truly hopeless job that it was a mistake for Walt Bell to take, though staying at FSU with Willie Taggart would have also been a career trap.
He was at Maryland with DJ Durkin before that (where the DC was our own Andy Buh), probably a guy with more of a recruiter reputation than an X's and O's one, but his initial OC success at Arkansas State put him right around the same career position Barry Lunney is now in.
Stylistically Bell meshes with where Indiana has been, relatively pass heavy, relatively spread, pretty middle of the pack tempo-wise.
It will be a departure from the slow, ground-and-pound Wyoming attack, a different sort of challenge.
Walters' D was nothing short of magnificent at getting off the field on 3rd downs last year, especially against this sort of offense. Very likely we will win if we can do that and lose if we can't.
Initially had not been a huge believer in, or fan of, Bielema. Some of the choices he made early on last year didn't help assuage some of the concerns I had.
However, I will admit that he VASTLY increased the competence of all phases of the game last year. Getting out-talented some weeks is something we can't avoid in this league. Far too often over the past 30 years we've had a clownshoes operation in addition to a talent deficit. Honestly, if never felt clownshoes last year - even the couple of insane 4th down calls weren't really clownshoes as much as meathead field position old school macho garbage.
I can look back at examples of not getting overly excited over game one win, but I'm bought in. Illinois is gonna beat Indiana on the road by 20+ points.
I'm ready to be hurt again.
However, I will admit that he VASTLY increased the competence of all phases of the game last year. Getting out-talented some weeks is something we can't avoid in this league. Far too often over the past 30 years we've had a clownshoes operation in addition to a talent deficit. Honestly, if never felt clownshoes last year - even the couple of insane 4th down calls weren't really clownshoes as much as meathead field position old school macho garbage.
I can look back at examples of not getting overly excited over game one win, but I'm bought in. Illinois is gonna beat Indiana on the road by 20+ points.
I'm ready to be hurt again.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
Gritty either has a savant mind for coaching history or his fingers are redhot from googling wiki on these dudes
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Correct, my mistake!
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
100% the latter. I am a wikipedia demon.
You do start to remember some of these guys over the years though. I knew I'd heard the name Walt Bell before.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Most everyone here obviously knows a lot more than I do about our opponents and depth, as I don't follow Illini football nearly as much as I did years ago. However, after watching the game last Saturday, my conclusion was that I have little idea what we really have under the hood on either side of the ball v. real opponents . That's partly because Wyoming didn't look very good.
I'd like to be optimistic about Friday night, and Vegas is certainly making me more so as the week passes, but all I can hang my hat on is that our boys have played a game, IU hasn't, and we have Chase and Isaiah. Road games for developing teams are tough to win. Gotta pressure the IU QB. Here's hoping...
I'd like to be optimistic about Friday night, and Vegas is certainly making me more so as the week passes, but all I can hang my hat on is that our boys have played a game, IU hasn't, and we have Chase and Isaiah. Road games for developing teams are tough to win. Gotta pressure the IU QB. Here's hoping...
illini80
- Forgottonia
There have been some things said about Indiana’s lack of leadership last year and how if they got down early they basically mailed it in.
I’d love to see an early score to two tomorrow night and let Walters turn up the pressure. But road games are tough. Mistakes happen easier. We need to make sure that doesn’t take us out of the game. Cautiously optimistic.
IL 27
IN 17
I’d love to see an early score to two tomorrow night and let Walters turn up the pressure. But road games are tough. Mistakes happen easier. We need to make sure that doesn’t take us out of the game. Cautiously optimistic.
IL 27
IN 17
I think that's the take. Indiana will come out and surprise us I'm sure, but for the first time in... decades I feel comfortable with the staff making adjustments. We're a second half team. That's amazing to me. We have a solid run game and they have a new RB and a question mark. We have a decent offensive scheme and we protect the ball and they have a question mark. We have a solid defense and a great secondary while they have a question mark. If Illinois football has taught me anything over the last 20 years it's that being optimistic about a ton of question marks never really pays off. Illinois wins by more than two scores. I think Indiana finds early success offensively and we shut them down later. Indiana won't have an answer to our run game but they'll play run defense every snap. DeVito has to make them pay.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
THE GOOD NEWS: I think Bielema checks the box on all four of your keys to the game. I also expect fewer penalty yards than IND.
MoCoMdIllini
- Montgomery County, Maryland
I never make predictions... until now
Illinois 21
Indinia 20
Illinois 21
Indinia 20
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Me too. I have to hot take this just a smidge though and admit that I currently feel the way I did when we began to see that real difference in the way BU handled the MBB program. The talent was lagging but the laying of the foundation was...concrete? swidt
Now granted Ayo was literally a game changer over there...but the same very real feeling of competence.... is inescapable for me currently.
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
Will take many many years of competence to change this program around as much as the bball program has, unless we land a top 5 QB prospect because he's Kurt Kittner's son or something. One player can change the game so much more in basketball.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Big 10 West Standings: (as we head into tonight's game)
1-0 ILL
1-0 NW
0-0 MIN
0-0 IOWA
0-0 WISC
0-1 NEB
0-1 PURD
Sole possession of 1st place on the line!
1-0 ILL
1-0 NW
0-0 MIN
0-0 IOWA
0-0 WISC
0-1 NEB
0-1 PURD
Sole possession of 1st place on the line!
Nice! lol
Can't wait for tonight's game. Lets go Illini! Beat the hoosiers.
Danny DeVito can't wait to watch his son tear it up tonight.
alamocityillini
- San Antonio
Oddshark likes the Illini,
- Status