Pregame: Illinois at Indiana, Saturday, September 20th, 6:30pm CT, NBC

Status
Not open for further replies.
#326      
skyIdub
illinoisfootball said:
what my gut says, 31-24 Indiana.
Click to expand...

There's pre and probiotics that will help with that.

gas-gassy.gif
 
#329      
WWWWRocU
Well, if you're gut is digesting fermented kimchi and beets, I'll go along with this because you know like your gut, the game will flow smoothly for us.
 
#331      
rdk573
Curbelo Fanboy said:
Your last sentence is the key. We might lose this week, but the overarching theme of Bertball (as I like to call it) is you just don't beat yourselves with turnovers & general on field stupidity. How many decent IL teams have we seen go up in flames because of costly turnovers, stupid penalties, and an overall lack of discipline on the field (late hits, taunting, etc).

Because of this, the overall talent level that Bret needs to achieve high levels of success is probably a little less than other less discipline focused coaches. Of course you need ballers to be a consistent top 10 program but if you habitually play smart, disciplined ball control football, you can win with a few less 4 & 5 stars than other programs that are a little more loosey goosey on the discipline side.

I really think we can see the NFL influence on Bret's style. I know he was good at Wiscy & so/so at Arkansas, but it seems his time on NFL staffs really taught him the value of even the minute details. In that league so many games are decided in such tight margins that small details like field position, ball security, etc take on even greater significance. As one of the guys on the postgame put it Saturday night, Bret wins games "in the margins". The small stuff that doesn't always seems significant but if you are solid with the small stuff, it can add up to something very meaningful.
Click to expand...

In addition to limiting mistakes, Bertball is primarily controlling the line of scrimmage...If you're controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage, you just need decent athletes to be very good or even a great team...Unfortunately, this year, despite the return of many starters, our lines are average and our offensive line for the most part has been awful... We are not as good as our ranking and why the oddsmakers have us losing to Indiana..Thank Goodness we have Luke (IMHO Our MVP) and an adaptable offensive coordinator, otherwise we would not have even a decent chance in this game..
 
#332      
IlliniInCAN
Fly Illini Fly! said:
You do know we've outscored our opponent by 64 points in that span?
Click to expand...
Yes, I’m aware. And it was against teams that have a combined 1 win on the year.

If Illinois plays the first two quarters they did against duke and western Michigan they will find themselves down by double digits against a team that was in the CFP last year.

The point was, a slow start is not going to work against teams like IU and USC. I’m hoping they come out hot and blow IU out, just saying the effort will need to better over 4 quarters to win this one.
 
#333      
bluemountain
Indiana is a very good team - I think they have more high end talent than we do, they are well coached and will have a big home field advantage Saturday. Countering that, Bret is probably the best road coach in the Big 10; he does a great job of making sure the players are locked in and take care of business. At the end of the day, while I think we can win, I don't think we will win
 
#334      
the Castle on Daniel
I haven't had an opportunity to read any posts in this thread, but I think we're Indiana's third ranked opponent since 2024 Opener. OSU dominated from what I remember, but they were somewhat in it with ND I think.

That said, I do think we could win this one, but we can't come out skittish.
 
#335      
zentrails
Dkayak said:
Big picture question for y’all. I’m truly puzzled.

Collectively speaking, the highly paid professional coaches polled put Illinois far ahead of IU. OTOH the betting public gives a slight edge to IU. Furthermore, the betting public has significantly underestimated the Illini this season. So tell me please, which group has deeper, more credible insights? In your minds, why would the spread trump the coaches polls?
Click to expand...
 
#336      
BWBW
Hoping the Beloved win, but I realize Indiana is a good team with a good coaching staff. Also hoping the game is called as fairly and impartially as possible.

Perhaps we will have a scripted opening drive featuring a hurry up offense that results in a touchdown. Those are fun.
 
#337      
Illini4Chief
IlliniInCAN said:
Yes, I’m aware. And it was against teams that have a combined 1 win on the year.

If Illinois plays the first two quarters they did against duke and western Michigan they will find themselves down by double digits against a team that was in the CFP last year.

The point was, a slow start is not going to work against teams like IU and USC. I’m hoping they come out hot and blow IU out, just saying the effort will need to better over 4 quarters to win this one.
Click to expand...
Yup....no time for getting behind and playin catch up ball. I think our secondary needs to bear down, too many open over the middle ......lotta guys gettin open against us.....I've seen this in all games....
 
#338      
BrownTown
Illinois got a gut punch with the slow start. They played down to WMU and looked stiff when things went poorly after expecting to roll through.

This game you are on the road vs. the CFP entrant and 5.5 point home favorite Indiana Hoosiers. You get to come into their house with a light heart knowing that you aren't supposed to win this game.

"-The quarterback"
"-The All American Edge"
"-The All American Corner"

All this with the next coming of Saban coaching them.

Well let's see if you can get a running game going? Can Xavier Scott show up and win this game with a huge pick? Will Gabe Jacas put the first real hurt on your quarterback? Can Bailey get a key punch out?

Indiana can move the ball against this defense but they better be ready to do so in 12 play/80 yard drives.

On the other side? Come out gunning, tempo, Kaedin--MF-Feagin on tosses. Get Luke into play action and let him keep it! We haven't seen that yet but he always looks better after breaking a long unexpected run. Get him that run early on and let his dawg come out.
I don't want Luke taking shots but nothing like taking off on a run to get the nerves out and keep Indiana's pass rush at bay.

Illinois is 13-2 vs the spread the last 15 games

Make that 14-2!

Illinois 34
Indiana 28
 
#339      
BretMyBeachHouse
rdk573 said:
In addition to limiting mistakes, Bertball is primarily controlling the line of scrimmage...If you're controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage, you just need decent athletes to be very good or even a great team...Unfortunately, this year, despite the return of many starters, our lines are average and our offensive line for the most part has been awful... We are not as good as our ranking and why the oddsmakers have us losing to Indiana..Thank Goodness we have Luke (IMHO Our MVP) and an adaptable offensive coordinator, otherwise we would not have even a decent chance in this game..
Click to expand...
This.

I'm not sure when midseason grades will get a post but if it was right now the O-line would have a huge gap between expected going into season and actual.

Someone in another thread suggested that in prior years we've improved over the season. Hopefully it starts Saturday.
 
#343      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
Indiana is not making the playoff this year. They would need to beat BOTH Illinois and Iowa to make that happen (and Iowa may very well be the tougher one of the two). Much more difficult than people realize.
 
#344      
Jimbo
Fkfootball said:
Indiana fan here. I don't know what outcome to expect next weekend? But this Indiana team is far more talented than last season. Their OL is miles better. The QB is far more talented. The RBs are a lot better. The WR room is a year older. They brought back 3 Pre-Season All Americans on defense. Probably the most athletic defense we've ever had. I agree we've cleaned up on some cupcakes but Old Dominion just blew out Virginia Tech yesterday and is probably the best team in Virginia and Kennesaw State lost to Wake Forrest by 1 point. Maybe the ACC just sucks? There is no question in my mind that we would beat the living crap out of Duke. So we'll see what happens Saturday. Safe travels if you're coming here. I'll be there.
Click to expand...
Crap. I don’t like this breakdown. Indiana by 25.
 
#347      
jrichisamazing
Fly Illini Fly! said:
This is not nearly the "playoff play in" for Illinois as it is for Indiana. Even if we lose, with a win over USC, there's a more than reasonable path to 10-2. We can absolutely afford to split the next two.

Indiana has Oregon and PSU on their schedule. They HAVE to win this game (and Iowa next week).
Click to expand...

The problem is if we lose to them and both teams get to 10-2, they are getting in over us.
 
#349      
PopChampaign
Regardless of all the outside noise, predictions, vegas etc… we need to win this one.

It’ll solidify our top 10 ranking and show the B1G & the rest of the country the progress we’ve made and that we’re here to stay.

I love this program and with them no matter the outcome. It’s our time and we better come ready to play from the first snap. For all those that have been around when we were in the dumps for years, it’s a great feeling and let’s enjoy this and be optimistic, there’s gotta come a time we shake the bad memories and expectations and pave a new path forward where we expect to win.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back