Heckle struggled but he was also matched up with a guy who might be a first round pick.
Pregame: Illinois at Purdue, Saturday, October 4th, 11:00am CT, BTN
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Heckle struggled but he was also matched up with a guy who might be a first round pick.
Hopefully nothing serious. The bye week can’t get here fast enough
We can’t just rush 3 guys. We need to get more aggressive with the blitzing.
They did a real good job with the combo blocks and Feagin was running down him. When he runs like that he’s falling forward and picking up extra yards. It takes a toll on the defense having to tackle a 250lb back
Another game where it would be VERY hard for Odom in his first year to have acquired the kind of depth needed to hang 4 quarters with a physical and veteran football team. Establish the run offensively, then stop the run defensively. 2 keys
I think we see an even more dedicated running philosophy from Barry Lunney. This game screams Feagin 100+ yards.
Ryllini
- Lombard
I think I want to see more of Saboor. I thought his athleticism stood out Saturday. A little raw, but I'll take my chances with his raw skill. Could be our guy to follow Browne around.
I liked the bit we saw from Rooks. Less Heckel. He might have ran with Lemon, but he was all all turned around, but I guess most would be. He won't get worse from ehst happened Saturday. I'm fine with Clarke and Cox.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Hoping to see a lot of orange in the stands! Purdue has had between 3k and 7k unsold tickets every game, so I’m cautiously optimistic we scoop up some tickets for cheap and invade the place!
It all depends on match ups. rooks is huge but he’s stiff and doesn’t have the quickness of Heckle. Even if Bailey is cleared to play I would definitely platoon him. Patterson only got 1 snap was that because of his injury
If our O-line gets the same push that they did with USC, the game will not be in contention for Purdue. Surely, we've learned our lesson, right?...
Dixon and Beatty seem fairly clearly the top two WR. As the coaches seemed to imply throughout the offseason.
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GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Sprinkle some Bowick in there, too. Surprised Clement hasn't made more of an impact, but that goes to show you the depth of the WR room.
Top two are Beatty and Bowick. Him being hurt against Indiana was a larger issue than we think. He looks to be our best route runner, gets separation, has solid hands, and has been Luke's primary safety valve. And when he's not on the field it's a night and day difference when it comes to pressuring the defense. I like Dixon, especially the job he does blocking, but Bowick has honestly been a revelation so far this year.
Clement has been great IMO. Every time he gets the ball it seems like he makes someone miss a tackle then takes a 5 yard gain and makes it 12.
Dixon is gonna have to turn down some SERIOUS outside money to stay an Illini the next couple years. I wouldn't be surprised if his agent isn't already getting some nice offers from down South... he's having a Pat Bryant sophomore year type breakout.
Wouldn't surprise me if Bowick gets a 5th round draft grade and have a decision to make. His size, speed, route running and hands HAVE to be intriguing some pro scouts. I think he comes back for a year+ depending on 5 in 5 but revelation is the only way to describe him thus far.
I will be there - an orange highlight to my kids black and gold.
illinifan31
Former Krush Cow
- South Bend, IN
Let me put on my ND hat for a second.
Our defense sucks so hard. I was actually at the game. Almost everyone wants to fire our defensive coordinator. They aren't bad players, but we just get bad coverage and no pressure. The rain delay didn't help, but one field goal was from an ND fumble on our own 14, right after the rain delay. Which we then returned the kickoff for a TD, and then let Purdue waltz down the field playing prevent with 53 seconds left in the half. So like 17 points between Purdue and ND within 1 minute of play after the delay. The last TD was against our 2nd and 3rd stringers in garbage time of the 4th quarter.
So the 30 may be a little misleading.
That being said, I hate Illinois vs Purdue every year they play us tight. It took us so many OTs last year to barely beat them, and they were way worse.
Bowick's awesome, but calling him the second receiver is a stretch. He's 4th on the team in yards. The gap between Dixon (second) and Clement (third) is 120 yards. Dixon's honestly more close to being the #1 than the #3.
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And that includes some bad throws from Luke against Duke and a near TD vs WMU. He might've very possibly had more yards than Beatty as we sit here.
Dixon's very underappreciated. Super disappointing that neither his or Beatty's big catches led to points.
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Only one OT last year.
Aaron Henry needs to figure it out quick. Ryan Browne owns him
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
For some light-hearted humor (and a Bears deep cut)
Justin Bowick on non-scoring plays: David Terrell
Justin Bowick on scoring plays: Jerry Rice
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
I like us in this one.
Last year’s game was fluky. Ryan Walters had a personal vendetta against us and I believe he was even calling the plays in that game? Against a defense and personnel that he knew everything about.
Plus, that was Ryan Browne’s first game of the season (he threw just one pass the week before), so we didn’t have a chance to scout him yet.
And the game itself was weird. We were up 27-3 in the 3rd quarter before their comeback began which included a scoop and score touchdown along with an onside kick recovery.
I’ll go:
38-27 Illini.
Closer than we’d all like, but a comfortable win nonetheless.
Last year’s game was fluky. Ryan Walters had a personal vendetta against us and I believe he was even calling the plays in that game? Against a defense and personnel that he knew everything about.
Plus, that was Ryan Browne’s first game of the season (he threw just one pass the week before), so we didn’t have a chance to scout him yet.
And the game itself was weird. We were up 27-3 in the 3rd quarter before their comeback began which included a scoop and score touchdown along with an onside kick recovery.
I’ll go:
38-27 Illini.
Closer than we’d all like, but a comfortable win nonetheless.
Because of how high Lemon is projected I felt Heckle did great. Especially on the TD catches. He was all over Lemon. Had their QB had one of his errant throws it could’ve been bad for USC. Both perfect throws and catches.
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