Pregame: Illinois at Purdue, Saturday, September 30th, 2:30pm CT, Peacock

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#51      

IllinialuminAZ

IllinialuminAZ
IllinialuminAZ
This just seems like a huge game as far as perception and momentum for the rest of the season. Win and we're 3-2 (1-1) and it looks like we are a contender for the Big Ten West. But lose, and 2-3 (0-2) is starting to look like a major uphill climb with the risk of losing the fanbase.

Based on nothing but hope and blind optimism, I'm going with the good guys finding a way to get it done. I'll say 23-20 on a last second FG.
 
#52      

Fuze

F
Fuze
Illini4Chief said:
Purdue knows Couch B, very well......Purdue looking at tapes of FAU, noting weakness with the special touch of Ryan Walters inside info.....
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Do you mean to imply that this doesn't go both ways? We can watch their tapes too and they've got a lot more tape of what they struggle with than we do with 3 losses, 2 of them being by double digits, and our staff knows the Purdue staff just as well as they know us.
 
#53      

Illini in Italy

Illini in Italy
Illini in Italy
EyeoftheIllini said:
I really believe people greatly underestimated what losing 4 out of last 5 at end of last season meant about that team and prospects for this team. Given what we lost off of that team and how season ended. I thought those projecting 8-10 wins for this team might be in dire jeopardy of orange kook-aid poisoning. I mean last year’s team was the best we’ve had in a long while, and it only won 8.
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Freudian slip? You need to copyright the phrase ASAP! It 100% accurately describes Loyalty posters in general! 🤪
 
#54      

band camp

band camp
STL City
band camp
Fuze said:
Do you mean to imply that this doesn't go both ways? We can watch their tapes too and they've got a lot more tape of what they struggle with than we do with 3 losses, 2 of them being by double digits, and our staff knows the Purdue staff just as well as they know us.
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Converse Chuck Taylor GIF by TraceLoops
 
#55      

illiniwil

I
illiniwil
two yards rushing the ball on first and ten like saturday and we lose..... spread the field , toss it around and selective running the ball
to move the chains is the way to beat Purdue. running the ball after keeping Purdue on the field up two scores in the fourth is my dream.
 
#57      

IlliniSon

I
IlliniSon
I’ll put Bielema’s 15 years of head coaching experience against Walters with four games any day. Our team will be ready to play. Purdue sucks! They’ve already lost three home games! Newton will have Card running for his life!! GO ILLINI!!!
 
#58      

illiram

illiram
illiram
At the end of the day, we have lost to two top 25 teams. I would guess that most teams would lose to both Penn State and an underrated Kansas team. I am going to guess that we have a breakout game and win this weekend by at least 2 touchdowns. I bleed orange and blue.

Illini 31
Purdue 14
 
#60      

GILL-INOIS

G
GILL-INOIS
Mentioned last week on pre-game thread they need to utilize the depth at RB and WR. Throw all the guys into the mix because there is some major depth at these positions. I have been the #1 fan of RB Laughery from the beginning. This kid had some injury issues Senior year of high school and FR season last season. He is super agile and real strong for his frame. Worked in some reps at kickoffs and few carries so far. He is a utility knife that hopefully gets more playing time as the season progresses.

Get this O-Line worked out and we have 4 guys that can ground and pound.....perfect for conference play
 
#62      

illiniwil

I
illiniwil
We are not a ground and pound team. maybe late against thinner
2nd team or tired competition but not this offensive line. Even last
year our offense was balanced enough to throw on first down, spread
the field and find gaps for our backs to run the ball. haven't seen
much of that yet.
 
#63      

GILL-INOIS

G
GILL-INOIS
illiniwil said:
We are not a ground and pound team
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Agree because the O-Line hasn't been consistent

We have the RBs to do that....just need improvement with the big guys up front. I like the balanced attack and we are getting yards....just need that to translate to points. Same issue as last season with not finishing drives
 
#64      

illiniwil

I
illiniwil
to be clear:

i dont believe that this team (this line) will ever be a ground and pound team.
i also dont want that type of offense, except when we are killing clock. if we haven't
yet, i would be surprised if we are killing clock up 10-14 for a win anytime this year.

like good NFL teams, run when they expect pass and pass when they expect run.
take what they give you. i thought we did that pretty well last year, im not sure of
the difference other than a better offensive line.
 
#67      

Scoregasm

S
Scoregasm
GILL-INOIS said:
Mentioned last week on pre-game thread they need to utilize the depth at RB and WR. Throw all the guys into the mix because there is some major depth at these positions. I have been the #1 fan of RB Laughery from the beginning. This kid had some injury issues Senior year of high school and FR season last season. He is super agile and real strong for his frame. Worked in some reps at kickoffs and few carries so far. He is a utility knife that hopefully gets more playing time as the season progresses.

Get this O-Line worked out and we have 4 guys that can ground and pound.....perfect for conference play
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He had a nice cut back on that TD, good vision.
 
#68      

Ill in Cols

I
Ill in Cols
EyeoftheIllini said:
I really believe people greatly underestimated what losing 4 out of last 5 at end of last season meant about that team and prospects for this team. Given what we lost off of that team and how season ended. I thought those projecting 8-10 wins for this team might be in dire jeopardy of orange kook-aid poisoning. I mean last year’s team was the best we’ve had in a long while, and it only won 8.
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That may be so but, I would think that, in the minds of competitive football players, losing 3 of those games where the outcome may well have turned on a poor referee call might not weigh that heavily on their confidence level. Nor do I think that last season has any significant impact on this season.

I believe that the entirety of what is going on this season is based on talent lost from last season. Coaching? We do have a first time d coordinator which can certainly be impactful. If Walters was still here would we be better on defense? Anybody's guess. And I am somewhat underwhelmed with Lunney. Hope things improve there.
 
#69      

RockfordIllini

R
RockfordIllini
I’m still optimistic we can get to 6 wins, maybe more if things come together right. We are better than we’ve looked this year.

Offense is gaining around 400 ypg, including 350+ against a stout PSU defense. O Line needs to be a lot better particularly in pass pro.

Defense is rounding into form. Secondary has been better than expected.

We just have too many turnovers and penalties. Without those, Toledo and FAU are probably comfortable 2 score plus wins. And who knows what the PSU game looks like if we aren’t -5 in TO margin.

So I don’t think it’s a talent issue, it’s a beating ourselves issue. Will we fix the mistakes that are costing us? I don’t know, but if we do, no reason why can’t go 4-4 or 5-3 against our schedule.
 
#70      

RML

R
RML
Scoregasm said:
He had a nice cut back on that TD, good vision.
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I was delighted with his performance as a back. On kick returns, he has looked a little slow and tentative to me. But as a back, nice!
 
#71      

Ransom Stoddard

Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Ransom Stoddard
I've always had this marked as an "L". The way we've played so far doesn't warrant a re-evaluation.
 
#74      

altgeld88

altgeld88
Arlington, Virginia
altgeld88
Ransom Stoddard said:
I've always had this marked as an "L". The way we've played so far doesn't warrant a re-evaluation.
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I'm optimistic that we'll win. Then again, I'm going to drive 1300 miles round-trip to see the Illini play for the first time in 15 years, so my optimism is self-serving (and protective of my fragile ego.)

I did, however, note your recommendation to visit Slayter Hill for the pregame Purdue band concert. So I've that going for me, which is nice. ;)
 
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