Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa, Saturday, October 8th, 6:30pm CT, BTN

Status
Not open for further replies.
#651      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Obviously hoping for a different outcome tonight, but I was looking at two old YouTube videos of big night games we’ve hosted vs. Michigan over the years:

2000 - Michigan/Illinois Intro
2000 - #11 Michigan at #17 Illinois
2007 - Michigan at Illinois

I included the first video just to remind us all that Champaign CAN be thought of as a tailgating destination again. 😎

The main thing that stuck out to me, though, is how LOUD our crowds were!! While both sellout crowds, the first game had an attendance of 72,524 and the second one had 57,078 (similar to what we expect tonight??). Those aren’t huge numbers compared to other places, and Memorial is quite open.

Any acoustics nerds have any thoughts? I mean, our stadium is REALLY loud in both! One commenter on the 2007 video couldn’t believe how loud it was for a crowd under 60,000. While I’m willing to just say we are some really great fans (😉), I always assumed the structure of our stadium was actually somewhat of a handicap for containing noise … now I’m cooking up pseudoscientific acoustics theories about the east and west side stands being symmetrical helping to make it loud. 😂

Either way, I hope it’s electric tonight!
Click to expand...
Saw the post in the thread this early and was gonna congratulate you on being there and tailgating already. Then to find out it’s just a post about acoustics. 😁
 
#655      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
www.stltoday.com

ESPN's Rece Davis, Pete Thamel predictions for Illinois vs. Iowa football

ESPN's Rece Davis and Pete Thamel predictions for Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Iowa Hawkeyes football game on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022.
www.stltoday.com www.stltoday.com

Erik Hall
The cast of the "ESPN College GameDay" podcast made predictions about the upcoming weekend of college football games during Friday's podcast.
One of the games that they made selections for was the Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Iowa Hawkeyes football game, which is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Illinois comes into the matchup 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten. Most recently, Illinois defeated Wisconsin 34-10 on Oct. 1.
Iowa enters the contest 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten. On Oct. 1, Michigan beat Iowa 27-14.

Rece Davis picked Illinois to cover as a 3.5-point favorite.

Pete Thamel picked Illinois to cover as a 3.5-point favorite.

"Oh how the ol' tables have turned quick reputationally in the Big Ten West," Thamel said. "I give a lot of credit to (Illinois head coach) Bret Bielema, who has essentially built a better meat grinder than Wisconsin and than Iowa, we'll see. Ultimately, you've got to play the game to prove that in its full form, but I really think that Illinois right now — again, this would have been crazy for us to say going into the year, right? But I just feel like it would be hard for me to pick against them, just because they obviously have the dynamicism in the run game — they have the nation's leading rusher. And they have proven to have as good a front seven as anyone in that league."
 
#656      

illinoistradition

I
illinoistradition
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Obviously hoping for a different outcome tonight, but I was looking at two old YouTube videos of big night games we’ve hosted vs. Michigan over the years:

2000 - Michigan/Illinois Intro
2000 - #11 Michigan at #17 Illinois
2007 - Michigan at Illinois

I included the first video just to remind us all that Champaign CAN be thought of as a tailgating destination again. 😎

The main thing that stuck out to me, though, is how LOUD our crowds were!! While both sellout crowds, the first game had an attendance of 72,524 and the second one had 57,078 (similar to what we expect tonight??). Those aren’t huge numbers compared to other places, and Memorial is quite open.

Any acoustics nerds have any thoughts? I mean, our stadium is REALLY loud in both! One commenter on the 2007 video couldn’t believe how loud it was for a crowd under 60,000. While I’m willing to just say we are some really great fans (😉), I always assumed the structure of our stadium was actually somewhat of a handicap for containing noise … now I’m cooking up pseudoscientific acoustics theories about the east and west side stands being symmetrical helping to make it loud. 😂

Either way, I hope it’s electric tonight!
Click to expand...
Three things with the 2000 game:
1) Amazing how few people used to wear orange. Glad that’s changed.
2) Did we see who scored for Illinois to go up 21-7? A very relevant person for today’s program 😀
3) I was at that game, and it was electric. You are right—that is what we can show our players and recruits tonight.

Let’s get a win and have it be loud!
 
#657      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
www.stltoday.com

Bret Bielema empowered Barry Lunney Jr., now Illinois football's offense is producing

Before he got the job at Illinois, Bret Bielema went around the country to craft what his next offense.
www.stltoday.com www.stltoday.com

By Anderson Kimball Decatur (Ill.) Herald & Review


CHAMPAIGN — In the locker room before Illinois’ win against Wisconsin, Bret Bielema had a message for his offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.
“He was like, ‘Hey, this is why I got you here, to spread the field out,’” Lunney said.
That difference for Illinois from past years was on display when a balanced spread attack put 34 points on the board.

It was another solid game for a passing offense that has gone from being at the bottom of the Big Ten last season to one that’s in the middle of the conference in efficiency and complementing the run game that’s been a staple of most Bielema-coached teams.
That attack, one that will be tested again when Illinois hosts Iowa (6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday on Big Ten Network), was formed due to the hiring of Lunney, who has put in motion a change in offensive philosophy for Bielema.
After Bielema was let go at Arkansas, he toured the country observing and talking to college staffs at Alabama, Clemson and a host of others to try to get some new ideas.
“Really did a three-year study for when that next opportunity came, what I wanted to do,” Bielema said.
 
#661      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
illinoistradition said:
Three things with the 2000 game:
1) Amazing how few people used to wear orange. Glad that’s changed.
Click to expand...
That 2000-ish time period was the navy blue-est period ever in sports.

College student sections wearing identical brightly colored shirts really blew up shortly thereafter, and it happened organically from there, "Paint The Hall Orange" and all that.

It's swinging back a little bit now, what's old always comes back around eventually.
 
#663      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
It’s extremely encouraging that in the category that Iowa truly is elite at - defense - we actually outclass them statistically. While a special teams mistake still scares me to death, we have genuinely formed what APPEARS to be a simply better team than Iowa on both sides of the ball. Add in the home field advantage and what’s on the line here, and I think we take care of business - TRULY ushering in an age where Illini fans once again are pumped about football!!

Illinois 21
Iowa 6
 
#664      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
EyeoftheIllini said:
Saw the post in the thread this early and was gonna congratulate you on being there and tailgating already. Then to find out it’s just a post about acoustics. 😁
Click to expand...
Alas, I’m in Edinburgh for my honeymoon, six hours ahead! While we are having the time of our lives, I’m genuinely bummed this is the game we are across the pond for! Should be an amazing atmosphere.
 
#666      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
www.stltoday.com

Illinois football's Kendall Smith, Calvin Avery waited their turn, now vital to defense

Kendall Smith and Calvin Avery are fixtures in the Illinois Fighting Illini football starting lineup and vital to the nation's top scoring defense.
www.stltoday.com www.stltoday.com

By Anderson Kimball Decatur (Ill.) Herald & Review


CHAMPAIGN — At this time last year, Calvin Avery and Kendall Smith were still waiting for their turns behind eventual NFL players.
Avery was behind Rod Perry, who is a member of the Cleveland Browns practice squad, while Smith was behind Kerby Joseph, a third-round pick by Detroit. Both had been waiting for a little while. In nine combined college seasons before this one, they had four starts between them — all by Avery.
This season, they’ve each gotten their shot by starting the Illini’s first five games. As the two ends of the defense — Avery as a nose tackle in the middle and Smith as the deep safety — they’ve been vital to the unit’s start. The Illini lead the nation in scoring defense through five games.

Avery, a four-star recruit who has played off the bench in each of his previous four seasons, said he anticipated the breakout.
“He is comfortable in the system and he has worked his tail off with (strength coach Tank Wright) in the offseason,” defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said. “His body has changed. He’s a big ol’ grizzly bear out there and is every bit of 330 (pounds) and is as light on his feet as any 330-pound guy I’ve ever seen.”
The Illini singled out Avery after he made strides during fall camp and the beginning of the season in his efforts to improve his conditioning. In his final year, he found urgency to seemingly put it all together.
 
#667      

altgeld88

altgeld88
Arlington, Virginia
altgeld88
Mr. Tibbs said:
can you imagine the excitement if an historic game anywhere in the ballpark of that event were to occur?

I mean, odds are , it occurs at some point after 98 years right ?
Click to expand...
Howard Griffith --- 8 TDs v. SIU in 1990 is in the ballpark, tho' v. inferior competition c/w Michigan.

[EDIT: Ah.. I see @SuperintendentChalmers noted that feat, too.]

ptgrd23 said:
I see Chase Brown having an historic game tomorrow

Click to expand...
Thanks for posting that video. Really enjoyed it. Had never seen anything but stills from that period. I note the parade ground across Peabody Drive... huge empty field back then, site of Gregory Drive and Peabody Drive Halls by 1960 (the latter my home for four years looking straight down through MS to the Hall.)
 
#670      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
IlliniKat91 said:
One day, the majority of our fanbase (myself included) will learn to not use this snake-bit kinda thinking.

I'm thinking it's coming sooner rather than later. 🔶🔷
Click to expand...
I don’t know if that way of thinking or that the refs have it out for Illini (in football and bball) will ever completely go away. I think it’s part of Illinois fans’ DNA.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.