ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
What's with the anti-beer price discrimination there?
We let these fancy West Coast types into the Big Ten and totally lose sight of our values?
Pregame: Illinois vs Michigan State, Saturday, November 16th, 1:30pm CT, FS1
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We let these fancy West Coast types into the Big Ten and totally lose sight of our values?
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Which is exactly why having a lot of season ticketholders is so important. I think I saw that we had 20k season ticketholders in 2021 and we now have well over 30k? I cannot remember if those are 100% accurate, but as an illustration for a generic Big Ten game:
2021
- 20k season ticketholders
- 10k fans who chose that weekend back in August for a Champaign trip
- Anywhere from nearly zero to 10k+ fans buying tickets the week of if things are looking exciting
---> Range of 30k to 45k tickets sold. And that is pretty much what we saw from the beginning of 2021 to after our 7-1 start in 2022.
2024
- 33k season ticketholders or so
- 13k fans who chose that weekend back in August for a Champaign trip (3k bump for increased enthusiasm/optimism in the program)
- Anywhere from 2k fans randomly deciding to attend a game the week of to 10k+ fans buying tickets the week of if things are looking exciting
---> Range of 48k to 56k tickets sold, with a sellout within striking distance for a "special" game like KU or Michigan ... and that is what we are seeing this year, more or less.
If we get to the point where we have close to 40k season ticketholders like I imagine some programs like Iowa and Wisconsin do, filling the stands becomes easy starting at such a high floor.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
This will be a more apt conversation for three weeks from now but I would love to see an estimate for 2025 season ticket holders.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Yeah, I wish I could find those old numbers someone posted here. From a quick Google search, it looks like we sold a very impressive 10,000 NEW season tickets for the 2023 season. I thought I saw that we had another impressive increase for this season, albeit not quite that drastic. As you said, I imagine excitement for next year is going to sway HEAVILY based on these last three games. If we win out and finish the season 9-3 and on a bit of a hot streak (for once!!), I think there will be a lot of hype and excitement going into next year given we might have a lot of talent back (fingers crossed...). However, if we finish 1-2 or worse, I think it will do a lot of damage to the momentum we have won back this year. Let's finish strong!
blackdog
- Champaign
It's a 24oz though. $3.50 for a 12oz can wouldn't be a bad deal right? I love being able to get two of these big guys at a time and being pretty well set for a game (or a half if the game calls for it)
Game time is huge for that too. A 1:30 game this Saturday will be much warmer throughout than an 11 am start. That makes a big difference on folks coming and sticking it out.
I'm guessing it's easier to produce and thus cheaper to purchase for resale.
I love me a good bear as much as anyone but kinda just seems like how it's trending. Low carbs and all that...
Haven't tried NÜTRL or whatever but I like Truly and the Kirkland brand stuff... Whiteclaws were gross to me.
2 keys to winning this one- Don't continue to allow opponents to make 3rd and 20 time and time again. Don't keep running the same old 3rd down and short up the middle and failing. For once please try a pitch wide to a back. Illini-24 MSU-17
Man I feel like the vibes are way, way down. Gonna be a windy and possibly wet one Saturday, and students didn’t really show up for Minnesota. I really hope we win this one but depth may show its head, mixed with the Debbie downer vibe, and it could be an icky day in Champaign Saturday.
Illinois 44 - MSU 17.
Illinois 44 - MSU 17.
We need to win the turnover battle.
Hmm I don’t think this is right on the weather.
Little to no chance of rain Saturday. Beautiful cloudy Fall morning with possible sun in the afternoon!
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
Protecting Luke is critical. JMO
1. Don't call running plays for him till 4Q. He fumbles too much.
2. Keep McCray in game as blocker on passing plays. Other RB don't pass block well. Too small.
3. Luke has to be told to get throw it away or run if he does not see somebody open on his first 2 reads. He holds ball way too long for this years offensive line to protect him. Make him watch Paddock game film. Luke is not Patrick Mahomes who can scramble out of anything.
4. Roll Luke out more to confuse the pass rush.
5. Call more quick passes on 1st down. We are so predictable.
1. Don't call running plays for him till 4Q. He fumbles too much.
2. Keep McCray in game as blocker on passing plays. Other RB don't pass block well. Too small.
3. Luke has to be told to get throw it away or run if he does not see somebody open on his first 2 reads. He holds ball way too long for this years offensive line to protect him. Make him watch Paddock game film. Luke is not Patrick Mahomes who can scramble out of anything.
4. Roll Luke out more to confuse the pass rush.
5. Call more quick passes on 1st down. We are so predictable.
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
I can't stop watching this video. Those claws are HUGE!Conveniently installed on most bears.....
What is this, 2022?
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I think it will be VERY psychologically important to finish this November strong. People of course remember the 2022 sour ending, but this has been something that has (fairly or unfairly) really put a damper on some of our brighter moments in Bret's seasons. Even worse, most have happened in front of our hometown fans after they showed up in bigger numbers than usual.
- In 2021, we were sitting at 3-5 after pulling off a stunning upset of #7 Penn State on the road. While we would score another road victory at #20 Minnesota in early November, it was the home loss to Rutgers on October 30 that doomed our bowl eligibility hopes. While we finished the year winning 2 of 3 and playing Iowa tough, it was too little to late and we missed a bowl by one game.
- In 2022, we all know the story. A 7-1 start, #16 ranking and 90%+ chance of winning the Big Ten West slipped through our fingers via two incredibly frustrating losses at home to unranked MSU and Purdue teams in back-to-back weeks. While we played #3 Michigan tough and smoked Northwestern to end the year, it was these two mid-November losses that cost us a trip to Indy and had a successful season unfortunately end losing 4 out of 5 games.
- 2023 was a bit more all over the place, but after that upset win at Maryland, we were 3-4 and more importantly back within striking distance of winning a COMPLETE mess of a division in the Big Ten West. While the loss to Wisconsin in front of a big 54k+ crowd was a bit of a screw job ... it was still a loss that ended up costing us a division title and what could have/should have been a second straight trip to Indy. We of course won the next 2 and would have gone into our November 18th game at #16 Iowa with a 6-4 overall record and likely playing for the Big Ten West title, sitting at a 5-3 Big Ten record if we held on vs. the Hawkeyes. Of course, we then absolutely shat the bed at home vs. Northwestern to once again finish one game short of bowl eligibility.
In contrast to sporadic 2021 and 2023 campaigns where we were trying to claw back to a bowl game, this one is closer to 2022 ... we HAVE a good record right now! It got a little less shiny with the unfortunate loss to Minnesota, but we have every opportunity still in front of us. Finishing with 8 or more wins is still a huge success from the standpoint of program progress, and with ANY road game being difficult ... we just simply must protect our home field vs. Sparty, no ifs, ands or buts! Win this one, and you are looking at 7-5 at worst ... and we are NOT losing to Northwestern at Wrigley!
- In 2021, we were sitting at 3-5 after pulling off a stunning upset of #7 Penn State on the road. While we would score another road victory at #20 Minnesota in early November, it was the home loss to Rutgers on October 30 that doomed our bowl eligibility hopes. While we finished the year winning 2 of 3 and playing Iowa tough, it was too little to late and we missed a bowl by one game.
- In 2022, we all know the story. A 7-1 start, #16 ranking and 90%+ chance of winning the Big Ten West slipped through our fingers via two incredibly frustrating losses at home to unranked MSU and Purdue teams in back-to-back weeks. While we played #3 Michigan tough and smoked Northwestern to end the year, it was these two mid-November losses that cost us a trip to Indy and had a successful season unfortunately end losing 4 out of 5 games.
- 2023 was a bit more all over the place, but after that upset win at Maryland, we were 3-4 and more importantly back within striking distance of winning a COMPLETE mess of a division in the Big Ten West. While the loss to Wisconsin in front of a big 54k+ crowd was a bit of a screw job ... it was still a loss that ended up costing us a division title and what could have/should have been a second straight trip to Indy. We of course won the next 2 and would have gone into our November 18th game at #16 Iowa with a 6-4 overall record and likely playing for the Big Ten West title, sitting at a 5-3 Big Ten record if we held on vs. the Hawkeyes. Of course, we then absolutely shat the bed at home vs. Northwestern to once again finish one game short of bowl eligibility.
In contrast to sporadic 2021 and 2023 campaigns where we were trying to claw back to a bowl game, this one is closer to 2022 ... we HAVE a good record right now! It got a little less shiny with the unfortunate loss to Minnesota, but we have every opportunity still in front of us. Finishing with 8 or more wins is still a huge success from the standpoint of program progress, and with ANY road game being difficult ... we just simply must protect our home field vs. Sparty, no ifs, ands or buts! Win this one, and you are looking at 7-5 at worst ... and we are NOT losing to Northwestern at Wrigley!
Attachments
Great game to try some new approaches with a little margin as so far this year MSU pass rush has been near the bottom of of the P4
No pass rush is "bottom of P4" the way our O-Line has looked at certain points... gotta take this opportunity to get right.
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