Pregame: Illinois vs Mississippi State, Monday, January 2nd, 11:00am CT, ESPN2

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#202      

ptgrd23

ptgrd23
ptgrd23
1970 John said:
Why risk it?
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Transfer portal - I am assuming he is still on campus, attending class, and going to practice/conditioning. He might end up returning to MSU. If the coach told him not to play or practice with team then I get it. Transfer portal rules put players like him in difficult situation if their team is in bowl game. I suppose they could modify the portal calendar to open 2nd week of January. With 12 teams in BCS in 2024 it will get even more messy.
 
#203      

KenR

K
KenR
Is there a tour, official alumni, etc. or otherwise, available that includes air fare, tickets, hotel and transfers for the bowl game?
 
#207      

Mike1976

M
Mike1976
Has there been any talk of any of the Illini players sitting out of the bowl game?
 
#211      

Illini2010-11

I
Sugar Grove
Illini2010-11
illini0440 said:
Yes. Spoon won’t play. Sydney won’t play.
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This should come as no surprise, and I completely respect their decision. It is in their best interest, especially Spoon. They both gave many great years of service to the program, and hopefully the development they made will continue to spread to others in the program.

I am happy to see their last game in person and to go out in dominance. Their opt outs will give invaluable experience to others, which is a win in my books.
 
#215      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
So I really hate to think about this question or ask it but I can see a scenario where MSU pulls out of the bowl game regardless of what happens with Coach Leach (obviously the latest update wasn't good but hopefully still a chance he pulls through). If MSU does decide not to play what's the backup plan? I assume the bowl will try to pull someone else to play and not cancel the bowl right?

The only reason I'm even thinking about this is since we have tickets to go and want to be ready just in case.
 
#218      

Illini2010-11

I
Sugar Grove
Illini2010-11
blackdog said:
So I really hate to think about this question or ask it but I can see a scenario where MSU pulls out of the bowl game regardless of what happens with Coach Leach (obviously the latest update wasn't good but hopefully still a chance he pulls through). If MSU does decide not to play what's the backup plan? I assume the bowl will try to pull someone else to play and not cancel the bowl right?

The only reason I'm even thinking about this is since we have tickets to go and want to be ready just in case.
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I am sure that the bowl committee will do everything it can to make sure that the game takes place, even if it has to look at other teams to fill in. There is just too much money at stake to not.

As it comes to MSU, the team has already been preparing for the bowl game without Coach Leach, and I am sure they are going to want to play and dedicate the game to his memory; though I cannot recall a death to a coach weeks prior to a bowl game. It really is a tough situation, and due to the amount of money at play, I am certain that a decision to play will be made within days to allow the bowl committee to try and find a suitable replacement should MSU pull out. IMO, I doubt the MSU pulls out of the game and believe there is a higher probability of COVID related illnesses impacting the game than this.

In any event, the Leach family and MSU community are in our thoughts and prayers. I hope both teams wear some sort of patch or something in memory of Coach Leach on January 2nd. He was a college football character and his loss will be felt for a long time. College football lost a great one.
 
#219      

Birdus

B
Birdus
Illini2010-11 said:
I am sure that the bowl committee will do everything it can to make sure that the game takes place, even if it has to look at other teams to fill in. There is just too much money at stake to not.

As it comes to MSU, the team has already been preparing for the bowl game without Coach Leach, and I am sure they are going to want to play and dedicate the game to his memory; though I cannot recall a death to a coach weeks prior to a bowl game. It really is a tough situation, and due to the amount of money at play, I am certain that a decision to play will be made within days to allow the bowl committee to try and find a suitable replacement should MSU pull out. IMO, I doubt the MSU pulls out of the game and believe there is a higher probability of COVID related illnesses impacting the game than this.

In any event, the Leach family and MSU community are in our thoughts and prayers. I hope both teams wear some sort of patch or something in memory of Coach Leach on January 2nd. He was a college football character and his loss will be felt for a long time. College football lost a great one.
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Well Said.
 
#220      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
This is pretty unprecedented so it's tough to know what to expect, but I gotta think the game is in some pretty serious peril here.

The way the portal works now, teams whose season was ended a week and a half ago aren't really in a position to fire things back up at a moment's notice.
 
#221      

ILLINIShox24

ILLINIShox24
Orange Krush '04 & '05
ILLINIShox24
ChiefGritty said:
This is pretty unprecedented so it's tough to know what to expect, but I gotta think the game is in some pretty serious peril here.

The way the portal works now, teams whose season was ended a week and a half ago aren't really in a position to fire things back up at a moment's notice.
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Agreed. You could do something like have the team vote to decide whether they want to play or not, but then you have funeral services and such over the next few days that can drastically affect emotions. You don't want to proactively pull them from the bowl when it could be used as an event to remember him. I don't know. It's just a mess. Thoughts to his family and the team.
 
#223      

Ransom Stoddard

Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Ransom Stoddard
ChiefGritty said:
This is pretty unprecedented so it's tough to know what to expect, but I gotta think the game is in some pretty serious peril here.

The way the portal works now, teams whose season was ended a week and a half ago aren't really in a position to fire things back up at a moment's notice.
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I agree with this, and I don't think there's a bowl eligible team (or even quality opponent) available. According to this Wikipedia article, there are 41 bowls and 40 bowl eligible teams, which required making 2 teams conditionally eligible.

Army and Appy State were both 6-6 but bowl ineligible because they both played 2 FCS teams. James Madison finished 8-3 (6-2) but were ineligible because they just transitioned to FBS. If there's a replacement team, I'd guess it's 1 of those 3, none of which looks like an exciting matchup on paper.

Bottom line is this whole thing sucks, and losing Mike Leach is a massive blow to everyone who knew him and CFB as a whole. Sail on, Pirate.
 
#225      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
blackdog said:
So I really hate to think about this question or ask it but I can see a scenario where MSU pulls out of the bowl game regardless of what happens with Coach Leach (obviously the latest update wasn't good but hopefully still a chance he pulls through). If MSU does decide not to play what's the backup plan? I assume the bowl will try to pull someone else to play and not cancel the bowl right?

The only reason I'm even thinking about this is since we have tickets to go and want to be ready just in case.
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Geez that was bad timing with the news breaking right after.....RIP to The Pirate, Coach Leach
 
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