Pregame: Illinois vs Northwestern, Saturday, November 25th, 2:30pm CT, BTN

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#51      

altgeld88

altgeld88
Arlington, Virginia
altgeld88
DeonThomas said:
I'm not blaming the "D" for yesterday's loss.

Overall, I thought we played a very good game against a 9-2 team with a Top 5 defense, nationally. Everything came down to that "One Big 4th Quarter Play" we all knew was coming. Iowa made it.
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Right on. Hate to say it but if JP had just dived opportunistically for that first down when he had the opening we likely score 7 and either win or go to OT if Iowa had scored and made a deuce conversion.

Either that or Kasey hauling in that that 3rd-and-6 pass and we're giddy on Sunday for the third straight week.

It's a fine line, as you note. Oh, well. In the rear view mirror. Got to get it done Saturday v. NW.
 
#52      

OrangeNBlueLoyal

O
OrangeNBlueLoyal
I'm feeling pretty uneasy about this game. Despite a chaotic summer, Northwestern has managed to pull through stronger than recent years under Coach Fitz. Credit goes to their new coach, David Braun, for rallying the team. Watching us lose our lead against Iowa was disheartening, and it made me reflect on team dynamics. Northwestern may have taken team building a step or two too far, but they went through it all together and bonded. I truly believe this is what caused them to overachieve in comparison to their recruiting and have their surprise season this year. While NW took it too far, I wish our players did something similar (though not quite as extreme). Maybe if they had we’d have a better record right now.

Take it from my fraternity days in the '70s - we had our trials, but they brought us closer. It's that kind of camaraderie and shared experience that I wish our Illini players could develop. It's not about pushing limits; it's about building a unified team that can face challenges together and come out stronger.
 
#56      

pvaughn8

P
pvaughn8
OrangeNBlueLoyal said:
I'm feeling pretty uneasy about this game. Despite a chaotic summer, Northwestern has managed to pull through stronger than recent years under Coach Fitz. Credit goes to their new coach, David Braun, for rallying the team. Watching us lose our lead against Iowa was disheartening, and it made me reflect on team dynamics. Northwestern may have taken team building a step or two too far, but they went through it all together and bonded. I truly believe this is what caused them to overachieve in comparison to their recruiting and have their surprise season this year. While NW took it too far, I wish our players did something similar (though not quite as extreme). Maybe if they had we’d have a better record right now.

Take it from my fraternity days in the '70s - we had our trials, but they brought us closer. It's that kind of camaraderie and shared experience that I wish our Illini players could develop. It's not about pushing limits; it's about building a unified team that can face challenges together and come out stronger.
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We should hire Fitz on as a camaraderie consultant
 
#57      

Dkayak

D
Dkayak
Kendall Gill’s Uncle said:
I’m sorry but I don’t get this and don’t get why we didn’t try Luke in the Iowa game at all. 13 passes batted down is pretty bad. Luke must still be having issues.
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One of Luke’s issues is not getting the ball away as quickly, leading to sacks, scrambles, and inaccurate panic throws. He’s no yet fully recovered from his concussion, so a sack like the one Paddock endured on the Roughing he Passer play could have given him a very severe brain injury. He’s steadily improving and will be a superb QB eventually, but at this point Paddock has us very nicely covered.
 
#60      

danielb927

danielb927
Orange Krush Class of 2013
Rochester, MN
danielb927
RabidDawgClassic said:
My biggest concern going into this game is that, in each of the last five games, we’ve controlled the tempo and the scoreboard, only to allow a late go-ahead or game-tying 4th quarter touchdown by our opponent. Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence and three times is a trend. What is five? An established pattern, I guess.

That we’ve won three of those five games is nothing short of astounding.
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To me it's just the established pattern of what happens in most close games... not evidence of some kind of lack of "clutchness" on defense. I posted this elsewhere but our D has made tons of big stops the past 6 weeks:

- Forced Iowa to 6 straight punts while holding a narrow lead, before, yes, giving up one broken run for a TD and not getting a stop to get a hail mary chance
- Forced IU to an interception and punt in 2 of their last 4 drives in regulation to save a tie, and then forced a FG in OT.
- Forced MN to 4 straight punts while up 1. Then, after conceding a short field TD, forced them to a punt following our INT that got us the ball back with time to win. Then the 4-and-out to seal the W.
- The Wisconsin game I'll agree totally - we had a lead but gave up scores on the final 3 drives (and they were all long drives)
- Maryland's final 3 drives were 2 punts and a FG, keeping them from taking the lead
- Even in the Nebraska game - our D held them to 3 points in the second half, including a missed FG (with a super short field), 2 fumble recoveries and an INT. The offense didn't do anything with it, but the D kept us alive.

So sure, if your standard for "close out games" is "allow zero points in the 4th quarter" then yes, we don't always achieve that. But teams are gonna score in the 4th quarter - that's football. And with the exception of Wisconsin in the last 6 games, the D has gotten quite a few stops that kept us alive in every game.
 
#61      

Illini2010-11

I
Sugar Grove
Illini2010-11
danielb927 said:
To me it's just the established pattern of what happens in most close games... not evidence of some kind of lack of "clutchness" on defense. I posted this elsewhere but our D has made tons of big stops the past 6 weeks:

- Forced Iowa to 6 straight punts while holding a narrow lead, before, yes, giving up one broken run for a TD and not getting a stop to get a hail mary chance
- Forced IU to an interception and punt in 2 of their last 4 drives in regulation to save a tie, and then forced a FG in OT.
- Forced MN to 4 straight punts while up 1. Then, after conceding a short field TD, forced them to a punt following our INT that got us the ball back with time to win. Then the 4-and-out to seal the W.
- The Wisconsin game I'll agree totally - we had a lead but gave up scores on the final 3 drives (and they were all long drives)
- Maryland's final 3 drives were 2 punts and a FG, keeping them from taking the lead
- Even in the Nebraska game - our D held them to 3 points in the second half, including a missed FG (with a super short field), 2 fumble recoveries and an INT. The offense didn't do anything with it, but the D kept us alive.

So sure, if your standard for "close out games" is "allow zero points in the 4th quarter" then yes, we don't always achieve that. But teams are gonna score in the 4th quarter - that's football. And with the exception of Wisconsin in the last 6 games, the D has gotten quite a few stops that kept us alive in every game.
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I think the root of the problem is that a vast majority of Illini fans are used to getting blown out when losing. As far as I see it, the Illini are 5-2 in one score games this year, and without a Newton ejection vs Wisconsin, I believe should be 6-1 in one score games. That is actually very good and a complete 180 from the last couple of years. At this point of the rebuild, the Illini are simply not talented enough to have consistent blowout wins against P5 competition. The fact that the team is learning to win these close games is probably good for the long run. However, at this point, let's go out and destroy Northwestern to earn a bowl berth!
 
#62      

Illiniwacker

I
Illiniwacker
OrangeNBlueLoyal said:
I'm feeling pretty uneasy about this game. Despite a chaotic summer, Northwestern has managed to pull through stronger than recent years under Coach Fitz. Credit goes to their new coach, David Braun, for rallying the team. Watching us lose our lead against Iowa was disheartening, and it made me reflect on team dynamics. Northwestern may have taken team building a step or two too far, but they went through it all together and bonded. I truly believe this is what caused them to overachieve in comparison to their recruiting and have their surprise season this year. While NW took it too far, I wish our players did something similar (though not quite as extreme). Maybe if they had we’d have a better record right now.

Take it from my fraternity days in the '70s - we had our trials, but they brought us closer. It's that kind of camaraderie and shared experience that I wish our Illini players could develop. It's not about pushing limits; it's about building a unified team that can face challenges together and come out stronger.
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No. Its not 1970 and no, hazing is not and never was beneficial to anyone.
 
#64      

IlliniFanTX

I
IlliniFanTX
OrangeNBlueLoyal said:
I'm feeling pretty uneasy about this game. Despite a chaotic summer, Northwestern has managed to pull through stronger than recent years under Coach Fitz. Credit goes to their new coach, David Braun, for rallying the team. Watching us lose our lead against Iowa was disheartening, and it made me reflect on team dynamics. Northwestern may have taken team building a step or two too far, but they went through it all together and bonded. I truly believe this is what caused them to overachieve in comparison to their recruiting and have their surprise season this year. While NW took it too far, I wish our players did something similar (though not quite as extreme). Maybe if they had we’d have a better record right now.

Take it from my fraternity days in the '70s - we had our trials, but they brought us closer. It's that kind of camaraderie and shared experience that I wish our Illini players could develop. It's not about pushing limits; it's about building a unified team that can face challenges together and come out stronger.
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I've seen some weird takes on here, but this might take the cake.
 
#66      

CoachHooleyHoo

CoachHooleyHoo
CoachHooleyHoo
Dkayak said:
One of Luke’s issues is not getting the ball away as quickly, leading to sacks, scrambles, and inaccurate panic throws. He’s no yet fully recovered from his concussion, so a sack like the one Paddock endured on the Roughing he Passer play could have given him a very severe brain injury. He’s steadily improving and will be a superb QB eventually, but at this point Paddock has us very nicely covered.
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Is this true? I can't imagine he'd be cleared to play if he wasn't fully recovered.
 
#71      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
It would REALLY suck to lose this one. :cry: I think it is essential to make a bowl two years in a row, or this is QUITE literally a "return to form" back to 2021's 5-7 campaign, where we can play with teams and pick up some unexpected wins (especially on the road), but we drop too many close ones to have more wins than losses. What really sucks is that we could really use a nice home field advantage for this one, and I am guessing it will be a super light crowd. It looks like the temperature will go down into the mid-30s during the game, and the students will all be gone.
 
#75      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
Would you guarantee a loss to Kansas next year if it guaranteed a win against Northwestern this year?
 
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