I will be cheering like crazy for Illinois to play well and at least be competitive with Ohio State. In reality, our chances at a playoff spot are probably more dependent on USC beating Michigan this weekend. It makes our win over USC look better and improves our chances of finishing ahead of the Wolverines for the 4th spot from the Big 10. It wouldn't hurt for Indiana to beat Oregon, too, to make our loss to them a bit more palatable.
Pregame: Illinois vs Ohio State, Saturday, October 11th, 11:00am CT, FOX
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When did that stop being a thing anyway? They used to have cheerleaders on each side with big signs to get the crowd going, right?
That is definitely the kind of thing that needs to be started up again, good call!
Well, don't leave me hanging...what's number 1?!
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
I remember the arrogant Bucknut fans in the old west main under the balcony getting very very quiet when Juice scored to cut it to 7 with a couple minutes left.
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Penn State at Illinois 1994 - Illini cough up a big lead to lose a late heartbreaker 35-31
Michigan at Illinois 2000 - Bill LeMonier (how is that dude an expert on ESPN?) hijacks the game.. Illinois lose 35-31.
Therefore, for this Saturday, I predict...... we get the right side of the 35-31 score. Illinois 35 Ohio State 31. Don't ask me how, just dream along with me. I may look like a buffoon by Saturday at 2:30 but I've been wrong before.
We are over over over due for one of these huge home games where we are a dog to actually pull of a really big, meaningful win instead of just another heartbreaking near miss. I know we stunned Wiscy in 2019, but that game didn't really lead to much other than a 6-6 season & Lovie being canned at the end of 2020. We usually show up in these big moments with a solid effort but have a hard time getting to the finish line.
Michigan at Illinois 2000 - Bill LeMonier (how is that dude an expert on ESPN?) hijacks the game.. Illinois lose 35-31.
Therefore, for this Saturday, I predict...... we get the right side of the 35-31 score. Illinois 35 Ohio State 31. Don't ask me how, just dream along with me. I may look like a buffoon by Saturday at 2:30 but I've been wrong before.
We are over over over due for one of these huge home games where we are a dog to actually pull of a really big, meaningful win instead of just another heartbreaking near miss. I know we stunned Wiscy in 2019, but that game didn't really lead to much other than a 6-6 season & Lovie being canned at the end of 2020. We usually show up in these big moments with a solid effort but have a hard time getting to the finish line.
He doesn't like how loud it gets. /s
Ran a matchup predictor website until I got an Illinois victory. Believe it or not, it only took 4 tries. So, 25% chance of victory?
I’ll take it as my prediction:
ILLINOIS 20 - OSU 10
- Altmyer 14/20, 286, 2TD/0INT, 1Rec TD
- Dixon 5-109, Beatty 4-87 1TD
- Valentine 14-62, Feagin 12-22, Laughery 5-17
- Olano 2/2 long 27
- Sayin 16/27, 183, 1TD/0INT
- Jackson 10-49 0TD
- Tate 5/77 1TD, Smith 5-66
I don’t think this happens but it seems like the one scenario where it could happen:
- Luke balls and gets Dixon involved in short game YAC when pressure forces the ball out fast
- trickery to steal a TD
- Sayin has a rookie game and plays off in front of a loud crowd
- Feagin…keeps doing what he’s done lately.
I’ll take it as my prediction:
ILLINOIS 20 - OSU 10
- Altmyer 14/20, 286, 2TD/0INT, 1Rec TD
- Dixon 5-109, Beatty 4-87 1TD
- Valentine 14-62, Feagin 12-22, Laughery 5-17
- Olano 2/2 long 27
- Sayin 16/27, 183, 1TD/0INT
- Jackson 10-49 0TD
- Tate 5/77 1TD, Smith 5-66
I don’t think this happens but it seems like the one scenario where it could happen:
- Luke balls and gets Dixon involved in short game YAC when pressure forces the ball out fast
- trickery to steal a TD
- Sayin has a rookie game and plays off in front of a loud crowd
- Feagin…keeps doing what he’s done lately.
SuperMetroid
- Evanston
My wife is an O$U alum and we went to this game on like our 4th date. The most boring game I've ever attended in person. Two teams running the ball every play and going nowhere all day long. If I remember right they completed one (1!) pass the entire game and it was a touchdown right in front of us in the horseshoe.
I think it was 3-0 at the half, too. I remember the entire crowd cursing Zook out for terrible clock management and a ridiculously conservative gameplan.
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Lovie Smith.
I sure hope his #1 favorite thing being gone from Illini football games is Tim Beckman
The thing is, you're exactly right. I'd bet there's a 15-25% chance Illinois wins based on most models. What's in that 15-25% chance? OSU having a bad game; Illinois having a monster one.
Either could happen; both even. I'm not feeling confident, but I would love to be wrong!
Good point. #1a and #1b.
The Gameday Guide has been updated for tOSU. No mention of a military jet flyover, which sometimes happens for big games. Then again I'm not sure it would even be mentioned there. Anyone heard anything?
If OSU has a 50:50 chance of stumbling and Illini a 50:50 chance of a monster game, our odds of winning are 25%. And of course 60:40 odds yields 16% chance of a win. So 16-25%. Sounds good to me.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I'm sorry you had to sit through that. Fortunately I was unable to watch this game, and had forgotten about how awful it was. OSU indeed completed only a single pass in four total attempts for the entire game and it was that TD. Nate completed more passes to OSU players (two interceptions) than the two OSU QBs did to their own receivers. And we still lost by 10 at home.My wife is an O$U alum and we went to this game on like our 4th date. The most boring game I've ever attended in person. Two teams running the ball every play and going nowhere all day long. If I remember right they completed one (1!) pass the entire game and it was a touchdown right in front of us in the horseshoe.
Just brutal.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
As we all said a lot depends on our slowing them down and time of possession, Altmyer having the time to throw and winning the turnover battle. I think you’ll see a very controlled quick short route passing game which hopefully opens up the run a bit. Long drives capped by TDs is the hope.
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
IMHO the keys to victory as well as our O line establishing the run.
Just spitballing here…Rio Sanders breakout game right?
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
It was actually even more extreme ... 2-10. However, there were a ton of games where you could see a glimmer of hope that year:
L 32-34 vs. Indiana (IND game-winning FG as time expired)
L 17-20 vs. Ohio (OU game-winning FG with 5 seconds left)
L 12-26 at Penn State (down 5 points with 1:33 left before a PSU got a safety and returned out punt for a TD, lol...)
L 24-30 at #17 Wisconsin (up 24-10 in the third quarter and down 6 with the ball with 2:14 left)
L 10-17 vs. #1 Ohio State
That team lost a LOT of close games, and you could totally see that we had a bright future (well ... at least brighter than 2-10, lol).
With any sort of decent coaching, that would have been a bowl team
The English had these guys out numbered and out manned... They pulled an upset
There isn't one to my knowledge, and I usually would've heard thru the band side of things by now if we were gonna get one. Disappointing tho, since this is probably the last game I'd consider big enough to warrant it.
We had the Army Golden Knights paratroopers for the USC game. I wonder if that was our one for the year?
I think the only flyover we had last year was before the Michigan game.
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