If the forecast holds, ~20mph winds (and mid 30s temps).
Pregame: Illinois vs Purdue, Saturday, November 12th, 11:00am CT, ESPN2
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Unfortunately, I think if this group of seniors had more success across their time here you might see that pull some people in.
Not sure about Military Appreciation Day. Don't think that'll move the attendance much one way or the other.
I sat out in those bleachers for dog opponents in the blistering late summer sun. And I've sat in those bleachers for what I think is the latest home game during the year at Memorial Stadium (12/05/09 Fresno St, O-Line 2 point conversion) where it didn't get above the low 30s, with wind on top of that.
So why didn't I go? Numerous reasons, most of them personal. Not one of them being the weather, thanks for asking.
I would do bad things to be a student again and to have the ease/access to go to games as I once did. But alas...
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
I'm starting to worry that one factor for the above is that we're specifically trying to get our Heisman candidate some more TDs for his resume.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Arrived home last night from a long wedding weekend. Was unable to watch the game and only got game snippets on my phone while away. Fell asleep last night watching the first half on Tivo. In reviewing this site now vs 4 days ago:
4 Days Ago:
* It's all about the Purdue game; Beat Purdue and then Northwestern = Go to Big 10 Championship Game
* Illini with a chance of shattering pre-season expectations
* 1% chance of participating in the CFP
* Fan base excited at an unprecedented level over the past 10 years
Today:
* It's all about the Purdue game; Beat Purdue and then Northwestern = Go to Big 10 Championship Game
* Illini with a chance of shattering pre-season expectations
* .0001% chance of participating in the CFP
* Fan base seems to have abandoned the team; wtf??
What fickle fans we are. Buy a ticket and go support the alma mater!!!!!! The world has not really changed that much. CU there........
4 Days Ago:
* It's all about the Purdue game; Beat Purdue and then Northwestern = Go to Big 10 Championship Game
* Illini with a chance of shattering pre-season expectations
* 1% chance of participating in the CFP
* Fan base excited at an unprecedented level over the past 10 years
Today:
* It's all about the Purdue game; Beat Purdue and then Northwestern = Go to Big 10 Championship Game
* Illini with a chance of shattering pre-season expectations
* .0001% chance of participating in the CFP
* Fan base seems to have abandoned the team; wtf??
What fickle fans we are. Buy a ticket and go support the alma mater!!!!!! The world has not really changed that much. CU there........
We have fans who believe that we lost because our players were looking ahead, reading their press clippings, etc.
The reality is that if you're jumping off this bandwagon now, you're the one doing that. We're a good solid team. Nothing leading up to Saturday pointed to us being anything close to dominant. Nothing pointed to us having any "automatic" wins. Some days you don't play well, the other side does, and you lose.
Even in the best scenario for Illinois football going forward, we're probably faced with days like that.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
I'm glad our team seems more adept at handling success than our fans.
Ah, a lot of us are feeling exactly the same as we did a week or two ago. The less vocal majority, perhaps? The CFP dreams were always just dreams. We're a solid team, not a great team. We're surpassing any sane pre-season expectations by miles. We're on the right path. Bielema is the man.
Go Illini.
A fan can be both extremely happy with the success to date of our team and the coaching staff's and players' efforts to create more excitement and momentum as a program than we have had in a very long time, yet also disappointed in that we could be (I know, what ifs, etc.) sitting at 9-0 or at least 8-1. "Fans jumping off the bandwagon" is a straw man, IMO. That's what fans do. They root for a team to win every game and when they don't they lament each loss until the next victory, do they not?
Those of us from out of state cannot buy a ticket every week, but that does not make us "less of a fan" of the program.
Those of us from out of state cannot buy a ticket every week, but that does not make us "less of a fan" of the program.
Yeah, I feel like I need to clarify that just because I'm expecting a drop in attendance for the Purdue game doesn't mean I'm bailing on the team.
I think most of this stems from the fact that this team is vulnerable to an unexpected loss. The shock of going from:
"This team is 7-1, is being mentioned in the CFP conversation, has a chance of hosting Game Day, could/should be 9-1 heading into Ann Arbor, and will win the West" to:
"This team lost at home to an undermanned MSU team that has looked 'meh' all season and we looked bad in the process..."
Has over course-corrected some people. The most realistic outcome is still in play we've just officially eliminated the best (CFP or something close to it) and worst (technically 0-fer, but more like a 3 win season) case scenarios.
I still expect a drop in attendance this week for the reasons I mentioned beforehand, but I anticipate this board (and Illini fans in general) to pick back up by Thursday/Friday and predict a 7 point win in the same fashion of the Minnesota game.
just bundle up and go.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Alright, I went out and drank away my sorrows Saturday night, and then I had all day yesterday to cool down a bit. On a fresh Monday morning, I have recollected my thoughts a bit more logically:
1. While we might have been brought back down to Earth as far as Rose Bowl (or even CFP...) ambitions go, this is still a very good football team that has earned its ranking, IMO. The pollsters agree, keeping us barely outside the top 20 after losing to a team with a losing record on our own field. We control our destiny, and I'm very confident we won't come out flat vs. Purdue. On that note...
2. This is arguably the first real adversity we have faced all season, and you could make the case it was inevitable ... maybe happening now was the least inconvenient time? One could say the IU loss was our "adversity," but I think that's flawed thinking for two main reasons. First of all, all we had accomplished by that point was beating an inferior Wyoming team at home ... we had NO idea that we could be in the top 15 in November, playing for a trip to Indy and more. Second of all, we lost that game by 3 and had 7 points VERY clearly taken away from us (the IU missed FG counted as good and our TD, where we literally scored two different times, being taken away by the replay booth and turned into a FG), and it was so easy to frame that game as "stolen" from us rather than legitimately lost. Now, we saw what happens when we come out flat on a big stage. I'm hopeful that we legitimately learned our lesson, and I think these guys will have a fire lit to turn the rest of the season into a huge success. On that note...
3. Just look back at 2007 to see that one game does not define a season. When our #18 Illini lost 10-6 in Iowa City to an Iowa team that would finish 6-6 and still be denied a bowl berth ... it was pretty easy to get down on ourselves. We then completely blew a home game vs. #24 Michigan and dropped to 5-3 (3-2). Even before the following week's completely uninspiring 28-17 win vs. Ball State at home, that team was in an undeniably less advantageous position than this year's team in November. How did we respond? We walked into Columbus and stunned #1 Ohio State. And on THAT note...
4. I do not think the evidence is there that our loss to MSU "exposed" us or the Big Ten West in some new, meaningful way. MSU took 2 OTs to beat Wisconsin at home, and we whooped Wisconsin in Madison. MSU got absolutely worked by Minnesota at home, and we systematically shut Minnesota down. We simply came out flat, they played better than they have in a while, and they beat us by playing a better game. They were the better team Saturday and deserved to win, but teams have off days. "Transitive property" in sports is a really slippery slope, but let's not forget that a Maryland team who just got DOMINATED in Madison had Michigan on the ropes in Ann Arbor for much of the game. The point here is not to compare teams using these game results so much as it is to suggest that on "any given Saturday," crazy shlt can happen in the Big Ten. OSU and Michigan are the class of the league, but they're not invincible. Who knows? This might light the fire necessary to even pull off an upset in Ann Arbor, but even if that can't happen ... so what?? The goal is to win the West, and that remains an incredibly realistic goal if we respond strongly to this. Beat Purdue at home and beat Northwestern in Evanston. Done deal.
5. Separately, very proud of our fans! I know I sometimes get on them because I'm desperate for Memorial Stadium to ascend to being one of the great environments in college football and I see the potential, but that kind of thing takes time. Memorial looked beautiful on TV Saturday, and I am hoping that a decent crowd shows up for these guys and what will still be an incredibly important game for the West!
6. I'm still SO EXCITED to be in Champaign this Saturday, hopefully to see the Illini pick up a huge win! I-L-L!
1. While we might have been brought back down to Earth as far as Rose Bowl (or even CFP...) ambitions go, this is still a very good football team that has earned its ranking, IMO. The pollsters agree, keeping us barely outside the top 20 after losing to a team with a losing record on our own field. We control our destiny, and I'm very confident we won't come out flat vs. Purdue. On that note...
2. This is arguably the first real adversity we have faced all season, and you could make the case it was inevitable ... maybe happening now was the least inconvenient time? One could say the IU loss was our "adversity," but I think that's flawed thinking for two main reasons. First of all, all we had accomplished by that point was beating an inferior Wyoming team at home ... we had NO idea that we could be in the top 15 in November, playing for a trip to Indy and more. Second of all, we lost that game by 3 and had 7 points VERY clearly taken away from us (the IU missed FG counted as good and our TD, where we literally scored two different times, being taken away by the replay booth and turned into a FG), and it was so easy to frame that game as "stolen" from us rather than legitimately lost. Now, we saw what happens when we come out flat on a big stage. I'm hopeful that we legitimately learned our lesson, and I think these guys will have a fire lit to turn the rest of the season into a huge success. On that note...
3. Just look back at 2007 to see that one game does not define a season. When our #18 Illini lost 10-6 in Iowa City to an Iowa team that would finish 6-6 and still be denied a bowl berth ... it was pretty easy to get down on ourselves. We then completely blew a home game vs. #24 Michigan and dropped to 5-3 (3-2). Even before the following week's completely uninspiring 28-17 win vs. Ball State at home, that team was in an undeniably less advantageous position than this year's team in November. How did we respond? We walked into Columbus and stunned #1 Ohio State. And on THAT note...
4. I do not think the evidence is there that our loss to MSU "exposed" us or the Big Ten West in some new, meaningful way. MSU took 2 OTs to beat Wisconsin at home, and we whooped Wisconsin in Madison. MSU got absolutely worked by Minnesota at home, and we systematically shut Minnesota down. We simply came out flat, they played better than they have in a while, and they beat us by playing a better game. They were the better team Saturday and deserved to win, but teams have off days. "Transitive property" in sports is a really slippery slope, but let's not forget that a Maryland team who just got DOMINATED in Madison had Michigan on the ropes in Ann Arbor for much of the game. The point here is not to compare teams using these game results so much as it is to suggest that on "any given Saturday," crazy shlt can happen in the Big Ten. OSU and Michigan are the class of the league, but they're not invincible. Who knows? This might light the fire necessary to even pull off an upset in Ann Arbor, but even if that can't happen ... so what?? The goal is to win the West, and that remains an incredibly realistic goal if we respond strongly to this. Beat Purdue at home and beat Northwestern in Evanston. Done deal.
5. Separately, very proud of our fans! I know I sometimes get on them because I'm desperate for Memorial Stadium to ascend to being one of the great environments in college football and I see the potential, but that kind of thing takes time. Memorial looked beautiful on TV Saturday, and I am hoping that a decent crowd shows up for these guys and what will still be an incredibly important game for the West!
6. I'm still SO EXCITED to be in Champaign this Saturday, hopefully to see the Illini pick up a huge win! I-L-L!
Come on people. BUNDLE UP--get a face mask two layers, warm socks, etc.....!!!!!!
Illinisteve25
- Champaign
Just win on Saturday please..... I will be there just like always and weather has not once played a factor in me going to a game, its football in the bigten in November....
Agreed. We all knew this wasn't an 11-1 team. Our margin for error is not huge - especially when we struggle to put the ball into the end zone.
Beat Purdue and life is good again. Split the road games, and 9-3 is still way, way beyond expectations.
Be great to pull a 2007 off in Ann Arbor. I remember that game. No one and I mean no one thought we would win that one. It was no fluke either. Oh! the jubilation and utter ecstasy that was released afterwards. My wife loved it.
GET TIX!! one game at a time just BUNDLE UP (NOT BOILER UP)
We have been saying all season that special teams and red zone struggles would cost us at some point...well, those chickens came home to roost vs. MSU. I am hopeful the red zone struggles can be resolved with better/different play-calling, but am definitely worried the special teams stem from personnel issues (there may not be an immediate fix or a fix this season). I can't be there in person, but will certainly be watching.
To echo other posters - beat Purdue, beat Northwestern, head to Michigan playing with house money and see what happens, and we can close out a fantastic season.
To echo other posters - beat Purdue, beat Northwestern, head to Michigan playing with house money and see what happens, and we can close out a fantastic season.
After losing what seemed like 25 Super seniors from last years team. I was expecting 4-8 maybe 6-6. Football God's smiling on us, 8-4 record. I do a back flip into the Lake!
We lost to a awful team last week and watching the highlights, strange game still makes no sense to me. We are still playing with house money and I for one believe we win the West. Go I L L I N I!
We lost to a awful team last week and watching the highlights, strange game still makes no sense to me. We are still playing with house money and I for one believe we win the West. Go I L L I N I!
By far the most important football game we’ve played in arguably 15 years.
Just win.
Just win.
My first reaction was, "We played in some important games in 2007." Then I realized 2007 was, in fact, 15 years ago. And now I can literally feel my body turning to dust.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
WCIA's "No Huddle" with Robert is superb this week! I highly recommend viewing it.
He really puts everything in perspective.
He really puts everything in perspective.
LGIllini
- La Grange, IL
To be fair, it was Dad's Day and a LOT of students were sitting with their dads/parents/families (I know my two students were). We were surrounded by students and their families, so I think it's unfair to say they didn't show up. Also worth noting that when the game started the NEZ was probably 50% full, but by the 2nd quarter it was more like 80% full. As others have noted, entry into the game was very slow.
All that said, I'm afraid the combo of no Dad's Day, a bad loss this week, and the cold weather may keep students and others away next week...
LGIllini
- La Grange, IL
You're a legend!!
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