mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Pretty convinced UofToledoFans is a performance art and damned if I don't respect it
Pregame: Illinois vs Toledo, Saturday, September 2nd, 6:30pm CT, BTN
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InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
Unless we experience turnoveritis I think Toledo will be win #1
KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
- Chicago, IL
Was the QB1 contest tight?
Paddock is fine but it was always going to be Luke.
How much did Leary factor in the competition?
Toledo is no pushover but it all depends on the fanbase. That is one take....my take is Illinois will face the level of Toledo or better most weeks. Toledo will hope to bring their "A game" against Illinois because the rest of the schedule is cupcake city. If Illinois stays disciplined they take this game over. Just never know being week 1 and getting the rust off.
band camp
- STL City
In a game toledo won by a touchdown. Game tied going into 3Q. RB gashed you for almost 200.
Illini RBs will be very present that day, along with OL.
Illinois is not Ball St. in a fair comparison.
Love your presence here and the fun debate. Thank you.
Carson Steele is electric and going to rush for 1000 yards at UCLA this year. Steele was the BSU offense. Paddock was the 7th best QB in the MAC last year.
We have 3 OL who will get drafted after this season.
Adams, Pearl, and...Zy?
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
Pearl, Adams and...?
Toledo has at least 1, with 2 starters back who missed all of last season and P5 linemen from Miss St, and FSU ready to contribute. Development is as good as many P5 schools ad Toledo. In the trenches Illinois will win the battle. DBs, QB, LB, and TEs will be notches for Toledo. Especially considering Discher hasn't had a great room in Champaign yet. WR will be close. RBs is probably you, but there is a lot of returning carries in our room. A depleted OL led to less from them in 2022.
band camp
- STL City
U of I backs better than Steele, yes plural. Like 0440 said about the OL, they are elite.
I guarantee Steele gets drafted higher and has more yards than any Illini single rusher.U of I backs better than Steele, yes plural. Like 0440 said about the OL, they are elite.
band camp
- STL City
As the #2 back for the bruins? UCLA throws it around the yard, UI does not.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Fun exercise. Basing this off of 2022 stats and best info I can find on returnees.
QB: Tough to compare metrics at QB but we'll assume Finn > Altmyer because of the experience and Finn's success last year. Altmyer had moments as a true freshman against a really good Baylor defense (also some not-so-good moments) and push the QB battle into the season last year against one of the top-15 QBs last season, but those are just anecdotal evidence. The positives for Illinois is that Finn struggled (a) against the best team last year, (b) struggled in games where he faced the most pressure (SDSU, OSU, Buffalo), and he finished poorly (52% completion rate, 4-7 TD-to-INT ratio in final three games). Did he simply run out of gas or did teams figure out a scheme that gave him fits?
RB: Toledo has some RBs that had success running last year (Stuart + Kelly) but both guys are really small, around 5'9 and under 200lb. Not sure that either are great options against P5 defenses but have had success in MAC. Finn can and will run. If anything, it's likely a good exercise to face Finn in week 1 and Daniels in week 2. Illinois has the combo of Love, who proved to be a good #2 last year, and McCray, who was excellent as a freshmen before injuries last year. Love + McCray > Stuart + Kelly
WR: Not going deep on this one. Newton's little brother is good, assuming he's first-team all-MAC in pre-season. Maddox is a little on the shorter side but has a lot of Casey Washington to his game. #2 WR left for Memphis and #4 WR left for Fresno State. After Newton and Maddox, there are maybe 10 career catches combined. Toledo has 19(!) WRs listed on their roster. Let's assume Newton's brother and IW are equals, then it's Maddox v. Washington/Bryant/Elzy/Beatty for players who have caught balls in meaningful moments. Illinois WRs >> Toledo WRs.
TE: Toledo lost their top TE (Turner) and their top returning TE has 10 career catches. PFF says Toledo's TEs cannot block. Griffin Moore played sparingly last year, is definitely known for his hands instead of blocking, and he would be the best blocking TE on Toledo right now. Maybe Toledo doesn't ask their TEs to block? Illinois has Reiman and lots of unknown, but Reiman still has more catches than all of Toledo's TEs combined and he's a solid run blocker. Not close, Illinois TEs >> Toledo TEs.
OL: I mentioned this position before. Toledo didn't have a good offensive line last year and, while they brought in some interesting pieces, those guys are unknowns. Illinois really only has a question mark at center and they should still be one of the better units in the conference (this would be a certainty if Avery Jones stuck with Illinois. Again, not close: Illinois OL >>> Toledo OL.
DL: If I have to explain to you the difference here, then you need to do some research on your own. Illinois DL >>>>> Toledo DL.
LB: Dallas Gant is awesome for Toledo. He isn't a pass rusher but he's extremelyl sound. After Gant is more question marks. Their second best LB is in NFL. Sawiaha Ellis flashed but only played four games. All other LBs who played last year scored poorly on PFF. For Illinois, Tarique Barnes is also excellent and has a decent chance at a senior year All-B1G campaign. Rosiek and Odeluga both put up solid PFF scores and played 10+ games. Even if you believe Gant is better than Barness, Rosiek and Odeluga are way more proven than any other Toledo LB. Illinois LBs >> Toledo LBs.
Secondary: Quinyon Mitchell is awesome, better than any Illinois cornerback (shocked this guy didn't go pro). Very solid safety duo in Nate Bauer (was second team all-MAC last year) and Zach Ford (probably should have been all-MAC). Taevon Nicholson is probably the 3rd or 4th best returning CB in B1G and should be a draft pick or UDFA after this season. Matt Bailey was extremely dynamic as a freshman, but isn't playing. The rest is anecdotal. Toledo secondary >> Illinois secondary.
Additional note - I have no idea what you mean about Discher in your comment.
MoCoMdIllini
- Montgomery County, Maryland
There must be a beach house to back this kind of assurance.
nice. Knew he was talented, but judging on this comment looks like he's got his conditioning figured out. Can't wait.
Hey Alexa, set a reminder for April 27 to come back to this post:
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
I get being a homer, but you can't seriously believe this, can you? Are you familiar with how DBs develop in this program?
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