I've heard that argument somewhere in the last week.
Pregame: Illinois vs USC, Saturday, September 27th, 11:00am CT, FOX
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I'll be shocked if it doesn't get there, especially with injuries being announced through the week.
Before last night this was basically going to be pick em, program changed in one night rightfully so
We will see.
I just can’t reconcile X being out singularly causing all these issues for the DB room. We won the South Carolina game without Pat Bryant….WR room found a way. DB’s should be able to do the same, or at least keep the team in the game.
OL I have no idea. No major pieces missing from 10-3 team makes me more optimistic than hopeless. I agree with Chase321 that we perhaps got fortunate in a lot of 50/50 games, but the OL never looked this outmatched except for PSU and Oregon.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
I have never been as utterly confused by anything Illinois football-related as I am about the play of this offensive line. And that’s saying something.
I'm starting to believe that game against South Carolina and the faith in our offensive line was definitely fools gold based on a heavily overrated SEC..We just have an average offensive line at best...And unfortunately, our hopes this year are proving not to be justified.. Furthermore, as demonstrated in four games, we just don't have the talent to dominate the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball.. Frankly, with the injuries we are stacking up, there are no coaching adjustments that we can make to fix the problems we have against better teams...The USC game will be a loss...Hopefully, it won't be a blow-out..
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Back to basics.... Protect the QB..... Forget the long ball.... Ground and pound.... Defense needs to drop man run zones.... Reevaluate on the fly.... Bend don't break.... We are gonna lose 4 or more games but we don't got a get blown out
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
This is exactly where I am.
Just, sold a bad bill of goods? Coaching?
There were plays where it legit looked like we had 5 freshmen trying to block what I believe is just an above average Indinia D line.
To get beat badly is a concern. To get absolutely obliterated in arguably our biggest game of this year is…..I don’t even have a word?
What we need is a Trojan Horse .... If you will!!! I'll jump out and slaughter the merry makers!!!! ILL
Really the case for the last three seasons. I, and others pointed it out. Some good fortune and some good coaching. We had neither yesterday.
we were overrated... i'm not burying the program... 2 steps forward, 1 step back. bret will reassess O-line coaching for the future. 8-9 wins is my hope, bowl game is my floor.
The book on us is crystal clear (and even Cig mentioned it postgame)- send the house. It puts us behind the chains and eliminates the chance to establish a run game. The performance issues of the O line are exacerbated by a flawed scheme that is not burning the D for blitzing. They are confused, overwhelmed and playing with no confidence,
USC will get off the bus blitzing like the 85 Bears.
Whatever chance we have in the game starts with the coaches ability to finally solve for this issue.
USC will get off the bus blitzing like the 85 Bears.
Whatever chance we have in the game starts with the coaches ability to finally solve for this issue.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Then the key will be drawing up plays to get the ball out quick to Beatty. Only 2 touches last night is a crime. Lunney will need to add some wrinkles to help protect the exposed line.
You probably have but it's a matter of perspective of who each team played.
Yeah, I think this game depends on exactly how banged up we really are. So far it doesn't look promising. That said, I honestly think Bret's going to have the team ready to play this week and I expect a nastiness to us. I do believe we can surprise people and even most of our fanbase this week with a hell of a bounceback game, but we need the players back to do it. If we're down Xavier, Bailey, Clarke, and Patterson I don't know if there's all that much we'll be able to do. College football teams that aren't the truly truly elite just can't overcome this level of injuries. Best case at this point is that we're probably down a couple starting DBs. Worst case, we might be down to our 3rd string secondary
Homecoming. How about Brad Hopkins, Jim Juriga, and Dave Diehl all come in early to watch film and provide some free coaching.
I am shocked at the over optimism of Illinois football. This year and last year, we are 6-4 with a +/- of minus 52 and 3 of our wins are extremely lucky wins over Nebraska, Purdue and Rutgers. We could EASILY be 3-7 in our last 10.
We are an average BT team. We will finish the BT 4-5 or 5-4. And that’s assuming we win @PU, @Wisc, Rutgers, Maryland which we could be pickems or underdogs in a some.
We are an average BT team. We will finish the BT 4-5 or 5-4. And that’s assuming we win @PU, @Wisc, Rutgers, Maryland which we could be pickems or underdogs in a some.
SuperMetroid
- Evanston
So our injuries in the secondary right now are:
- X. Scott (done for the year?)
- Clarke (hasn’t played yet)
- Patterson (seen on crutches during the game)
- Bailey (hurt in garbage time)
- Cox (hurt in garbage time)
Did I miss anyone? I don’t know how you scheme your way around all or most of these guys being out for this game, especially if the offense is going to leave them out there for 40 minutes.
- X. Scott (done for the year?)
- Clarke (hasn’t played yet)
- Patterson (seen on crutches during the game)
- Bailey (hurt in garbage time)
- Cox (hurt in garbage time)
Did I miss anyone? I don’t know how you scheme your way around all or most of these guys being out for this game, especially if the offense is going to leave them out there for 40 minutes.
Anybody even slightly invested in Illini football at this point is a die hard fan in my opinion. Especially if they are over the age of 25-30…and in an effort not to beat a dead horse with my rants on the program, I think it’s pretty obvious why that’s the case.
They will dumb things down to make schemes more simple on both sides of the ball. The question then is, will those simplified schemes work against a team like USC? Guess we will see.
Need to get back to disciplined, assignment- sound football to make up for our talent deficiencies. Just stay within striking distance and be the team that makes fewer mistakes.
Probably need to commit to the run more, too. I know game script forced us to air it out against IU but when you only have 11 rushing attempts, it makes it hard to control the clock and against good teams, things can snowball quickly.
Probably need to commit to the run more, too. I know game script forced us to air it out against IU but when you only have 11 rushing attempts, it makes it hard to control the clock and against good teams, things can snowball quickly.
I think many are, but if you find a way to beat USC/Purdue and are 5-1 heading into Ohio State, reasonable expectations have been met, and casuals will pay attention for the remainder of the season.
Lose to USC, and I think casuals will lose interest.
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