That's why all of my anger has been placed on the DIA... I am a season ticket holder and I had to endure that the ENTIRE game. It's one thing listening to obnoxious fans, ours and their's, but I shouldn't have to put up with that
Purdue 31, Illinois 24 Postgame
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
I think 7-5 after the way the year started would feel like a major disappointment. Even wounded, the NW game should be a win, and a loss would point to a complete breakdown in the locker room.
In hindsight, if the team is to go 8-4 without the grind of having to play in a championship game where you will be at least 3-4 td underdogs, it is probably a blessing. Of course not winning the West stings, but a match-up vs Michigan or OSU would be a serious mismatch (for whoever wins the West), where resting the bodies for one more week can help prepare for a mid tier bowl game.
You can see the quality depth is not there (yet), and injuries are becoming an issue. An extra week of rest without another painful game is good.
8-4 with the chance to compete for a bowl win would still be a delight. 7-5...not so much, though I will still root for the beloved in the bowl game.
Despite the questionable PI calls, our lack of discipline and unsportsman-like conduct gave Purdue a touchdown and the victory
Football is an unforgiving sport to be a fan of. The seasons are short so 1 or 2 games make a huge difference. At the same time, football is a grind and you need depth. Every year there are many teams that get off to hot starts, and then there season falls apart right around this time.
This is why it's important to look at the season as a whole. Beat NW, get to 8-4 and it's a huge success and should be celebrated. We should be excited to even still have a chance to make it to Indy. Nebraska and NW don't, and past Illinois teams wouldn't either. These are still good times.
This is why it's important to look at the season as a whole. Beat NW, get to 8-4 and it's a huge success and should be celebrated. We should be excited to even still have a chance to make it to Indy. Nebraska and NW don't, and past Illinois teams wouldn't either. These are still good times.
My point is in terms of disappointment not reality. We know we aren't Penn State. But when you start 7-1 and are better than MSU and PU, and then lose to both at home b2b, preseason expectations don't ease the disappointment. Preseason expectations don't change the fact we should have beaten Indiana and MSU.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
it was indeed very disappointing to see that happen , and as the announcers repeated about 50 times, we gave Purdue like 5 or 6 first downs on 3rd and long via penalties
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Interestingly within the West, nobody controls their own destiny, which is stunning with only 2 games left.Oh weird. I hadn’t thought about a circular three (or more)-way tie having other rules first, THEN head-to-head tie breakers.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
Illinois scenarios to win West:
1) Illini win out and Iowa wins out, regardless of what Purdue does. This would result in 3-team tie if all three teams win out. All three teams would have the same record among each other (2-1), and would move to second tiebreaker (division record), which Illini win.
2) Illini win out and Purdue loses one game. Illini hold all tiebreaker over other potential teams
3) Illini win one game does not matter who, though likely NW; Purdue loses one game; MN beats Iowa but loses to Wisc; Wisc wins out; Iowa loses to MN but beats Nebraska. Result is a 5 way tie for first. Illini win tiebreaker based on common record among tied teams (4-1).
Did not breakdown what happens if Iowa loses to Nebraska, but I think we would lose out to Purdue in 4 way tie involving MN, Wisc, and Purdue.
Crazy stuff!
Assuming Illini lose to Mich, looks like Iowa controls own destiny.
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Well said, and on point with my main gripe. Especially with this team where it has been argued/pointed out that Bielema will coach a very specific way when in possession of the lead.
These events don't happen in a vacuum. Could negative consequences occurred in-game because the correct calls (TD in Indiana game, no PI against Spoon yesterday) been made? Sure. But when you have negative end results in both games it's hard to say that had the right call been made we would have been worse for it.
Yeah, I think I can get on board with not enjoying a 7-5 because that means we lose to awful NW. I’ll still be happy for the bowl, but it’ll leave that “what happened” and “was it all smoke and mirrors” feeling that Lovie’s 6-6 season left. More of a “good season but not sure if we built a program” feeling.
Gotta get to 8-4.
Gotta take the good with the bad I guess. When we were 1-1 and thought we would only get to 3-4 wins like usual, then rattled off 6 straight, we were riding high. I’m 100% with you regarding disappointment. I’m just more quickly able to re-calibrate expectations. Also I never thought we were better than MSU and Purdue, just that we could beat them if we played well. We didn’t and we lost. I think some thought we were truly better than those two teams. It’s why you play the games.
I did not say that it was the right call. It was a bad call and it should have been reversed. I agree, if you’re going to use replay get it right. Again, never said they shouldn’t. And yes, decisions/play calling might have been different later in the game with those points in the board — but maybe by both teams throughout the second half. If we kick the FG rather than turning the ball over on downs in second half, Indiana doesn’t start at the 1 yard line. Whose to say how that would have impacted last 10 minutes of the game. Maybe if not pushed back against its own goal line, Indiana answers that FG with a TD drive after the ensuing kickoff. The short field very likely resulted in the Illini’s last FG.
Was the call and it not being reversed bad calls? Yes. But I find the narrative that the call “ripped the victory” away from the Illini — when it occurred with 38 minutes left in game — tiresome. If it occurred in last minute or two of game — sure. Last 5 minutes? I’ll give you that. With 38 minutes left? Sorry. Victory was ripped away from the Illini, but it was by Indiana in last 2 minutes of game.
Did... hm. Did you watch any Northwestern football last week??
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Yep. That Purdue drive for its winning touchdown: 77 yards aided by four Illinois penalties totaling 51 yards. Two personal fouls, 2 unambiguous PIs. Purdue had 11 yards of total offense in moving from its own 23 to our 15.
+ our guys were getting beat all day long in the secondary b/c O'Connell faced little pressure in the pocket.
The lack of discipline and the fact that our D-line couldn't penetrate the pocket for most of the day hampered the team significantly. And yet it was still a one-possession game late into the 4Q. The Witherspoon PI call at the end of the 1H was ridiculous but it didn't cost the Illini in the game. Defensive breakdowns and lack of discipline did. IIRC, our D gave up nearly as many yards in the 1H as it had done on average for the entire game all season.
Disappointing losses the past couple weeks for sure, in what were two easily winnable games. Defense was the decisive factor in our wins until MSU. Without it we couldn't score enough yesterday. Just a terrible way for Chase, Sydney and the rest of the seniors to go out at Memorial Stadium.
Mean reversion works both above and below the trend line, however. These guys still have something to play for. We'll see if the D can right itself and play effectively against Michigan. It seems unlikely (to me) that our offense will be able to generate much next Saturday. Then go crush the Mildcats and finish with a flourish.
What the team has accomplished this fall thus far has given recruits reasons to consider us. That in itself is an important victory. IMO the Michigan game is extremely important for no other reason than proving we can play intelligently, intensely, and in a controlled manner for 4Q on the road against a Top 3 team.
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
I had Purdue band parents sitting behind me, and they were bragging on their "Best Band in the Land" before the game. I had some choice words for them in the 2nd quarter when the PU band started playing while the MI were doing their "requested" song. Classless and unnecessary, and that band should never be invited back to MS.
Purdue fans are now competing with Iowa fans for "most annoying".
Not as annoying as the Purdue fans over by me in 207 who were incredibly drunk and yelled about everything including their stupid "1 2 3 4 first down boilers ' right in our faces when the first downs came on all those penalties. Plus one guy also had a Mizzou hat on and kept doing the MIZ-ZOU like every 5 minutes. My season ticket seats felt like an away game
Illinois football 2022
I think the problem is you have to send whatever it takes. If rushing 3 gets the job done by all means stay with three. If it doesn't you have to start sending 4 or 5 whatever it takes. An average quarterback will pick you apart if he has all the time in the world. You got to have them running for their life and hearing footsteps. That is the only way you beat the best quarterbacks and that only works some of the time.
On the plus side, hopefully that means he stays here?
Even though we blew past all expectations for the season (yay!), it's still heartbreaking to have the division championship in our sights, a blue moon occurrence for us, and totally fail.
But despite the pain of that loss and for the seniors on the team, I also have hope for the long-term. Real hope, not the fingers-crossed kind with past coaches. BB was able to climb to the top of the ladder with mostly players he inherited, an OL cobbled together with spare parts, very little depth, and a culture of losing. BB knows how to win in the West. I know we're all worried about teams in the West getting their act together next season and beyond, but they should be very worried about BB fully retooling with his kind of players, and fully instilling his system and winning culture.
But despite the pain of that loss and for the seniors on the team, I also have hope for the long-term. Real hope, not the fingers-crossed kind with past coaches. BB was able to climb to the top of the ladder with mostly players he inherited, an OL cobbled together with spare parts, very little depth, and a culture of losing. BB knows how to win in the West. I know we're all worried about teams in the West getting their act together next season and beyond, but they should be very worried about BB fully retooling with his kind of players, and fully instilling his system and winning culture.
A what have you done for me lately type?Michigan fan
I’ll agree and add to your excellent summary of an egregious failure to reverse a bad call despite extremely irrefutable video evidence. That evidence exists for posterity and I assume it’s been seen by whoever hires and supervises this crew.
Tell me why the officials who reviewed the IU call were not subsequently fired? Why are they still calling games? Then add yesterday’s DPI call (also upheld despite clear video evidence) to their legacy and someone tell me please what it takes for an incompetent official to be canned? Is it impossible to get rid of them? We’re not taking about blowing calls in the moment live, but blowing the video reviews after repeated slo-mo replays. Inexcusable IMO.
danielb927
Orange Krush Class of 2013
- Rochester, MN
It's hard to game out every possible scenario, but it looks to me like we would win, or be heavily favored to win:
- A H2H tie with anyone but Purdue
- Any 3-team tiebreaker except Minnesota-Purdue
- Any 4+ team tiebreaker
This is a working post to figure out the scenarios. Will condense into a tighter summary later on.
1. The first tiebreaker is always head-to-head results. Here's a table for the teams in contention to tie at 3 or 4 losses:
The possible 3-way ties with Illinois are:
- Purdue/Minnesota
--- We are 1-1 -> Purdue wins at 0-2
- Purdue/Iowa
--- We are 1-1 -> Both teams advance to next tiebreaker
- 2 non-Purdue teams
--- We are 2-0 -> Illini win tiebreaker
Note - a 3-way tie with Purdue & Wisconsin is not possible
The possible 4-way ties with Illinois are:
- Iowa/Minnesota/Purdue - this can happen in 2 ways
--- Scenario 1 - MN lost to Iowa (beat Wisconsin)
----- MN eliminated at 0-3 -> Illinois/Iowa/Purdue to next tiebreaker
--- Scenario 2 - MN beat Iowa (lost to Wisconsin)
----- MN & Iowa are 1-2-> Purdue wins tiebreaker by H2H over Iowa
- Iowa/Purdue/Wisconsin
--- Purdue & Wisconsin are 1-2 -> Illini win tiebreaker by H2H over Iowa
- Minnesota/Purdue/Wisconsin
--- MN eliminated at 0-3 -> Illinois/Purdue/Wisconsin to next tiebreaker
There is only one possible 5-way tie:
- We would be 4-1 -> Illini win tiebreaker
2. Record vs. division
At this point, it is a 3-way tie with Purdue and either Iowa OR Wisconsin. At that point it comes down to the Northwestern game.
Beat Northwestern and we are 5-1. Only Iowa could also be at 5-1 -> Illini win by H2H over Iowa
Lose to Northwestern and we are 4-2. This means the tie is at 5-4 overall, which means:
- Iowa is 4-2 in the West (if included)
- Wisconsin is 4-2 in the West (if included)
- Purdue is either 4-2 or 3-3.
If Purdue is 3-3 (beat IU, lost to Northwestern) -> Illini win by H2H over Iowa or Wisconsin
If Purdue is 4-2 (much more likely) -> No result, go to next tiebreaker
3. Comparison to next-highest ranked teams
At this point, it is still a 3-way tie with Purdue and either Iowa OR Wisconsin. We also know all teams tied are 5-4 (otherwise we would have won in the last step). There are a lot of scenarios after that.
- Purdue/Iowa, originally 3-way tie
--- Minnesota and Nebraska are both 4-5. Iowa out by loss to Nebraska. -> Purdue win by H2H over Illini
- Purdue/Iowa, originally 4-way tie
--- Winner of Nebraska-Wisconsin is 4-5
----- If Nebraska, Iowa out by loss to Nebraska -> Purdue win by H2H over Illini
----- If Wisconsin, Purdue out by loss to Wisconsin -> Illini win by H2H over Iowa
- Purdue/Wisconsin, originally 4-way tie
--- Iowa is 4-5, Nebraska 3-6
----- Purdue out by loss to Iowa -> Illini win by H2H over Wisconsin
I think that covers everything... anyone have that meme of Charlie with the red string ready for me?
- A H2H tie with anyone but Purdue
- Any 3-team tiebreaker except Minnesota-Purdue
- Any 4+ team tiebreaker
This is a working post to figure out the scenarios. Will condense into a tighter summary later on.
1. The first tiebreaker is always head-to-head results. Here's a table for the teams in contention to tie at 3 or 4 losses:
| Illinois | Iowa | Minnesota | Purdue | Wisconsin | |
| Illinois | X | W (+1) | W (+1) | L (-1) | W (+1) |
| Iowa | L (-1) | X | This week | W (+1) | W (+1) |
| Minnesota | L (-1) | This week | X | L (+1) | Next week |
| Purdue | W (+1) | L (-1) | W (+1) | X | L (-1) |
| Wisconsin | L (-1) | L (-1) | Next week | W (+1) | X |
The possible 3-way ties with Illinois are:
- Purdue/Minnesota
--- We are 1-1 -> Purdue wins at 0-2
- Purdue/Iowa
--- We are 1-1 -> Both teams advance to next tiebreaker
- 2 non-Purdue teams
--- We are 2-0 -> Illini win tiebreaker
Note - a 3-way tie with Purdue & Wisconsin is not possible
The possible 4-way ties with Illinois are:
- Iowa/Minnesota/Purdue - this can happen in 2 ways
--- Scenario 1 - MN lost to Iowa (beat Wisconsin)
----- MN eliminated at 0-3 -> Illinois/Iowa/Purdue to next tiebreaker
--- Scenario 2 - MN beat Iowa (lost to Wisconsin)
----- MN & Iowa are 1-2-> Purdue wins tiebreaker by H2H over Iowa
- Iowa/Purdue/Wisconsin
--- Purdue & Wisconsin are 1-2 -> Illini win tiebreaker by H2H over Iowa
- Minnesota/Purdue/Wisconsin
--- MN eliminated at 0-3 -> Illinois/Purdue/Wisconsin to next tiebreaker
There is only one possible 5-way tie:
- We would be 4-1 -> Illini win tiebreaker
2. Record vs. division
At this point, it is a 3-way tie with Purdue and either Iowa OR Wisconsin. At that point it comes down to the Northwestern game.
Beat Northwestern and we are 5-1. Only Iowa could also be at 5-1 -> Illini win by H2H over Iowa
Lose to Northwestern and we are 4-2. This means the tie is at 5-4 overall, which means:
- Iowa is 4-2 in the West (if included)
- Wisconsin is 4-2 in the West (if included)
- Purdue is either 4-2 or 3-3.
If Purdue is 3-3 (beat IU, lost to Northwestern) -> Illini win by H2H over Iowa or Wisconsin
If Purdue is 4-2 (much more likely) -> No result, go to next tiebreaker
3. Comparison to next-highest ranked teams
At this point, it is still a 3-way tie with Purdue and either Iowa OR Wisconsin. We also know all teams tied are 5-4 (otherwise we would have won in the last step). There are a lot of scenarios after that.
- Purdue/Iowa, originally 3-way tie
--- Minnesota and Nebraska are both 4-5. Iowa out by loss to Nebraska. -> Purdue win by H2H over Illini
- Purdue/Iowa, originally 4-way tie
--- Winner of Nebraska-Wisconsin is 4-5
----- If Nebraska, Iowa out by loss to Nebraska -> Purdue win by H2H over Illini
----- If Wisconsin, Purdue out by loss to Wisconsin -> Illini win by H2H over Iowa
- Purdue/Wisconsin, originally 4-way tie
--- Iowa is 4-5, Nebraska 3-6
----- Purdue out by loss to Iowa -> Illini win by H2H over Wisconsin
I think that covers everything... anyone have that meme of Charlie with the red string ready for me?
I am sure this crew caught some flack for the Indiana game. That might have impacted how they called this one (even more egregiously). There is no excuse for the Witherspoon call. I would argue this definitely could have effected the outcome of the game. Momentum is huge in football and this switched that and let it marinate for the whole halftime. I saw holding on the Indiana line on a ton of plays, why weren't five of those called?