Wisconsin 25, Illinois 21 Postgame
"Egregiously bad?" I guarantee you that if the jerseys were switched 95% of Illini fans would be screaming if the targeting was not called. Yeah, I think the call could have gone either way, but let's be honest...if a Wisconsin player hit Luke exactly like that, you know most would want targeting called. To say otherwise is just laughable. So, no, the call was not egregiously bad.
Not intercepting the TD in the end zone was a bigger factor IMO. Being up 21-7 with 14 minutes left in the game and still losing is the worst part for me. That should not happen.
We were already operating at a talent deficit vs Wisky - it's hard to recover when you also take out your 2 best defensive players. Teams with great talent may be able to overcome that, but it is a major blow to a good team. And yeah, we made plenty of mistakes, but that call absolutely cost us the game
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
That's the still you send to the league offices
Yeah, that sounds like a great process
I feel sorry for Bret Beilema .... Somebody should have told him before he took this job, that this is Illinois football, and we are NOT allowed to have nice things... Once a decade or so, we are allowed to catch lightning in a bottle and win some games, and that happened last year... So the clock gets restarted now... we have to be losers for a couple more years, then fire our coach, hire another and start the process all over again... it's what we do... We're Illinois football... Some might think we should change this process instead of repeating it constantly...
Head up, didn't lead with the crown. Hands into the chest.
Plus the roughing the passer call before he threw the pass? That's called tackling a ball carrier.
So confusing, I remember being absolutely at a loss to understand how that gets called the way it was
Using the officials as the reason you lost a game is the weakest excuse a sports fan can use. In that game yesterday, there were multiple moments before and after that that swung how that game went. Allowing Wisky to go 10-17 on 3rd down (and the general bad 3rd down conversion rate we have allowed this season) was going to do us no favors in winning this game.
We have a great shot at winning at least three of our final four games. Get to a bowl game and build for next year.
Colorado
The announcers were literally cheering for each bug play by Wisconsin. Worst and most biased announcers I've heard in a long time!
Of course, recruiting is the lifeblood and lifeline of every program.
In the case of the Illini... they are caught in a vicious circle. The best players want to play for winning programs – so those programs have to keep winning. But for the Illini to raise their profile and become a powerful football program – they have to win (but don’t yet have the players to do that).
Chicken and Egg.
Well said rant. I’m at the point in my life (almost 50 year fan) where I’ve run out of excuses in my head as to why I should continue to hold out hope for this program. It’s unhealthy for me, so disassociating myself from this consistently frustrating team is the only option. I hope they prove me wrong and someday I end up wondering why I doubted them. Pretty sure that won’t happen.
This is the real killer. And lots were longer yardage.
Between my father (RIP), and myself we have had season tickets for over 60 years. I asked my wife yesterday how many up the middle runs on first down for no gain have we seen. She said thousands. We literally have 2 downs to get 10 yards. At least a play action pass might get completed every once in awhile. The game yesterday might be my last.
aiwpfan
- Springfield, Il
The bad refereeing is endemic and something needs to be done. Arizona State was on their way to upsetting Washington last night, when this happened:
Looks like pass interference!
But the referee picked up the flag. On the next play, Washington scored on a pick-six and won the game.
Looks like pass interference!
But the referee picked up the flag. On the next play, Washington scored on a pick-six and won the game.
Have to play a full 60 minutes not just 45. Can't blame the refs or anybody but themselves. Didn't make the stops when Wisconsin have 3rd and long 3 times and let them get the 1st down. On the other hand, Illinois has demonstrated the inability to PICK UP 1 YARD several times in the last 2 games. That is the difference in being 6-2 or 3-5.
Captain 14
- The Last Best Place
Holding at the very least !
Again, I generally like Robert and have even defended him when other Illini quasi media people like Mike Carpenter and some at the Champaign room have gone after him (Love you Thump), but this last podcast got to me. I feel like he thinks he's the gatekeeper for Illini fandom. I'm still a fan and will still listen and read Illiniboard, but don't call people bad fans for expecting the worst or being critical.
Or find a few difference makers at positions of need and pay them enough to come here. Because that’s allowed now. Give to the Icon Collective.
I have a question. How far off the line does a receiver have to stand to be considered in the backfield. He was barely off the line. I don't think we were paying attention anyway but it looked like they designed that play to be deceptive in that way. They probably want the receiver to push the limit on where he was standing so as not to catch our attention about opening up another possible receiver.
cubsanddonuts
- Louisville, KY
I'd love to hear an example of a time a coach chose direction over possession. I don't recall ever seeing it happen. And we scored 1 of our 3 TDs going into the wind, so it's not like it was impossible to score going that direction.
IlliniCardinal
- Minneapolis
We’re Loyal to You Illinois?
cubsanddonuts
- Louisville, KY
While I agree that they absolutely should have still found a way to win, losing your best defensive player is a significant blow. And we can all debate it forever, but that was as weak a targeting call as you will ever see. And I use the word "weak" on purpose. Because, yes, his helmet touched the QB's helmet. But that is targeting by the letter-of-the-law only.
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