Illini Football 2024

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#1      

Dan

Dan
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Dan
Welcome to the Illinois Football 2024 & College Football news thread :illinois:


Schedule | Roster | Tickets

Single game tickets on sale now.



2024 Illini Football (1-0, 0-0)
DateOpponentTime/TV
Thu, Aug 29Eastern IllinoisW 45-0
Sat, Sept 7Kansas6:00pm FS1
Sat, Sept 14Central Michigan
(Homecoming)		11:00am Peacock
Fri, Sept 20@Nebraska7:00pm FOX
Sat, Sept 28@Penn State2:30pm/3:00pm/6:30pm
Sat, Oct 12Purdue
Sat, Oct 19Michigan
Sat, Oct 26@Oregon2:30pm/3:00pm/6:30pm
Sat, Nov 2Minnesota
Sat, Nov 16Michigan State
Sat, Nov 23@Rutgers
Sat, Nov 30Northwestern
(Wrigley Field)

All times CT
 
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#2      
Illini in Italy
IMG_1170.jpeg
 
#8      
WWWWRocU
Dan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1825363688259240405
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I had the privilege of playing this Entrance Number 3 march for 5 football seasons.
To this day, gives me goosebumps galore to hear it.
For those that might not know, this march is based on the State of Illinois song. A very beautiful song, believe it or not.
"By the rivers flowing gently, Illinois, Illinois..."
I-L-L
 
#12      
TheGMan
CaptainCrutch said:
Just for the exercise: is there any combination of 6 wins that would have you feeling worse moving forward than if we just went the projected 4-8/5-7?
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The projected 4-8/5-7? Meaning we only win the games that are expected and no "upsets?" My answer would be no.

The better question is if there is any combination of 4 or 5 wins that would be better than a 6 win season? That would be a maybe. If we beat Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, and then dealer's choice for the remaining 1 or 2 wins, that would maybe give more hope. However, if that happens, we would also have some "bad" losses that would counter the optimism of those big wins.

So I think, ultimately, no. I'd rather just have 6 wins. No matter the combination.
 
#14      
Fighter of the Nightman
Someone in the previous thread once again brought up the location of our student section. I have long been a proponent of moving them back closer to field level, not only because they can more positively affect our gameday atmosphere/noise level but also because the NEZ is kind of tailor made to be a "family section" or something like that. For a comparison, on that first point, I thought this was a striking difference...

Consider two different home games, with the following attendances:

2002: #2 Ohio State 23, Illinois 16 (OT). 58,810 attendance.
2002: #2 Ohio State at Illinois

2022: Michigan State 23, #16 Illinois 15. 56,092 attendance.
2022: Michigan State at #16 Illinois

The 2002 crowd is much louder (IMO) during our final game-tying drive than the shocking game-opening pick in 2022 ... and I would argue it's all because of where the students are and how they affect the rest of the crowd!
 
#15      
Illinivek23
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Someone in the previous thread once again brought up the location of our student section. I have long been a proponent of moving them back closer to field level, not only because they can more positively affect our gameday atmosphere/noise level but also because the NEZ is kind of tailor made to be a "family section" or something like that. For a comparison, on that first point, I thought this was a striking difference...

Consider two different home games, with the following attendances:

2002: #2 Ohio State 23, Illinois 16 (OT). 58,810 attendance.
2002: #2 Ohio State at Illinois

2022: Michigan State 23, #16 Illinois 15. 56,092 attendance.
2022: Michigan State at #16 Illinois

The 2002 crowd is much louder (IMO) during our final game-tying drive than the shocking game-opening pick in 2022 ... and I would argue it's all because of where the students are and how they affect the rest of the crowd!
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Iowa State has sloped grass on either side - makes it a great open area for families with young kids to hang out.
 
#17      
Fighter of the Nightman
Illinivek23 said:
Iowa State has sloped grass on either side - makes it a great open area for families with young kids to hang out.
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Mr. Tibbs said:
that ship sailed about 100 years ago
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I really do think the NEZ is perfect for our version of that, though. Students like to pack in together, and even when the NEZ is 95%+ full, there will often be pockets of empty bleachers in both top corners. Families that would more naturally spread out would make the area look a lot better. There also seems to be ample unused space in that area that could be converted to kind of a cool bar/restaurant/congregating area that a lot of other stadiums have successfully implemented using their end zone space:

memorialstadium-studentendzone-20150819_1123.jpg


Hate to admit it, but Indiana successfully did such a thing with their "Rooftop on the Rock" premium seating area:

Indiana-University-Memorial-Stadium-AJP-Primary-Display-1.png


resize


JMO, but I think future renovations of Memorial stadium should have two main goals (beyond the obvious financial aspects). Of course, totally on-brand, both will crap all over the Horseshoe. :ROFLMAO:

1. Better distribute our capacity. The seats in the Horseshoe are way too crammed into that space, and it achieves the worst of both worlds - a lot of capacity is distributed there (almost 10k seats...), and yet it still looks very "open" and like a small collection of seats. It is a black eye on the otherwise gorgeous architecture of the stadium, inside and out!

2. On that note, try to enclose the stadium as much as possible. This helps trap noise and just makes it more aesthetically pleasing. While the obvious problem is how open the SEZ is, we could afford to close in the NEZ a bit, as well.
 
#20      
Fly Illini Fly!
QB, WR, RB, OLB, CB, OT. The six "main" positions in FB.

QB - I'll put Altmyer in the "fine" department. Not great, 1st round NFL type guy at this point but fine. Sure would like to see him clean some things up though.
RB - It is very likely IMO that Feagin is a 1,000 yrd guy if he stays healthy.
WR - Have the nation's leader in receiving yards as well as another WR1 level guy in Bryant.
OT - Got what most people believe to be a top 5 OT in the portal and a legit NFL level guy in JC Davis.
CB - Talent, skill wise a real NFL prospect as well, All-B12 performer, and a sure fire CB1 in Brooks.
OLB - Likely the top 2 NFL prospects on this team in Jacas and Coleman and legit All-B10 Possibilities.

That is pretty good.

Now outside of that there might be some questions...and the possibility of getting hurt is always a question mark...

but that is pretty good. It is.
 
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#21      
ktal
WWWWRocU said:
I had the privilege of playing this Entrance Number 3 march for 5 football seasons.
To this day, gives me goosebumps galore to hear it.
For those that might not know, this march is based on the State of Illinois song. A very beautiful song, believe it or not.
"By the rivers flowing gently, Illinois, Illinois..."
I-L-L
Click to expand...
Now I finally get your name. Glad you enjoyed playing as much as we've enjoyed listening.
 
#24      
Second place is 1st loser
Fly Illini Fly! said:
QB, WR, RB, OLB, CB, OT. The six "main" positions in FB.

QB - I'll put Altmyer in the "fine" department. Not great, 1st round NFL type guy at this point but fine. Sure would like to see him clean some things up though.
RB - It is very likely IMO that Feagin is a 1,000 yrd guy if he stays healthy.
WR - Have the nation's leader in receiving yards as well as another WR1 level guy in Bryant.
OT - Got what most people believe to be a top 5 OT in the portal and a legit NFL level guy in JC Davis.
CB - Talent, skill wise a real NFL prospect as well, All-B12 performer, and a sure fire CB1 in Brooks.
OLB - Likely the top 2 NFL prospects on this team in Jacas and Coleman and legit All-B10 Possibilities.

That is pretty good.

Now outside of that there might be some questions...and the possibility of getting hurt is always a question mark...

but that is pretty good. It is.
Click to expand...
I don't see anything here about who's going to put pressure on the opposing QB?

If our DL can't get to the QB....our corners and complete lack of depth on the back end will get exposed....much like last year.
 
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