Illinois 50, Purdue 49 OT Postgame
until this past week, i really thought i was exaggerating the extent to which ryan walters is pathologically obsessed with destroying illinois.
i can now safely say that he has a serious problem with us.
ultimately i'm less concerned about this performance than i probably should be. walters, who clearly knows ball, put in a bespoke offensive gameplan with a relative unknown at quarterback and even before the big comeback they were moving the ball capably on the ground. he exposed problems with our defense that have always been there, and the question is whether or not we can do anything about them before saturday.
i shouldn't be as happy as i am, but we went through an absolute nightmare that felt like vintage illini football and came out with a win somehow.
i can now safely say that he has a serious problem with us.
ultimately i'm less concerned about this performance than i probably should be. walters, who clearly knows ball, put in a bespoke offensive gameplan with a relative unknown at quarterback and even before the big comeback they were moving the ball capably on the ground. he exposed problems with our defense that have always been there, and the question is whether or not we can do anything about them before saturday.
i shouldn't be as happy as i am, but we went through an absolute nightmare that felt like vintage illini football and came out with a win somehow.
SuperMetroid
- Evanston
For all the Scorigami fans out there, Saturday's game was:
• the first 50-49 final score in Illini football history
• the 545th unique final score in 1,313 total games
• the 3rd highest combined point total in Illini history. Two games that were mentioned in the game thread - Fresno St. 2009 and Michigan 2010 - had more.
• the 2nd Scorigami of the season. 30-9 vs. CMU is the other.
• the first 50-49 final score in Illini football history
• the 545th unique final score in 1,313 total games
• the 3rd highest combined point total in Illini history. Two games that were mentioned in the game thread - Fresno St. 2009 and Michigan 2010 - had more.
• the 2nd Scorigami of the season. 30-9 vs. CMU is the other.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
He's only played 15 snaps this season, only 4 snaps since CMU. Angelo McCullom has played about the same and is playing (slightly) more recently. Probably not a great sign that he's in year three, playing on a team that badly needs size and skillset, and the coaching staff views him as mop-up duty only.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
What bolsters my hopes for the remaining season is how the Illini came back after going down by 3 points with 46 seconds left in the game ........The grit of this team showed in the the drive to get the tying FG and then opening up the OT session with a 25 yd TD pass to Bryant...........
I'm glad that purdont went for 2 after their TD and so happy that Rosiek blitzed through and tackled the purdont QB to seal the deal........
I'm also glad that we persevered after giving up our lead of 27-3.......Many teams would have folded but the Illini never gave up and finally put away the SOB's from purdont and regained the cannon.......this was another revenge game spiced up by their blabber mouth HC.................
I'm also happy we have scUM coming in this Saturday and I will predict we have a much improved defense allowing us to prevail by a score of...............................
Illini 31
scUM 20
LET'S GO ILLINI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm glad that purdont went for 2 after their TD and so happy that Rosiek blitzed through and tackled the purdont QB to seal the deal........
I'm also glad that we persevered after giving up our lead of 27-3.......Many teams would have folded but the Illini never gave up and finally put away the SOB's from purdont and regained the cannon.......this was another revenge game spiced up by their blabber mouth HC.................
I'm also happy we have scUM coming in this Saturday and I will predict we have a much improved defense allowing us to prevail by a score of...............................
Illini 31
scUM 20
LET'S GO ILLINI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s why I would prefer not to target guys that failed at power programs.
MustangWally
- Mayfield
The scouting report was always that he needed another year, I don't think him not getting a ton of PT is an indictment. Terah is the main guy at nose and has played well for the most part. Briggs has been okay and Jacas has flashed a little, but the front seven as a unit doesn't seem to cover up for one another's sins very well. I noted late in the game that McCollum appeared to be faster in pursuit than any of our outside linebackers.
Definitely a game we would have lost last year.
The problem is we are depending to much on players who aren’t physically ready. It’ll be scary to see what olb looks like when Coleman is gone.
Two things can be true. We did fight back and win. We also blew a big lead to one of the worst teams in college football.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
And, unfortunately, given recent history, there was a collective feeling in the stands that the game was lost when Purdue recovered the pathetic onside kick. It really was a collapse of near epic proportions in the second half to let Purdue back in the game (allowing 40 points in the second half not including OT is insane). The range of emotions in that last hour of the game was something to say the least. Definitely happy and relieved to get the win, but it is also reasonable to be frustrated with the 2nd half product on the field as well.
Despite all these critical assessments of our team and players (I assume accurate... I defer to the keener insights of the many knowledgeable posters on here), we're still 5-1.
Also, beating Purdue is like the b-ball team finally beating PSU despite obvious talent advantages over the years. It's a monkey off our back.
Also, beating Purdue is like the b-ball team finally beating PSU despite obvious talent advantages over the years. It's a monkey off our back.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
So I was unfortunately at a wedding during much of the second half and OT, so I have not watched much of the collapse, and have just seen a few highlights so far. Regarding the defense and its weaknesses, my main takeaways are that:
1) Yes, this is still a far from great defense, and we have serious trouble stopping the rushing attack. That doesn't bode really well for going up against a team like Michigan, but hopefully if we load up to stop the run and dare them to pass the ball, that will lead to a sustainable matchup and our offense can out pace them.
2) But, I think we need to calm down on the dooming about how awful the defense is. Clearly, we were capable of doing our usual bend-don't-break defense in the first half. I think we have to be ok with accepting that this was just a really fluky situation that deserves considerable blame for what happened. A QB switch late in the week with a completely different style of play that we had not really seen any tape of. Our DC trying to get cute and experiment with new plays during a blowout. A former defensive coach who did seem to be in his former protege's head and was calling the plays to counter what he knew the opposing DC would do. A key injury. A recent former player who appears to have been focused on deciphering our calls. All of the emotion that seems to have built up between these programs over the past 2 years. This clearly wasn't your random football game between random opponents. It was a Perfect Storm that built up.
And we survived.
So, all that to say, I am thrilled to be at 5-1. I think we should still feel like we should be favored to win this game this coming Saturday, though it certainly won't be easy. I feel like there's no reason why we can't be in a similar situation as the Penn State game when we go to Oregon in a few weeks. We would need to play our absolute best game and get a few breaks to win, but we probably won't get blown out. Then, if we are 6-2 with four games to go, I think we cap off a very special season with a strong run down the stretch.
It would have been nice to go into the Michigan game having beat Purdue by 30. But I still feel like we should win, and I am going to show up on Saturday planning for us to do so.
1) Yes, this is still a far from great defense, and we have serious trouble stopping the rushing attack. That doesn't bode really well for going up against a team like Michigan, but hopefully if we load up to stop the run and dare them to pass the ball, that will lead to a sustainable matchup and our offense can out pace them.
2) But, I think we need to calm down on the dooming about how awful the defense is. Clearly, we were capable of doing our usual bend-don't-break defense in the first half. I think we have to be ok with accepting that this was just a really fluky situation that deserves considerable blame for what happened. A QB switch late in the week with a completely different style of play that we had not really seen any tape of. Our DC trying to get cute and experiment with new plays during a blowout. A former defensive coach who did seem to be in his former protege's head and was calling the plays to counter what he knew the opposing DC would do. A key injury. A recent former player who appears to have been focused on deciphering our calls. All of the emotion that seems to have built up between these programs over the past 2 years. This clearly wasn't your random football game between random opponents. It was a Perfect Storm that built up.
And we survived.
So, all that to say, I am thrilled to be at 5-1. I think we should still feel like we should be favored to win this game this coming Saturday, though it certainly won't be easy. I feel like there's no reason why we can't be in a similar situation as the Penn State game when we go to Oregon in a few weeks. We would need to play our absolute best game and get a few breaks to win, but we probably won't get blown out. Then, if we are 6-2 with four games to go, I think we cap off a very special season with a strong run down the stretch.
It would have been nice to go into the Michigan game having beat Purdue by 30. But I still feel like we should win, and I am going to show up on Saturday planning for us to do so.
#keeplukefree. had 244yds first half and another 145 through 2nd half and OT? pass game needs to keep the foot in the gas
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
They seemed completely unprepared for the onside kick. Once the kick made it past the first row of players there was no one there. The players and coaches both seems to completely lose focus and panic as the game progressed.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Rule #1 is there can be no "once the kick made it past the first row of players".
A kickoff is a live ball, if the ball comes near you attack it and fall on it. That's not onside-specific, that the universal rule #1 of kickoff return duty. Live ball, attack ball.
Jacas and Ryan Meed I believe it was just watched the ball roll by? I was going insane yelling at the TV.
Yes, but take Luke's yardage off of that and you have 117 yards on 29 carries for 4.0 ypc. 4 ypc is better than what we have been getting, but 117 total yards for the game is not what I was expecting. Not what I'd call great given the talent of our running backs.
That’s why it’s called the hands team. They need to attack the ball
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Agreed. It looked like the parting of the Red Sea when the ball was kicked up the middle. It wasn't like the ball took a crazy hop or anything. It should have been an easy recovery. It was a really bad blunder on the special teams squad. I can't recall a deliberate onside kick getting recovered 23 yards downfield before. It seemed like such a low percentage onside kick attempt, but if nobody goes to get the ball...
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
