Fantastic catch……29 hours!
Illinois at Nebraska, Friday, September 20th, 7:00pm CT, FOX
Not allowed apparently.
All of this is serious business, and must be treated as such.
Think of the 90,000 people that will be looking to get on campus and tailgate at 10am tomorrow!
/s
blackdog
- Champaign
Not necessarily responding directly to you with this but more a bigger point. For our fanbase it's still very likely that we lose this game and we are not immune from doing a lot of the same things we saw from the Kansas fanbase and melting down after a loss, even one we were the underdog in. If you look at the predictions in this thread almost all of them have us winning so we are setting ourselves up for disappointment if we lose what is going to a be a VERY tough matchup in an EXTREMELY hostile and fired up environment.
With that being said let's go out, beat the pants off them, and send all those rabid Husker fans home wondering when they really will be "back"
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
I'm fully expecting some folks saying "We should try Leary", "bench everyone in the interior offensive line", "Why is Jamison such a good coach when we can't stop Nebraska running for X yards on us?" or other versions.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
You forgot "We need to fire Lunney".
Rewatched some of the game from last year. Nebraska may not have been very good last year but we weren’t very good either. And we beat ourselves in that game. Opening drive we don’t get an inch in 2 plays cost us 7 points, and then we don’t field a kickoff (I’m with Robert. How have we never learned to use the wind to our advantage?) leading directly to another 7 points. That’s 14 points in a 13 point game. And there were at least 2-3 potential interceptions that went right through our hands.
I’m sure they are better but so are we. We eliminate self inflicted wounds and it should be a close game. If we can contain their run at all and force their frosh QB to throw it, I think we can pick a couple off and we just might win.
I’m sure they are better but so are we. We eliminate self inflicted wounds and it should be a close game. If we can contain their run at all and force their frosh QB to throw it, I think we can pick a couple off and we just might win.
Gonna be HOT and windy at kickoff tomorrow 89 and 12 mph winds.
That is not even close to being remotely true. Most thought the line at -8.5 was a bit high. A lot of husker fans have PTSD for night games against ranked teams. It's been a very very long time since we've played well in those conditions.
There might be a couple of yahoos on message boards, but husker fans are not confident in anything right now related to football.
Most predictions I've seen are in the 5 to 10 point win area.
A very very very few think it will be a blowout.
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I think we have a decent chance here. I'm sensing 28-24, hopefully O&B 
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
FIFY....
Again, one has to understand the importance of that U's football program to the psyche of the entire State. They were so good for so long... and got to the Pinnacle of College Ball for many seasons. So it's a matter of personal and hyper-State identity and pride in having National success for an extended period (two generations at least).
And when the Huskers quickly went down into the depths... Nebraska people were quite a bit lost and didn't know how to handle it. Both 'identity' and 'success' were suddenly stripped away and left a large hurting and confused fan base.
They have been down for so long for them it's like they've been crawling across a parched desert with nothing to drink. And now after all these years they find an oasis and some water! Ahhhh! That feels and tastes so good. We're back!
I can tell you that if the Illini prevail and knock off the Huskers that a good deal of that Nebraska hyper-confidence will quickly crumble like a dried out corn stalk in the blazing sun in a dry farm field.
And you have to factor in the fact that the Illini football program has not scared anyone Nationally for a long time. That is out there in the National mindset.
Yes and no. Older Husker fans of that older generation or two are honestly considerate and fair-minded (at least most of them). And young Husker fans can tend to be on the nasty and beligerent side (again, not all of them). It's mostly a generational thing. The fans who remember Bob Devany and Tom Osborne tend to mimic those guy's respectful and fatherly personalities -- while the younger fans can be more like the mentality of the several failed Coaches the Huskers went through when the two legends left the field. Angry, mad, and not too patient about things or open-minded about the opposition.
Illinir1
- Camdenton, MO
Tomorrow's Illini game in Lincoln is being publicized as their 400th consecutive sellout of their Mwmorial Stadium. At first I was impressed...."Wow, even not having been to a bowl game since 2016, they continue to sellout their 85,458 seat stadium." Then I said "I think I smell a rat. Let's Google that." After doinv so, I'm throwing the B.S. flag on Big Red's 400 consecutive sellouts. From 12/6/22 Omaha World Herald article:
"Univ. of Nebraska football’s six consecutive losing seasons “took a significant toll on gate attendance” during the 2022 season, according to Sam McKewon of the OMAHA WORLD-HERALD. For the first time since the World-Herald started requesting the numbers, the scanned ticket total for a game -- Nov. 19 vs. Wisconsin -- "dipped below 50,000." NU’s scanned ticket number for the Wisconsin game “registered at 46,613 -- 8,225 fewer than the previous low of 54,838 for the frigid 2018 Illinois game.” This year’s game against Minnesota -- at 57,730 -- became the "third game to have fewer than 60,000 scanned tickets since the World-Herald started charting the totals.” These numbers "differ significantly from official attendance figures -- routinely in the upper 80,000s -- in part because scanned ticket data doesn’t include media, players, coaches, support staff, concession workers and others who might be included in the announced attendance.” NU's sellout streak “survived to 389 games” through the use of a “Red Carpet Experience” that "matches booster-bought tickets to underserved youth." The streak is "sacred enough among Husker high rollers that it’s likely to continue whether rank-and-file fans purchase tickets or not.”"
"Univ. of Nebraska football’s six consecutive losing seasons “took a significant toll on gate attendance” during the 2022 season, according to Sam McKewon of the OMAHA WORLD-HERALD. For the first time since the World-Herald started requesting the numbers, the scanned ticket total for a game -- Nov. 19 vs. Wisconsin -- "dipped below 50,000." NU’s scanned ticket number for the Wisconsin game “registered at 46,613 -- 8,225 fewer than the previous low of 54,838 for the frigid 2018 Illinois game.” This year’s game against Minnesota -- at 57,730 -- became the "third game to have fewer than 60,000 scanned tickets since the World-Herald started charting the totals.” These numbers "differ significantly from official attendance figures -- routinely in the upper 80,000s -- in part because scanned ticket data doesn’t include media, players, coaches, support staff, concession workers and others who might be included in the announced attendance.” NU's sellout streak “survived to 389 games” through the use of a “Red Carpet Experience” that "matches booster-bought tickets to underserved youth." The streak is "sacred enough among Husker high rollers that it’s likely to continue whether rank-and-file fans purchase tickets or not.”"
I mean, I think this sentiment is sometimes warranted....
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
We been knew. It's a wide open secret for a while that they tickets are bought out just to (technically) continue the streak.
That being said, I'd bet tomorrow night is a lot closer to 80k than not.
Illinir1
- Camdenton, MO
Only, per the article, the unsold tickets aren't bought out but however many "booster ticket's" are sold are "given" to the underserved to ensure a "sellout". That'd be like I Fund saying "We have 35,000 season ticket sales, so we'll give up to 35,000 tickets away to ensure a sellout" (whether the tickets are used or not).
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Yeah, I don't feel your apparent outrage. It's still old news that their sell outs aren't real butts-in-seats sell outs.
If this was the case there would never be a sellout in any stadium. If the tickets are sold. It's a sellout. Idk why people are so sour on the sellout thing. It's still impressive whether people want to nit pick it or not. Anyways who cares. It'll be a full stadium, hopefully we see some orange in the crowd.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Exactly. I wish we had big name boosters who cared enough to buy us to sell outs week after week and kept our name in the national sports media in a positive way, even if it's fluff.
Most of the sports writers, podcasters, prognosticators etc., are picking Nebraska - most think it will be close... Some think so because of their history, and some because they landed the 5-star QB, and some because of Matt Ruhle... Once (IF) WE build a better record of winning, stacking wins and stacking seasons and land a 5-star QB, with our big name head coach, then PERHAPS sports writers, prognosticators and podcasters will start picking us also... But we have to catch lightning in a bottle more than once a decade for any of that to happen.... Go Illini...
