Minnesota 25, Illinois 17 Postgame

#251      
FloridaMan
Old.Edgy said:
I have heard this argument over and over in these past 3 decades, and before White I heard it all the way back to 1959..... STOP with the blaming the crowd BS (pardon my German) most people are not sadists or masochists... so to spend ever increasing sums of money to sit in the sun on a hot summer day watching a losing football team lose again, it gets increasingly more difficult to continue to spend those ever increasing dollars on this activity. . . You find other things to do, and so you get out of the habit. . . Yet if you'll notice, WHEN the program catches lightning in a bottle - which only happens once a decade - and actually starts winning, the FANS return to spending those ever increasing amounts and RETURN to the stands... There are many (Repeat: MANY) who would fill those stands, but they want to see SOMETHING... Not 2 yards and a cloud of dust (I wouldn't mind the dust if we got the 3 yards, but we don't)... This fan base is STARVING for good competent, and competitive teams...

I believe that this coach is probably the best we've had since Ray Eliot - Yes I know Mackovic and White got us some victories but neither was building a program that was sustainable. I believe Coach B is building this program - Raising our floor, into a sustainable and profitable program. But getting up off the mat is really difficult, and once you've been on the mat for decades, it's so much MORE difficult... But it's NOT the fault of the FANS...
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I would argue Illinois has some of, if not THE, most loyal fans in the country. What other program could go through the 25-30 years we have just been through and still have the fervent following online here and on social media; and as Old.Edgy points out, they flock back to the games when there is competent play on the field. Also agree that BB is building a program, and it is difficult for fans (especially older ones like me) to remain patient. Recruiting HAS to pick up after we finish this season out strong. Also, BB has to re-evaluate all assistant positions and look for upgrades where needed for the program to progress further IMO.
 
#252      
Illini2010-11
Old.Edgy said:
I have heard this argument over and over in these past 3 decades, and before White I heard it all the way back to 1959..... STOP with the blaming the crowd BS (pardon my German) most people are not sadists or masochists... so to spend ever increasing sums of money to sit in the sun on a hot summer day watching a losing football team lose again, it gets increasingly more difficult to continue to spend those ever increasing dollars on this activity. . . You find other things to do, and so you get out of the habit. . . Yet if you'll notice, WHEN the program catches lightning in a bottle - which only happens once a decade - and actually starts winning, the FANS return to spending those ever increasing amounts and RETURN to the stands... There are many (Repeat: MANY) who would fill those stands, but they want to see SOMETHING... Not 2 yards and a cloud of dust (I wouldn't mind the dust if we got the 3 yards, but we don't)... This fan base is STARVING for good competent, and competitive teams...

I believe that this coach is probably the best we've had since Ray Eliot - Yes I know Mackovic and White got us some victories but neither was building a program that was sustainable. I believe Coach B is building this program - Raising our floor, into a sustainable and profitable program. But getting up off the mat is really difficult, and once you've been on the mat for decades, it's so much MORE difficult... But it's NOT the fault of the FANS...
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That was long winded but does not address my actual concern/criticism. The engagement of the fans at the games have been all over the place in recent years. It is concerning when our fans seem to get louder when we are on offense than on defense. I applaud our fans that have consistently shown up, as well as those that are showing up now. We as a fan base it seems have a challenge of how to engage at the games. That is all I am saying.
 
#253      
blackdog
Old.Edgy said:
I have heard this argument over and over in these past 3 decades, and before White I heard it all the way back to 1959..... STOP with the blaming the crowd BS (pardon my German) most people are not sadists or masochists... so to spend ever increasing sums of money to sit in the sun on a hot summer day watching a losing football team lose again, it gets increasingly more difficult to continue to spend those ever increasing dollars on this activity. . . You find other things to do, and so you get out of the habit. . . Yet if you'll notice, WHEN the program catches lightning in a bottle - which only happens once a decade - and actually starts winning, the FANS return to spending those ever increasing amounts and RETURN to the stands... There are many (Repeat: MANY) who would fill those stands, but they want to see SOMETHING... Not 2 yards and a cloud of dust (I wouldn't mind the dust if we got the 3 yards, but we don't)... This fan base is STARVING for good competent, and competitive teams...

I believe that this coach is probably the best we've had since Ray Eliot - Yes I know Mackovic and White got us some victories but neither was building a program that was sustainable. I believe Coach B is building this program - Raising our floor, into a sustainable and profitable program. But getting up off the mat is really difficult, and once you've been on the mat for decades, it's so much MORE difficult... But it's NOT the fault of the FANS...
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I was there yesterday. The Stadium was almost full. People sat silently in their seats from the very beginning of the game. The first Minnesota possession almost nobody bothered to get up and make noise. We had a 6-2 football team coming, we hadn't lost a game at home all year, we were ranked in the top 25, what more do you need to be excited about a game? To make it worse I saw the crowd against Kansas, I saw the crowd against Michigan, hell even the Purdue game during the absolutely atrocious second half was WAY better than what happened yesterday. I would understand if people were still gunshy and attendance was low but people were THERE!

Does the fan engagement excuse the team for their performance? Not at all. But we can absolutely make a difference at home if we are!
 
#254      
Point-Illinois
Standing up (or sitting) and yelling is contagious.

But it also requires someone to start the yell. I’ve been in sections before where I started yelling on 3rd down and was literally the only person making noise. Honestly, it makes you a little self conscious when nobody around you is joining in and you’re all alone making noise.

But once I elbowed my brother and another buddy in the ribs they joined in. Then more people did and we started to get momentum in the section.

Break the “it’s weird/uncool/annoying/pointless/whatever” stigma of cheering your butt off in the stands and more people will do it.

A great way will be to get the students back into the main stands. The crowd will feed off that energy.

Nobody wants to be singing a solo in their section…but most people are willing to be part of the chorus.
 
#255      
PROCK
Really disappointing game to watch live. Just never saw any enthusiasm or motivated set of players. Illini football love to put themselves in the hole, hardly ever the aggressors. Regardless, our rush defense stinks, our run defense stinks and the only way we pull off wins is if our offense clicks. Yesterday was rough.
 
#256      
GForce
Central IL Illini said:
We were underdogs, it's hard to say we should "win these games consistently". If anything we have won a lot of the coin flip games this year (Kansas/Nebraska/Purdue). Analytics have been lower on us than the pollsters all year. I just think this is probably more like 7-5 team than a 10-2 team and there's nothing really wrong with that.
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We've already exceeded preseason expectations, are bowl eligible with 3 games left, AND we beat Michigan. That's a successful season to me.
 
#257      
Fly Illini Fly!
From the cheap seats said:
... after gaining nothing or even losing yardage on first down plays. Captain Obvious here says when you cannot run the ball effectively on first down but keep doing it...it's not a great recipe for success.
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We basically just keep wasting our first down... instead of three downs, we most times have 2... not ideal and we keep on doing it again and again.
 
#258      
pvaughn8
GForce said:
We've already exceeded preseason expectations, are bowl eligible with 3 games left, AND we beat Michigan. That's a successful season to me.
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Exceeding preseason expectations just means we avoided disaster and we still need to not lay an egg for the final 3rd of the season. We need a bit more positives to close the season as a success
 
#259      
The80sBelongtotheIllini
Illini2010-11 said:
That was long winded but does not address my actual concern/criticism. The engagement of the fans at the games have been all over the place in recent years. It is concerning when our fans seem to get louder when we are on offense than on defense. I applaud our fans that have consistently shown up, as well as those that are showing up now. We as a fan base it seems have a challenge of how to engage at the games. That is all I am saying.
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I agree. I went to yesterday’s game and the Kansas game. It was like night and day as far as the atmosphere. Same size crowd other than the student section. Our stadium really needs the students to make noise but they need to be on the east side versus the north end zone. The ILL…INI chant would work better with both main stands dueling with each other. It is true that the team historically through the years has not given us much to cheer about but it will take more continued seasons of bowl eligibility to get things going. I agree BB is the best coach to do that. If I had a billion dollars I’d give at least 100 million to redo the south end zone and all the rest to Icon. Unfortunately this should have all been done after Mackovic left as far as a coach building a program. Gunther did us no favors hiring pro coaches and not program builders as well as scheduling tough opponents in the non conference where we needed soft competition to build wins and confidence. Why he did that I don’t know. Wisconsin did that with Alvarez and Iowa has done that for decades. Not to sound gloom but I think the best is yet to come with BB at the helm.
 
#260      
CheifKeith91
Point-Illinois said:
Standing up (or sitting) and yelling is contagious.

But it also requires someone to start the yell. I’ve been in sections before where I started yelling on 3rd down and was literally the only person making noise. Honestly, it makes you a little self conscious when nobody around you is joining in and you’re all alone making noise.

But once I elbowed my brother and another buddy in the ribs they joined in. Then more people did and we started to get momentum in the section.

Break the “it’s weird/uncool/annoying/pointless/whatever” stigma of cheering your butt off in the stands and more people will do it.

A great way will be to get the students back into the main stands. The crowd will feed off that energy.

Nobody wants to be singing a solo in their section…but most people are willing to be part of the chorus.
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I blame the lack luster crowd on myself for not being there yesterday. With beer being sold at the stadium I've got no problem hitting that solo act until more people join in lol
 
#261      
Cook
blackdog said:
I was there yesterday. The Stadium was almost full. People sat silently in their seats from the very beginning of the game. The first Minnesota possession almost nobody bothered to get up and make noise. We had a 6-2 football team coming, we hadn't lost a game at home all year, we were ranked in the top 25, what more do you need to be excited about a game? To make it worse I saw the crowd against Kansas, I saw the crowd against Michigan, hell even the Purdue game during the absolutely atrocious second half was WAY better than what happened yesterday. I would understand if people were still gunshy and attendance was low but people were THERE!

Does the fan engagement excuse the team for their performance? Not at all. But we can absolutely make a difference at home if we are!
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Was there and agree. It was a strangely subdued environment whole day.
 
#263      
Keisersose
Ok I’ve really debated posting this even deleted it once. I hate to say anything critical about my beloved Alma mater. And I don’t want to seem against honoring the military, it’s quite the opposite.

I felt having the servicemen and women give their oath in the end zone early in the game felt really out of place and IMO it changed the tone of the section I was in. I don’t remember exactly when it happened. Was it after we stopped their opening drive? Iirc we just got a 3 and out and then we have a ceremony where young people are committing to service of our country. It’s a solemn event that should be met with respect and appreciation. My first instinct is to pray for and thank those brave young men and women not to be all pumped up for the next football play. I don’t think the tone you want in a football game aligns with the tone you want in this type of ceremony.

So combine that with our first two possessions being Luke overthrowing an open receiver on 3rd down, and then fumbling giving on his next drive, the air was taken out early and it took awhile to get it back.

I said before things just felt “off”. Very few students in the north end zone (I’ve since learned that they were in the stands with their dads?, that needs to be fixed; let the dads go into the student section) And also, I asked before, but a lot of my peers love 3 in 1 and we still are baffled that the video board played the alumni during 3 in 1. It had to be a mistake but no one has confirmed that to me yet. Maybe no one else cares about the halftime show but 3 in 1 will always matter to many of us.
 
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#264      
TGB
We do not have a good enough OL to try long developing pass plays. Short quick passes and get yardage after the catch. Also, we are the only team in football that has 2 downs to get 10 yards, after we continue to get no yards running up the middle on 1st down. Play action passes and use the tight end more please.
 
#265      
Mr. Tibbs
I wasn’t there

i’m a big supporter of the military & servicemen & service women . but I agree that taking the oath is really not something to be done during a football game . it doesn’t seem right

flyovers & honoring vets & current service people is totally proper
 
#266      
WyattEarp
TGB said:
We do not have a good enough OL to try long developing pass plays. Short quick passes and get yardage after the catch. Also, we are the only team in football that has 2 downs to get 10 yards, after we continue to get no yards running up the middle on 1st down. Play action passes and use the tight end more please.
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I was wondering if anyone has any theories as to what the school of thought behind so many ultra basic dives up the middle might be? ( I’m not trying to be a Dickinson here…just honestly trying to understand.)

Could the coaching philosophy behind it be something like: “let’s be predictable…and hopefully lull them to sleep so we can be unpredictable later?” Seriously asking…is that it?….do ya think?

I have no problem with old school grind-it out football…but it seems to me that’s putting an emphasis on size/muscle over speed. But we seem to be lacking in both.
It’s also incredibly Vanilla…

Like others have said, I don’t get the limited playbook on the run side. Our aerial assault might not be revolutionary but it’s far more creative by comparison. Our run game…We act like we’ve got Jerome Bettis or something.

Like others have said…there’s gotta be a ga zillion different deceptive ways to run some fairly simple off tackle stuff. Clearly/obviously we need better consistent play from our O-line (a talent upgrade is evidently in order)…Whatever we do try to do, this def. has to improve. It’s been our Achilles’ heel for multiple years.
 
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#267      
Marshall_Lucky
FloridaMan said:
Super Troopers Yes GIF by Searchlight Pictures


I would argue Illinois has some of, if not THE, most loyal fans in the country. What other program could go through the 25-30 years we have just been through and still have the fervent following online here and on social media; and as Old.Edgy points out, they flock back to the games when there is competent play on the field. Also agree that BB is building a program, and it is difficult for fans (especially older ones like me) to remain patient. Recruiting HAS to pick up after we finish this season out strong. Also, BB has to re-evaluate all assistant positions and look for upgrades where needed for the program to progress further IMO.
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Loyal but also jaded and cynical. Just look at the MSU pregame thread and the number of loyalty members already calling it a loss, and 6-6 losing out the rest of the season
 
#269      
OskeeLoyalty
Old.Edgy said:
I have heard this argument over and over in these past 3 decades, and before White I heard it all the way back to 1959..... STOP with the blaming the crowd BS (pardon my German) most people are not sadists or masochists... so to spend ever increasing sums of money to sit in the sun on a hot summer day watching a losing football team lose again, it gets increasingly more difficult to continue to spend those ever increasing dollars on this activity. . . You find other things to do, and so you get out of the habit. . . Yet if you'll notice, WHEN the program catches lightning in a bottle - which only happens once a decade - and actually starts winning, the FANS return to spending those ever increasing amounts and RETURN to the stands... There are many (Repeat: MANY) who would fill those stands, but they want to see SOMETHING... Not 2 yards and a cloud of dust (I wouldn't mind the dust if we got the 3 yards, but we don't)... This fan base is STARVING for good competent, and competitive teams...

I believe that this coach is probably the best we've had since Ray Eliot - Yes I know Mackovic and White got us some victories but neither was building a program that was sustainable. I believe Coach B is building this program - Raising our floor, into a sustainable and profitable program. But getting up off the mat is really difficult, and once you've been on the mat for decades, it's so much MORE difficult... But it's NOT the fault of the FANS...
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, I think this seems accurate. I grew up in Michigan and wasn't always able to watch Illini games, but I picked them cause I hated MSU and UofM and thought the Illini had incredible traditions and were just cool. Most importantly it was where I wanted to go to school one day, but I had started watching them before I was accepted. Anyway... my friends from MI, for all my life, have called Ilinois the Sleeping Giant. They know that once the football program gains momentum they will be a force to reckon with. I think we are seeing that momentum now, and I do hope to see the fans one day get past their collective trauma when the team is down or makes a mistake and have it be a consistently wild environment from start to finish, but overall MS seems like a great college football atmosphere when it's packed. And when they are winning it seems packed.
Having said all that, I truly believe what stands in the way of this team's success is the OC and DC. Even when they have good days they leave so much to be desired throughout the game. Hearing coaches describe in-game mistakes as growing pains in their careers is unacceptable for a B1G program. And watching hyper-conservative and cautious football is not a fun product to have on the field. I think everyone knows that they are a stepping stone to greater success, but this program and conference have outgrown their skill sets, and I don't think they have anything more to contribute at this high level of football.
 
#270      
skyIdub
LocalChief505 said:
This school and students should be ashamed of themselves. This stadium was full except for the north stands (maybe 3/4 at best…maybe.) our school has sold out for the almighty dollar and home state kids have to get whats left. And the bathroom deboggle we had today, not letting people use certain port a pottys when the south bathrooms are flooded. Ludacris. Clown show.
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:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:

62e201f3-fe34-4af7-ab35-b48bb1749ead_text.gif

thatsludacris-ludacris.gif
 
#271      
Dkayak
Mr. Tibbs said:
agree . we have way way too many first downs that are negative , 0 , or 1 yard gained
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As @TGB similarly observes, we usually rely on just 2 plays to make ten yards, while opposing teams try to move the ball with all 3.

We “invest”our first down pounding the rock, hoping to wear down the opposing defensive line by the 4th quarter. Watching this play out repeatedly does not inspire confidence or enhance crowd engagement. Doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result —- the crowd isn’t crazy. They know after a while what”s going to happen as soon as we get the ball back. It becomes very frustrating.
 
#272      
mhuml32
Busy weekend and not the best performance to break down


(1) Defensive line pass rush was abysmal, their worst performance of the year, against a statue of a QB
(2) The offensive line really struggled (again). It's understandable to start whispering about Bart Miller's body of work. He was gifted an offensive line with loads of experience when he started, was given a turnkey juco transfer (Adams), and the staff brought in two solid transfer tackles this year, but the development has been underwhelming at best.
(3) Just a devastating day for injuries, all around. Rosiek is especially painful with the lack of depth and poor play at linebacker. Optimal timing for the bye week. With the really poor pass rush beyond the Michigan game, and the issues at LB, going to need creative options to speed out QB play for the final three games.
(4) Hugh has his worst game of the season. Great first punt that put the defense in an advantageous position. The next three punts were rough when the team needed to put Minny's offense at a disadvantage.
(5) McCray with his best game of the season and that 50+ yard rush was massive at the moment. Broke a couple or more tackles on that run, which has been a unit issue all year.
(6) Luke falling into old (bad) habits. Staring down preferred routes, poor pocket awareness, waiting too long to relocate or run, or eyes coming down when teams are showing blitz. Today was the first game all year where it seemed obvious that Lunney wasn't scheming things up for Luke and he struggled to adapt on the fly.
(7) Connecting to the previous point, the concern about this game is that Minnesota's defensive blueprint is going to be mimicked going forward - run blitzes on early downs and press outside on later downs. Banking on suffocating quick shots and Illinois' offensive line breaking down for longer ones. Either the offensive line needs to improve, Luke needs to re-capture his confidence, or...
(8) The early down run success has been so, so bad all year. It's a major warning sign, but Luke's awesome first half of the season was good enough that it wasn't fatal. Now that Luke has regressed (doesn't help when you face four straight top-15 defenses), it's crushing the offense. I've said before that Illinois seems to be running better under center, can that be utilized more often? Or does that restrict the passing offense too much? Separately, can the staff scheme up the pistol running game more effectively? Or clean up the sporadic, lengthy handoffs that are poisoning some of the run sequences?
(9) Good to see Carson Goda's performance. His second catch was impressive. Slowly creeping up in snaps and run blocking has improved.
(10) Clarke was rope-and-doped on that one play but I was happy to see him getting plenty of reps the past two games. He's been excellent on special teams but now he's showing potential in the secondary. The growing depth in the secondary could provide Henry some new options on secondary blitzes.
 
#273      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
mhuml32 said:
Busy weekend and not the best performance to break down


(1) Defensive line pass rush was abysmal, their worst performance of the year, against a statue of a QB
(2) The offensive line really struggled (again). It's understandable to start whispering about Bart Miller's body of work. He was gifted an offensive line with loads of experience when he started, was given a turnkey juco transfer (Adams), and the staff brought in two solid transfer tackles this year, but the development has been underwhelming at best.
(3) Just a devastating day for injuries, all around. Rosiek is especially painful with the lack of depth and poor play at linebacker. Optimal timing for the bye week. With the really poor pass rush beyond the Michigan game, and the issues at LB, going to need creative options to speed out QB play for the final three games.
(4) Hugh has his worst game of the season. Great first punt that put the defense in an advantageous position. The next three punts were rough when the team needed to put Minny's offense at a disadvantage.
(5) McCray with his best game of the season and that 50+ yard rush was massive at the moment. Broke a couple or more tackles on that run, which has been a unit issue all year.
(6) Luke falling into old (bad) habits. Staring down preferred routes, poor pocket awareness, waiting too long to relocate or run, or eyes coming down when teams are showing blitz. Today was the first game all year where it seemed obvious that Lunney wasn't scheming things up for Luke and he struggled to adapt on the fly.
(7) Connecting to the previous point, the concern about this game is that Minnesota's defensive blueprint is going to be mimicked going forward - run blitzes on early downs and press outside on later downs. Banking on suffocating quick shots and Illinois' offensive line breaking down for longer ones. Either the offensive line needs to improve, Luke needs to re-capture his confidence, or...
(8) The early down run success has been so, so bad all year. It's a major warning sign, but Luke's awesome first half of the season was good enough that it wasn't fatal. Now that Luke has regressed (doesn't help when you face four straight top-15 defenses), it's crushing the offense. I've said before that Illinois seems to be running better under center, can that be utilized more often? Or does that restrict the passing offense too much? Separately, can the staff scheme up the pistol running game more effectively? Or clean up the sporadic, lengthy handoffs that are poisoning some of the run sequences?
(9) Good to see Carson Goda's performance. His second catch was impressive. Slowly creeping up in snaps and run blocking has improved.
(10) Clarke was rope-and-doped on that one play but I was happy to see him getting plenty of reps the past two games. He's been excellent on special teams but now he's showing potential in the secondary. The growing depth in the secondary could provide Henry some new options on secondary blitzes.
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Clarke was awful, had a Taz Nicholson vs IU type game. Scott's injury was a real, real problem
 
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