Penn State 21, Illinois 7 Postgame

OrangeBlue98 said:

I'm just going to pretend this CFP talk is not happening. Let's just get to six wins first, then eight. Anything after that is a cherry on top of the sundae.

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illiniwil said:

ive ignored the playoff talk in Champaign. if we win 8 games i'll be over the moon

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Get the optimism...it's certainly a time to be optimistic...but talking playoffs week 5 as Illinois football, with all the unknowns, with the absolute gauntlet schedule ahead is getting far too ahead of the line at the moment.

One moment at a time...one game at a time...one week at a time. All focus should be on getting out of Purdue relatively healthy and feeling good...and then setting up that MONSTER matchup vs scUM.

The scoreboard result was not what anyone ‘round these parts wanted.

BUT... the positive takeaway is having that prominent evening TV time slot and a National audience to watch an Illini team that is working its way up to full-time National relevance. And there will be lots more of these type of games with the great new TV contracts featuring so many Big Ten games all the time now.

The Other Team was clearly better on the field this one night. But The Other Team is used to being on the National Stage like this – and they were at home in front of many thousands of their -- Apologists. The Illini will be gaining more attention (and recruits) as a result of playing these legacy old powers and showing they belong on the field with them.

Illini Nation has a different level of expectations now. And that is a very good thing for everyone ‘round THESE parts...