Penn State 21, Illinois 7 Postgame

#127      
Champaign88
FloridaMan said:
Valentine is a nice change of pace back and will be fantastic in time. Right now, he is too small and lacks the strength needed to be effective given our lack of ability to open up holes in the running game. He got a series early and struggled to get yards. Faegin is still our best back with the best chance of busting wide open runs as evidenced by his 34 yd run in this game when nothing was going.
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Valentine had one touch on a shovel pass today. That’s it. You’re confusing him with McCray because it is impossible to tell their jerseys apart being #5 and #6.

Feagin frequently misses holes. Valentine was huge on the drive to salt the game away vs Kansas. 7 touches on that drive and made plays to get positive yardage where any other back gets stuffed for little to no gain.

I’m not saying Valetine should be getting 20 touches, but he’s clearly the most talented back in terms of finding the hole and his explosiveness in space.
 
#128      
IlliniTaffy
jrichisamazing said:
Now we gotta be Penn St fans the rest of the year. If we go 10-2 with a quality win over Michigan and our 2 losses are to playoff teams, we have a decent chance at sneaking into the playoff ourself.
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They'd have to beat Michigan and Oregon probably. Kansas is horrible this year and Nebraska looks very meh despite their rankings when we beat them.
 
#131      
CheifKeith91
We have everything to be pissed about with those two rouge flags that came outa wherever... Stay the course!!!!!
 
#134      
OrangeBlue98
If Illinois wins the games it’s supposed to win, 8-4 is the floor for this season. Those games that shouldn’t be solid win expectations outside of a WTF performance are Michigan, Oregon, and Rutgers.

But I think they win one of Michigan or Rutgers and finish 9-3.
 
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#135      
IlliniKat91
Lincster27 said:
Why, when we have a quarterback with an alleged cannon arm, do we not throw downfield. I'm sick of RB dives on 3rd and 8, or screens that go for 5 on 3rd and 6. Run downfield routes and let Altmeyer do his thing. He could be such a great QB with a better a better OC. Lunney learned nothing from the Nebraska game, and went right back to his usual MO for this one.
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Because we don't have the linemen to hold the blocks and those plays take time to develop. When they're getting to the QB in 2 seconds, a throw like you're describing will result in a pick.
 
#136      
phats22
IlliniKat91 said:
Because we don't have the linemen to hold the blocks and those plays take time to develop. When they're getting to the QB in 2 seconds, a throw like you're describing will result in a pick.
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and speaking to this, can we please figure out some hot routes or run more screens. something? there are ways to scheme against aggressive pass rush- McCray had 30yds on a swing pass
 
#137      
Mr. Tibbs
we looked like giant slayers the first 6 minutes .
after that , not as much

their lines were at another level than ours & where recruiting all 4* linemen shows up
 
#139      
blackdog
Looking around the internet at the wider discussion around this game and team it seems the consensus from other fanbases is that Illinois is a solid, tough football team who deserves to be in the top 25. That's a damn good spot to be in right now.
 
#141      
gibb52
This is year 4 of a multi year build. We aren't yet at a spot where we can go toe to toe with everyone. We played a reasonably good game on the road against a top 10 opponent and did not get embarrassed. That's good news to me. If we go 8-4 and play in a NY Wknd bowl that will be heights we are rarely in. I'm encouraged by this game even though we lost. We are a tough out for any opponent on our schedule. How many times in the last 25 yrs could we say that?

Arrow is pointing up, folks.
 
#142      
therealmiket86
Lincster27 said:
Why, when we have a quarterback with an alleged cannon arm, do we not throw downfield. I'm sick of RB dives on 3rd and 8, or screens that go for 5 on 3rd and 6. Run downfield routes and let Altmeyer do his thing. He could be such a great QB with a better a better OC. Lunney learned nothing from the Nebraska game, and went right back to his usual MO for this one.
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Did you watch the same game as everyone else. They were flying up the field and in Luke’s face all day. The O line was really out played.
 
#143      
Mr. Tibbs
therealmiket86 said:
Did you watch the same game as everyone else. They were flying up the field and in Luke’s face all day. The O line was really out played.
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indeed they were
Luke had so little time . on more than a few plays , a PSU defender came after him from the LOS untouched
 
#147      
altgeld88
Morning after thoughts: I had no idea a month ago we were anywhere near this good a team. That game last night was the Illini's to win. Absolutely no excuse not to score a TD on first-and-goal at the end of the half. And then not even to notch a FG. Terrible execution. That should have been a 14-14 tie going into the final 5 mins. Instead of that near pick-six on Luke's rushed throw on fourth (our third attempt at that fourth down play given two penalties, one on PSU and one on us) Hugh would have pinned them deep, and it would likely have gone to OT once again.

Oh, what might have been...

16 years ago on the final weekend in Sept. I sat in that stadium on a Saturday night and watched what was a slightly better PSU team than the Illini that night win 38-24. We were #22, they were #12. IIRC it was one of the ESPN night games. Almost identical day: rain on and off all day drying up a couple hours before game time. The game was in doubt until they scored midway through the 4th qtr and then stuffed us. A really similar feeling all around, though a much higher-scoring affair.

I'm focused on the bright side. We have a very good team, though our O line is going to struggle against the big boys. The guys will clean up the problems and I believe we'll thoroughly enjoy October, win or lose. We're competitive every Saturday now. Last night the outcome was in doubt until 2 mins left in the 4th. National TV in prime time Saturday night. Great exposure for the program, and a gritty game. I feel positive about the future of Illini football.

Now take the bye week to reflect and improve, then go out and absolutely stomp Purdue.
 
#148      
fulton steamer
LvilleILL said:
Can't be too mad. Program is in a very good spot-just need to recruit more elite athletes for next year. 9-10 wins is attainable, let's win our next 2 going into Oregon
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I don't follow football recruiting as closely as I do basketball recruiting. In your opinion, are we recruiting more elite athletes for next year? In general, do you guys fee we are improving our roster going forward?
 
#149      
altgeld88
Illini2010-11 said:
It was a good game, but I would argue the score is less indicative of how much Penn State dominated the second half.

I honestly couldn't believe Illinois was driving to try to tie game in mid 4th quarter.
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I honestly couldn't believe that we were NOT driving to WIN the game in mid-4th qtr.

Let's focus on the fact that even though they dominated us in the second half, and have way more dudes than we do, our D stuffed them in the red zone. That game is going to OT if we get the TD at the end of the first half.

That's what should impress us IMO.
 
#150      
BZuppke
Clearly their lines dominated and that was the story of the game. However, what might have been had we scored a TD before the half? Would Franklin’s odd play calling have gotten more odd? Throw the ball more? Possible picks by our guys? Our failure to go up 7 allowed them to grind it out in the second where had we scored they might have tried too hard and given us some defensive opportunities.
 
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