It was a rough day at the USD household. Joliet Catholic, University of San Diego, Alabama and the Illini all lost. What made it even worse is I had to witness the carnage in Champaign. Hopefully the Bears can eek out a win and save the lost weekend!
Tough Day!
- Thread starter USD24
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I am a JCA fan along with the Ilini, so I can sympathize, but I am a big Georgia fan, so that was good.
How does JCA look for next year? They got a good group coming up?
How does JCA look for next year? They got a good group coming up?
What the heck happened to the Illini? Sparty got wrecked by UM and tOSU. That final shocked me.
Too many mistakes. 1 for 6 on 4th down. Punter missed the ball on his kick. Did not capitalize on an early turnover. Fumbled as they were approaching the red zone. Some nice plays by Reed and Thorne. Illinois outgained MSU like 450-275 and had a big edge in time of possession but kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Ultimately doesn’t make a major difference in the Big Ten West race. If they beat Purdue next week and NU the last week then they will win the West by going 6-0 in the west and 0-3 vs the East. Biggest impact is the bowl game they could get. If they had finished the regular season 10-2 and lost the big ten championship they likely would have been in line for the 3rd Big Ten slot.
Michigan has been VERY Jekyll and Hyde this year...wouldn't automatically count an ILL loss there. Not ridiculous to say Illinois can play with Michigan based on the whole of the season and not just last night vs MSU.
I think the obvious answer is Illinois isn't UM or OSU
Was going to respond the same. Bielema has them going in the right direction, but they still have a long way to go
JCA will be pretty good next year. Program is in overall good shape. They return 6-8 starters and were 15-3 I believe on the lower levels. I'm hearing the freshman qb will b the varsity starter next year.
And to add insult to injury, I spent the day yesterday in Champaign with a Providence guy.
Agree. He’s way ahead of schedule. Keep the local studs in state and go find supplemental talent elsewhere. He can build a really strong program there. The only issue I see is getting kids who want to be in Champaign. Tough ask.
As it has been for the last 50 years, the local studs are still going to go to ND, Michigan or Ohio State. He needs to get the local kids that have been choosing Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Minnesota. With the quality facilities and some success hopefully he can get more of the top 15 players in the state than recent Illini coaches. No reason why a kid wouldn’t want to be in Champaign over Madison, Iowa City, Lincoln, etc… in the Big Ten West.
Not to mention Dean Hamiti losing his match to Carr from Iowa State.
Hes going to have to find someone who can replicate this def. Or, find and OC who can develop the offense. No way walters stays after this year. And it will be a tough ask for the def to continue winning games for this team.
The offense is not bad. Much better than previous years. The OC has done a nice job of balancing the run game with an efficient passing attack. DeVito is completing around 70% and 200 yards in the air to go with Brown leading the nation in rushing yards. The OC ran a completely different style of attack last year so I am optimistic he can adapt to his talent.
Walters has been great but BB is a defensive guy so I am sure he has an impact on that side of the ball. With the success many of the defensive players are having I could see more than a few leaving and filling those holes will be as important for next year as replacing Walters.
Today was actually the perfect scenario for Bears. Do well offensively, have Fields show progress but lose a close game not because of Fields mistakes but rather the officials and completely replaceable players (ESB). Let’s get a high draft pick, add a top tier OT or WR and hopefully not pick up there again for a long time!
They are 93rd in ypg. 90th in scoring off. 86th in passing off. And the best offensive weapon we have is leaving next year.
When you have the #1 def in the country and at a program like Illinois, you are going to get some HC calls. His alma mater has a vacancy im sure hed entertain.
I totally agree about terrible officiating but not one person has said anything about allowing Miami to outright block a punt and return it for a TD. That right there contributed to the Bears needing to make some type of comeback later in the game.
The offensive is not great but has been effect. Some of those stats come with the ball possession style which they are 4th in the nation in time of possession. The biggest issue has been red zone efficiency. Too many points left on the field in several games. Eventually that catches up with you. I actually think WR Williams going pro would be a bigger loss than Chase Brown. Bielema has shown at Wisconsin and Arkansas that his offensive philosophy of pounding the rock leads to plug and play at the RB position. McCray could be that guy or either of the two freshman. Brown is great but he does not have that breakaway speed. Williams does and is electric when he gets the ball in his hand. I think he leads the nation in missed tackles created by a WR.
Chase is having one of the greatest offensive seasons in illinois history. Hes leading the nation in maybe a half dozen categories. And you think we have 3 guys on the roster who can step in and do what hes doing? As much as id like to be alabama, we arent there yet.
When Beilema was good, he had 5.8+/4* guys filling the rb duties at wisconsin in gordon, ball, and clay. Same thing at ark with collins and williams. Hes not recruiting near that level here.
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