Illini football ends poll drought, ranked for first time in 11 years

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Tully55

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I understand they have a good defense, but moving into top 25 by barely squeaking by a bad Iowa team at home?
 


They have beaten:
Wyoming
Chattanooga
A team that’s fired it’s coach
A team that might have the worst offense in the history of the conference post penn state expansion
The 13th best team in the ACC (Virginia)

They have lost to:
Indiana


That gets you ranked this year because everyone is losing games and they’ve only lost one.
But it doesn’t mean they are good.
Michigan state was top 12 23 days ago.
 

Best defense the Gophers will play all year, and that included Penn State and Iowa. Gophers have not beaten a Brett Bielema coached team. This is going to be the strap the chin straps on,most physical game of the year. That front 3 and linebackers for Illinois, they are tough mother's, and are hard to move. Gophers O line and D lines better come ready to play. Gophers better cook up something they have not seen before. Attack the middle with crossing routes. This is a pivatol game, and Bielema always gets his teams ready to play against Minnesota.
 
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Good for them! They've done well and their long suffering fans are due for a little time in the sun.

If we beat them on Saturday, their performance to date increases our team's stature..
 


Illinois defense is very, very good. If we just keep doing what we have done—nothing new, nothing to confuse—we won’t be putting a lot of points in the board. We need to run effectively in order to create better passing opportunities. And we need to control RB Chase Brown. This is going to be a tough game.
 
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RememberMurray said:
Yes.

I have to admit I never saw it coming that he'd do so well at illinois. It looked (to me) like a washed-up coach heading to a long-suffering program.

Well, I was dead wrong.
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Make that two of us.
 

RememberMurray said:
So... the top 3 defensive teams are from the 'weak' West.

Hey... that's kinda interesting.
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Here’s the Offense rankings after 6 weeks. On paper, we beat Illinois. But if the offense that played in the Purdue game shows up, we are in for a street fight. (Iowa offense = woof).
463907EE-993A-4604-BEDC-7CE958C9EC91.jpeg
 



gopherdudepart2 said:
Best defense the Gophers will play all year, and that included Penn State and Iowa. Gophers have not beaten a Brett Bielema coached team. This is going to be the strap the chin straps on,most physical game of the year. That front 3 and linebackers for Illinois, they are tough mother's, and are hard to move. Gophers O line and D lines better come ready to play. Gophers better cook up something they have not seen before. Attack the middle with crossing routes. This is a pivatol game, and Bielema always gets his teams ready to play against Minnesota.
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Bielema coached at Wisconsin from 2006-2012.....So yeah, Bielema/Wisconsin dominated the matchup with the U during that time but those weren't exactly great years for the Gophers.

Illinois will be a battle but think you might be overblowing the Bielema vs. Minnesota factor just a bit.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Here’s the Offense rankings after 6 weeks. On paper, we beat Illinois. But if the offense that played in the Purdue game shows up, we are in for a street fight. (Iowa offense = woof).
View attachment 21036
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Well, I am terrible at predictions, but if this game isn't a "street fight" I will be shocked.

I think it will be a B1G West dogfight, just as I like it: toughest dog in the fight wins.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Bielema coached at Wisconsin from 2006-2012.....So yeah, Bielema/Wisconsin dominated the matchup with the U during that time but those weren't exactly great years for the Gophers.

Illinois will be a battle but think you might be overblowing the Bielema vs. Minnesota factor just a bit.
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Trivia tidbit: PJ had never beaten BB. PJ played the Badgers once or twice in his previous gig. Time to end that string …
 

RememberMurray said:
Well, I am terrible at predictions, but if this game isn't a "street fight" I will be shocked.

I think it will be a B1G West dogfight, just as I like it: toughest dog in the fight wins.
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Before we played Purdue, I was thinking we’d steamroll Illinois. Now I think you are right: this will be a very physical street fight. Our defense has been very physical in every game. Our offense needs to man up for this one.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Before we played Purdue, I was thinking we’d steamroll Illinois. Now I think you are right: this will be a very physical street fight. Our defense has been very physical in every game. Our offense needs to man up for this one.
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I know what you mean. However, I never, ever thought Illinois would be a pushover in 2022. After the Illini whupped us last year, people on Gopher Hole were comparing that loss to the earlier Bowling Green debacle.

Uh-uh. Dead wrong.

Fleck's teams are always very physical. In that 2021 Illinois game, i saw an opponent 'out-physical' a Fleck-coached Gopher team.

That almost never happens.
 

The Illinois free fan forum is one of the most realistic boards I eavesdrop on. No saber rattling or delusional group think. The early comments regarding the Minnesota game are that the game will be a defensive “street fight.” Both defenses are very good and very physical. The difference to the Illinois folks is whether QB DeVito, who injured his ankle against Iowa (shades of Mo), can play. If DeVito plays they win; if Art Sitkowski plays, they lose. I’d like to think we win even if DeVito plays—and Mo doesn’t. Big test of our offense’s heart, our coaches’ game planning abilities, and the upper limits of Tanner’s physical abilities. Go Gophers.
 
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Gophergrandpa said:
The Illinois free fan forum is one of the most realistic board I eavesdrop on. No saber rattling or delusional group think. The early comments regarding the Minnesota game are that the game will be a defensive “street fight.” Both defenses are very good and very physical. The difference to the Illinois folks is whether QB DeVito, who injured his ankle against Iowa (shades of Mo), can play. If DeVito plays they win; if Art Sitkowski plays, they lose. I’d like to think we win even DeVito can play—and Mo can’t. Big test of our offense’s heart, our coaches game planning abilities, and the upper limits of Tanner’s ability. Go Gophers.
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Great post!

If you're a fan of real, actual football — not just video game football, or basketball-on-grass SEC-style 'football' — this will be a great game to watch.

A slugfest. A test of manhood, if you will. I can't wait.
 

RememberMurray said:
Great post!

If you're a fan of real, actual football — not just video game football, or basketball-on-grass SEC-style 'football' — this will be a great game to watch.

A slugfest. A test of manhood, if you will. I can't wait.
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I disagree
This could be a great game to watch. Both defenses great. But just because it’s low scoring doesn’t make it good defense.

The Iowa Illinois game was okay defense and horrible offense both ways. Bad play calling, missing throws, etc


It could be a great game. But a low scoring close game doesn’t make it a great game. Being a great game makes it a great game
 

Some guy said:
I disagree
This could be a great game to watch. Both defenses great. But just because it’s low scoring doesn’t make it good defense.

The Iowa Illinois game was okay defense and horrible offense both ways. Bad play calling, missing throws, etc


It could be a great game. But a low scoring close game doesn’t make it a great game. Being a great game makes it a great game
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Exceptional fundamental football with aggressive defense and hard-hitting form tackling makes for great football, in my opinion.

Seeing some pencil-neck sprinter d-back flailing haplessly and grabbing listlessly at a ball carrier's shoulders or helmet as the guy thunders past him is insufferable and painful to watch, in my opinion.
 

RememberMurray said:
Exceptional fundamental football with aggressive defense and hard-hitting form tackling makes for great football, in my opinion.

Seeing some pencil-neck sprinter d-back flailing haplessly and grabbing listlessly at a ball carrier's shoulders or helmet as the guy thunders past him is insufferable and painful to watch, in my opinion.
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I agree with everything you said and nothing you said disagrees with anything I said
 

Some guy said:
I agree with everything you said and nothing you said disagrees with anything I said
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Okay, but I find nothing to complain about in B1G West football, and I don't see Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue etc, as 'mediocre'... I don't care what the dipshits on KFAN say.

Illinois-Iowa was hard-hitting, buckle-your-chinstrap, down-to-the wire. I loved it.
 

RememberMurray said:
Okay, but I find nothing to complain about in B1G West football, and I don't see Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue etc, as 'mediocre'... I don't care what the dipshits on KFAN say.

Illinois-Iowa was hard-hitting, buckle-your-chinstrap, down-to-the wire. I loved it.
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It was absolutely horrendous offensive play calling and QBs who couldn’t hit the few open wideouts that there were.
 

Some guy said:
It was absolutely horrendous offensive play calling and QBs who couldn’t hit the few open wideouts that there were.
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That's where we see things differently.

Every keyboard coordinator/warrior claims he knows how and why the play-calling "sucks". Just listen to the radio postgame call-in shows.

None of these keyboard commandos — not a one — could even come close to functioning rationally under the game-time pressure that coaches face every single week. If they could do it, they'd be making big money doing it. They haven't got the goods, pure and simple.

It's a ridiculous argument.

This isn't a video game.
 


Gophergrandpa said:
The Illinois free fan forum is one of the most realistic boards I eavesdrop on. No saber rattling or delusional group think. The early comments regarding the Minnesota game are that the game will be a defensive “street fight.” Both defenses are very good and very physical. The difference to the Illinois folks is whether QB DeVito, who injured his ankle against Iowa (shades of Mo), can play. If DeVito plays they win; if Art Sitkowski plays, they lose. I’d like to think we win even if DeVito plays—and Mo doesn’t. Big test of our offense’s heart, our coaches’ game planning abilities, and the upper limits of Tanner’s physical abilities. Go Gophers.
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Well, when you haven't had much success in recent years (last winning season (7-6) in 2011), you tend to be cautious with your opinions. Beating Iowa may not be the greatest accomplishment this season but that victory has to be a confidence builder for them since their last victory was in 2008. I hope their example gives our players greater confidence for breaking our own losing streak against Iowa.

I really hope we have Mo for this game because Illinois has been very difficult for P5 teams to run against (1.2 yards per carry for Indiana, 1.4 for Virginia, 1.7 for Iowa, and 2 rushing yards total for Wisconsin!). I don't think we'll get a lot of rushing yards either way but Mo is our back who has the most ability to get yards on his own. If we can at least get close to 100 rushing yards, that should help.

I would much rather face Sitkowski than DeVito. DeVito has significantly more yards per attempt and has 9 touchdowns against 2 interceptions.
 

RememberMurray said:
Okay, but I find nothing to complain about in B1G West football, and I don't see Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue etc, as 'mediocre'... I don't care what the dipshits on KFAN say.

Illinois-Iowa was hard-hitting, buckle-your-chinstrap, down-to-the wire. I loved it.
Click to expand...

Yes, sports talk radio and politics talk radio do share a common low brow quality.
 

cjbfbp said:
Well, when you haven't had much success in recent years (last winning season (7-6) in 2011), you tend to be cautious with your opinions. Beating Iowa may not be the greatest accomplishment this season but that victory has to be a confidence builder for them since their last victory was in 2008. I hope their example gives our players greater confidence for breaking our own losing streak against Iowa.

I really hope we have Mo for this game because Illinois has been very difficult for P5 teams to run against (1.2 yards per carry for Indiana, 1.4 for Virginia, 1.7 for Iowa, and 2 rushing yards total for Wisconsin!). I don't think we'll get a lot of rushing yards either way but Mo is our back who has the most ability to get yards on his own. If we can at least get close to 100 rushing yards, that should help.

I would much rather face Sitkowski than DeVito. DeVito has significantly more yards per attempt and has 9 touchdowns against 2 interceptions.
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A run game good enough to force Illinois to put an extra man in the box to stop it might not give us a lot of yards, but it keeps the passing lanes a little more clear. If Illinois can stuff our running game without putting additional resources in the box, then they will have a lot of power and options to use against our passing game. Historically, this is not a good situation for Tanner. Huge test for our OL this week. Have to be better than against Purdue. We need a running game that, if not dominant, at least forces Illinois to commit extra resources in the box to stop it. (And we need to put a lot of pressure on Sitkowski, who has a strong arm but is known for poor decisions under pressure).
 

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