College Football Thread

[Colt McCoy]

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The ILLINI will be one of the most interesting stories of the year.
They can legitimately have anything from 3 to 9 wins this season. That's what happens with young talent.
I fully expect them to pull off one upset that makes the midwest take notice. One of the online pundits picked Illinois over Michigan as one of the upset surprises of the next season. I'm not sure about that, but I expect one of Penn State, Wisconsin, and Michigan to go down at Illinois.

Last year, Illinois was statistically one of the best 2-10 teams ever looking at many offensive and defensive metrics. The problems were the turnover ratio and the special teams play. Both of those have been addressed coming into this season.

Zook brought in the doggies.

The defense last year was great. 9 Starters return-evenly dispersed. Vontae Davis is the best corner I've seen at Illinois (sorry Eugene Wilson and Henry James). He was a good get, but his talent level has blown everyone away. He could very well be the best corner in the big10. J Leman is a solid stud at MLB. He fits the traditional big10 mold of strong, physical play. Derek Walker is a solid defensive end that will play in the NFL. The only flaw the Illini D had last year was it didn't cause many turnovers and didn't have depth. Zook addressed both those needs and some of the DL developed alot. It will be interesting to see how the 5-stars Martez Wilson and D'angelo McCray add to the mix as freshman. The Illini defense was real good last year and looks to be improved coming into the season. I fully expect the defense to be among the best in the Big10.

The offense last year was sporadic. The run game was exceptional and 4 starting linemen return. Mendenhall (8 ypc) will be the starter at RB, but there is lack of depth at that position. The pass game really struggled last year. A true freshman QB, Juice Williams, didn't read defenses too well and often lacked 'touch' on his passes. The question is how much has he improved in one year. A big question! The guy is a great talent. He has a rocket arm. He ran for over 500 yards. He had a great two minute drive to win the game at Michigan State. He is a leader. Juice Williams resembles a younger Troy Smith. (Illinois beat tOSU in a big recruiting battle to get Juice.) Whether he fulfills that potential is another question.
One thing is for sure. Juice should get alot of help on two fronts. One, the WRs last year were dreadful. They didn't 'want' the ball and had far too many drops. IIRC, the Illini lead the BCS conference schools in drops. Well, most of those guys are gone (prison...haha) and new blood is in, including a phenom. Get used to hearing the name Arrelious 'Regis' Benn. Benn was arguably the top WR prospect in the nation last year and a huge victory for Illinois over ND and FSU. Benn finished high school early and has been on campus in Champaign since January. The guy is unreal. He has blown everyone away in spring camp. He catches everything...deep balls, over-the-middle, short routes. He runs. He loves contact. He has open-field moves. Look to see Benn, Benn, Benn this year. More than that, the guy has the warrior personality off-the-field that I love....reminds me of Jameel Cook. Benn is not a lone soldier. TE Jeff Cumberland (5* recruit) is returning for his sophmore year after a very successful freshman year. He was the best option by the end of last season. I cannot wait to see him a year older. In addition, DaJuan Warren, Chris James, and Anthony Morris are great athletic threats while Kyle Hudson should fill in the slot position well. The rest of the big10 will be shocked to see Illinois offensive skill positions consisting of 5* and high 4* talent. Hopefully, they can blow up defenses like Lloyd, Young, Morehead, Lewis, and Kittner did in 2001.

While the offensive line was great with the run game, it struggled in pass protection. That should be much improved this year, but, again, the question is how much. Juice, as a second year QB, should identify defenses better and help with some of the pass protection. In addition, the line is healthier and has more depth. Akim Millington, a solid pro prospect, couldn't left his arm above shoulder height last year and struggle to stop athletic pass rushers. Rumor is he is finally healthy and ready to show his second round potential. In addition, there are 2-3 solid back-ups to fill in this year on the o-line. Hopefully, the line that blocked for over 6ypc can keep the opponents D from Juice's face on pass plays.

Then, there are the special teams. Last year, they were downright awful. One big reason was that special teams show depth. With Zook's recruits coming into the fold, hopefully there will be that depth for kick coverage and kick blocking. Athleticism and speed have been upgraded in a major way on the Illini squad. The other huge issue is the punter. Unfortunately, that is still a problem with many possible helps, but just as many questions.


Finally, there is Zook's game coaching. To only win 2 games last year was awful. Zook's coaching was the decisive factor in losses to Indiana and Ohio. Both should've been easy wins. Zook is a great recruiter, a great defensive mind, a great developer of defensive players, and a great motivator. He is not good at managing game/clock situations. He has been improving. Hopefully, he will improve more and be held in check by his assistants. Mike Locksley, the OC, is great. He called at least 4 sensational games by my count last year (and I'm a huge critic of most coaches). I just hope no one hires him away for a few years.


So, the Illini are a HUGE QUESTION MARK

they upgraded their defeciencies:
1) better receivers
2) better pass protection
3) more special teams depth
4) better pass rush
5) better punting game

They actually have the talent to compete against anyone in the nation. The question is will the young team piece it together, or will they blow it. This was not your typical 2-10 team. They had Wisconsin in a bad way. They were in it to the end at Penn State. They went out of their way to lose to Indiana and Ohio. Purdue was there for the taking. They should've been a bowl team last year, but didn't know 'how to win' and had horrid special teams play (especially the punter).
If things get rolling well, this team could pile up huge wins. If things get off crappy, the team is in trouble again.
It sounds weird, but the first four games are tremendous indications:
V Mizzou in St. Louis (Mizzou is borderline top20)
V WIU (W)
@ Syracuse (toss-up: Illini have better talent, but 'Cuse has been a better team)
@ Indiana (toss-up: Illini have better talent, but IU has a few great individuals that can hit big as they did against Illinois and Iowa last year)

Things could be great rolling into Penn St and Wisconsin at home. Or, it can be another long year.

So far, though, Zook has been right on schedule for rebuilding the program

year 1: LOSE BIG while upgrading talent and playing younger guys
year 2: lose small while upgrading talent and playing younger guys
year 3: win small
year 4 or year 5: WIN BIG

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Possibly the longest thing ever written about Illini football?

[bernie]

My team is the Huskies. They'll have one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA this year. If they win 5 games it will be quite an accomplishment. It could be a rough year to watch but if they're at least competetive I'll be satisfied.

I'm also looking forward to ND being overrated and blowing the big games yet hanging their hats on the powerhouses they beat for the commander in chief trophy. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

As much as I hate USC, they look like the team to beat this year.

b

[MyTurn2Raise]

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I'd recommend saving this link as a fav:

http://www.lsufootball.net/tvschedule.htm

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ty...this is a tremendous resource

[Case Closed]

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I'm also looking forward to ND being overrated and blowing the big games yet hanging their hats on the powerhouses they beat for the commander in chief trophy.

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Notre Dame is gonna be really bad this year. I am usually a fan boy for this team...but this is gonna be a rough season and I don't see any reason why anyone would believe otherwise.

[WayAbvPar]

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My team is the Huskies. They'll have one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA this year. If they win 5 games it will be quite an accomplishment. It could be a rough year to watch but if they're at least competetive I'll be satisfied.

I'm also looking forward to ND being overrated and blowing the big games yet hanging their hats on the powerhouses they beat for the commander in chief trophy. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

As much as I hate USC, they look like the team to beat this year.

b

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Jake Locker should be fun to watch. At least give us some hope for the future. You are right though- their schedule is brutal.

[MyTurn2Raise]

case closed,

WIU at Illinois---you going?

[MEbenhoe]

Wisconsin = National Champs

[Case Closed]

mt2r,

I will be there wearing the purple and gold. You can prepare for an upset that will wreck the rest of the U of I season.

[Gregatron]

I'm hoping LSU will have a good shot. I agree that Florida will be strong, but think LSU has a shot at a national championship as well. Whoever wins the SEC is very likely to win it all IMO. We are returning 8 starters in defense and I think 7 or so on offense. Matt Flynn is a more than capable QB. You don't replace a guy like Jamarcus Russell, but Flynn is very good.

Our D line will be amazing, and the O line will be more than solid.

[bernie]

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[ QUOTE ]
My team is the Huskies. They'll have one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA this year. If they win 5 games it will be quite an accomplishment. It could be a rough year to watch but if they're at least competetive I'll be satisfied.

I'm also looking forward to ND being overrated and blowing the big games yet hanging their hats on the powerhouses they beat for the commander in chief trophy. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

As much as I hate USC, they look like the team to beat this year.

b

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Jake Locker should be fun to watch. At least give us some hope for the future. You are right though- their schedule is brutal.

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It'd be nice if Marcel Reece showed up this year. God if he starts breaking out, look out.

Not sure about RB. Could be a hole there.

Defense might be suprisingly good.

It'll be interesting to see how they recover from being blown out by the Buckeyes. God that's going to be a long game. Hopefully I'll make it to halftime before I leave.

b