Whos watching the game? Lets see how improved the team will really be

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Nice BLock!!! The defense is looking great, 7 minutes in only though

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I-L-L!

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Fire Phil Emery

I-N-I

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Andy Rooney= biggest PUTZ of the dead

Not a big fan of them but they do have a ton of talent there. Maybe not this year but they will be good next year and year after. They are my basketball team but I am a golden dome fan myself

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Andy Rooney= biggest PUTZ of the dead

Halfway through the 2nd quarter, I'm surprised at the low score to this point. Illinois' defense is doing a good job of keeping them in this game.

Did Juice get hurt? This guy has lost two fumbles now and gave a 14 point swing on the first fumble.

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Andy Rooney= biggest PUTZ of the dead

I think it was a concussion....

Their continued inability to hang onto the ball does not bode well for the "improvement" of the team.

I'll still enjoy the second half comeback however.

Actually turned out to be a pretty entertaining game, but the turnovers did them in.

Too many turnovers. I did enjoy the comeback.

Yeah, Gotta wonder what would happen if Juice didnt get hurt. Im excited about Illini football this year though. This team has potential.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I don't know that I'd get excited just quite yet - I think they are beginning to get back on the road to respectability, and next season will be all the better for it.

Wow, compared to what we normally have, yeah of course im excited. This is still going to be the best team since 2002 and we are only getting better.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I think this game is proof that Zook is the genius that everybody thinks he is.

(That should get Reason posting again.)

seriously where is that guy?

I casually watched this game while working in my office this afternoon. I can distinctly remember turning to the screen three times and seeing number 11 for the Illlini misplay a thrown ball. One bounced off his hands and on a few other plays, he seemed to get a bad case of dino arm.

Who is this guy and, for those in the know about illini football, is he normally as bad as he seemed against Missouri?

Or should give pause to the Big 10. Let's face it guys. Eleven teams was a mistake. I can't imagine anyone in Champaign would be offended by the suggestion that the Illini consider the MAC.

Maybe they should join the Colonial Athletic Association.

That way Northwestern can still schedule them for their brutal nonconference schedule. At home of course.

The Big 10 as a whole did not have a good showing yesterday. But, the Illini didn't embarass themselves battling a tough opponent in a "neutral" site. Unlike a certain Maize and Blue squad spitting the bit further north.

Or the golden Domers for that matter but that one didn't really surprise me.

However, the game yesterday for the Illini was too much of a continuation of the way they lost games last year. Bad mistakes at inopportune times did them in in 4 or 5 games last year as it did yesterday. But, I can cut them some slack since many of those mistakes were by a backup freshman QB.

Maybe when Juice comes back we'll see less of that.

MMMMMmmmm that sour grape milkshake tastes nice, don't it Ken? Admittedly, our schedule is Coooooosh... this year is the exception, not the rule, though. I'll let it slide.

Illini played a tough Mizzou team. Illini had a lot of mental errors that can easily be corrected. And they didn't a mountain of offesive damage with a backup QB. Illini looks tough. They will undoubtedly get better. There is a lot to be hopeful about this season.

The biggest glaring mistake is the underutilization of Mendenhal. What was with that play calling at the end? Plenty of time on the clock... no need to wing it down the field. Stupid... I blame Zook for that.

Leman is great, but the rest of the defense looked a little lost. I'm disappointed since Zook is supposed to be a defensive minded coach.

I agree they didn't use Mendenhall enough. For the play calling, I think McGee just got a little too hyped up. They pointed out, correctly, on that last play that the slot receiver was uncovererd. They said it was Benn. I thought it was Mendenhall. Whoever, a quick toss there would have gotten at least 10 instead of winging it downfield. I won't blame Zook there.

Special teams however continue to be a problem and Zook was a ST coach. The punting game is still atrocious.

I agree with your assessment of the D. But Missou does have an unorthodox approach and their TEs were top notch. I think the D will do better against more traditional offensive schemes where the LBs can provide more run support.

My CAA comment was directed toward NSJ. I really don't have a problem with NU in general. After all, we play Western Illinois next week.

On an unrelated note, did anyone watch that Cal-Tenn game last night on ABC ? Cal is just absolutely loaded with speed on the offensive side of the ball. Their defense is far from perfect, but that's an offensive force. I will be watching them closely.

Back to Illinois talk.

Are you serious? From all the times I have been in Champaign I would have to conclude you were being sarcastic, or you are dead wrong. I dont understand all the hating on Illini today, I mean Mizzou was heavily favored, and Juice got injured, then the 100 yd fumble recovery turned the mometentum around completely. That was a completely winnable game against a team favored to win the Big 12 North. I didnt come away from the game feeling terrible. We are only getting better. There is a BCS Bowl for us next season

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I really don't see a BCS game next year but they will finally be decent

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Andy Rooney= biggest PUTZ of the dead

Look I think the whole thing is unfortunate. Either the Big 10 adds a team to twelve or they cut one and take us back to 10. Don't get me wrong. . . I think it would be very unfortuante to lose Illinois from the Big 10. I'd like to see them start fielding a respectable football team as much as the next guy.

The Illini certainly had a pulse yesterday. I liked the backup QB. I thought he had a better arm than Juice but I found the game after Juice was already knocked out of the game. The Illini are an improving team. They should be in a bowl game this year and I'm actually excited to watch the Indiana-Illinois game since they are both two teams that have been bad for a while but both fan bases think they are about to break out. I think that whoever wins that game will show that they actually are improving. My pick is that Illinois takes that game by a few td's.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

You are setting yourself up for a beatdown of epic proportions when the Orange and Blue throttle the Mildcats in November.

Circling calendar....now.

Too funny.

Back to Illini. Am I ridiculous to prefer McGee to Juice? The guy has an arm. He might not be the athlete that Juice is, but he certainly looked good as a pocket passer... something Juice was never comfortable with. Personally, I'd put Juice as a slot receiver and go with McGee.

No, you're not ridiculous. McGee actually has gotten good reviews from the coaches since day 1 in practices. McGee is the more polished QB. Juice adds a dimension scrambling that McGee does not quite have. Also, Juice's arm is ridiculously strong, too strong really. He can't control it.

It is too early to call for McGee in my opinion until we get a look at Juice. That scrambling 40 yard rope he threw yesterday is something other guys just can't do. Juice looked apprehensive in the first series or two and was just starting to click when he got hurt. I'd still give Juice the opportunity to lose the job. However, Juice's room for error just got lessened.

One more thing, NSJ, the next time NU makes a BCS Bowl game give me a call. Better yet, teleport over to my house and we'll fly my jet-car over to the Jim's Tavern-in-the-Sky and I'll buy you a beer.

Just havin' fun!!

Actually, I was thinking about taking my two boys to the NU game at Illinois. Are you going? How about you, Mud?