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Illinois Fighting Illini (you'll see)

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NFBuck;1231232; said:
Juice showed against us that he can be a threat too. Another year of development and the weapons he has at WR lead me to believe he can take the next step and be a solid passer. Dufrene also looked good when given opportunities last year, and with a veteran line back, I think he's a 1,000 yard back that could concievably open up the passing game.
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I was going on the spring practice reports on Dufrene which weren't all that great. Who knows, maybe he'll be a stud that wasn't a practice player but I'll believe it when I see it. If he or another RB can't at least pick up some of the slack then teams will stack the box and dare Juice to beat them through the air and prove that the game with us wasn't a fluke. Personally in that matchup, regardless of what I saw last November I'd take the D every time.

As for Lamen, that is a huge loss, but that was a fast young, athletic defense last year. Martez Wilson is gonna be a beast and Vontae Davis is probably the 2nd best DB in the conference behind Jenkins.
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Someone's going to have to enlighten me becasue I have to wake up in around 8 hours for a scrimmage, but didn't Illinois lose both starting DT's from last year's team? Or was it one DT and another one was lost for the season with an injury in camp?
 
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Oh8ch;1231223; said:
That said, Illinois should have a very, very good D this year.
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I'm far from an expert on Illinois, but I really question just how good they'll be. Vontae Davis will be a beast, and Britt Miller will be respectable, but who beyond those two? I can't think of a single stand out stud on the defense beyond those two guys.
 
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SNIPER26;1231234; said:
I mean WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, you guys beat yourselves in that game. Uncharacteristic overpursuing, lack of containment, lack of a pass rush. I mean, for Christ's sake, this is a guy who almost lost his job last year.
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True, but he made those plays. A bad QB doesn't throw 4 TD's against a defense of our calibre...mistakes or not. He played a near flawless game and that is an indication that there is real potential there. It's a matter of putting it all together.

TheIronColonel;1231237; said:
I'm far from an expert on Illinois, but I really question just how good they'll be. Vontae Davis will be a beast, and Britt Miller will be respectable, but who beyond those two? I can't think of a single stand out stud on the defense beyond those two guys.
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Martez Wilson is gonna be a beast. Will Davis is a very good DE and they have solid DT's.
 
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Oh8ch;1231223; said:
For all the talk about Williams he had a QB rating of 119 last year. Juice NEEDS a solid running game to create space for himself.

That said, Illinois should have a very, very good D this year.
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Like a few others, I'm not sure I'm seeing that. Personally, I suspect Illinois's offense will be either as good or slightly improved relative to last year (despite the loss of Mendenhall), and that their defense will take a step back.
 
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SNIPER26;1231234; said:
I mean WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, you guys beat yourselves in that game. Uncharacteristic overpursuing, lack of containment, lack of a pass rush. I mean, for Christ's sake, this is a guy who almost lost his job last year.
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I understand your point, but I wouldn't view it quite like that. The ever present fact is, every team varies its quality of play on a weekly basis. On that weekend, Illinois played above their average, and OSU played below theirs. It's commonplace, it's how upsets happen, and Illinois deserves credit for playing aruably their best game in arguably their biggest game.
 
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I think their DL will be lights out and Wilson will make up for the loss of Leman. They have a highly rated JUCO to step in at safety and athletes all over the field.

Not OSU good - but good.
 
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They've lost 2 DT's expected to compete for starting jobs(McCray and Williams). I think Brent will be a stud but now they're relying on true frosh Liuget to play a lot this year and while he's supposedly a future big-timer too, he's still a true frosh DT playing in the Big-10. That has to be at least a little disconcerting.

I agree with NFBuck though. I think Illinois will be in the 8-9 win range again this year and have a chance at upsetting Mizzou.
 
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FWIW Athlon (published before the injury) listed Williams second team behind Brent.

I think Illinois is in that position of a resurging program (top 20 classes each of the past two seasons for the first time in a while) where their new kids have enough of a talent edge over the veterans that it can overcome the experience advantage. One of the reasons I look for them to be strong. Starters aside their depth is much better.
 
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OregonBuckeye;1231500; said:
They've lost 2 DT's expected to compete for starting jobs(McCray and Williams). I think Brent will be a stud but now they're relying on true frosh Liuget to play a lot this year and while he's supposedly a future big-timer too, he's still a true frosh DT playing in the Big-10. That has to be at least a little disconcerting.

I agree with NFBuck though. I think Illinois will be in the 8-9 win range again this year and have a chance at upsetting Mizzou.
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RE: Liuget being a true frosh...yeah, that's always a concern...but sometimes it does work out - see Heyward for us last year....so it's possible.

Brent, Wilson, Liuget may well be quite tough this year.
 
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I know this is from 2 weeks ago, but I saw a line I KNEW you guys would jump on.

Rivals.com College Football - Ohio State stands out in Big Ten race
IN THREE YEARS, ILLINOIS WILL BE THE BEST TEAM IN THE CONFERENCE: There's no denying the super talent that maniacal recruiter Ron Zook is reeling in for the Fighting Illini. Couple that with improving facilities and a top-notch staff, and you have the makings of a looming power filled with mojo.
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