** 2023 Opponent Preview: Illinois (Game 6) **

[Caliborn72]

 

[Hooked on Huskers]

1 hour ago, Lorewarn said:

 

 

You are wrong, we beat Bert in 2012.

 

2012 .... long long time ago.  Ancient history.

[Hooked on Huskers]

1 hour ago, Caliborn72 said:

 

 

Remaining Husker schedule, all UNDERDOG.  Even North by Northwest, Tucker's crew and Purdoo.

 

Massey Composite:

• Purdue #57
• MSU #70
• NW #76
• Huskers #81

[suh_fan93]

Heading down to Champaign to see this one.  Game is a toss up.  Illini not looking as good as some were expecting them to this year.

[Red Five]

24 minutes ago, suh_fan93 said:

Heading down to Champaign to see this one.  Game is a toss up.  Illini not looking as good as some were expecting them to this year.

Hope you didn’t buy tickets yet. There are a ton going for under $25 currently.

[BoSolich]

might sound stupid but this feels like a must win game for the short term future of the program. illinois is equally as bad as we are. no reason we can't win. if rhule can't outcoach bielema then he's probably not gonna make it very long here.

[BigRedBuster]

Well....this sucks.

 

 

[Undone]

Illinois ranks #63 in total yards per game, and 94th in points per game. We rank 85th & 111th in both of those categories, respectively.

 

So just like against Minnesota, this one will come down to how dominant our defense can be. Highlights of their game Saturday against Purdue:
 

They've got an explosive zone read QB. In the middle of the 2nd quarter, Illinois looks like the better team. Game is 16-13 Purdue at half. Then it looked like Purdue's QB gets all day to throw several times in the second half, and Illinois' defense just fell apart.

Now I don't know much about Purdue's running backs & offensive line this season, but I'd say they're not really known for beating teams on the ground, or even for necessarily being all that balanced. But they put up 189 yards on the ground against the Illini, with one back having 21 carries for 112 yards (which makes for a 5.3 YPC average).

 

Seems like Illinois' tough rushing defense has maybe dropped off the map? Not sure.

[Husker in WI]

55 minutes ago, Undone said:

They've got an explosive zone read QB. In the middle of the 2nd quarter, Illinois looks like the better team. Game is 16-13 Purdue at half. Then it looked like Purdue's QB gets all day to throw several times in the second half, and Illinois' defense just fell apart.

Now I don't know much about Purdue's running backs & offensive line this season, but I'd say they're not really known for beating teams on the ground, or even for necessarily being all that balanced. But they put up 189 yards on the ground against the Illini, with one back having 21 carries for 112 yards (which makes for a 5.3 YPC average).

 

Seems like Illinois' tough rushing defense has maybe dropped off the map? Not sure.

 

Mockobee is pretty good for Purdue, and if you can believe it the kid that went over 100 used to play for Iowa. They actually do get some talented guys there, Ferentz just has no idea how to use them so they leave. But yeah, Illinois lost almost everyone on defense and it's showing. Their DT is really good, not sure about anyone else. 

 

Their offense is more Minnesota than Michigan, so if the defense shows up like Rhule challenged them to I like our chances. But "showing up" gets more difficult as the injuries mount - Reimer is our best tackler, Singleton our best hitter/enforcer (and definitely a better tackler than Bretz), and Lenhardt probably our best bet to handle zone read/QB run game on the DL. We really missed all three against Michigan (not that we would have won anyway), if we're missing them again I'm a lot less confident. 

[Enhance]

2 hours ago, BoSolich said:

might sound stupid but this feels like a must win game for the short term future of the program. illinois is equally as bad as we are. no reason we can't win. if rhule can't outcoach bielema then he's probably not gonna make it very long here.

I don't think that sounds stupid. This is a pretty big opportunity to show what kind of a team they are after suffering a big loss last weekend and then heading on the road on a short week. A win here could set the foundation for a run at bowl eligibility and injecting the program with a lot of confidence. It's one of those moments where we'll see what kind of a team this really is. Do they bounce back and show heart, or let the mistakes of the past weigh them down?

That said, I'm hesitant to really make this game too much of a statement about the program's overall potential under Rhule. I know it sucks to continually give new coaches time, but IMO it's the only fair and equitable thing to do, and I don't think a loss this week (or even a non-bowl eligibility season) is necessarily an indictment against Rhule's long term viability.

[Undone]

What I saw in last night's Chiefs vs. Jets game was a Jets offensive staff that was of course really scared to see Wilson throwing the ball very much, but also knowing that they couldn't just hand the ball off to Breece Hall & Dalvin Cook all game long to actually have a shot at winning. Sound familiar?     

 

After a slow start early in the first quarter, they actually did pretty well out of both 22 and 12 man personnel. They found some surprisingly good ways to open up the field in those big sets, I was legitimately surprised. One thing they did was rolling Wilson out, and another was involving RB's in the passing game.

 

I really wish we had Rhamir Johnson for this game. 

[admo]

Should be a close game.  Huskers are due.  4th quarter will be interesting.  I kinda like the Huskers in this game by a point or two.  However, that doesn't mean that will happen, because it is so difficult to figure out Nebraska.  They are bad when they turn the ball over, but they are not bad when they play clean.  Anyway, I am looking forward to watching this one closely

[commando]

1 hour ago, Husker in WI said:

 

Their offense is more Minnesota than Michigan, so if the defense shows up like Rhule challenged them to I like our chances. But "showing up" gets more difficult as the injuries mount - Reimer is our best tackler, Singleton our best hitter/enforcer (and definitely a better tackler than Bretz), and Lenhardt probably our best bet to handle zone read/QB run game on the DL. We really missed all three against Michigan (not that we would have won anyway), if we're missing them again I'm a lot less confident. 

those injuries are what concern me about this game.   our defense is much better with those guys than without them.

[teachercd]

Illinois fans are pretty much done with the season and feel like it is back to being horrible again.

 

I am guessing the fan turnout will be really lame.   That place holds 60,000 I am guessing there will be well under 40,000 fans.

 

Someone posted that this might be a "must win" game for NU and I agree.  This is the kind of game that NU needs to win.  NU can't be losing to the lame teams in the conference.

[Fru]

4 hours ago, BoSolich said:

might sound stupid but this feels like a must win game for the short term future of the program. illinois is equally as bad as we are. no reason we can't win. if rhule can't outcoach bielema then he's probably not gonna make it very long here.

Not stupid at all. This is a perfectly teed up opportunity to beat a veteran B1G coach and a program that has somehow notched 3 straight wins over us. It’s also a perfect opportunity for Rhule and Co to show us things are different now with them. Keep the team’s focus during a short week. Bring a sensible game plan. Execute.