Illinois - What Did We Learn

[UniversalMartin]

2 hours ago, Madcows said:

Biggest takeaway from the game, we are an average offense away from being a good team.

That's a good take...with all that has happened, an average O we would likely still lose vs CU and most definitely lose vs Michigan..but likely beat Minny and sitting 4-2 with the schedule we have remaining would feel good...f#&%ing Minnesota 

[Mavric]

35 minutes ago, UniversalMartin said:

That's a good take...with all that has happened, an average O we would likely still lose vs CU and most definitely lose vs Michigan..but likely beat Minny and sitting 4-2 with the schedule we have remaining would feel good...f#&%ing Minnesota 

 

We didn't even need an average offense to beat Minnesota.

 

Just a quarterback who didn't look like he was starting his first high school JV game.

[Born N Bled Red]

57 minutes ago, UniversalMartin said:

That's a good take...with all that has happened, an average O we would likely still lose vs CU and most definitely lose vs Michigan..but likely beat Minny and sitting 4-2 with the schedule we have remaining would feel good...f#&%ing Minnesota 

 

That would have been the outcome had we started Haarberg against Minny anyway. With an average offense we would have hung with, maybe beat Colorado, for the whole game.

[BigRedBuster]

On 10/7/2023 at 9:51 PM, Archy1221 said:

With the lack of depth and returning talent at WR, and the injury’s to the RB’s, the coaching staff should try and get Fidone 8-10 targets a game.  
 

Am I saying we should try and get Fidone the ball more?  Well, ya.   I think almost everyone on this site thinks that.  And if they don’t, they should.  
 

Would one more target per game make me happy?  Yes and it should make you happier too!  Two more targets per game would make me even happier!   
 

I can’t also figure out why you said it’s “not bad scheming”.  No one claimed that? 

Where did I say I don’t want to get him the ball more?

 

He was open on pass plays.  The scheme got him open. 
 

So, to target him 50% more times, you want to pass a lot more with the O line and QB we have.  

[Madcows]

11 hours ago, Mavric said:

 

I don't know that we even have to be all that much better of an offense overall.  We just need to be able to get TDs once we get in the red zone.  That alone would boost our scoring average by almost a TD per game.

 

Of course, that's kind of been the problem for the last several years, so....

I agree, not sure how much better this offense can be, just saying if we had an average offense, we'd be a good team, an 8-4/9-3 type team. With our below average offense, we will be a borderline bowl eligible team.  Considering the last 6-7 years, that an improvement.

[ndobney]

I guess we also learned that the big ten refs have no problem with other teams defenses mimicking our cadence 

[ladyhawke]

21 hours ago, Husker03 said:

But why? Like, not to be a punk but he is currently an NCAA Div 1 quarterback. To say, “Let’s get him a quarterback coach to help teach him how to throw correctly and with any degree of accuracy,” is hilarious to me. That’s basic QB skills. Should have them by now. That’s not a thing we “start developing as a Jr in college,” thing. There are thousands of high school quarterbacks that need less than that and will never get a sniff at this level. He’s literally a ground up build at this point and I have NO idea why he’s on a scholly here. He could spend 2 full years just developing reads and field vision and still be lacking. That doesn’t even start to address his innate flawed mechanics which also would take multiple years to correct. 
 

He’s out of time for NU to save him as a QB. He’s a guy we use only because there is nobody else and cutting him in the off-season was not the way Rhule was gonna win the state. He can transfer down a few levels and have loads of fun running around and slinging yard ball for Wayne. 
 

From NU’s perspective, he’s an easy guy to recruit over this off-season and that is the path you take because such fewer resources needed to put into the next guy who already knows how to not throw sidearm and get the ball within 4 yards of his receiver. It’s business and Haarberg leaves you little upside return on investment at this time. 

I think my point is this IF he wasn’t throwing that way before but just recently adopted that form could it be unlearned? My husband said the same thing as you and I agreed until I heard that that wasn’t how he used to throw. Interesting. Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it. 

[Scofrosghost]

I learned that Coleman is in fact open and blocks well. 
 

 

[huskerfan74]

If our offense was even semi-decent, we would have a shot at winning this weak division. None of the teams in the BIG west are good. We have a good defense but our offense is what is holding this team back. Regardless of who wins this division, they will get there butts whopped in the BIG championship by either Ohio or Michigan. Personally, as much as I hate settling for crumbs, this season would be a success if we make a bowl game even if it is the toilet bowl.

[teachercd]

Man, I think that loss broke Illinois fans.  I read some of their posts and they are done, b!^@hing about everything from attendance to ticket prices to how to get more kids in the stadium.  They are now upset that NW is better than they are this year and started to discuss the "glory days" when they had a 9 win season.  

 

I guess in the last 45 years they have only had 13 winning seasons?!?!

[runningblind]

1 minute ago, teachercd said:

Man, I think that loss broke Illinois fans.  I read some of their posts and they are done, b!^@hing about everything from attendance to ticket prices to how to get more kids in the stadium.  They are now upset that NW is better than they are this year and started to discuss the "glory days" when they had a 9 win season.  

 

I guess in the last 45 years they have only had 13 winning seasons?!?!

The two bolded sentences are at odds with each other. 

[teachercd]

1 hour ago, runningblind said:

The two bolded sentences are at odds with each other. 

Ha!  No kidding!

 

I think they had some super high hopes though, for this season and it is crushing them.

 

They really don't seem to want much as fans, just decent fan attendance and going to a bowl game.

[Enhance]

I don't know if I necessarily "learned" this, but I do think what we've seen offensively the last two weeks probably makes the QB conversation a bit more interesting after the bye week. That offensive performance definitely wasn't all on Haarberg, and Sims still makes me incredibly nervous, but I just have this itching feeling that a two-QB system will be coming into play.

[lo country]

8 hours ago, ladyhawke said:

I think my point is this IF he wasn’t throwing that way before but just recently adopted that form could it be unlearned? My husband said the same thing as you and I agreed until I heard that that wasn’t how he used to throw. Interesting. Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it. 

Watching my Cowboys tonight, Dak, at times has thrown side arm when "appropriate".  HH seems to throw traditional and sidearm.  Really unsure why HH throws either way.  Really doesn't seem to be situational.  I'm assuming perceived pressure, route, distance of pass etc....I do think anything learned can be unlearned but it takes (allegedly) 10,000 reps to master a new skill and then 1,000 to break the old habit.  I'm guessing if HH was QB 1 for sure moving forward they'd use this 2 weeks to really watch game film and practices to get a game plan around passes he can do "more often than not" and ditch the ones they "want him" to do.   Implement the ones he can do moving forward.  

 

Our O was light years better in 1995 so a bad comparison, but TF threw for approx 1400 yards that season for a 56% completion rate.  IIRC had 17 TD passes to 4 INT's.  At least in TF's case, he completed the ones he needed to.  Hoping whoever we have after the bye the staff has really dialed into the plays they can make.  Not the ones the staff "wants".  The mere threat of a passing game would help tremendously.  Cowboys switched up their scheme this year with "Texas Coast". Shorter routes to aid Dak in making quicker throws and less INT's.  So far it's worked.  Completion rate is approx 72% and INT's are at 2 (1 tonite).  Average YPP has dropped to 6.7...I'd take that with NU for sure.  

[Undone]

The handwringing over things that went wrong in the Illinois game have really subsided for me at this point. I think we were what, 3.5 point underdogs heading into that (road) game? And we won by 13. Should have been a 16 win if not for the missed field goal. We smashed the spread and made their offense look stupid all night. That's worth a lot.

 

I think the frustration is that we all know if a couple mistakes made by players not named Ricky Haarberg hadn't happened in the Minnesota game, we're 4-2 right now, looking at absolutely the best season we've had in 6 years.

 

Thing is...we're still probably looking at the best season in 6 years either way.    

 

I'm currently enjoying the ride and I like what Rhule has been doing in terms of actually coaching the team. Yeah, I wish we had gotten some magical Quinn Ewers or somebody like that out of the portal, but we didn't.