...I know we'll never be at the Elite level, and I also appreciate at least we're no longer in the "bad" level. But still, I was hoping our program was finally able to jump from mediocre to good, but the 2 good + 1 elite teams we've played all blew us out.
things I think about at this point...
- I didn't even get to watch the whole Wash game, but even if you watched none, you just look at the box score and see Wash scoring drives of 10 plays, 8 plays, 11 plays, 11 plays, 7 plays, 7 plays....and that tells you all you need to know. 6 TDs after 54 play long drives. the "bend but don't break" defense just isn't good enough
- to make that jump consistently from mediocre to good or to elite you need a lot more team speed and difference makers on D
- at this point I hope they just call a pass on every play so Altmeyer's stats get padded...maybe that will help sign a free agent transfer this winter...cuz, otherwise, who's gonna QB? Who's gonna wanna come here with that kind of O line in front of him unless the perception is that your numbers will be high?
- even if they win out and finish 9-3 and play a bowl on Dec 28-ish, this feels like a disappointment. We only managed to beat a couple other mediocre teams...woooo.
so what's it take? I'm still patient, but I really hope BB figures it out soon.
Is it basketball season yet?
how to get football program from the "mediocre" to "good" level
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Re: how to get football program from the "mediocre" to "good" level
I've said it before and say again...I hope Illini football fans do not UNDER-appreciate Altmeyer. That dude is really good. I hope we can continue to get QBs of that caliber in the future. Even though the team overall is mediocre, having good QB play makes the games watchable.
Re: how to get football program from the "mediocre" to "good" level
Maybe I've been beat down through the years of being terrible, but I think we're trending pretty well towards the good category. The defense has definitely been the achilles heel this year. The win over USC was a good win. The win over Duke on the road is a solid win. I'd say Indiana is a pretty elite team this year. We'll find out for sure in the playoffs I guess. You're right about the Washington game, that was a letdown.
The o-line started out rough this year, but they've been really solid the last few weeks. We've got a lot to replace next year, but we're in on some of the top JUCO guys, and we'll see what the transfer portal holds. If Lunney is still the OC next year, I think you can point to a pretty good track record on his development with QB's. There's only so many starting spots to go around with P4 schools, so as long as we've got the money, we should be able to attract somebody to bridge the gap to the young guys on the roster.
I think we've just gotta keep recruiting better. The incoming class is the best since probably the Zook haydays, and has some potential star power. I agree that I never envision that Illinois will be an elite team unless the money starts flowing in. But if we can be that consistent 8 win team with a year every so often of challenging for the playoffs, that's pretty good. I've always said I'd love to be a Wisconsin/Iowa type of program, and I think we're right there. Next year will have some question marks so we'll see.
You're right about Altmyer, he's been so good this year that I'm afraid people don't appreciate him enough. He just doesn't put us in trouble and makes all the plays in front of him. We should be favored in the rest of our games and have a shot at another 10 win season. Back to back 10 win seasons has never happened in the history of Illinois football.
The o-line started out rough this year, but they've been really solid the last few weeks. We've got a lot to replace next year, but we're in on some of the top JUCO guys, and we'll see what the transfer portal holds. If Lunney is still the OC next year, I think you can point to a pretty good track record on his development with QB's. There's only so many starting spots to go around with P4 schools, so as long as we've got the money, we should be able to attract somebody to bridge the gap to the young guys on the roster.
I think we've just gotta keep recruiting better. The incoming class is the best since probably the Zook haydays, and has some potential star power. I agree that I never envision that Illinois will be an elite team unless the money starts flowing in. But if we can be that consistent 8 win team with a year every so often of challenging for the playoffs, that's pretty good. I've always said I'd love to be a Wisconsin/Iowa type of program, and I think we're right there. Next year will have some question marks so we'll see.
You're right about Altmyer, he's been so good this year that I'm afraid people don't appreciate him enough. He just doesn't put us in trouble and makes all the plays in front of him. We should be favored in the rest of our games and have a shot at another 10 win season. Back to back 10 win seasons has never happened in the history of Illinois football.
Re: how to get football program from the "mediocre" to "good" level
agreed....and like I've said before, I appreciate the fact that I at least want to watch their games again, because I remember not so long ago Lovie Smith kicking a figgie from the 2 yard line in the 4th qtr down by 30 pts or punting on 4th-1 from the other team's 37 yard line and thinking "I don't want to waste any saturday time watching this (bleep)"