SpeedofWright
New member
Without going full on “Robert”, I remember my first game ever in Memorial Stadium vividly well . It was a sunshine kissed warm late fall afternoon in November and Mike White’s team took on Indiana and won. Tony Eason was completely his first of two seasons as QB and Illinois went 7-4 that year ( however couldn’t go to a bowl game for being on probation ). A 13 year old wide-eyed boy from Central Illinois, I thought this was the way Illinois football was and always would be.
Boy was I wrong .
Over the course of the past forty years, the ONLY thing consistent with Illinois Football has been inconsistency. One can go back all the way to Mike White. The Rose Bowl team had a chance to share a National Championship and went out and left their legs in the Playboy mansion the night before the game and was blown out by a Rick Neuheisel led UCLA Bruin team. I was at that game. To this day I hate that Bruin fight song.
John Mackovic , the best winning % in modern Illini football history was run over by Nick Bell and Iowa , stopping them from being Big Ten champions and the Rose Bowl. I was so confident we would win, I had my AAA TripTik out in the Orange lot before the game making reservation for Pasadena area hotels.
Lou Tepper had the greatest group of linebackers not only in Illinois history , but perhaps in Big Ten history. And we ended up 7-5 and spending New Years Eve in Memphis.
Ron Turner’s team DID win the Big Ten however the Rose Bowl was the national championship site and we were sent to play LSU in their back yard. What could have possibly gone wrong
Ron Zook did take us to three bowl games. Won two. We win six straight games to start the season , then we lose to a Luke Fickell coached Buckeye team and that starts six straight losses The new athletic director didn’t like Zook so he fired him and brought in Beckman.
Lord have mercy. Good ‘ol “ beans and weenies”. Matt Campbell was the genius of that Toledo program. Mike Thomas couldn’t figure that out prior to hiring, and set us back further into irrelevancy.
I was so hopeful with Lovie. I actually joined the IFund due to the Lovie hiring. However, he didn’t have any fire left in his belly. Seemed like the more money that was in his pockets, if there ever was any fire to be successful at Illinois it went out quickly.
Now Bielema. Three Big Ten champions at Wisconsin. Learned under Belichek. Going to lock down our state with recruiting. Yet, we HAD the opportunity to win THIS YEAR. No one can honestly tell me with a straight face we shouldn’t be 6-3 right now and 5-1 in the Big Ten going into a Big Ten West showdown against Minnesota. The players and the coaches had this season right in front of them. They didn’t play or coach with a sense of urgency, and that is the difference between a 6-3 team and a 3-6 team.
Maybe Bielema can turn this around. Maybe the players will not let a little success go to their head. My forty years of experience with Illinois football tells me to expect more of the same inconsistency.
Boy was I wrong .
Over the course of the past forty years, the ONLY thing consistent with Illinois Football has been inconsistency. One can go back all the way to Mike White. The Rose Bowl team had a chance to share a National Championship and went out and left their legs in the Playboy mansion the night before the game and was blown out by a Rick Neuheisel led UCLA Bruin team. I was at that game. To this day I hate that Bruin fight song.
John Mackovic , the best winning % in modern Illini football history was run over by Nick Bell and Iowa , stopping them from being Big Ten champions and the Rose Bowl. I was so confident we would win, I had my AAA TripTik out in the Orange lot before the game making reservation for Pasadena area hotels.
Lou Tepper had the greatest group of linebackers not only in Illinois history , but perhaps in Big Ten history. And we ended up 7-5 and spending New Years Eve in Memphis.
Ron Turner’s team DID win the Big Ten however the Rose Bowl was the national championship site and we were sent to play LSU in their back yard. What could have possibly gone wrong
Ron Zook did take us to three bowl games. Won two. We win six straight games to start the season , then we lose to a Luke Fickell coached Buckeye team and that starts six straight losses The new athletic director didn’t like Zook so he fired him and brought in Beckman.
Lord have mercy. Good ‘ol “ beans and weenies”. Matt Campbell was the genius of that Toledo program. Mike Thomas couldn’t figure that out prior to hiring, and set us back further into irrelevancy.
I was so hopeful with Lovie. I actually joined the IFund due to the Lovie hiring. However, he didn’t have any fire left in his belly. Seemed like the more money that was in his pockets, if there ever was any fire to be successful at Illinois it went out quickly.
Now Bielema. Three Big Ten champions at Wisconsin. Learned under Belichek. Going to lock down our state with recruiting. Yet, we HAD the opportunity to win THIS YEAR. No one can honestly tell me with a straight face we shouldn’t be 6-3 right now and 5-1 in the Big Ten going into a Big Ten West showdown against Minnesota. The players and the coaches had this season right in front of them. They didn’t play or coach with a sense of urgency, and that is the difference between a 6-3 team and a 3-6 team.
Maybe Bielema can turn this around. Maybe the players will not let a little success go to their head. My forty years of experience with Illinois football tells me to expect more of the same inconsistency.