r/fightingillini • u/Aggressive_Rent_7905 • 13d ago
Football B.B. always has one questionalble loss or deflating loss a season
It's becoming a major issue where every season we seem to have a deflating loss for the season or just a bad loss
2022-7-1 chance for big ten division title is ours and we drop 2 in a row to mich st and purdue at home
2023-get destoryed by purdue then lose right to nebraska
2024-lose to minnesota when we were 6-2
2025- lose to washington deflating playoff hopes then lose to a bad wisconsin team
2026-deflating loss to duke and a awful loss to purdue
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u/jb40018 13d ago
I’m usually a glass half full kind of fan and after the losses to Duke and Ohio State, I was still finding positives. After yesterday’s game, I’ve lost a lot of hope. I kept looking at Housers stats thinking it couldn’t possibly be correct! Until the last few drives where they played prevent, he was barely over 100 yards. But I don’t put the blame on the players, exactly. The play calling on offense was questionable. Nothing very creative, just runs up the middle and passes looking for Dixon. Our offensive line couldn’t create holes and our defense couldn’t get any pressure.
I’m still going to root for them every game, but I don’t see many win opportunities left on the schedule.
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u/slicknick3822 13d ago
I put some of the blame on the players, at least defensively. The 3-3-5 is horrific but its also pretty clear that Matthew Bailey is the only player worthy of being a starter on a B1G defense.
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u/Odd-Sorbet-6322 13d ago
Even with all that he's still the best coach they've had in last 30 years
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u/Fun_Lovin_Physicist 13d ago
Agreed.
This season has been pretty much a disaster. I still wouldn’t want any of the previous 3-4 coaches in charge.
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u/Lupine_Ebb_2756 13d ago edited 13d ago
Allowing a shit PU team to break their 19 loss streak at your homecoming is terrible. Time to turn to basketball.
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u/CoffeeBoy80 13d ago
This is how it works for every college football program that isn't a national title contender.
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u/wanker751 12d ago
Coming in everyone expected a step back. While the loss to Purdue is a bigger step back clearly. I was at maybe 6 win floor 7 win ceiling coming in.
The sky isn't falling, the program is much much more improved. The knee jerk fire everyone [I even seen people calling for Josh] is just stupid. I have confidence in Brett and will have until he proves me wrong. 1 season isn't going to do it for me.
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u/CoffeeBoy80 12d ago
Yeah I don't think the sky is falling, but Bielema had a disastrous offseason. Every decision he's made outside QB has been wrong. Those calling for him to be fired are being morons, but it's fair to say he needs to fix things this offseason or all the momentum this program built under him will be wiped away.
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u/wanker751 12d ago
Not excusing his mistakes of course. But at least he realized he fucked up and made a change early. Tbh I though the D played better this Saturday. Held Purdue to field goals. Gave the offense plenty of opportunities in the second half. If the D plays that way the rest of the season I'd be good.
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u/Narrow_Roof_112 13d ago
Luke Altmeyer was good and we had some other good players the last few years. The program has to make some decisions in the off season. Kaitin will be gone and possibly Dixson. Are we a top fifteen program or not?
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u/Ricky-Spanish-26 13d ago
No, we are not.
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u/Narrow_Roof_112 13d ago
My point is does the program want to be? The bottom line is they need more better players. They seem to be putting money in the program besides players (although I really thought the score board would be much bigger).
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u/pinniped90 13d ago
No, we don't. We are focused on trying to win a basketball chip.
Our football high side is middle B1G. We were really spoiled with Luke for a couple years and briefly operated above that but it's not sustainable for us unless some alum shows up with $20-30 million a year for players.
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u/AffectionLittleWing 13d ago
Middle would be good. We’re heading to bottom 3 teams in conference. Fortunes change fast these days.
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u/Weary_Necessary_2434 13d ago
I don't think we ever have taken it seriously enough. There are a lot of folks that support the team, but it seems like the folks with the control have had very little ambition to make us what we should be, like they get in their own way. Anyone who went to games in the 1980's and early 90's knows the potential is there, but we just never capitalized on it. I bet we have less fans now than we did back then, as a percentage of the surrounding population. I do trust in Whitman, so I will wait and see, but NIL is going to be a major problem unless something changes.
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u/JimmyChuckBilly 13d ago
Being a top 15 program is an unrealistic expectation that will lead you to being disappointed every year.
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u/Wrong-Brush-7817 12d ago
We are not an elite team, so I don’t get too upset about a bad loss. We’re gonna have bad losses each and every season. This is more than a bad loss this past Saturday. This is a bad team
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u/IlliniDawg01 13d ago edited 13d ago
We just are not and never will be a good football school. The reality sucks, but it is what it is.
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u/Ranger_Nietzsche 13d ago
Eh there's no resource reason we can't match Minnesota level
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u/IlliniDawg01 13d ago
Aren't they terrible too?
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u/Ranger_Nietzsche 13d ago
They've gone to a bowl game 7 of the last 8 seasons and won every one of them. In that time span had an 11 win season
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u/IMKudaimi123 13d ago
Rutgers 2021, basically every single loss was winnable 2022 (Purdue one hurt the most but there was a BS PI on spoon, same with IU refs robbed us, losing to a bad Michigan state team at home was tough, Wisconsin and northwestern 2023, Minnesota 2024, Wisconsin 2025, now Purdue 2026.
As of now you gotta take the good with the bad
We’re a much more respectable program than before him
Yes we will lose 1 or 2 inexplicable games we are favored per year. He’s just too old school of a coach and doesn’t adjust much in game. But we’ll also more often win 8+ games too.
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u/bannedUncleCracker 13d ago
Someone please explain the 3Q no FG call, it sure seems boneheaded to begin with and could have changed the momentum
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u/Balogma69 13d ago
We fired the DC and lost our best RB and the Oline is all hurt. This season is over