Two Steps Forward.......Three Steps Back.

Two Steps Forward.......Three Steps Back.
The rebuild of the Illinois football program continues as they drop a tough 34-31 loss in overtime to Purdue.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Back To Reality

     A lot of things can be taken from last weekend's Illini loss at Washington, but the most obvious observation would be that the Illini received a cold dose of reality in their 44-19 loss to the Huskies on Saturday in Seattle.  A lot of questions were answered, most namely the fact that the defense still isn't quite ready to advance to that next level, and the reality in that statement is we might not know for a couple more weeks just how far they have left to go.  The Illini fell behind early against Washington, and the Huskies' speed was evident, especially on the plays that they ran back for touchdowns coming off of Illini turnovers.  The first two games for the Illini spawned several warning signs, specifically since they didn't blow out either opponent and had to come back in each game in order to win, so the first real test against a power conference foe seemed to tell the story.  For the game, Illini quarterback Wes Lunt was efficient, completing 16 of 26 passes for 230 yards and two touchdown passes, both going to junior college transfer Geronimo Allison.  Allison caught 6 passes for 160 yards, and showed why the Illini coaching staff targeted him as someone who could help immediately on the receiving end, a position that was severely depleted with graduation a year ago.  Freshman sensation Mikey Dudek caught 5 passes for 43 yards, and remains one of Lunt's favorite go-to guys.  With the Illini falling behind 21-3 at the end of the first quarter, the run was once again abandoned, with Josh Ferguson getting the lion's share of the carries, rushing 11 times for 52 yards.  If there is anything positive to take away from this loss, according to Tim Beckman, it would be the play in the second half.  "If you look at the score in the second half, we won that portion of the game 7-6", Beckman said on Monday to his weekly address of the media.  Yes, that's true, but by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the outcome of the game wasn't in question and the Huskies began to grind the game from the rushing standpoint.

     So, what happens next you ask?  The Illini return home this Saturday to take on the Bobcats of Texas State at Memorial Stadium (3:00 pm CT, ESPN News).  The Bobcats come into the game with the Illini at 1-, having derailed FCS school Arkansas-Pine Bluff in their opener 65-0, and losing to Navy last weekend 35-21.  The Illini need an impressive performance on all sides of the ball in their final pre-conference tuneup because the road gets a whole lot tougher after this game.  Even though this is considered a lesser opponent, nothing should be overlooked at this point, as the Illini still try to find their identity.  The Bobcats will be coming into Champaign with upset on their minds, and if the Illini aren't careful and play to the level that they are capable of playing, that scenario just may in fact play out.  We shall see.

     The Fighting Illini women's soccer team began Big Ten play last week, and through two games in the conference slate, managed a split.  The Illini opened conference play with a 2-0 loss at Iowa last Thursday, then came back on Sunday with a 3-0 win at Nebraska.  The Illini carry a 6-2-0 overall record and a 1-1-0 Big Ten mark into this weekend, when they host their neighbors from the state of Indiana.  The Illini will open up on Friday with a rare Friday afternoon contest, when they entertain the Indiana Hoosiers (2:30 pm CT, BTN).  The annual Soccer Fest game will take place on Sunday afternoon when Purdue comes to town (1:00 pm CT, no TV).  Coach Janet Rayfield has been pleased so far with the start this season, and thinks that the national television exposure on the Big Ten Network will be good for the younger players.  "I know a lot of the younger players have not had an experience of playing on television, so this will hopefully ease their nerves a little bit for the excitement that this presents", Rayfield said on Monday about some of her younger players and getting the nervous jitters out of the way.

     Kevin Hambly's women's volleyball team continues their pre-conference slate away from Huff Hall, and last weekend, came away with winning 2 out of 3 matches in the Blue Raider Bash at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  The Illini defeated the host Blue Raiders in 3 straight games, before being upset by Virginia Tech in 5 games earlier on Saturday.  The Illini bounced back in their third match, taking Washington State in 3 straight games to close out the weekend.  The Illini are currently 5-3 on the season, and will close out the non-conference portion of the season this weekend, when they travel to Omaha, Nebraska to compete in the Creighton Classic.  The Illini will take on the host Blue Jays on Friday night (7:00 pm CT, no TV), before playing a pair of matches on Saturday.  The Illini will face off against Colorado on Saturday morning (10:00 am CT, no TV), before closing out the weekend with South Dakota (5:30 pm CT, no TV).

     Finally, to close out this week's Illini Guy Report, with college football in full swing, the thought of college basketball is not that far off on the horizon as well.  The Illini received some disheartening news late last week, when their starting point guard for the past two seasons, Tracy Abrams, sustained an ACL injury and will miss the entire 2014-15 season.  Abrams, a senior, was counted on to be one of the floor leaders for the Illini, and now in his absence, senior transfer Ahmad Starks and sophomore Jaylon Tate will have to step up and fill the void.  The waiver denial of Starks from last season was actually beneficial, as now the Illini will have him for this season while Abrams takes a medical redshirt.  Abrams will be back for his senior season in 2015-16.  This will also be a busy weekend for recruits on the Illinois campus for head coach John Groce.  Groce will welcome 5-star big man Elijah Thomas to campus, and it was announced earlier in the week that guard Jalen Coleman, a 4 star prospect from Indiana, has moved his visit up and will also visit Illinois this weekend.  Coleman has narrowed his choices down to the Illini and UNLV.  Sooner or later, Groce will land one of these players, but it remains to be seen who will be the first in a series of dominoes to fall.

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