Hold on to the ball. It's that simple.

0 turnovers, we win. 1, and we've got a good chance. Anything more, and we're in a bit of trouble.

Protect the football, and ain't nobody stopping this offense.

Last time we played the Illini, Zajac was squeezing the Juice. Do it again Mitch!

This Illini team is better than the one we beat a few years ago and seems to have a better Offense than Michigan. Nothing to fear, though, except turnovers (and injuries). Last time we turned 2 TOs into 14 pt. and that was the game. I don't see them shutting down our offense, unless we flat out give them the ball time after time.

I thought Illinois DB's looked very good against a solid ASU QB. Nothing will come easy with these guys. They have a lot of team speed on defense, and their QB is a poor mans version of Dennard Robinson (in terms of running) and a better passer (who isn't).

Still waiting for that Drake break out game.

Mistakes will define the game, it's on the road which should not be minimized, which makes evenly matched teams looking at mistakes. I think this Bronco team can take the field and compete with anyone, physically.

Between the ears we have our challenge with paying Illinois on the road, as will many good Big Conference That Can't Count teams this year, not just us.

This game is not "big boys vs small college boys", it's a tough game for two very good teams, just that it's on the road for us. I think this team learned a lot about preparing mentally for a game last week. Hopefully it translates into another good week and lesson learned.

Zook is prepared for us -- he even said after beating Az State that they have a big game next week, so they'll be prepared. Illini's offense is good -- not great, but good. As good as UM's when not letting Denard run too loose (which makes them better when allowed to scamper at will). Illini's D is very good -- better, so we'll have our hands full.

I expect our D to step up, their O to be in check as long as OUR offense can keep the ball on the field. In the end, IMO, it comes down to our offense, to allow our D to keep them in check. If we do, it will be a close game. If not, we could get wiped out, especially with Zook taking us seriously.

10% chance we win
30% chance we make it close
30% chance they win solidly
30% chance they roll us

Quote:BIG TEN
BIGGEST SURPRISE, TEAM: Illinois. A 17-14 win over visiting Arizona State stamps the Fighting Illini as legit contenders in the Leaders Division. In fact, Illinois may be Wisconsin's most serious contender in the division. The play of a rebuilt defense has been key. And sophomore Nathan Scheelhaase continues to mature into a solid quarterback with playmaking skills. Ron Zook is alive!

This is WMU with three games under their belt, which we all know is much different/better than WMU for the first game (Insert various theories, insights of why here). I think that the Illini know they have their hands full, too bad they wouldn't play in Waldo just once when we have a team like this.

(09-20-2011 12:24 PM)DesertBronco Wrote:  This is WMU with three games under their belt, which we all know is much different/better than WMU for the first game (Insert various theories, insights of why here). I think that the Illini know they have their hands full, too bad they wouldn't play in Waldo just once when we have a team like this.

Couldn't agree more. I just hope that Cubit let his team celebrate for the rest of saturday, but instilled that preparation for Illinois begin sunday. I also hope that they now understand how much importance there is on having an excellent week of preparation before the game... i hope there isnt any fall off from last week.

Illinois is now ranked #25.

Oh how sweet it would be to knock off a ranked team. That would just about wipe out any bad taste left in my mouth after the Michigan game!

(09-20-2011 12:54 PM)stdatwmu Wrote:  Illinois is now ranked #25.

Oh how sweet it would be to knock off a ranked team. That would just about wipe out any bad taste left in my mouth after the Michigan game!

Turnovers and general mental mistakes are the two main reasons we lost that Michigan game. If Carder can start catching the snap from the shotgun we might be deadly!

(09-20-2011 12:54 PM)stdatwmu Wrote:  Illinois is now ranked #25.

Oh how sweet it would be to knock off a ranked team. That would just about wipe out any bad taste left in my mouth after the Michigan game!

Well, with all the attention that the Illini have garnered with their upset over ASU, should WMU defeat them again, one of two scenarios will likely occur.

1) The Broncos receive some regional and national attention for the victory and much more notice within the MAC.

2) The national media will turn on Illinois, mocking them for losing to a MAC team and saying that they were actually pretenders, not contenders, especially since they lost at home.

I'm betting that the BCS shill press would opt for #2. However, if Illinois continued winning after our game, that narrative might sort of backfire.

I totally agree with you Nacho on those mistakes. We can't afford the kind of mistakes our offense has been making against this Illinois team and its defense. No more freebie points because we made a big mistake. Play a clean game and we have a shot at winning this one.

(09-20-2011 01:32 PM)Nacho Wrote:  Turnovers and general mental mistakes are the two main reasons we lost that Michigan game. If Carder can start catching the snap from the shotgun we might be deadly!

Yup, we gave that one away... with the requisite helpful nudge from the B10 refs.

If we play smart, this weekend's game could be pretty good.

(09-20-2011 02:00 PM)stdatwmu Wrote:  

(09-20-2011 01:32 PM)Nacho Wrote:  Turnovers and general mental mistakes are the two main reasons we lost that Michigan game. If Carder can start catching the snap from the shotgun we might be deadly!

Yup, we gave that one away... with the requisite helpful nudge from the B10 refs.

If we play smart, this weekend's game could be pretty good.

We NEVER and I again say NEVER play our first game against a formidable opponent well. This is why I wish we would flip the first two games every year... start scheduling a home matchup against a team like Nichols the first game of the year.... then hit the road for the big matchup. Seriously... when will we learn this philosophy... ok I digress.

This matchup scares me a touch because it has NO bearing on the MAC, and has more potential of putting us in the hurt locker than giving us exposure. Even in 2008 the win cost us a bunch of guys and we limped out of Ford Field. A win over a ranked team would be nice... sure. But, id rather walk away in one piece regardless and learn things that make us more dangerous the rest of the season.

Remember Darnell's last season, Illinois was a surprisingly close game.

Of course a loss is a loss in the record books.

Western doesn't pull it out this time, I see it being frustratingly close but I can't see a victory.

I wonder how Central does against State, after a loss like that I see a Spartan thumping. I give Jones & LeFevour credit for the last upset.

From what I've seen so far, Illinois is a considerably better team than scUM. This will be a very difficult game for us. I think the key will be whether we can get an effective ground game going against their defense.

We can run on them, no worries. I think our big issue will be their athleticism on WR and their CB's, but then so are ours, so I don't have any concerns other than the Broncos coming out and playing their game, not worrying about the size of the stadium the other side plays in or the attention that they enjoy. Zook isn't going to gameday us into giving up, we already know that.

This team can compete with anyone and win their fair share.

Too bad this is a road game.

(09-20-2011 06:05 PM)DesertBronco Wrote:  Too bad this is a road game.

Are any of you guys going? I thought about it but its a longish drive.

I google mapped it, says 15 hours from here, but it doesn't look good.

AC on playing the Illini. Good read.

Quote:Illinois is 3-0 and ranked 24th after a 17-14 win over No. 22 Arizona State Saturday night. The Illini had seven tackles for loss in the win.

"They are an explosive defense," Carder continued. "But we’ve got to approach every game the same and understand that we can move the ball offensively and we have weapons of our own, regardless of who we’re playing."

^
THAT!!