Is right now the time for Illinois to do something splashy and go to your bullpen and bring Jim Leonhard onto the field and your DC?

Can a coach Like Antonio Fenelus be moved to a Analyst role right now in season?

If these move can be made, if you’re BB and Josh Whitman, don’t you make those moves right now???

I'm working on the front page story, but I thought I'd post a few thoughts first.

Not much choice at this point than to move Zy Crisler (47.1 PFF) back to guard or out of the lineup altogether. He lacks the foot speed to stop the outside pass rush. He had a 16.5 pass blocking grade. Lowest I've ever seen. Allowed 3 sacks and 4 hurries.

Three of the four inside linebackers that played had PFF scores of 44.5 or lower. Odeluga had the best grade.

16 missed tackles. Yikes. Rosiek had a 50% missed tackle rate.

Xavier Scot did his part against the run (86.2). The rest of the secondary did not. Hopefully Matt Bailey will help.

Johnny Newton 79.8 pass rush grade, and it probably could have been higher. Kansas couldn't block him. But when he flushed Jalon Daniels, no one else could catch him. The downside is that Newton missed 4 tackles, but those were often plays that most DT's don't even get to.

The Illini's outside receivers can't often win matchups against cornerbacks. Pat Bryant had 1 catch going up against Mello Dotson. The best matchups were slot receivers Williams and Beatty against Kanas safeties and linebackers.

Kansas running backs

Devin Neal, 86.9
Daniel Hishaw. 79.0

PICK 'EM AGAINST THE SPREAD

Toledo @ Illinois (-9)

* predict the final score

Nebraska @ Minnesota (-7.5) (Thursday)

Central Michigan @ Michigan State (-14.5) (Friday)

East Carolina @ Michigan (-35.5)

Fresno State @ Purdue (-4)

Towson @ Maryland (no line)

Utah State @ Iowa (-25)

Ohio State (-29.5) @ Indiana

Buffalo @ Wisconsin (-27.5)

West Virginia @ Penn State (-25.5)

Northwestern @ Rutgers (-6.5) (Sunday)

LSU (-2.5) @ Florida State (Sunday)

Top 65 in the class of 2026 released.


Illinois offers

Poor showing by the Illini at Kansas.

You could say the defense was bad, and you'd be right. But you have to score to beat Big 12 teams.

Offensively speaking, more Griffin Moore and Hank Beatty please.

OL needs to be revisited. Josh McCray???

Defense - where do you start???

Has the intro of Charlie Bullen gone as expected on field with the staff??? Jacas and Coleman are shells of themselves and pass rush is a total breakdown of debacles.

Or does this go beyond Bullen?

Should Illini go to Jim Leonhard’s system of Newton and Randolph two dowm DL with Jacas and Coleman (or Bryant) crashing downhill from OLB spots????

Photos from the Illinois game at Kansas

PHOTO GALLERY: ILLINOIS VS. KANSAS

Lets have some Jay Hawk for supper tonight. Should be a great evening for some football. Go Illini !!!!!!

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Illinois volleyball fell to Notre Dame at Purcell Pavilion on Thursday nightin a three-set match as a part of the Irish Invitational.

The Fighting Illini dropped to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 on the road with the Fighting Irish improving to 3-2 this year.

As a team, Illinois tallied 35 kills while adding 43 digs, 32 assists and eight blocks Individually, Raina Terry led the way with 18 kills and Brooke Mosher paced the squad with 25 assists. Kennedy Collins recorded a solid performance, tallying seven kills, three blocks and 12 digs.

How it happened

Despite the teams battling back-and-forth to start the match, Illinois called a timeout after a three-point swing favored Notre Dame and put the Orange and Blue behind 14-9. Not going away quietly, the Illini chipped away at the Fighting Irish advantage, adding a block from Collins and Mosher before the opposition took a timeout with Illinois trailing by one. Four-straight Irish points led to Illinois’ final timeout before the team dropped the opening frame 25-21.

Illinois continued to struggle in the second set, and a Terry kill snapped a 4-0 run for the Irish to start the frame. Back-to-back points for Notre Dame led to a timeout for the Orange and Blue with the Illini trailing 12-6. Lily Barry served an ace, helping Illinois to a 4-0 run for Illinois that cut the 17-15 deficit. However, the Fighting Illini rally fell short with Notre Dame scoring three-straight to close out the opening set, handing Illinois the 25-19 loss.

Each team battled point-for-point in the third set, but the Illini trailed 15-13 at the media break. Barry logged her third ace of the match before the Fighting Irish burned a timeout with Illinois ahead, 18-17. However, Notre Dame scored three of the final four points, closing out the 25-22 defeat in the third set and the match.

Notes
- Starters: Brooke Mosher, Raina Terry, Sarah Bingham, Kennedy Collins, Vanessa Pan, Cari Bohm and Lily Barry
- The Illini wore long sleeved orange jerseys for the first time this year.
- Terry tallied an ace in the match, bringing her career total to 133, putting her eighth all-time in the Illinois record books.
- The Illinois volleyball program moved to 5-2 all-time against Notre Dame.
- The third set had 17 ties and three lead changes.
- Four different players recorded an ace during the match with Barry leading the way with three.
- The Orange and Blue dropped to 1-1 in three-set matches.
- Attendance Thursday night was called at 574.

Orange and Blue News caught up with Jon Kirby, publisher and football editor of Jayhawk Slant on the Rivals.com network, to get the lowdown on Kansas ahead of Friday's game in Lawrence.

Just happy to get the win, or concerned about the performance? Maybe a little of both. The perspective from the outside is that Illinois struggled to beat a MAC team.

Obviously, the biggest positive takeaway was the performance of QB Luke Altmyer. We knew he had arm talent, but had no idea if he was a playmaker and would make good decisions. He showed that he has a great feel for the game. The next step is how he deals with pressure. Future opponents will put him under more duress. His errant throws on Saturday, including the INT, were when under pressure. He also needs to slide or run out of bounds more, and I'm sure Barry Lunney will let him know that.

It was not an ideal debut for defensive coordinator Aaron Henry. I thought the sub pattern was way over the top. Constant hockey changes. A player can't get settled in and get into a rhythm like that, and you want your best players on the field more. On Toledo's go-ahead drive late, Newton and Randolph were on the sidelines until the Rockets go to the 1-yard line. Bryce Barnes got 32 snaps, Sed McConnell 29 snaps.

Going into the game, I thought the younger offensive linemen would have issues locating their blocking assignments because of the complexity of the 3-3 stack defense, and that proved to be the case. They were okay (not great) at the point of contact. The issues came when executing combo block. Illinois ran more zone and the gap in the running game. Kreutz did okay, but Gesky and Crisler has some issues.

Going back to spring ball and through fall camp I had concerns with the inability of the running backs to get yards on their own. If Illinois is still going to be a zone running team, something probably needs to change. The idea up front on those plays is to get movement and create cutback lanes. Love and especially McCray didn't show me the vision you need for that scheme to be effective. On gap plays, there's a specific hole to run through. On zone, the running back has to make a play. That includes bouncing to the outside when necessary. There were plays when the offensive line had the Toledo D-line under control, and the running back just needed to jump cut and get to the edge. Instead, they put their head down and plowed into the line. Will we see Feagin or Laughery?

Toledo did a great job of neutralizing the Illinois defensive line with their multiple sets, motion, and misdirection. You knew that would be the case going into the game. A dual-threat QB makes it tough. I'm not overly concerned about that. What is concerning is that Toledo opened up big holes on the straight gap running plays. They ran 30 gaps plays vs. just 7 zone. Future opponents will see that on film. Illinois' two most heralded defenders Johnny Newton and Gabe Jacas were not good against the run. The linebackers were worse. That has to get fixed ASAP.

I want to see Altmyer takes more shots downfield. The short passing game was the way to attack the Toledo defense, but there will be more opportunities to stretch the field in future games. Pat Bryant looks like a potential breakout guy on the outside. He doesn't get a ton of separation, but he doesn't necessarily have to with his length and hands.

Any questions?

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois volleyball began the weekend with a five-set loss to Wichita State at Huff Hall on Friday evening.

The Fighting Illini dropped to 2-1 on the year while the Shockers improved to 2-2 in 2023.

Illinois logged 55 kills while hitting .136 in the match. Defensively, the team posted a season-high 14 blocks and 63 digs. Raina Terry led the way offensively, tallying 26 kills, one off her career-high. Lily Barry paced the squad with 24 digs and Brooke Mosher added 41 assists. Cari Bohm had a career-night at the net, recording eight blocks.

How it happened

The Illini took an early 12-9 lead following a service error by the Shockers. Keeping the set tight, a kill by Terry forced Wichita State to use a timeout trailing 23-20. A block by Bohm finished off the opening set, giving the Orange and Blue the 25-20 victory to start the match.
Illinois came out flat, trailing 11-5 early in the second frame before the Illini used a timeout. The Orange and Blue continued to struggle with an attack error putting the team behind, 21-11. A pair of kills from Terry helped Illinois fend off set point, but the Illini ultimately dropped the set 25-19.

With the match tied at one-set apiece, the Fighting Illini continued to struggle, calling a timeout trailing Wichita State, 11-7. A 3-0 rally by the Shockers led to the Illini used their final timeout trailing 17-10. Despite cutting the deficit to four, Illinois fell in the third set, 25-19.

Needing to rebound in the fourth set, Illinois used a 3-0 rally to take the 8-4 lead early in the frame. The Illini advantage was short-lived, with a four-point run helping the Shockers hold the 11-10 edge. The Orange and Blue did not go away quietly, with a 5-0 rally including kills by Terry and Sarah Bingham putting Illinois ahead by a pair. A back-and-forth battle commenced with kills from Terry and Collins giving the Illini set point before Terry put away the 25-23 victory, forcing a fifth set.

In the final frame, Wichita State took an early 5-2 lead following an attack error by the Illini. With the Illini continuing to fight, an ace by Collins tied the set before a kill by Kayla Burbage put Illinois ahead, 7-6. Back-to-back blocks for the Illini forced a Wichita State timeout with the Orange and Blue ahead 10-8. However, the lead did not last for Illinois as the Shockers ended the match on a 6-1 run, handing the Illini the 15-11 defeat in the final set.

Notes

- Starters: Brooke Mosher, Raina Terry, Sarah Bingham, Kennedy Collins, Vanessa Pan, Cari Bohm and Lily Barry
- The Illini wore long sleeved white jerseys for the first time this season.
- The Illinois volleyball program moved to 1-2-0 against Wichita State all time.
- The match marked the Illini's first five set match of the year.
- The contest marked Terry's 11th 20-kill match of her career.
- Barry posted her second 20-dig match of her freshman campaign.
- Jessica Nunge made her 2023 debut in the match.
- Illinois never trailed on the way to winning the first set 25-20.
- Attendance Friday evening was called at 1,955.

Christopher Burgess will be at the game. Huge news. Plus a 2024 four star who we’re confirming tonight. Committed kid who is a candidate to flip.

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois defensive back Miles Scott has been named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday. Scott had a game-changing interception against Toledo in the season opener to propel the Illini to a win at Memorial Stadium.

Scott, making his debut on defense, took his first career interception to the house for a 48-yard pick six in the third quarter. Illinois trailed 19-7 before Scott's interception that changed the course of the game and led to a 30-28 Illini victory.

Scott was the #1 graded defensive back in the nation by PFF and the #3 overall defender in the nation. He was the top-graded defensive player in the Big Ten during Week 1.

Scott and Illinois are back in action Friday at Kansas. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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Duke upsets Clemson.

We play Duke in 2025 and 2026.

Why do we seem to have this knack for scheduling non-conference opponents that when we schedule they are at least on our level or worse?

But by the time we actually get to play them, they get better and they beat us? And in some cases, those teams revert to being bad again.

I think this goes back to the initial Mizzou series in STL when Turner was still coaching. Then there is:
Louisiana Tech
Western Michigan
North Carolina
Washington
South Florida
Viriginia (but at least we beat them for the return game in C-U)
Am I missing any other teams?

And now we face Kansas who was irrelevant but now is competitive again.