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Illinois' Lackluster Performance vs Cal in Redbox Bowl

illiniwatcher

New Member
Sep 13, 2009
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Well, that’s 3 hours and 39 minutes I wish I could get back.

From the Illini’s first scoring drive that should have ended with a touchdown but ended with a field goal, I knew this year’s Redbox Bowl was going to be a disappointment for the Orange and Blue faithful. What I didn’t expect was how lackluster a performance Lovie and the guys were going to turn in.

To be fair, neither team had a riveting game. The Golden Bears turned in a competent performance, but not an exciting one. (Nowhere near Clemson vs Ohio State, anyway.) After all, Cal went 7-and-5 on the season, just one game better than the Illini, who finished with 6 wins and 6 losses. Illinois put 20 points on the board against a school just slightly better than them. I suppose for a year in which Illinois lost their last two games – including Northwestern, which they usually win against – 20 points is a showing.

There were so many ways in which the guys from Champaign disappointed. To wit:
  • The opening drive I mentioned above, which ended with a field goal instead of a touchdown.
  • Four pass interference calls. Where was the discipline, Lovie??
  • I knew that Peters would throw a pick late in the game. I just knew it. I’ve seen Illinois do it before. They’ll get on a roll once they’re in a hole, and you think they’re going to come back, and then – interception. As night follows day.
  • Speaking of passing, how many times did Peters overthrow to Washington, to anybody? If each of those passes had been completed we might have been talking a different result, if not a closer game.
Cal, by comparison, worked with competence:
  • Garbers completed most of his passes. He didn’t look that bright in the post-game interview, but he got the job done in 60 minutes. And he didn’t throw a single INT.
  • I can’t recall a single scoring drive Cal had that exceeded 6 minutes in length. Many of them were under 5 minutes and several were even under 4.
  • Cal had zero turnovers. Illinois had the pick, see above.
  • On one play near midfield, Cal went for it on 4th down. They got it. Illinois wanted to try the same thing later, but got called for a penalty setting them back to 4th and 15. They had to punt. LOL.
Illinois may have one of the best special teams units in the league but that means nothing if the offense isn’t putting up touchdowns.

It’s been a while since the UW upset that upended the college football world during conference play. That last-second field goal uplifted a program, gave hope to thousands of fans (including me), and saved a coach’s job – for now. Not bad for one kick – at the right time. The sports press would call it the upset of the year.

Unfortunately, that was Illinois’ best performance this year. Yes, they went to a post-season bowl, but it was a downmarket bowl. If there’s any consolation Illinois can take away from losing the Redbox Bowl, it’s that it wasn’t one of the big bowls, and fewer people saw their embarrassing loss. Who’s going to remember the Redbox Bowl in 10 years?? They got a free trip to Santa Clara, California, as well as some sun and warmth, a nice break from the gray, cloudy cold days that enshroud the Midwest currently during the winter.

It occurred to me sometime during the game that Illinois probably won’t see a top-four championship game the way Ohio State, Clemson or LSU has in recent years. That’s a damned shame, but I personally would like to see them play an exciting ball game. Everyone in the media, everyone in sports bars, is salivating about Clemson vs. LSU. It would be great for Illinois to be discussed as breathlessly as those two powerhouses.

But they’ve got to win games consistently first.
 
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