WIU at Illinois (9/8/2018)

Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:57 pm

AT

Game Time: 6:30 PM on Saturday, September 8th
Location: Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL
Weather:

Game Notes: Western Illinois, Illinois

TV/Radio:
TV/Streaming: Big Ten Network, BTN2Go
Radio: WRMS 94.3 (Beardstown), WJEQ 102.7 (Macomb)
Streaming Audio - wrmsfm.com, WRMS on Tunein.com

About the Illini
Illinois is 1-0 on the season after a narrow win over (technically FBS) Kent State last weekend. Kent State was up 17-3 at halftime before Illinois came back with 2 TDs in the 3rd to tie up the game. KSU would take the lead again, but IL was able to battle back and get two more TDs to come away with a 31-24 victory over Kent State. Last season, the Illini finished 2-10 with wins over Ball State and Western Kentucky. Illinois has a mobile QB who transferred in over the spring. Senior AJ Bush spent his first two years at Nebraska, a year at Iowa Western CC, a year at Virginia Tech, and will have his last year of eligibility at Illinois. He threw for 190 yards and ran for 139 yards in the win. Jr RB Reggie Corbin ran for 2 TDs and a couple of other RBs had 1 TD each. Sophomore LB Jake Hansen led the team with 15 tackles including 6 for loss while Senior LB Del'Shawn Phillips and Freshman DB Jartavius Martin each had an INT.

Series History: WIU has played Illinois twice, falling 21-0 in 2007 and 44-0 in 2015.

Predictions:
Massey - 28-26 WIU win
CompughterRatings.com - 27-25 ILL win
Sagarin - 8 point ILL win
5dimes.eu - 7 point ILL win
Average - 3.75 points for ILL

Rankings:
Sagarin (out of all DI teams): ILL 105, WIU 131
Massey: WIU 6 (FCS), ILL 99 (FBS)

Western_101 · Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:47 am

Those predictions were made before a single down was played this season (5dimes being the exception).

Although the more I think about it. MSU was verrrrrrry fortunate to get the win. They put the whole football team on the back of their field goal kicker and he made a 50 yarder. I'm thinking 9 times out of 10 that kick is blocked (trajectory for long kick), tipped, goes wide or falls short. Sorry I digress, no need for a history lesson.

I mean of course I want a win, however in lieu of that I just want to see the 'Necks compete. Still possible to go 2-1 OOC

letsgonecks · Tue Sep 04, 2018 10:21 am

Not sure how this game is going to go. A better finish last week and a win would have me feeling more optimistic about a win, but at this point I'm leaning towards ILL. Even though they squeaked out a win against an expected poor team in Kent State, I'm still concerned about our passing game (WR) and stopping a their QB from running.

Right now, the hope is to score our first ever points against the Illini.

Tue Sep 04, 2018 1:18 pm

RedNeck wrote: Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:47 am Those predictions were made before a single down was played this season (5dimes being the exception).

Although the more I think about it. MSU was verrrrrrry fortunate to get the win. They put the whole football team on the back of their field goal kicker and he made a 50 yarder. I'm thinking 9 times out of 10 that kick is blocked (trajectory for long kick), tipped, goes wide or falls short. Sorry I digress, no need for a history lesson.

I mean of course I want a win, however in lieu of that I just want to see the 'Necks compete. Still possible to go 2-1 OOC

Actually, Sagarin wasn't posted until this morning, and I've been keeping track of the Massey predictions week-to-week. Prior to our game against MSU and theirs against Kent State, we had a 60% chance of victory with a likely score of 27-24 in our favor. Currently, it's a 53% chance of victory with a 28-26 score in our favor. So our odds have definitely narrowed somewhat. I think the general consensus for most predictions for our game is that on a neutral field, we'd be even, but since it's at their place, they generally have a big of an edge, plus they have some extra depth that we don't quite have, but the difference isn't all that big. They struggled against Kent State, a team that Massey has currently ranked 129th out of 130 in the FBS (130th is UTEP, who just lost to FCS Northern Arizona by 20 points and weren't even favored going into the game), and Sagarin has ranked a little bit ahead of Missouri State. Compughterratings.com says we would beat Kent State by ~11 points. By most ranking systems that I've seen, we're quite a bit better of a team than Kent, who was leading IL for most of the game and was tied with them until the 4th quarter. Also, Illinois has lost a quality starting WR (Dudek) for the season after catching for 65 yards on Saturday.

My hope is that we'll see a close game, we'll step up our passing game, and have better coverage on kickoffs and punts. If we play like I know we can, I think we can win this, but if we make it close...single digit margins...and show improvement in areas, then I'll feel better looking forward to the rest of the season.

wiu712 · Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:25 pm

I hope that Western can score some points this year.

September 8, 2007: UIUC beat Western 21-0.

September 12, 2015: UIUC beat Western 44-0.

wiu712 · Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:12 pm

Leathernecks Of WIU Set To Face Fighting Illini On Saturday.

From tonight's WGEM Sports:
http://www.wgem.com/story/39024538/2018 ... n-saturday

letsgonecks · Wed Sep 05, 2018 8:07 am

wiu712 wrote: Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:12 pm Leathernecks Of WIU Set To Face Fighting Illini On Saturday.

From tonight's WGEM Sports:
http://www.wgem.com/story/39024538/2018 ... n-saturday

Side question and maybe missed it in another forum thread, but what happened to Marth? Was a big fan and will miss he genuine enthusiasm when covering the Leathernecks!!!!!

Wed Sep 05, 2018 8:32 am

letsgonecks wrote: Wed Sep 05, 2018 8:07 am
wiu712 wrote: Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:12 pm Leathernecks Of WIU Set To Face Fighting Illini On Saturday.

From tonight's WGEM Sports:
http://www.wgem.com/story/39024538/2018 ... n-saturday
Side question and maybe missed it in another forum thread, but what happened to Marth? Was a big fan and will miss he genuine enthusiasm when covering the Leathernecks!!!!!

Took a non-broadcast job to be able to have more time with his family.
https://www.whig.com/20180615/marths-wg ... mily-first

wiu712 · Wed Sep 05, 2018 8:51 am

Important Info for fans going to Saturday's game in Champaign:

Memorial Stadium at UIUC has a "Clear Bag & No Umbrella" policy.

With rain in the forecast for Saturday, fans will need to leave their umbrellas at home and bring their rain gear instead.

Illinois Football Carry-In Policy

ITEMS PERMITTED: Clutches no larger than 4.5” x 7.0”, clear tote (no larger than 12” x 6” x 12”), 1 gallon clear plastic storage bag, clear drawstring bag (no larger than 12” x 12”, binoculars (without case), cameras (lenses no longer than 4”), blankets, jackets, items related to a medical condition, seat cushions (not more than 16” wide), diaper bags (with child), food items in clear bags, and sealed plastic bottles of water 20 ounces and smaller.

ITEMS PROHIBITED (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO): Bags larger than 4.5” x 7.0”(including purses, and binocular cases), containers, strollers, laser pointers, umbrellas, banners, flags, signs, noisemakers, weapons, laptops, video recorders, monopods, tripods or any items deemed dangerous or inappropriate.

Tmelker · Wed Sep 05, 2018 2:05 pm

I see no reason why WIU should not believe they are going to get this Win. This is mediocre Illinois team at best. After the first week there were things to work on especially special teams play, WIU needs to keep the punt receiving and KO receiving yards to minimum. The O-Line now has a game to understand the schemes and timing. The defense will be better. It is time to get the first win of the season, ignore the critics and just get this thing done!