2014-2015 NCAA football thread

[southsider2k5]

Seth Gruen ‏@SethGruen 22m22 minutes ago

 

#Illinois just announced it would bring back Tim Beckman, unquestionably the right decision for the university

[southsider2k5]

Mark Snyder ‏@Mark__Snyder 1h1 hour ago

 

RT @USATODAYsports: UAB to shut down football program: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf...ogram/19702899/ …

[dasox24]

Mark Snyder ‏@Mark__Snyder 1h1 hour ago

 

RT @USATODAYsports: UAB to shut down football program: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf...ogram/19702899/ …

I feel bad for those players. They won 6 games this year and were bowl eligible.

 

Also, Tennessee was supposed to open next year against UAB in Nashville. I wonder who we'll replace them with.

[Brian]

Kosta found dead. Awful

[LittleHurt05]

Kosta found dead. Awful

 

That;s just awful. The head injury problem in football is only getting worse.

[farmteam]

Really happy for Tevin Coleman that he got to 2000 yards. I'd be shocked if he's back next year.

[Harry Chappas]

That;s just awful. The head injury problem in football is only getting worse.

 

Don't know the whole story but didn't he just walk on at OSU and was a wrestler more than football player?

[Kyyle23]

Don't know the whole story but didn't he just walk on at OSU and was a wrestler more than football player?

 

Yep and yep

[SnB]

@sryantribune: A statement from Mike Thomas expected today on status of coach Beckman. Signs indicate he's staying.

 

 

My condolences, Illini fans

 

#WINT

We expected a bowl game for him to keep his job, he did it and deserves another year. 6 wins in 2015 won't cut it though.

[Jenksismyhero]

We expected a bowl game for him to keep his job, he did it and deserves another year. 6 wins in 2015 won't cut it though.

 

Unfortunately I agree. I just hope this isn't a Zook situation where we're stuck with him for 3 more seasons.

[clyons]

Unfortunately I agree. I just hope this isn't a Zook situation where we're stuck with him for 3 more seasons.

 

It was "bowl or bust," so its the right move to keep him for at least one more year, made more so because Mike Thomas hiring in a market that has vacancies at Neb and MI would be an utter disaster.

[whitesoxfan99]

It was "bowl or bust," so its the right move to keep him for at least one more year, made more so because Mike Thomas hiring in a market that has vacancies at Neb and MI would be an utter disaster.

 

The Nebraska and Michigan vacancies are irrelevant to Illinois. They aren't going to be hiring from the same coaching pool anyways.

[Buehrle>Wood]

It was "bowl or bust," so its the right move to keep him for at least one more year, made more so because Mike Thomas hiring in a market that has vacancies at Neb and MI would be an utter disaster.

This team wasn't any better than last year so I don't want to see him back. He is still a dead man walking and that is the worst thing our program can have, as we know.

 

 

 

This is actually the best coaching opening environment we could have possibly asked for. Illinois would have been the best available second tier job as it stands. I don't even see anything close to it actually. Compare that to 2012 where we were competing against Arkansas, Arizona, Ole Miss, UNC, Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Rutgers, Texas AM, UCLA and Washington State. Not including top programs like Ohio State and Penn State. This year it looks like, um, Kansas? Iowa State? More pieces will move down the line but still, way better than the last time.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Buehrle>Wood

[RockRaines]

The Nebraska and Michigan vacancies are irrelevant to Illinois. They aren't going to be hiring from the same coaching pool anyways.

Nebraska may even though their fans dont want to admit it.

[southsider2k5]

darren rovell ‏@darrenrovell 2h2 hours ago

 

It will cost Michigan $1M more to fire Brady Hoke before 12/31 ($3M buyout vs $2M buyout). Drop in the bucket at Michigan.

[Jenksismyhero]

This team wasn't any better than last year so I don't want to see him back. He is still a dead man walking and that is the worst thing our program can have, as we know.

 

 

 

This is actually the best coaching opening environment we could have possibly asked for. Illinois would have been the best available second tier job as it stands. I don't even see anything close to it actually. Compare that to 2012 where we were competing against Arkansas, Arizona, Ole Miss, UNC, Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Rutgers, Texas AM, UCLA and Washington State. Not including top programs like Ohio State and Penn State. This year it looks like, um, Kansas? Iowa State? More pieces will move down the line but still, way better than the last time.

 

Oh I totally disagree. They're still not "good," but they were in more games this year and actually won a few of them. It's not like they really lucked into their wins either. They played "well" in all of them. I also liked that they played their best football at the end of the year.

 

Beckman also deserves credit for handling the Lunt situation. Sticking with O'Toole wasn't the popular choice, even with Lunt struggling.

[RockRaines]

darren rovell ‏@darrenrovell 2h2 hours ago

 

It will cost Michigan $1M more to fire Brady Hoke before 12/31 ($3M buyout vs $2M buyout). Drop in the bucket at Michigan.

Issue is they dont have their replacement in mind yet, they are waiting for Harbaugh but all signs point to him staying in the NFL, now what?

[illinilaw08]

Oh I totally disagree. They're still not "good," but they were in more games this year and actually won a few of them. It's not like they really lucked into their wins either. They played "well" in all of them. I also liked that they played their best football at the end of the year.

 

Beckman also deserves credit for handling the Lunt situation. Sticking with O'Toole wasn't the popular choice, even with Lunt struggling.

 

Disagree on the improvement. Last year, the Illini blew out Cincinnati and Miami (OH) and were competitive at Soldier Field vs. Washington. This year, they trailed in the 4th quarter against Youngstown State, Texas State and Western Kentucky.

 

In conference, last year they beat Purdue, lost in OT @ Penn State and lost competitive games @ Indiana and home against Northwestern. This year, they won close games against Penn State, Northwestern, and Minnesota, but were really only competitive in the loss to Purdue (a game they should easily have won).

 

The differences between this year and last? They looked terrible in the non-conference, and turned some of the close games in conference into wins.

 

I'm not sure where I stand on Beckman at Illinois, but it's definitely worth noting that this team was a lot closer to 0-12 than to winning 8 games this year...

[cabiness42]

You could make an argument that the Nebraska job is more attractive than even the Michigan job. Michigan is in the East with perennial power OSU, an MSU program that seems to be in the midst of prolonged success, and an Penn State program that has the potential to get back to the top. The West has only one program that has any track record of consistent success.

[LittleHurt05]

Oh I totally disagree. They're still not "good," but they were in more games this year and actually won a few of them. It's not like they really lucked into their wins either. They played "well" in all of them. I also liked that they played their best football at the end of the year.

 

Beckman also deserves credit for handling the Lunt situation. Sticking with O'Toole wasn't the popular choice, even with Lunt struggling.

 

They didn't play very "well" in the PSU game, they were just the luckier of two awful football teams. And the two games before that, they were routed, so I don't know how you can say they were playing their best football at the end of the year. The Minnesota game was the only one that gave them more credibility.

 

Let's also remember they were trailing in the 4th quarter in 11 of their 12 games, including all 3 non-BCS non-conference games. Given the 6-6 outcome, I think he earned another year, but my hopes aren't very high for 2015. I do agree with B>W, the best decision for Illinois football would be to find a new coach this year, but it's not always that simple.

[RockRaines]

You could make an argument that the Nebraska job is more attractive than even the Michigan job. Michigan is in the East with perennial power OSU, an MSU program that seems to be in the midst of prolonged success, and an Penn State program that has the potential to get back to the top. The West has only one program that has any track record of consistent success.

Not a chance in hell. Recruiting base, money and academics are superior at Michigan. Nebraska is clearly a tier below.

[clyons]

The Nebraska and Michigan vacancies are irrelevant to Illinois. They aren't going to be hiring from the same coaching pool anyways.

 

I didn't mean to imply they were in the same class or pool; they certainly aren't--but all Power 5 vacancies are relevant to Illinois, if for no other reason than "trickle down."

[gatnom]

They didn't play very "well" in the PSU game, they were just the luckier of two awful football teams. And the two games before that, they were routed, so I don't know how you can say they were playing their best football at the end of the year. The Minnesota game was the only one that gave them more credibility.

 

Let's also remember they were trailing in the 4th quarter in 11 of their 12 games, including all 3 non-BCS non-conference games. Given the 6-6 outcome, I think he earned another year, but my hopes aren't very high for 2015. I do agree with B>W, the best decision for Illinois football would be to find a new coach this year, but it's not always that simple.

 

This is the exact reason he doesn't deserve another year. The team hasn't gotten better after year 3; the Big Ten has gotten worse. The 2011 team that got Zook fired is definitely better than this years team, and I'd say the 2013 team is probably better too. If your analysis of Beckman ends at the W-L column, then sure the team has shown improvement. However, the eye test and advanced statistics both agree that this team is still bad, and that is unacceptable in year 3, IMO.

 

 

[Soxfest]

I'm going to cry.

Not only Beckman is back..........Tim Banks s keeping his job at DC. Mike Thomas is a joke. 6-6 was not good enough to keep Zook. 6-6 is good enough to keep Beckman, the only difference is he hired Beckman. Illinois schedule is very tough next year 4 wins will be a struggle.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Soxfest

[Jenksismyhero]

Disagree on the improvement. Last year, the Illini blew out Cincinnati and Miami (OH) and were competitive at Soldier Field vs. Washington. This year, they trailed in the 4th quarter against Youngstown State, Texas State and Western Kentucky.

 

In conference, last year they beat Purdue, lost in OT @ Penn State and lost competitive games @ Indiana and home against Northwestern. This year, they won close games against Penn State, Northwestern, and Minnesota, but were really only competitive in the loss to Purdue (a game they should easily have won).

 

The differences between this year and last? They looked terrible in the non-conference, and turned some of the close games in conference into wins.

 

I'm not sure where I stand on Beckman at Illinois, but it's definitely worth noting that this team was a lot closer to 0-12 than to winning 8 games this year...

 

New QB and WR's accounted for a lot of the issues in the non-conference part of the schedule.

 

Edit: injuries too. I'll admit I don't follow football THAT much, but it seemed like every beat guy on Twitter I follow tweeted out long injury lists before every game.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Jenksismybitch