BearsFansOnline.com

Down 28-3..Lovie's guys pull it out at the end..37-34..! This old Illini was pumped to see that last score and the WIN..

Now if Wisc had lost and as A ASS U did lose it would have been a perfect day..

But..I'll take IT !!
Congrats Lovie and the Illini !

The end of that game was incredible.

maybe Lovie looking like Santa Claus is what has given the Illini the extra magic?

I'm happy for them

Lovie has done a really good job this season.

Glad to see him having success. I thought he got a horrible shake in Tampa. Inherited an impossible roster for 2014. Had them looking respectable by 2015 and then got canned.

I'm just glad that U of I had the foresight to stop fucking with their programs. Josh Whitman came in and shook a lot of things up as a young and exciting AD, made a monstrous splash in hiring Lovie, despite the fact that he was almost *too* big a name. Concerns around here were rampant that he was going to leave the program for the NFL again, leaving the university to start over once again. Even after getting a 2-year extension, there's still a tad of unspoken concern that Lovie's an NFL phone call away.

Seeing him getting carried off the field by his players on Saturday should hopefully quell that notion. I think Lovie was meant to be a college coach, the kind you put in place and leave alone for 15-20 years.

Lovie is a weird fit here, I'll say that. I haven't seen him around the area, nor do I know if he even has a home in Champaign/Urbana. I heard that he's got a really nice apartment or some kind of hotel suite, but that was years ago. (Update: He and his wife live in a swanky condo downtown)

It's taken 4 years for the program to get some help from his recruits. Before this year they were something like 9-30 with Lovie as coach, and if he were a more controversial figure under a different AD in Illinois history, he'd have been fired, but Whitman hired Lovie, and I think they have a loyalty to each other.

edit: Here's a cool (and brief, as is Lovie's style) article from WaPo

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/c ... story.html

Lovie is a weird fit here, I'll say that. I haven't seen him around the area, nor do I know if he even has a home in Champaign/Urbana. I heard that he's got a really nice apartment or some kind of hotel suite, but that was years ago. (Update: He and his wife live in a swanky condo downtown)

I know he still maintains a home here in Texas just outside of Kileen, but I don't know how often he's actually there.

I'm not an ILLINI fan per se, but having grown up there, I follow them casually. I think Lovie is a really good fit for the program. He's a leader, a mentor, and an ideal person to mold a young man. UOK is right, that dude was made for college.

Nothing against Lovie or the Illini, but when 6-5 teams make bowl games, that is when you know there are too many bowl games and the shit is watered down. (Illini could finish better than 6-5, but that is just my mini rant).

Otis Day wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:50 pm Nothing against Lovie or the Illini, but when 6-5 teams make bowl games, that is when you know there are too many bowl games and the shit is watered down. (Illini could finish better than 6-5, but that is just my mini rant).

This is the deal with college football. There's too many teams that are on a totally different tier, while 98% of the other teams have nothing to play for. The trade off is that finishing above .500 merits a reward. It's stupid, but it is what it is.

UOK wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:56 pm

Otis Day wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:50 pm Nothing against Lovie or the Illini, but when 6-5 teams make bowl games, that is when you know there are too many bowl games and the shit is watered down. (Illini could finish better than 6-5, but that is just my mini rant).

This is the deal with college football. There's too many teams that are on a totally different tier, while 98% of the other teams have nothing to play for. The trade off is that finishing above .500 merits a reward. It's stupid, but it is what it is.

so in essence, Bowl Games are now watered down to being participation trophies

that's great for the schools that get in them, but certainly doesn't motivate me to watch

Fun fact the Illinois QB Brandon Peters is from Avon Indiana. I'm not a big High School sports fan but live in Avon and watched him play a few times, kinda neat.

I have to admit I was wrong on Lovie at Illinois. For a while there I thought he was phoning it in and just trying to use his name to recruit. But... he's coaching these players hard & has established a great culture. It's awesome. If they can beat Iowa and Northwestern, they'll be 8-4 ... super respectable and deserving of a good bowl assignment. Even if they lose to also-surging Iowa on Saturday, they'll likely end the season 7-5. Which isn't an embarrassing record in terms of getting a bowl bid. I don't see anything wrong with the lower-end bowls and average records. It's just fun so why not.

My daughter graduated from Illinois a year and a half ago and while she was there worked at the front desk at the Hyatt. Lovie stays at the Hyatt when he's in town... he's a fixture there (or was in 2017-18). She's talked to him a lot of course. Said he's super nice.

Boris13c wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 12:57 pm

UOK wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:56 pm

This is the deal with college football. There's too many teams that are on a totally different tier, while 98% of the other teams have nothing to play for. The trade off is that finishing above .500 merits a reward. It's stupid, but it is what it is.

so in essence, Bowl Games are now watered down to being participation trophies

that's great for the schools that get in them, but certainly doesn't motivate me to watch

Another 'get off the lawn' rant here but I used to love watching the 4 bowl games on New Year's Day in the '60s. I can't blame the colleges for the system being watered down to having Poulan Weedeater Bowls, etc. etc. but I won't watch them.