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Behind the Mic

Did Anyone See That Coming?

Posted by: Brian Barnhart

Sunday, September 6, 2009 7:28 PM

Missouri is a good football team.

We all knew that going into the Illini-Mizzou matchup and I was impressed with the efficiency of the Tiger offense and their new quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Mizzou played solid football on Saturday and deserved to win for the 5th straight time in the Dome against the Illini.

The question on everyone's mind....from Ron Zook on down ....What happened to the Illini?

Several factors influenced the 37-9 Mizzou win. One was ankle injuries to projected #1 running back Daniel Dufrene (did not play)....sophomore running back Jason Ford (only 1 carry) and future NFL receiver Arrelious Benn (left the game after 3 plays).

But those guys don't play defense.

There were some questions about the overall defense going into the game... but at times the Illini held their own in key spots. After an interception of Juice Williams set Missouri up at the Illini 25-yard line early in the game, the defense held the Tigers to a field goal. During another series the Tigers were moving the ball and had a 2nd down and 1... and failed to get a first down. Linebacker Ian Thomas recorded a career high 13 tackles in the game which was also a bright spot for the defense..

But there were also some key breakdowns in pass coverage on what looked like basic passing plays for the Tigers. I am no expert...but my broadcast partner Kurt Kittner is. Kurt said he thought that Missouri was running some pretty simple patterns for their new quarterback to read and the Illini either didnt tackle effectively.... or were out of position on the big Missouri touchdown passes of 49 and 46 yards.

The Illini offense also suffered Saturday with a combination of mistakes and plain bad luck. Although they were trailing at the time.... the Illini had seized the momentum at one point in the first half when the Tigers committed a major penalty after running into punter Anthony Santella . With the game still in play for either team... the Illini promptly marched down the field and had a 4th and short deep in Mizzou territory. Then Juice Williams got his foot caught under the foot of left guard Randall Hunt. Down went Juice. End of drive. End of Illini momentum.

Another momentum changer was when senior receiver Jeff Cumberland made a nice catch and run... and then was stripped of the football as he headed upfield. That fumble ended another potential scoring drive for the Illini.

By the time the 4th quarter arrived in St.Louis...Mizzou had a big lead and the Tiger defense could come after Juice with reckless abandon. The Tigers were brimming with confidence and the Illini looked discouraged and Illini fans headed for the exits of the Edward Jones Dome and back into the streets of St. Louis with a collective headache.

Bottom line: The Illini were simply outperformed by the Tigers on Saturday.

But... in my opinion...to give up on this team after one week is a mistake. Ron Zook and his staff won't give up on them ...and neither should Illini fans. There is simply too much talent in place (especially on offense) for this team not to have a successful season.

Did Illinois have a bad day at the office Saturday in St. Louis? Yes- no question.. But I still think there will be a lot more good Saturdays than bad Saturdays for the Illini by the time Thanksgiving rolls around..

That doesnt mean though that we all didnt need a little aspirin after the game Saturday afternoon..

Here is a look at the Illini's next opponent..... Illinois State.

Talk to you during the week!

Comments

Even if we play better our next three big ten games will be against Ohio State,Penn State, and Mich St. With a murders row like that we are staring at a 1-4 record.

We cant recover from that. We are guarenteed another losing season.

Posted by dave1956 on September 7, 2009 at 7:27 AM