Illinois defeated Baylor 38-14 yesterday in something called the Texas Bowl. The win held significance for the fact that it was the first time that Illinois had won a bowl game since I was a Junior in high school and the Kurt Kittner led Illini destroyed the Thomas Jones led Virginia Cavaliers in the now defunct Micron PC.com Bowl.
For the sake of brevity, some thoughts from the game:
In the Illini’s last three bowl appearances (Sugar Bowl ‘02, Rose Bowl ‘08 and Texas Bowl ‘10) they played an opponent from the same state as the bowl. LSU in the Superdome, USC in Pasadena, and Baylor in Houston. Thought that was interesting.
Nathan Scheelhaase is growing as a passer. He was extremely efficient in the win, (at one point he had completed his first 13 passes) and avoided making mistakes. The extra month of practice ahead of the bowl game did him wonders.
If this was the last game in the Orange and Blue for Mikel Leshoure, he went out in style. Leshoure is efficient, fast enough to be a home run threat, and is a pretty good receiver out of the backfield as well. Here is hoping that the NFL labor uncertainty and the lack of buzz surrounding Leshoure are enough to convince him to come back for another year.
Welcome back Illini defense. This is a defense that I spent an entire wedding reception raving about to anyone that would listen, and that I told everyone in Indianapolis was the strength of the football team. Until the Michigan game, they were aggressive, had a swagger, and were extremely tough to score on. After the Michigan game, they gave up 38 points to Minnesota, 27 to Northwestern and 25 to Fresno State and looked like a completely different unit. Well, the swagger was back yesterday. Corey Liuget was a monster and the vaunted Baylor offense never looked comfortable after their turnover on the opening possession.
So from everyone here at Murphy’s Pub, raise a glass to the Illini football team as we celebrate a surprisingly entertaining and winning season from the Zooker and the Illini.
No comments:
Post a Comment