#18 WIU at #13 ILLINOIS STATE Noon Kickoff

[DannyCooksey]

100th meeting...

http://www.videtteonline.com/sports/podcast-redbird-report-take-a-dive-into-isu-s-th/audio_2d60acee-bf47-11e7-8f03-e384b7309bb6.html

The home game vs WIU in '99 was the most physical game I've ever seen in person. That was absolutely brutal. A hard fought Birds win that day.

 

[ST_Lawson]

Great stuff Mr. Lawson. If there was a Fan Draft we would take you in the first round and put a Redbird cap on your head.

You touched on one of my favorite topics within the murky realm of college football - "Coach Speak", particularly as it relates to departures and arrivals. You have convicted Coach Nielson of lying to his players when he told them that he wasn't leaving but if Coach Nielson were here I'll bet he would tell you with a straight face that he didn't lie.

When Coach Nielson addressed the WIU players he did so as the HC of Western Illinois University. At that time he had not told the wife to start packing dishes and his house was not yet on the market. He had not reached a deal with any other university and he was not going anywhere.

Now a few days later (or even 5 minutes later) Coach Nielson may have received a call from his agent saying a deal had been reached with South Dakota. At that time the dishes started being packed and the house went on the market and a jet may have been scheduled to whisk him away to an introductory news conference in Vermillion, SD. Then and only then was Coach Nielson leaving.

In the verbally contorted world of "Coach Speak" Coach Nielson spoke only the absolute truth.

Fair enough. I just know that in a couple of very specific cases, players felt pretty seriously betrayed. Rightfully or wrongly so...I don't really know...but I know that at least a few of them REALLY didn't appreciate how it went down.

 

[fourthandshort]

Is it possible, he was under contractual gag order until offer was officially offered/accepted ? Suppose USD told him he could not speak of offer .. meaning it was conditioned on full nondisclosure. USD could have done that to ensure their option B choice would think he was option A if Neilson rejected offer.

Tough situation on all fronts the way football seasons conflict with recruitment signing day ... new coaches can't be too far behind 8 ball in recruiting at new school. This puts hiring school in tough spot of having to hire sooner .. which makes this all hard timing wise.

 

[CB2K]

Ball control vs Air strike plus bad weather -- grind out some scores and keep them off the field

Redbirds 28
Leathernecks 20

 

[ST_Lawson]

Is it possible, he was under contractual gag order until offer was officially offered/accepted ? Suppose USD told him he could not speak of offer .. meaning it was conditioned on full nondisclosure. USD could have done that to ensure their option B choice would think he was option A if Neilson rejected offer.

Tough situation on all fronts the way football seasons conflict with recruitment signing day ... new coaches can't be too far behind 8 ball in recruiting at new school. This puts hiring school in tough spot of having to hire sooner .. which makes this all hard timing wise.

It's possible. I don't know the entire inside story. I think the biggest thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was him making a point of getting all the players together and letting them all know that he wasn't going anywhere. If he thought there was even a chance he might be going somewhere, I would think it would have made more sense to just keep his mouth shut.

 

[DannyCooksey]

Is it possible, he was under contractual gag order until offer was officially offered/accepted ? Suppose USD told him he could not speak of offer .. meaning it was conditioned on full nondisclosure. USD could have done that to ensure their option B choice would think he was option A if Neilson rejected offer.

Tough situation on all fronts the way football seasons conflict with recruitment signing day ... new coaches can't be too far behind 8 ball in recruiting at new school. This puts hiring school in tough spot of having to hire sooner .. which makes this all hard timing wise.

It's possible. I don't know the entire inside story. I think the biggest thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was him making a point of getting all the players together and letting them all know that he wasn't going anywhere. If he thought there was even a chance he might be going somewhere, I would think it would have made more sense to just keep his mouth shut.

I agree. If I were a player I'd feel betrayed by that.

 

[fourthandshort]

deserves another look and listen from the USD pregame, after NAU and SIU losses:

https://twitter.com/RedbirdFB/status/921891587185168384

need to show WIU, the MVFC, and the FCS who we are !

 

[StLRedbird]

Is it possible, he was under contractual gag order until offer was officially offered/accepted ? Suppose USD told him he could not speak of offer .. meaning it was conditioned on full nondisclosure. USD could have done that to ensure their option B choice would think he was option A if Neilson rejected offer.

Tough situation on all fronts the way football seasons conflict with recruitment signing day ... new coaches can't be too far behind 8 ball in recruiting at new school. This puts hiring school in tough spot of having to hire sooner .. which makes this all hard timing wise.

It's possible. I don't know the entire inside story. I think the biggest thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was him making a point of getting all the players together and letting them all know that he wasn't going anywhere. If he thought there was even a chance he might be going somewhere, I would think it would have made more sense to just keep his mouth shut.

I agree. If I were a player I'd feel betrayed by that.

I remember reading about this in detail on the leathernecknation board. ST_Lawson's not the only Western fan that feels this way. I'd say it's a commonly held belief in Macomb that Nielson assured his players that he wasn't going anywhere and then left within days if not hours of the assurances. I would be bitter too.

Good luck tomorrow, 'necks. I think we need this game worse than you do and we're at home.

 

[cpacmel]

Weather is looking decent. Low to mid 50’s. Light winds out of the south. 50% of rain, will probably only be a drizzle.

https://twitter.com/pg_reinhardt/status/926482030308806656

 

[cpacmel]

https://twitter.com/redbirdfb/status/926498629333942272

 

[fourthandshort]

Weather is looking decent. Low to mid 50’s. Light winds out of the south. 50% of rain, will probably only be a drizzle.

https://twitter.com/pg_reinhardt/status/926482030308806656

Weather Channel and Accuweather finally syncs up .. so winds are now from south, so it will warm up to 60 by end of game, but 53 degrees noon start with 7pm winds gusting to 15 mph.

But they've been back and forth all week .. so if winds shift from east, high will be just 50 or so. Either way, football weather !!!!! But fans have to dress accordingly.

 

[TreRoberson4Heisman]

Hopefully ESPN3’s feed can withstand some rain :lol:

 

[saxman210]

We’re either getting some Home Cooking from the officials or WIU is very undisciplined

 

[ST_Lawson]

We’re either getting some Home Cooking from the officials or WIU is very undisciplined

It's both.


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[fourthandshort]

The offensive PI call in ISU looked very weak.

 

[ThisIsTheLineup]

The offensive PI call in ISU looked very weak.

You said it!


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[saxman210]

Abandoning the run....which is what screwed us against SIU and NAU.

Put in Broadnax, create a different look next series.

 

[fourthandshort]

Fake punt attempt in their red zone down just 3 with 13 mins still .. yeesh.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Going to be interesting to watch this slow-mo tempo Redbird offense try to play fast pace to catch up.

 

[TreRoberson4Heisman]

Why #25 and #21 stopped being fed the rock this half makes no sense.

Poor football IQ not suspecting a homerun ball by WIU after the failed fake punt. #10 burnt toast with no safety help.