Uni at Illinois State (11/2/19)

[cpacmel]

Illinois State +1

Over / under 33

 

[ricohill]

About 6,000 tickets left for the game. ISU with a great deal on cheap General Admission tickets.

https://twitter.com/ISURedbirds/status/1189194593209933826

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Illinois State +1

Over / under 33

33? Wow this is not much. .. however hard to argue

 

[Redbird28]

Illinois State +1

Over / under 33

Interesting that Vegas sees us taking an L here. Hope they bathe in an L themselves this weekend.

 

[StLRedbird]

This game's gonna be decided by who makes mistakes. I'm gonna assume that Mr. Davis and his receivers will get onto the same page occasionally. But these two are very evenly matched.

Felines 10
Redbirds 17

 

[J0K3R2]

Even matchup. Robinson figures to be a force. Some nice chunk plays from Davis and whatever receivers we have left would be nice. Defense needs to hold strong. Limit our own turnovers (like that weird muffed punt last week) and force UNI into a few and we’ll be golden.

I’ll go with Birds 31, UNI 17. Think Davis hits a long one or two ala the NAU game and Robinson goes nuts.

 

[MadBird]

Even matchup. Robinson figures to be a force. Some nice chunk plays from Davis and whatever receivers we have left would be nice. Defense needs to hold strong. Limit our own turnovers (like that weird muffed punt last week) and force UNI into a few and we’ll be golden.

I’ll go with Birds 31, UNI 17. Think Davis hits a long one or two ala the NAU game and Robinson goes nuts.

As Fourthandshort pointed out on another thread, UNI is a force against the run. They've held half their opponents under 70 yards rushing for the game. The Bizon ripped them up for 347 and Iowa St. for 185, but no one else has put up more than 123 against them. So it isn't going to be a walk in the park for JRob.

 

[redbirdfan04]

I think it is more important to look at who the schools they have played. Stats can be skewed depending on the strength of schedule. UNI has a great defense and so do we. I believe this comes down to watching film and figuring out where the weaknesses are. JR can run all over these guys but they need to game plan for him.

 

[fourthandshort]

I think it is more important to look at who the schools have played. Stats can be skewed depending on the strength of schedule. UNI has a great defense and so do we. I believe this comes down to watching film and figuring out where the weaknesses are. JR can run all over these guys but they need to game plan for him.

except UNI has played a tougher SOS than us .. but you're right, you need to look at the game by game match ups .. and they got steam rolled by a couple really good run games. But we've been known to struggle to run when good defenses stack the box. This is why I have been obsessed with learning to pass more .. got to be ready to mix it up for the top level defenses like NDSU, UNI, etc ...

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

except UNI has played a tougher SOS than us .. but you're right, you need to look at the game by game match ups .. and they got steam rolled by a couple really good run games. But we've been known to struggle to run when good defenses stack the box. This is why I have been obsessed with learning to pass more .. got to be ready to mix it up for the top level defenses like NDSU, UNI, etc ...
:text-+1: When analyzing the Redbirds performance it worries me when playing teams like Uni. I am not even going to post a predicted score as I think this game could go sideways. Please prove me wrong Redbirds!

 

[redbirdfan04]

I agree with you we need to pass but there was no reason to throw the ball last weekend. I know people can't handle that but putting the ball in the air was not the way to win last week and it showed. It looks really cold and really windy on Saturday. So once again the run games will dominate. I am honestly confused with UNI this year. The loses do not make sense to me. Playing outside is a huge advantage to us. Yes they will stack the box so I am hoping we run a to the edges and counter a bunch. It will go for two to three yards until boom we break one for 70 yards and a touchdown. I think both teams will have the same game plan.

 

[chuckie1980]

Redbirds 33
NIU (lol)...13

 

[Total Red]

No doubt UNI will try to force us to put the ball in the air. Davis and his mutt receiver group need to get it done. Rock It Redbirds.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

I agree with you we need to pass but there was no reason to throw the ball last weekend. I know people can't handle that but putting the ball in the air was not the way to win last week and it showed. It looks really cold and really windy on Saturday. So once again the run games will dominate. I am honestly confused with UNI this year. The loses do not make sense to me. Playing outside is a huge advantage to us. Yes they will stack the box so I am hoping we run a to the edges and counter a bunch. It will go for two to three yards until boom we break one for 70 yards and a touchdown. I think both teams will have the same game plan.

I understand the no pass premise in certain situations (weather and opponents) but when that is the norm for a particular team then it becomes a sign of weakness., IMO. I fear ISU is consciously choosing to avoid the pass game since its pass game is weak vs being situational strategic to avoid the pass yet are capable of passing. This weekend will be interesting.

 

[fourthandshort]

I agree with you we need to pass but there was no reason to throw the ball last weekend. I know people can't handle that but putting the ball in the air was not the way to win last week and it showed. It looks really cold and really windy on Saturday. So once again the run games will dominate. I am honestly confused with UNI this year. The loses do not make sense to me. Playing outside is a huge advantage to us. Yes they will stack the box so I am hoping we run a to the edges and counter a bunch. It will go for two to three yards until boom we break one for 70 yards and a touchdown. I think both teams will have the same game plan.

I understand the no pass premise in certain situations (weather and opponents) but when that is the norm for a particular team then it becomes a sign of weakness., IMO. I fear ISU is consciously choosing to avoid the pass game since its pass game is weak vs being situational strategic to avoid the pass yet are capable of passing. This weekend will be interesting.

my thoughts exactly ... we need more in game reps to develop that chemistry and confidence .... reps when it matters !!!!

 

[StLRedbird]

I agree with you we need to pass but there was no reason to throw the ball last weekend. I know people can't handle that but putting the ball in the air was not the way to win last week and it showed. It looks really cold and really windy on Saturday. So once again the run games will dominate. I am honestly confused with UNI this year. The loses do not make sense to me. Playing outside is a huge advantage to us. Yes they will stack the box so I am hoping we run a to the edges and counter a bunch. It will go for two to three yards until boom we break one for 70 yards and a touchdown. I think both teams will have the same game plan.

I understand the no pass premise in certain situations (weather and opponents) but when that is the norm for a particular team then it becomes a sign of weakness., IMO. I fear ISU is consciously choosing to avoid the pass game since its pass game is weak vs being situational strategic to avoid the pass yet are capable of passing. This weekend will be interesting.

my thoughts exactly ... we need more in game reps to develop that chemistry and confidence .... reps when it matters !!!!

Davis has missed receivers. Receivers have dropped balls. Timmy pointed out that they can struggle to get open. This leads to Davis staying in the pocket too long. Birdswin pointed out we have lots of plays with only a couple receivers downfield. TEs non-existent in the passing game. That about sum it up?

 

[redbirdfan04]

I agree we can all point out these issues but they aired it out against NAU with Edgar. If we get him back against MSU will it be fixed again?

 

[TIMMY]

I understand the no pass premise in certain situations (weather and opponents) but when that is the norm for a particular team then it becomes a sign of weakness., IMO. I fear ISU is consciously choosing to avoid the pass game since its pass game is weak vs being situational strategic to avoid the pass yet are capable of passing. This weekend will be interesting.

my thoughts exactly ... we need more in game reps to develop that chemistry and confidence .... reps when it matters !!!!

Davis has missed receivers. Receivers have dropped balls. Timmy pointed out that they can struggle to get open. This leads to Davis staying in the pocket too long. Birdswin pointed out we have lots of plays with only a couple receivers downfield. TEs non-existent in the passing game. That about sum it up?

Sums it up for me. Here's the thing. Win the game. Any way you can. That's all that matters. If you need to shorten the game by running the ball you do it. If you can't run it and all you can do is pass...chuck away.
But you gotta win the damn game.

When Grimes and Edgar were healthy we threw the ball just fine. There's a common denominator here folks. And imagine taking a loss because we were forcing throws to covered receivers, facing 3rd and long because of sacks to work on timing? Nope. Not me. Gimme the wins please.

The one thing I'd like to see more of are bootlegs off of play action with 2 receiver routes. Make UNI play 3 over 2. Some crossing routes. Stick routes. Curl flat combos. Smash. Scissors. Easy peasy. Drag a TE and throw it to him. I think that could open things up a little bit. Everyone's keying JR. So use that and bootleg away from him.

It ain't brain surgery.

 

[fourthandshort]

UNI will be good test .. if were running well, no reason to go nuts passing. If not, I hope were prepared to open the playbook up some. Either way, we have to mix things up some to keep their front 7 more honest ... otherwise the field will get smaller and smaller on offense.

But again, if run game is working, conservative game plan makes sense in a game like this. I just don't think we can bank on this.

 

[RBFANTOO]

The one thing I'd like to see more of are bootlegs off of play action with 2 receiver routes. Make UNI play 3 over 2. Some crossing routes. Stick routes. Curl flat combos. Smash. Scissors. Easy peasy. Drag a TE and throw it to him. I think that could open things up a little bit. Everyone's keying JR. So use that and bootleg away from him.

It ain't brain surgery.

Pass to a TE? Is that legal? Someone, please inform our OC that it is a possibility.