[NU Sports] were we all resigned to a disaster?

[Brad Wilson]

Geez, not much comment here on Saturday's horrendous
loss -- guess we all saw it coming.

I was there -- my one trip a season -- and have
several comments:

1) the $10 end zone tickets are a steal -- we sat in
V, row 39, and had a great view. 

2) Illini fans are still a bunch of ignorant,
irritating front-runners when it comes to football
(one of them was giving my friend the Wisconsin fan a
hard time about bowl games, which, given UW's record
in them lately, takes colossal nerve). 

3) This was by far the worst effort vs. the Illini
since the early 1990's -- the Trib called it pathetic
and I would agree, excepting Sutton (when he got the
ball, that is), Peterman, Gill, Kadela, Demos, and
McManis. There was no spark, no passion, no intensity
-- if NU wanted to play in a bowl it surely did not
show. Take away the stupid penalties (the holding
calls on the WRs were bogus anyway) and the
interceptions and maybe the offense did enough to win
but the defense was simply totally outclassed -- the
pass coverage was embarrassing, the pass rush
miserable and the 3rd-down defense hideous. Didn't
anybody watch the Illinois-OSU game for a tip on what
Juice might do? How about spy him with a safety or a
linebacker -- but given the way NU tackled, it
wouldn't have mattered anyway. I refuse to understand
why the NU offense can play with anybody while the
defense looks like amateur hour. Colby and Brown must
go -- Brown has coached Reggie McPherson for years and
McPherson's still clueless as the long pass showed
Saturday.

4) All credit to NUMB for a terrific, spirit-filled
performance that helped keep MY spirits up during a
dreadful game. The band irritated the Illini fans
around me so it was doing a great job! If the team had
shown half the spirit the band did, the game may have
been different.

bw





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