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Illinois/Missouri Preview
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[AUG. 30, 2003]
Illinois
will open up the 2003 football season on Saturday in St. Louis
against rival Missouri. The two teams opened up the 2002 season,
with the Tigers upsetting the Illini 33-20 and sending Illinois into
an early season slump they could not recover from. After the
Missouri loss, Illinois lost games to Southern Mississippi, San Jose
St., Michigan and Minnesota before finishing the season on a 4-2 run
to end at a very disappointing 5-7. Illinois must take Missouri
seriously if their dreams of going to a bowl game will be realized.
Today, the LDN looks at what it will take for Illinois to beat
Missouri and gives you a game by game prediction for the season.
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ILLINOIS vs. MISSOURI:
Last year, in his first career start, quarterback Brad Smith
absolutely killed the Illini, rushing for over 150 yards and leading
Mizzou to victory. In 2002, Smith used the element of surprise, but
this time around, Coach Ron Turner and crew claim they are ready for
the athletic wonder. Five things have to happen if Illinois hopes
to start fast and win in St. Louis against the Tigers:
- Illinois must win the time of
possession battle. Last year, Illinois started with an early
three and out, and found themselves battling from behind all game
long. Illinois has a great quarterback in senior Jon Beutjer, but
must establish the running game early and often, something they
couldn’t do in 2002. Look for redshirt freshman E.B. Halsey to
come up big against the Tigers.
- Illinois must contain Smith
and force him to pass the ball. Last year, Illinois looked like
they had never seen the option attack before and Smith killed them
consistently, not with his arm, but with his legs. This time,
Winston Taylor, Matt Sinclar and fellow linebackers must force
Smith to throw the ball.
- Illinois must win the
turnover battle. A very controversial fumble call went against
Illinois last year and resulted in a Missouri touchdown – this
year, Illinois must hold onto the ball AND force Missouri into
coughing it up.
- Ron Turner cannot out-think
himself. I really believe this, and many Illini faithful agree,
Ron Turner is one of the best coaches in the Big Ten and maybe the
country! But this is only true when he sticks with what he has
mastered – the West Coast offense. Too often in the Turner era,
it has appeared Illinois tried to get “too cute” and ended up
creating major problems for their defense. Memo to Coach Turner –
ride the horses we know can get it done – Beutjer, Halsey and
(kicker) John Gockman!
- The Crowd – many said last
year was a fifty/fifty split – I’ve got one thing to say about
that – hogwash! Mizzou’s crowd was great and the Illini faithful
were sitting on their hands all day – bottom line? Illinois’ 12th
man needs to show up.
Prediction: Even though most observers are
picking the Tigers, my Illini kool-aid is tasting good tonight as I
write this article and I envision a day Brad Smith would just as
soon forget. Illinois wins 35-24 and gains the much-needed momentum
heading into the battle for Illinois against Illinois State next
Saturday in Champaign.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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2003 Season Prediction:
The way it breaks down, Illinois’ season can be seen in divisions
of four games:
The “you better win” games:
-
vs.Illinois St. (Lose to the Redbirds and calls for Lou
Tepper begin)
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vs. Michigan St. (Bobby Williams left things a mess – should
win at home)
-
at Indiana (Ouch! The Hoosiers are bad! Can Bobby Knight
coach football?)
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vs. Northwestern (Legal troubles continue to mount – along
with the losses)
The “you’ve got a great chance to win” games:
-
vs. Missouri (Illinois thinks they can stop the Brad Smith
train)
-
vs. California (Illinois has won the last couple against the
Bears – should continue against the solid team from Berkley)
-
vs. Wisconsin (Illinois has won two in a row against the best
coach in the conference and the 5pm and national TV ensures a great
atmosphere!)
-
vs. Minnesota (The Gophers weren’t near as good as they
looked against Illinois in the Dome last year – should see a
homecoming victory)
The “good luck – hope you are feeling blessed”
games:
-
at UCLA (This is the year to get the Bruins – too bad this
game is not in Champaign)
-
at Purdue (Tiller and crew will not lose three in a row –
especially when the game is in Indiana)
-
at Michigan (While we’d love a repeat of ’93 and ’99,
Michigan looks real good and I doubt they will lose at home)
-
at Iowa (Will not be as good as last year’s conference
winner, but Illinois will have to do everything right to win in Iowa
City)
8/30 vs. MISSOURI (in St.
Louis) W ILL 35 MU
24
9/6 vs. ILLINOIS
STATE W ILL
56 ISU 10
9/13 at
UCLA
L ILL 28 UCLA 31
9/20 vs.
CALIFORNIA W
ILL 31 CAL 21
9/27 vs.
WISCONSIN
W ILL 34 WISC 27
10/4 at
PURDUE
L ILL 33 PUR 38
10/11 vs. MICHIGAN
ST. W ILL
28 MSU 13
10/18 at
MICHIGAN L
ILL 17 MICH 31
10/25 vs.
MINNESOTA W ILL
24 MINN 21
11/2 at
IOWA L
ILL 24 IOWA 35
11/9 at
INDIANA
W ILL 38 IND 21
11/23 vs. NORTHWESTERN
W ILL 42 NU 24
So, what is the bottom line – I’m saying 8-4
and an Alamo Bowl victory. But, if Illinois can’t beat Missouri,
everything changes – 6-6 or 5-7 become very possible. However,
knock off the Tigers and go to Los Angles and beat the rebuilding
Bruins – a 2001 repeat begins to look possible again. Anyway, I
can’t wait to get the season started.
Are you ready for some football? I know I am!
[Greg Taylor]
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