Illini Fall to Athletic Carolina
By Jeff Mayfield

[September 13, 2016]  I was hoping that my inclination would be wrong. I made the mistake of watching the UNC-Georgia game last week. It was a game that the Tarheels led late in only to cough it up. In that game I counted five marginal calls all of which went against Carolina. I know I’m too much of a conspiracy theorist, but I reasoned that that would not happen in back-to-back weeks. My inclination was not wrong!

I also saw how athletic and how good Carolina actually is. I saw that they had a great running back, a pretty decent QB, some good receivers, and lock-down defenders especially in the secondary. I remarked to my friends that we were in serious trouble.

Fast forward to game night. To say that the atmosphere was exhilarating would be an understatement. You can read about the size of the crowd elsewhere as I made a vow to our readers a while back that I would not write about the size of our crowds again for quite some time. But I will say this…our fans were ready. They were pumped up and willing to do their part. Which is to say they were willing to do whatever took. I was worried that they had forgotten how to bring it. Unfortunately their yeomen’s’ effort wasn’t enough…it wasn’t nearly enough.

With that being said the Illini did surprise me after losing the coin toss. Carolina deferred and kicked off. Illinois caught the heels napping w/ two quick pass plays and then slipped Ke’shawn Vaughn loose on a 65-yard scamper to pay dirt! And before all the tailgaters had found and settled into their seats, it was 7-0. I prayed for a power outage at that point! Remember I had seen Carolina play and it was a scary viewing. That’s why I stopped watching scary movies…I get scared enough scouting Illini opponents!

Carolina came back and tied it, but Illinois showed some resiliency and jumped back on top 14-7. UNC went ahead as the early energy and momentum was beginning to slip on a 6 yard td run by QB Mitch Trubisky.

The long and short of it is that you can’t fumble the ball 6 times and get penalized 13 times against a quality opponent. You must seize the big MO and keep the opponents on their heels. It was almost like the Illini changed strategies and tried to do what the film study showed probably couldn’t be done.

Somehow the Illini stayed close for most of the game and at least gave themselves a chance but too many mental mistakes and lapses caught up with them and never gave them a full chance to realize the upset. Illinois clawed their way back within 8 points on a 7 yard td reception from Wes Lunt to Malik Turner early in the 4th quarter and there was hope in the air…many of us were thinking a touchdown…a 2-point conversion…and we’ll take our chances in overtime.

Unfortunately, star running back Elijah Hood of the Tarheels wasn’t thinking that at all. He was thinking about running the football right down our throats and that’s what he did. And when he scored on a 7-yard td run you could feel the magical air go right out of Memorial Stadium. It simply became about what the final margin would be. Sadly it ended up 48-23.

However, despite the disappointment and the sadness of many of the fans, there were some positive takeaways from the performance:

It was good to see the house full again!  despite a lack of depth on our roster, our players are warriors.  Our team is playing w/ great passion & effort and that will be rewarded!  Quality opponents can bring out great crowds!  I’m anxious to see what adjustments our coaching staff makes for the future!

In preparation for next week’s game against Western Michigan I took the liberty for you loyal LDN readers and Illini fans to make my way over to the Kickapoo Indian Pow Wow yesterday afternoon. Since I believe that they are a close cousin to the Illini Nation, I did my own hexing dance on that hallowed ground to try to conjure up some good vibes for the future. My own Native American heritage has for some reason not resulted in very good dance moves, but I’m just trying to do my part. At any rate the Illini will have their hands full, as Western Michigan is another quality opponent. Illinois will need to find a win in this one to get back on the plus side of the ledger!

(Congratulations to former Lincoln resident Payne Mayfield who saw his first varsity action in Le Roy’s last two games versus Tri Valley and Tremont. Payne recorded his first varsity tackle for the Panthers who are 2-1 on the young season and undefeated in JV play.)

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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