I was up for about 22 hours yesterday and I’m operating on about 4 hours sleep now because we’ll be babysitting the neighbors’ kids in a couple hours so the parents can have a little anniversary brunch…..so bear with me if I’m a little punchy. But here goes.
- the stadium atmosphere was freaking amazing. You could hardly hear the band during the pregame music (anthem, Back home again in Indiana, etc)
- red out looked really good
- Isaiah Jones was on fire early. Just so dang happy for that kid
- other than the one busted coverage, the secondary was great. We had a hard time getting to Altmeyer early and he had forever back there, but no one to throw to
- obviously, they rectified the pressure situation over the course of the night
- I love our running backs and how hard they run
- IU went all in with the presentation last night and it’s going to pay off
- the crowd stayed loud. For a LONG time. Well after the game was decided
- damn near nobody left at half of a blowout game. Only a small number left when the rain came. It was great
- Mr Brightside between the 3rd & 4th. And featuring the camera on Mike Katic being himself (taking off his shirt and pounding beers). Got a HUGE reaction
- Junior is very disappointed that we didn’t rush the field after a major top 10 win. Maybe next time
- between a nice parlay & a couple individual bets that hit, I was $550 up yesterday. It was a good day
I’m even more excited to head to Iowa Thursday night than I already was.
These are great points. I thought Saturday night was the kind of event that comes with Big Ten college football (heck, any sport).
- There was buzz all week, the tailgate was a slow burn (in Lot 11 anyway).
- The stadium was full 25 minutes before kick. My BIL sent me a pick of the security gates 15 minutes before half time and there was no line.
- Game Day presentation was really good like you said. Nice mix of DJ and band.
- The drone show was freaking awesome. A dozen of us walked out to the stands from the press box to watch.
- Rushing the field at Memorial Stadium, while doable, is difficult with the high walls. Also save field rushes for when you clinch a Playoff spot or berth in Big Ten Title Game.
- Congrats on the win! Hopefully the Neighbors gave ya a little cash for the next parlay
Not sure if this has been mentioned.....but attendance was listed as 56088!!
Wish I could have been there.....seems like everyone had a kickass time.
I wasn't pissed, but I thought it was strange. And reflective of what the boys at the BTN think of us.Just my opinion, but I don't think that was a field rush-able game.
While Illinois was top-10, we were favored by about a touchdown and expected to win, making this not really an upset, or at least it didn't feel like it. And honestly Illinois doesn't have much name brand.
A field rush tends to come with the excitement of a major upset, usually of a major program ranked in the top-10 or top-5.
That said, I am pro-field and court rushing. I don't get upset about if a game is worthy of a rush or not. It's fun and who cares.
What was pretty crazy was we not only didn't get ESPN or FOX, the Big Ten Tailgate show was at Oregon!!.....no respect, and Cig pisses people off.....no playoffs for us unless we beat Oregon or PSU and other wise go undefeated....
That's the first time I've ever heard anyone complain about not having the Big Ten Network pregame show.
@tmft they might have rushed the field if it were a close game and IU wins it at the end to make it feel like a big game. We dominated them so much that it did not feel like a game that required a field rush.
I wasn't pissed, but I thought it was strange. And reflective of what the boys at the BTN think of us.Just my opinion, but I don't think that was a field rush-able game.
While Illinois was top-10, we were favored by about a touchdown and expected to win, making this not really an upset, or at least it didn't feel like it. And honestly Illinois doesn't have much name brand.
A field rush tends to come with the excitement of a major upset, usually of a major program ranked in the top-10 or top-5.
That said, I am pro-field and court rushing. I don't get upset about if a game is worthy of a rush or not. It's fun and who cares.
What was pretty crazy was we not only didn't get ESPN or FOX, the Big Ten Tailgate show was at Oregon!!.....no respect, and Cig pisses people off.....no playoffs for us unless we beat Oregon or PSU and other wise go undefeated....
That's the first time I've ever heard anyone complain about not having the Big Ten Network pregame show.
I am of the belief that where the BTN Tailgate Show goes has very little to do with a marquee matchup and more to do with spreading the wealth and showing love from the conference. I can promise you that they thought more of this game than they did Oregon-Oregon State.
You can see their history at the link below. Marquee matchups are not drivers of these decisions as much as probably logistics and conference 'politics'
First game back in Bloom since the OSU beatdown we took in 2021 when we had to use a Michigan WR as our QB. Before that was the Outback Bowl and Gator....Was unbefreakinglievable to end a guys trip with a huge W like that!
Tailgating was outstanding, game experience was amazing. My buddy had to take off his ILL jersey in the Q3 and put on an IU tshirt until we got back to Kirkwood. Were there 500 ILL fans at the game? I counted 8....
I have no voice left and I'm on here when I should be working....what a game!
BEAT IOWA!
Where did they seat the additional 3k+ fans?
Where did they seat the additional 3k+ fans?
Good question. I don't know.
When attendance exceeds capacity in any college stadium I figured it was guests (like recruits) with field passes, more people packing into the suites, standing room only (we don't sell those, at least to the public), and maybe counting everyone in the stadium like security and concessions to juice the number.
I'm sure we had more people than usual on the sideline/behind the north endzone and perhaps jammed into the suites, but 3K more than capacity I can't figure out.
I'd guess the max capacity is more than 52,626. That's been the official capacity since 2018. The field suites were added in 2023 and I think they've jammed more suites and available tickets into the south endzone since then. The north endzone also added a small bleacher for Army/Air Force cadets. And lastly this year they added some seats in the West corners where those green mats were, but that's a small number of people. That's all the additions I can think of on top of 52,626. I don't think what I listed would add up to 3K+, but it's maybe an additional ~750 since 2018.
Anyways, it's an interesting question.
Just my opinion, but I don't think that was a field rush-able game.
While Illinois was top-10, we were favored by about a touchdown and expected to win, making this not really an upset, or at least it didn't feel like it. And honestly Illinois doesn't have much name brand.
A field rush tends to come with the excitement of a major upset, usually of a major program ranked in the top-10 or top-5.
That said, I am pro-field and court rushing. I don't get upset about if a game is worthy of a rush or not. It's fun and who cares.
What was pretty crazy was we not only didn't get ESPN or FOX, the Big Ten Tailgate show was at Oregon!!.....no respect, and Cig pisses people off.....no playoffs for us unless we beat Oregon or PSU and other wise go undefeated....
I’ve said for a long time that a lot of fanbases and media pundits absolutely cannot stand Cignetti and that is why they harped on the schedule last year and pointed to losses to OSU and ND, despite the fact that both of those teams beat the brakes off of other CFP teams.
Nobody knocked the Illinois schedule this year. They get OSU. They don’t play Oregon, Michigan or Penn State this year. Didn’t hear a peep. If Cignetti was coaching them, they would be getting all sorts of grief.
@kelly_32 I still get a little emotional seeing the game day transformation to what it is now. I wasn’t sure it would ever happen and our home games really look good.
Thanks I do agree. It's good to see the sensation on TV the capacity +.
...and to our critics, "Get HOOSIERed"...
I try to fly up (from FL) for a couple of games each season and I'm so glad I chose this game this year. Everything about game day was AWESOME !!! I've never witnessed Memorial Stadium totally full (other than some games against OSU) and this time it was all IU fans; a mere smattering of Illini fans here and there and they were gone after IU's first drive of the second half. The drone show was terrific and it kept the crowd energy continuing beyond half-time. And YES, this IU team is better than last year. 
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